Dynamic and acrobatic as you can see. From the spectator's point of view, aerials feel more like a circus-like show than a sport. Even if you know a little about the sport, watching the game will be much more interesting. Here, let me tell you the main points of the aerial, which is a masterpiece of high jumps that approach the human limit.
Aerial ｜Aerial
of Chojin who can be enjoyed without reason
■Beijing Olympics Aerial Competition Schedule
All aerial competitions are night games. Perhaps because the waiting time is long as the competition progresses while watching the wind, the new event starts with a mixed team, and the women's qualifying and finals, and the men's qualifying and finals are all set on separate days. (Schedule may change due to weather conditions, etc.)
| Date and time | venue | Broadcast schedule | |
| February 10 (Thursday) 19:00-20:05 (Japan time 20:00-21:05) | Mixed Aerial Team Finals 1-2 | big air neck steel | Add any announcements |
| February 13 (Sun) 19:00-20:45 (Japan time 20:00-21:45) | Women's Aerial Qualifying Round 1-2 | big air neck steel | Add any announcements |
| February 14 (Mon) 19:00-20:15 (Japan time 20:00-21:15) | Women's Aerial Finals 1st and 2nd | big air neck steel | Add any announcements |
| February 15 (Tue) 19:00-20:15 (Japan time 20:00-21:15) | Men's Aerials Qualifying 1-2 | big air neck steel | Add any announcements |
| February 16 (Wed) 19:00-20:15 (Japan time 20:00-21:15) | Men's Aerials Finals 1-2 | big air neck steel | Add any announcements |
■ Highlights of the Beijing Olympics Aerial
Aerial has a history of being an official event since the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. It is a scoring competition in which skiers slide down the approach, jump over a vertically long kicker (jumping platform), and compete for the degree of difficulty and perfection of their skills in the air. The shape of the jump table is different from that of Big Air, and it is premised on flying higher, and athletes show a high jump at 15m above the ground.
Techniques include front flips, back flips, tucks (holding posture), pikes (shrimp posture), layouts (stretching posture), half twists (half twist somersaults), full twists (single twist somersaults). ), Rudi (one and a half twist somersault), and other twists.
This event is a specialty of the host country, China, and it is certain that they will be aiming for the gold medal this time as well. In this season's World Cup overall ranking, Sochi Olympic silver medalist Xu Mengtao is in first place for the women's team, followed by Chinese teams in 2nd, 6th, 8th and 9th. Chinese athletes occupy 2nd to 5th place for men, and 7th place. Russia is also strong, with the men's Maxim Brough winning the overall World Cup and world championships last season, and is sprinting to the top of the overall World Cup this season.
This tournament has a big topic for aerial. At last year's Tokyo Olympics, the number of mixed-gender events such as table tennis, swimming, and judo increased rapidly. This is a national battle between three men and one woman. The mixed team will also see China and Russia vying for the gold medal.
▼Video of 2018 PyeongChang Olympics aerial
■ Beijing Olympics aerial match format
In the "individual", the flow is like this from the preliminary round to the final round.
- <Qualifying 1> All athletes fly once, and the top 6 advance to Final 1
- <Preliminary 2> The 7th and lower players from Qualifying 1 will jump once each, and the top 6 will advance to Final 1.
At this time, the higher score from Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 will be used.
- <Final 1> & <Final 2> 12 people who passed the preliminaries will fly once each in Final 1 and Final 2, and the top 6 will advance to Final 3.
At this time, the higher score of final 1 and final 2 will be adopted.
- <Final 3> The 6 winners will fly once each to determine the final ranking
The format of the “mixed team” match is as follows.
<Final 1> All members of each team (three men and women mixed) fly once, the ranking is determined by the total points of the teams, and the top four teams advance to
↓
<Final 2> All members of each team jumps once, and the final ranking is determined by the total points
*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day.
Aerial is also a sport of bargaining. In order to aim for a medal, it is necessary to fly at least four times, but the bargaining here becomes important. Currently, the most difficult technique for men is the “triple rotation and 5 twists”. However, even players who have mastered this do not mean that they should decide it every time. This is because there is a rule that you must fly a different technique each time. In other words, it is often saved for the final 3, which is the final game. For this reason, athletes who can perform multiple versions of the ``triple 4 twist'', which is the most difficult to follow after the ``triple 5 twist'', are strong. However, depending on the situation, there may be a case where the final 2 will fly "3 rotations and 5 twists".
*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day.
■Beijing Olympics aerial venue
big air neck steel
Athletes representing Japan in the Beijing Olympics aerial 
Unfortunately there are no contestants.
Aerial has a small number of players, and in each country there is a tendency for the same players to be active for a long time with a small number of elites. Naoya Tahara, a veteran, participated in the Pyeongchang Olympics, but unfortunately this time there was no player from the Japanese team who got the right to participate.
Text/Daisuke Mizorogi
Edit/STEEP