LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A star-studded China lineup settled for bronze after costly errors in the freestyle skiing aerials mixed team event at Milan-Cortina 2026 on Saturday, while the United States claimed gold with steady jumps.

China fielded Olympic women's aerials champion Xu Mengtao, her husband and men's gold medalist Wang Xindi, and men's bronze medalist Li Tianma in the final, where the field was narrowed from seven teams in Final 1 to four in Final 2.

In the decisive round, where consistency proved paramount, Li crashed on his landing in the third jump and received 95.37 points. China finished with a combined total of 279.68, placing third.

Earlier, Switzerland and Australia both saw their opening jumpers fall, but Xu delivered under pressure with 96.59 points to put China in contention. The United States followed with 94.44 to sit second after the first rotation.

China's momentum faltered on the second jump when Wang fell on landing and scored 87.72. The Americans capitalized on another controlled effort to build a commanding lead of 208.16 points, 23.85 clear of China.

The United States remained unshaken in the last round, posting 117.19 to finish with 325.35 points for gold. Switzerland, recovering from an opening fall, surged with two strong jumps to take silver on 296.91.

China had hoped to improve on its silver medal from the 2022 Beijing Games, but errors proved decisive. The team reached the podium in the men's, women's and mixed team aerials events, underscoring its strength in the discipline.

"It's okay. Everyone in the world is working to improve," Xu, 35, said in consoling the disappointed Li after the competition. "We'll be back in four years."  ■