Chinese veteran Xu claims Ruka aerials gold at FIS World Cup

HELSINKI - China's veteran freestyle skier Xu Mengtao made a strong start to what could be her fifth Olympic campaign, clinching the women's aerials title at the FIS Freestyle World Cup in Ruka, Finland on Saturday evening.

Beijing 2022 Olympic champion Xu, 35, reaffirmed her status as a dominant force in women's aerials in the opening World Cup event of the Milan-Cortina 2026 season. She performed the most difficult jump of the night - a back full-full-full - and secured victory with 89.29 points.

Canada's Marion Thenault finished second with 82.48 points, while another Chinese skier Chen Meiting placed third on 75.31.

"Today was a very difficult day for me, but I did it. I got nice quality and good landing on my triples. My goal is to do my best at the Olympic Games," said Xu about her possible fifth Winter Olympic appearance.

The Ruka victory also marked the 30th World Cup gold of her career in individual events.

Ukraine's Oleksandr Okipniuk topped the men's competition, earning his first individual World Cup gold. Switzerland's Pirmin Werner and Christopher Lillis of the United States finished second and third respectively.