The average age of 70 years old "Vaasa cross-country honor gliding" team Li Dan photo
Changchun, January 4 (China News Network) (Li Dan) stepping on the thick snow, against the cold wind, galloping down the snow track... A series of perfect arcs were drawn in the snowy mountains, and a group of neat movements attracted a round of applause from the audience outside the venue.
When the athletes took off their hats and glasses to reveal the silver wire of their sideburns, the audience found that it was a group of "grandparents" masters.
The 2022 20th China Changchun Jingyuetan Vaasa International Ski Festival Cross-country Skiing Series was held on January 4 at Jingyuetan National Forest Park. As the 20th special commemorative event, this year's ski festival launched the "Vaasa Cross-Country Honor Skating Event".
The Honor Slide Event invited 30 "elderly cross-country ski enthusiasts" with an average age of 70 years to participate in the exhibition competition. Among them are many gold medal veterans who have participated in the National Ski Games many times.
Photo by Yang Fuchen, 78, and Yang Yufen, 77, by Li Dan
At the Changchun Jingyuetan Vaasa International Ski Festival, ski "veterans" are re-dressed, although they cannot reproduce the glory of that year, they can still fight against time and interpret the timeless.
Coming down from the 2.5-kilometer cross-country pistes, the 83-year-old Won Tong-won was radiant: "I came to the Changchun Vaasa Ski Festival for the first time, and now the conditions are really good, and the smoothness and comfort of the pistes are beyond imagination." ”
Won Was an alpine skier when he was young, and he was also the country's first cross-country skier 20 km champion. When he was young, Won Dong Won loved the thrill of alpine skiing and enjoyed the left and right circling during the skiing process.
Later, Han Tongyuan became a professional ski instructor, and many of his students are now well-known skiers in China and represent China in various international competitions.
Seeing more and more young people participating in skiing, Han Tongyuan was relieved: "There are people in our national ski project! Today's ski competitions, the number of participants is also high, unlike when we were limited, even skis are wooden boards. ”
In Han Tongyuan's view, China's cross-country skiing foundation is not strong enough, "Now some of our national ski competitions have caught up with the international level, but cross-country skiing still has to work hard, I hope that our country's ski industry can continue to grow and develop." ”
Wearing goggles and gear, spectators on the sidelines could not tell what age the athletes were. When the 77-year-old Yang Yufen took off her goggles and hat, her bright smile seemed to recreate the "highlight moment" of that year, and it was difficult to imagine that this was an "ancient" old man. Since 1958, she has participated in national ski competitions, and Yang Yufen has won two national championships.
"Participating in the Changchun Vaasa International Ski Festival for four years, 2019 is the happiest year for me, I completed a 25-kilometer cross-country skiing competition and fulfilled my dream when I was young." Yang Yufen said.
Inseparable from Yang Yufen is her "old sister" Yang Fuchen. Yang Fuchen was one of the first generation of skiers in China, and won the second place in national skiing events in 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1963.
Yang Fuchen and Yang Yufen are sister flowers on the ski slopes, and the two have formed a deep friendship because of skiing. When they were young, they skied together and participated in China's first Winter Games together when they were young, Yang Yufen was the champion of the year, and Yang Fuchen was the runner-up of the year. Now in old age, the two participated in the "Changchun Jingyuetan Vaasa International Ski Festival" together.
"You see I'm about to be 80 years old, I'm in good health and confident. I don't have any problems such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and high blood sugar in the elderly. Yang Fuchen, who has participated in the Changchun Vaasa International Cross-Country SkiIng Festival since 2018, said that Vaasa is a training ground to verify her own level, and it is also because of Vaasa that she has fulfilled her dream of participating in international cross-country skiing events during the period of long-term mobilization.
Photo by 83-year-old skier Han Tongyuan and Lee Dan
Yang Fuchen said that she hopes to use her own practical actions to drive more young people to participate in skiing. "Today, teenage kids can skate 25 kilometers, I think it's amazing, I didn't skate 25 kilometers when I was younger. Hope to bring more young people to participate in the competition. Our country's ski performance is getting better and better, and young people should exercise harder and strive to win glory for the country. ”
"Bringing 300 million people to the ice" is an important goal of the 2022 Winter Olympics, and now, "China's Changchun Vaasa" is pushing this dream into reality. (End)