TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's first female Olympic alpine skier, Lee Wen-yi (李玟儀) struggled during her first run before successfully completing the women's slalom of the alpine skiing category in the Beijing Winter Olympics Wednesday (Feb. 9).

In the event, each competitor makes two runs down the slope, and the one who completes both rounds with the shortest total time is the winner.

Lee clocked 1:36.49 and 1:09.55 in her first and second runs, respectively, at the Yanqing National Alpin Skiing Center, CNA reported. She finished 50th out of the 50 athletes who completed the event.

The 19-year-old’s father and coach, Lee Yung-te (李永德), said that because her first run was her debut at a Winter Olympics event, she was a bit nervous. She went too fast at the start of the round, which caused her to lose control, CNA cited the coach as saying.

Lee Wen-yi later said that she thought to herself during her first go: “Could this be the end of my Olympic run?” per CNA.

However, Lee Yung-te praised his daughter for the sportsmanship she demonstrated by trudging back up to the slope to finish. After the two discussed it, Lee Wen-yi decided to slow down a bit in the second run, Lee Yung-te explained.

Lee was a member of Taiwan’s national team in the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics before becoming the first Taiwanese woman to qualify for a women’s alpine skiing event in a Winter Olympics.

Lee Wen-yi (Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee photo)