Qi Sun

Finishing outside the top 10 at PyeongChang 2018 and only entering the World Para Snowboard season in 2017, Sun Qi is one of the biggest and quickest surprises in the scene. The Chinese snowboarder stormed the 2018-19 season when he swept both banked slalom SB-LL2 races at the World Cup in Landgraaf, Netherlands. His stunning time was even quicker than Finland’s reigning world champion Matti Suur-Hamari. That was only a matter of time, as he showed his potential earlier at the opening World Cup in Dubai, UAE, where he came in second in the banked slalom. With Suur-Hamari missing the 2019 Worlds through injury, Qi is a contender for a podium finish in Pyha, Finland. Sun, who lower-right leg was amputated due to a firework explosion, is no stranger to Para sports. He competed in Para cycling, and his coach asked if he wanted to try snowboarding. He fell in love with the speed and intensity, and although he finished 11th in slalom and 12th in snowboard-cross at PyeongChang 2018, his attention is on his home Games at Beijing 2022.