Yearender: Top 10 Chinese athletes of 2022

As the sporting year draws to a close, Xinhua News Agency selected the top 10 Chinese athletes for 2022:

1. Gu Ailing (female, freestyle skiing)

Gu claimed gold medals from the women's big air and halfpipe and a silver in slopestyle at the Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming the first freestyle skier to win three medals in three different events at a single Winter Olympics.

2. Gao Tingyu (male, speed skating)

Gao won the men's 500m speed skating gold medal with an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds at the Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming China's first ever male Olympic gold medalist in speed skating.

3. Su Yiming (male, snowboarding)

Su won a gold medal in the men's big air and a silver in slopestyle at the Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming China's first Olympic snowboard champion.

4. Xu Mengtao (female, freestyle skiing)

Xu won China's first Olympic gold medal in the women's freestyle skiing aerials at the Beijing Winter Olympics, after she teamed up with Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu to claim silver in the mixed team aerials.

5. Wang Jianan (male, athletics)

Wang took Asia's first ever men's long jump gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, the United States in July.

6. Sui Wenjing/Han Cong (female/male, figure skating)

The pairs skaters triumphed at the Beijing Winter Olympics, winning China's second Olympic figure skating title after Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo did it in Vancouver in 2010.

7. Yang Hongqiong (female, para cross-country skiing)

Yang won three gold medals in the sprint, middle, and long distance sitting at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. The 33-year-old Paralympic debutant became the most decorated Chinese Para-Olympian and was named the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Paralympics.

8. Zheng Qinwen (female, tennis)

Zheng reached the round of 16 at the French Open and advanced to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships and US Open. The 20-year-old rose over 100 places to finish 25th this season in the WTA rankings and was named the 2022 WTA Newcomer of the Year.

9. Zhang Weili (female, mixed martial arts)

Zhang, China's first-ever UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) world champion, reclaimed her UFC strawweight crown at the age of 32, defeating two-time title holder Carla Esparza.

10. Chen Yuxi/Quan Hongchan (female/female, diving)

Chen and Quan finished 1-2 in the women's 10m platform at both the FINA World Championships and Diving World Cup. They also combined to win the 10m synchronized at both events, completing a "grand slam" of Olympic, World Championships and World Cup titles.