BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- When the score finally flashed on the screen, Chinese figure skating teen Zhang Ruiyang collapsed into her coach's arms and burst out crying as the 17-year-old realized she had earned a women's singles berth for China.
Zhang finished fifth at the ISU Figure Skating Olympic qualifier here on Saturday night, claiming one of the five women's singles spots available for the 2026 Winter Olympics. For China, it was the last chance to earn a spot at the Games. And for Zhang, it was much more than a competition.
"It's such an honor to win this spot for China on such a big stage, and at home," Zhang said. "I'm very excited."
Few expected much from Zhang, with 25 skaters chasing just five qualifying spots. Among them were Russia's rising star Adeliia Petrosian, Belgium's Loena Hendrickx, a European champion, and Georgia's Anastasiia Gubanova, a Beijing 2022 Olympian and her country's first European champion.
While Zhang just moved up to the senior level this season, her resume was nearly blank compared with her rivals. Her biggest stages had been the Asian Figure Skating Trophy and China's National Winter Games.
Despite stresses and strains, the Chinese teenager showed resilience under the spotlights. Zhang quickly recovered from two early mistakes and finished her free skate with a total score of 179.76 points, enough for fifth place and a ticket to Milan-Cortina.
Zhang was nearly on the brink of collapse as she stepped off the rink. "The first thing she said was, 'Did I fail? I fell twice. We won't get the spot,'" recalled her coach Fu Caishu. "She's so young, but she was under such heavy pressure. And that's why when the score came out, she couldn't hold it in anymore."
Zhang had only learned that she would compete in the qualifier a month earlier, after edging out veteran teammates Zhu Yi and An Xiangyi in an internal trial. And since then, she focused on stabilizing her jumps and toughening her mindset.
"There were ups and downs in training," Zhang said. "But in the end, I could adjust it. I always imagine how I should react if mistakes happened in competition. And therefore, I won't feel like the sky is falling when it does."
Zhang's coaches believe this is just the beginning for the teenager. "She's incredibly driven and determined," Fu noted. "If something isn't right in training, she won't stop until it's fixed. Even on rest days, she keeps up her physical work. It seems she doesn't know how to be lazy."
"She's a power skater with great bounce and explosive strength," said Zhang's assistant coach Wang Jialei. "Now it's about polishing her skating skills and making her jumps more stable and of higher quality."
"I gained valuable experience from this big competition," Zhang said. "I learned a lot from skating alongside so many top athletes, and I still need to improve the overall flow of my programs and the difficulty of my elements in the future." ■
