On the screen of the interview, the young girl smiled brightly, "Sliding by the river, in a good mood." It felt good to skate and finish well in the end, which gave me good results. Uyghur girl Diniger Yilamujiang won two consecutive championships in two consecutive days at the Shanghai leg of the City Cross-Country Skiing Tour.
Not far behind her, a middle-aged man was looking at her and smiling. This is her coach and father, Iramujan Mulaji, as if the plot of a movie, interpreting the real version of "Ski! Daddy's story of the father and daughter of the Yilamu River is circulating on this white snow road...
Father-daughter skiing dreams
For the first time, the city cross-country skiing race was held, and the first snow in Shencheng "fell" on the banks of the Huangpu River. At the edge of the gushing river, on the white snow path, a bright red and yellow is particularly conspicuous. Like a light swallow skimming over the snow, Dinegger, wearing a white headband and goggles, led the way, stretching gracefully on the slopes, carving a long trail. The trajectory is undulating, just like the father and daughter's skiing career in recent years.
"I come from the beautiful snow capital of Xinjiang Altay, which is the origin of human skiing. I love the snow so much! "Every time I compete, Diniger always introduces herself to others. Bordering Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, some scholars have examined mountain rock paintings near Altay city and found that more than 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Altai Mountains may have traveled and hunted with the help of fur skis. In the 1980s, the Altay region sent a number of outstanding alpine skiers and cross-country skiers to the country. Diniger's father, Yilamujiang, was associated with skiing at that time. Skating first and then skiing, in 1988, Yilamujiang stepped on slender cross-country skis for the first time.
For this sport of gliding in the snowy hills, Yilamujiang quickly showed his talent. In 1993, he won the third place in a national cross-country skiing competition held in Changbai Mountain. However, in 1994 the Altay Ski Team disbanded, and the fledgling Yilamujiang was forced to retire. Sitting in his office, he collected the snowboard like an antique.
In 2009, Altay City vigorously promoted the cultivation and popularization of ski lessons for primary and secondary school students, and Yilamujiang was commissioned to coach a cross-country skiing team of 20 teenagers. Daughter Diniger is one of them. That is, from that time on, Yilamujiang's dream of skiing was continued in his daughter - "work hard, child" is the most words Yilamujiang said to his daughter.
The "snow groomer" in the valley
The training ground is in the deserted mountains on the outskirts of the city, and Yilamujiang drives a small displacement car, going back and forth three or four times to pull all the team members into the mountain. Cross-country skiing practice has special requirements: snow must be pressed before each ski, and the trails have grooves for snowboarding. Yilamujiang and the children stepped on the snowboard, lined up in a horizontal line, and moved laterally like snow rollers in the snow-covered valley, step by step, using their own gravity to press out a 3-kilometer-long practice pistes.
After the snow was pressed, they formed a column, and all of them lifted the snowboards on their feet high and fell heavily, one by one, and when they moved from one end of the slope to the other, two trenches were formed. When the snow is heavy, it is more than 1 meter deep, and it takes seven or eight hours to press the snow. After a low night, the pistes hardened and it was time to practice the next day.
Snow trails were pressed out of the valley, and Diniger planted the seeds of ice and snow in his heart. In an interview, she emotionally sighed, "That was the first technical rule I was exposed to in cross-country skiing competitions. "It was the father who developed his daughter's passion for skiing.
Team up to compete in the "Sister Flowers" on the slopes
Almost all of the technical movement enlightenment comes from the father, and about childhood memories, Diniger thinks the most about the professional terms such as "alternating gliding", "double-staff push-and-support sliding", and "figure-eight step without sliding stage".
Before each training or competition, the father would carefully wax Diniger's skis, tuck the tip of his boot into the iron clip on the ski, buckle it firmly, watch his daughter bounce and rotate, squat and drag the snowball behind him to slide downhill, he always had to tell Diniger to push the key to sliding with both canes: "When crouching and turning, pay attention to the angle!" Be steady! ”
"She inherited my athletic talent." In Yilamujiang's view, talent is one thing, and scientific and rigorous training is essential. In daily life, the most common exchange between father and daughter is skiing skills, and repeatedly watch videos of cross-country skiing events. The two skis remain parallel to the direction of the slide, using the back and forth swing of the legs forward, a seemingly simple movement that Diniger practiced thousands of times. In fact, in addition to bringing her daughter to the international arena, over the years, Yilamujiang has sent a lot of talents to the Chinese cross-country skiing team. Of the 20 skiers who initially formed a team, 8 eventually became professional athletes.
Almost dressed like Diniger, with a slightly exotic eyebrow, When Dinegger's teammate Bayani Garin stands in front of the camera, people almost think it's a pair of "twin sister flowers." In the individual race the day before yesterday, Bayani, who had been practicing skiing for only four years, finished second, second only to teammate Diniger.
Few people know that Bayani's ski routes are also due to the Yilam River. In May 2017, Yilamujiang came to Bayani's hometown to select materials for her high school. Bayani, who was preparing for the college entrance examination, was recommended to Yilamujiang by his physical education teacher because he liked to run. After many rounds of selection, she finally stayed, and then she followed the cross-country skiing national training team to Norway, a cross-country skiing powerhouse, to start a three-year external training.
"Skiing has changed my life and the whole world is different." In front of the camera, Bayani emotionally sighed, from small mountain villages to foreign training, competitions, skiing made Bayani's vision become particularly broad. In Norway, she was amazed at the ease of cross-country skiing for all ages – skiing when you go out, an amateur event, with tens of thousands of people, from the age of seventy or eighty to the children of four or five. Traveling between different countries, what I saw and heard gave Bayani a deeper understanding of skiing.
In fact, skiing has changed more than just the lives of these two Altay girls. In their home city of Altay, positive changes are also taking place. With the significant increase in the number and scale of local snow resorts, the facilities and management are becoming more and more sound, and the city's primary and secondary schools have opened winter sports classes to ski resorts. Bus stops in the streets of Altay are equipped with specially placed ski racks. Believe in the future, the story of "ski, Daddy" continues to play out there.
Off-site sound 丨 serious snow
On the bright moon and brightly lit riverside trail, there is an ice and snow jade belt woven like silver wire. Everything in front of you is like a dream, like a fairyland. With the team to fight everywhere, Zhang Bei, the leader of the cross-country skiing national training team, could not help but sigh: "Enjoying the scenery of the Huangpu River and the cruise ships in motion, it feels like a dream." ”
Why do you want to hold a ski race in Shanghai?
On the one hand, it is optimistic about Shanghai's unparalleled international influence and promotion power. Founded in the 1990s, the city cross-country ski race was originally intended to better promote and popularize skiing through integration with urban landmarks around the world. The competition, which was held on the streets of Oslo by the Bird's Nest, was moved to the banks of the Huangpu River, and john Eliasch, president of the International Snow Federation, who had high hopes for the event, commented: "This is the first time we have placed this level of competition in such a low-latitude city, which is a pioneering move. ”
On the other hand, it is also for Chinese players to adapt to more types of venues and make full mental and physical preparations for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Wang Qiang, the male champion, sighed after the race: "Unlike the mountain forest field competition, the cross-country skiing competition in the city is mainly based on flat land, and the snow quality is softer, which tests the comprehensive ability of the players. Zhang Bei said bluntly: "Participating in the competition in Shanghai makes the athletes and staff preparing for the Beijing Winter Olympics feel very happy and excited, plays a good motivating role, and the body and mind have been well adjusted." ”
In the winter in Shanghai, there is a lack of ice and snow. But with the power of science and technology, Shanghai has become a frequent place for China's ice and snow teachers in recent years. More familiar with Shanghai is the Chinese short track speed skating team. The two Winter Olympics in Sochi and Pingchang, Shanghai is the last stop of this division of kings. Departing from the banks of the Huangpu River, they began a journey of fighting for gold and silver for the country. Li Yan, chairman of the Chinese Skating Association, once sighed, "In the case of no team and no players participating, Shanghai has fully supported the Chinese short track speed skating team, and we will never forget this feeling." ”
Serious snow and familiar ice form a unique Haipai ice and snow culture. Infrastructure and international events fly together to become the ice and snow capital of the south, which is Shanghai's ice and snow ambition.
Text: Li Ran
Photo: Li Mingzhen, Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhang Xiaolong and Ju Huanzong, network map
Source: Xinmin Sports
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