Olympic spirit: 4th place American is so excited for Chinese gold medallist (VIDEO)
This is what the Olympics are all about.
With one jump left in the women’s aerials competition, American Ashley Caldwell was in good position to land on the podium.
Except Caldwell, who posted the best score in qualifying, didn’t stick her landing. It was instantly clear that she wouldn’t win a medal, and that Chinese freestyle skier Mengtao Xu would claim gold with an impressive score of 108.61.
Rather than sulk, Caldwell went up to teammate Megan Nick to congratulate her on the bronze medal win — even before the judges posted Caldwell’s score.
But the truly heartwarming moment came when Caldwell ran up to hug Xu, showing genuine excitement for the Chinese athlete, who was overcome with emotion after winning gold on home soil at the Beijing Olympics.
“Olympic champion!” Caldwell exclaimed. “I’m so proud of you… you did it!”
Some of the best love is found in friendship ❤️
2018 Olympic champion Ashley Caldwell may have missed the podium in Beijing, but her reaction to Mengtao Xu winning gold on home soil warrants a perfect score pic.twitter.com/bsbrjMiEae
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 14, 2022
This is Xu’s fourth Olympic Games. The 31-year-old finished off the podium four years ago in Pyeongchang, but won silver at Sochi 2014.
Caldwell was part of the American team that won gold in mixed team aerials last week, while Xu and the Chinese team claimed silver. But in terms of success at the Olympics in the individual event, Caldwell has never won a medal.
“I got first in the Olympics, and fourth,” said Caldwell, as reported by Lori Nickel of USA Today. “Which I think are the worst and the best positions that you can get.”
Four years ago, a gust of wind on her last training jump caused Caldwell to crash — her Olympics over after her collarbone was separated from her shoulder. She would have been well within her right to take a moment to feel sorry for herself on Monday.
But sportsmanship took over.
“Tao Tao has been pushing triples for longer than I have. And I respect her wholeheartedly. For her to win a gold medal in her own country is an incredible accomplishment.
“I respect what everyone does out here. I know how hard this is.”