Directing the board

China's Yang Wenlong competes in the men's snowboard Big Air during the FIS Snowboard & Freeski Big Air World Cup Shougang at the Beijing Shougang Industrial Park on Sunday. WEI XIAOHAO/CHINA DAILY On a dramatic night that delivered some never-before-seen tricks, record-extending runs and major upsets, Chinese snowboarder Yang Wenlong made sure he didn't go unnoticed at the Big Air World Cup series' return to Beijing. Entering the 10-man final virtually unknown among a strong field, Yang, who'd qualified only once for the final round at a Cup event before Sunday, turned out to be a show-stopper at west Beijing's Shougang Industrial Park, as he landed two solid runs hurtling down the monster Olympic slope to score a combined 159.25 points and finishing third on the second leg of the 2024-25 World Cup season. Yang's unexpected, yet inspiring, podium finish, which was his first in 13 World Cup events since his debut in 2017, reinvigorated the Beijing crowd, after the shocking blow of Su's false landings in his first two runs in the final.