In February 2026, the Milan Winter Olympics were in full swing. This should have been a moment of glory for Chinese sports, with nationwide cheers and celebration. Su Yiming, a young athlete from Jilin, stunned the world in the snowboard slopestyle event, with a breathtaking jump, winning China’s first gold medal of the Games.
By tradition, China’s state machinery should have gone into overdrive: CCTV looping the victory, trending searches dominating, the nation rejoicing, elevating the champion to heroic status. Yet, reality was different. Faced with this highly valuable first gold, official media coverage was deliberately restrained, avoiding key details behind the triumph. The decision stemmed from the identity of the individual behind Su Yiming’s win: Yasuhiro Sato, whom the CCP found unsettling.
Eileen Gu’s disappointment and Su Yiming’s rise
For these Olympics, the Chinese government had placed its bets on Eileen Gu, the skier dubbed “Chinese once every four years.” Enormous sums and propaganda resources had been invested in her defense of the title, with countless press releases prepared in advance. Yet, competitive sports are unforgiving. Eileen Gu faltered, and the grand publicity campaign collapsed.
In this silence, the little-known Su Yiming burst onto the scene, salvaging the reputation of China’s delegation with a heavy gold medal. For the CCP, this triumph was a humiliating blow, as the person who trained this young athlete was a Japanese man from Hiroshima and not someone in the state system.
Glory to Sato and his dynasty: One man, two nations
Born in 1975, Yasuhiro Sato is a legendary figure in Japanese snowboarding. He is not only Su Yiming’s coach but also his spiritual father. In Milan, a moment that moved the world, disturbed Chinese nationalists: on the same day Su Yiming won the men’s gold, Sato’s other disciple, Japan’s Mari Fukada, claimed the women’s gold.
Sato stood between them, his left arm around Su Yiming and his right arm around Fukada. They hugged. Almost in tears, Sato smiled. This moment was Sato’s victory. When Su Yiming’s gold medal was confirmed, the Japanese coach dropped to his knees and wept. They had spent eight long years working toward this result.
A bond beyond borders: From being a good person first to a lifelong vow
The story of Sato and Su Yiming began in 2017. The athlete was still raw talent when the coach recognized his potential and shaped him into a champion. Sato’s mentoring philosophy contrasted with the CCP’s mentality, which prioritizes winning a gold medal above all else. He taught Su that, first, he had to be a good person, then he could become a great athlete – strict on the training ground, generous and compassionate in life.
During the pandemic lockdowns, they continued to discuss technique, life, and dreams through video calls. They pledged a lifelong bond. Sato said emotionally to the media, “I love him (Su Yiming).” This sentiment transcended their nationality, race, and the political division between China and Japan.
A defiant figure under political pressure
Su’s gold medal came at a time when relations between China and Japan were particularly strained. In 2026, Japan’s government, under Sanae Takaichi, took an unprecedentedly tough stance against the CCP. Tensions over Taiwan were high, and anti-Japanese sentiment in China was extreme. Online platforms were filled with hate messages by the Chinese nationalists, even inciting a nuclear attack on Japan and abusing everything Japanese.
Under such pressure, Sato persevered. He endured grueling training demands and ignored online attacks. He solely concentrated on snowboarding, pouring his heart into Su Yiming, which led to the present triumph; not a nation’s victory, a humanity’s one.
Chinese media chose to limit the coverage on Su Yiming’s win, because they could not accept that a Japanese man devoted himself to a Chinese youth and uphold China’s honor. The photo of Sato embracing both Chinese and Japanese athletes is a symbol of peace against the CCP’s hate-fueled education philosophy.
Politics can divide maps, not hearts; propaganda can manufacture hatred, but it cannot stop genuine love. The first gold of the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics belongs to Su Yiming and Yasuhiro Sato, not to the CCP, which attempted to hide the truth.
Translated by Cecilia and edited by Laura Cozzolino
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