Earning her wings

In the early hours of Sunday morning Beijing time, history was quietly rewritten on the ski jumping ramps of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. Competing in the women's normal hill individual event, 21-year-old Chinese athlete Zeng Ping finished 15th, delivering the country's best-ever Olympic result in the discipline. The placing may not have come with a medal, but for China's still-developing ski jumping program, it marked a significant breakthrough — and for Zeng herself, it was the culmination of a long and winding journey defined by resilience, patience and belief. For Zeng, ski jumping was never part of the original plan. She grew up in Yibin, Sichuan province, a city on the banks of...