When Xu Mingfu crossed the finish line in the men's downhill at Beijing 2022 on Monday, he made a historic breakthrough as the first Chinese racer to complete the demanding Alpine skiing event at an Olympic Games.

Xu clocked one minute and 56.93 seconds to finish 36th, 14.24 seconds adrift of winner Beat Feuz of Switzerland.

However, the result did not matter much for Xu. What counted was the fact he finished the race.

"Our preparation for this race is like taking an exam. And today I completed the last part of it in a satisfying way," said the 24-year-old.

"We put in a tremendous effort for this," Xu said.

"Over the past two years, when I was awake, if I was not skiing, then I was working on my physical condition," he said.

Xu said he was filled with fear when he trained on a downhill piste for the first time.

"The speed reached 100km/h, which was something I had never experienced before," he said.

"And what's more, you have to jump and take turns in the race, it's a big challenge for the legs. Each time I finished a race, my legs shivered, and sometimes my ears would ring," said the Chinese racer.

Xu believes that his breakthrough at Beijing 2022 will help usher in a bright future for the Chinese Alpine skiing.

"Definitely, our future will be better and better, as we have made the first step, and we will have more chances to improve ourselves," he said.