Young Games stars make nation proud

Su wins country's first snowboarding gold at Olympics

Making their country proud with sports heroics beyond their years, the emergence of China's young athletes on the world stage at the Beijing Winter Olympics has inspired the nation's youths to dream big and push boundaries.

Snowboarding prodigy Su Yiming and teenage skier Gu Ailing have performed gravity-defying aerial feats to set the tone for a new generation of fearless Chinese winter sports competitors. Added to the athletic prowess are colorful personalities and tales of personal sacrifice that have won over fans at home and abroad.

After winning China's first ever Olympic gold medal in snowboarding on Tuesday, Su, who turns 18 on Friday, encouraged other youngsters to pursue their goals.

"It feels like a wild dream come true and it proves that hard work will always pay off," Su said after winning the men's Big Air final at the Shougang Industrial Park in Beijing.

"Everything I did along the way, regardless of the sweat and pain as well as overcoming setbacks, was driven by my love of snowboarding," said Su, who started snowboarding at the age of 4 after his parents took him to a ski resort for the first time. "I hope that everyone watching me can find what they are interested in and do whatever they can to pursue their own dreams."

Su's own challenge is overcoming fear as he stands on top of a 60-meter-high slope before launching himself into the air to perform difficult and dangerous aerial maneuvers before landing safely on a steep ramp.

Conquering that fear seemed impossible, but at age 9 Su naively declared his dream was to become the "king of snowboarding", a claim chronicled in a documentary of his career, which went viral on the internet hours after his gold medal win on Tuesday.