After the Tokyo Olympics, Wang Shun's most distinctive label transformed from "swimmer" to "Olympic champion". Dazzling achievements, handsome appearance, superior figure gathered in the same person, of course, the achievement of powder absorption physique.
Attention has increased sharply, followed by various brand endorsements, commercial activities, shooting interviews, public welfare publicity, etc., and life has shown an unprecedented state of busyness. From the pool to the spotlight, Wang Shun is adapting to this change, and is also embracing this change, looking for space to stretch freely.
I thought about it many times at this moment of winning the championship
July 30, 2021 at 10:16 a.m. at the Tokyo Aquatic Center, Japan.
The men's 200m individual medley final for the Tokyo Olympics officially begins. Wang Shun in the fourth lane showed good competitive form from the beginning of the competition, and came to the second place after the end of the butterfly and backstroke parts, leaving room for the slightly weaker breaststroke part and insisting on not being pulled away. After turning around again, coming to the freestyle link that he was best at, Wang Shun quickly sprinted and achieved a counter-overtaking, taking the lead in the explanatory shout of "Wang Shun please surprise us", and finally broke the Asian record with a time of 1 minute 55 seconds and won a precious Olympic gold medal.
After a few months, Wang Shun recalled the moment of winning the championship, and still could not find the exact words to summarize the feelings at that time, "The mind was blank, like a dream." ”
200 meters medley as his main event, Wang Shun actually envisioned the possibility of winning the gold medal in advance, he did not hide his ambition at that time, "dare to think and dare to fight, you dare to think to succeed." During his last two months of preparation for the Olympics, he often imagined victories, both as a sense of confidence in his own strength and to encourage himself through apparent training. But when that moment really came, all the previous simulations failed—nothing could be more impactful than the blunt reality of a dream come true.
This Olympic gold medal is extremely important in every sense. Chinese male athletes won the medley gold medal for the first time at the Olympics, breaking the 17-year monopoly of the United States in the event. For Wang Shun personally, the first time he won gold at the Changchi World Series, it happened in the most important Olympic games, which is also of great significance.
From the London preliminaries to the podium in Rio, to the summit in Tokyo, the patriarch of the three Olympic dynasties finally ushered in his own highlight moment.
Tokyo's spirit continues in Xi'an. In September, Wang Shun won six gold medals at the 14th National Games, becoming a veritable "Wang Xinxin".
Men's 400m individual medley, men's 4×100m freestyle relay, men's 4×200m medley relay, men's 200m freestyle, men's 4×200m freestyle relay, men's 200m individual medley, six heavy gold medals, showing Wang Shun's strong dominance in domestic medley and freestyle events, of which the 200m individual medley is his third victory after 2013 and 2017.
So far, Wang Shun's total number of gold medals in the Individual National Games has reached 15. This number is as beautiful as the moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and his career has reached an unprecedented level of fulfillment.
But life has a smooth sailing, before the peak arrives, it is a long effort of up to 21 years.
Race against time, and race against yourself
When asked about the most impressive films, Wang Shun gave a surprising answer, "Time Planning Bureau", and then he explained, "Everyone can clearly see that life is counting down, and this setting touched me a lot." ”
In the Time Planning Bureau, the age of the human body after undergoing genetic modification is forever fixed at 25 years old, but everyone has a countdown monitor on their arm, and when the time runs out, they will die. In order to survive, human beings must earn more time through labor, and time becomes the currency in circulation.
Perhaps it was this tense plot of competing for time that hit Wang Shun's heart. As a swimmer, whether you are competing or training, you must be "calculating" with time. After all, losing and winning are often milliseconds away, and there is no room for loss, especially when competing with top athletes.
From the Rio Olympics to the Tokyo Olympics, Wang Shun's performance in the 200-meter individual medley competition improved by more than two seconds, and many people put forward higher expectations for him, swimming in 1 minute and 54 seconds. In this regard, Wang Shun showed a sober and calm side of the athletes, "The results are not 100% packed, just like when I was 16 years old, I could not have imagined that I could swim to 1 minute and 55 seconds after 5 years, and I can only say that I will work towards this goal." ”
If you look at your entire career as a long race, Wang Shun may not see the timer and can't be sure where the finish line is, but he chooses to seize every second of the opportunity to make the effort more meaningful.
In the process of promotion, he constantly competes with time and also with himself.
In 2019, Wang Shun finished only sixth in the men's 200m individual medley final at the Gwangju World Championships. From officially entering the World Championships in 2011, Wang Shun's results have progressed steadily, winning bronze medals in Kazan in 2015 and Budapest in 2017. In contrast, this result is somewhat "ugly", and appearing before the Olympic year also means great risks. At the beginning of 2020, the Tokyo Olympics announced a one-year postponement, adding to many uncertainties.
In the face of the uncertain future situation, Wang Shun instead dropped all the baggage and actively adjusted his mentality to participate in closed training. "It's fair for everyone to train under the influence of the pandemic. Don't want anything else, just cherish this time, calm down to polish some of your skills and expertise. ”
The experience of preparing for war is that the pass is difficult, and the pass must be passed. "Training will encounter all kinds of difficulties, and there are many times when there is an emotional breakdown. If you can't practice or are in a bad state on any day, you may not meet expectations. In the past, the coach would remind him to speed up the swim to the target result, but now he is more of a competition with himself, reflecting on the adjustment, and must do it. ”
There is no road in vain in life, every advance is to accumulate strength for the future, Wang Shun's three Olympic journeys, to a certain extent, is a realistic footnote to this sentence. "2012 was relatively young, the first time to participate in the Olympic Games is mainly long insight; in 2016, I had an idea, I wanted to fight to get on the podium, and I did it."
As for this year, he mused for a moment, "This year is to go to the game with myself, and whether the opponent swims fast or slow has nothing to do with me." ”
Words of thanks are spoken
After the Olympic Games, Wang Shun was seen by more people and gained a lot of attention and preference.
On August 7, Wang Shun, who had just returned to China, sent a vlog to share his eating and exercising during the quarantine, and the video of him wearing sports shorts exercising in the room triggered a visual "punch card". The comment area becomes a large rainbow fart scene in seconds, "Is this what I can watch for free", "I really don't take everyone as an outsider", "Fitness vlog Please roll up according to this standard"...
Looking at Wang Shun's social platform, you will find that this is not the first time he has posted daily. From what food he ate, to what scenery he saw, to where he went, when he had spare time, he was always happy to share with everyone what he thought was fun, even if it was just to spit out a beautiful bubble in the water.
On Weibo, Wang Shun often refers to himself as "Xiao Wang". At the end of each vlog, his cute smile will appear, waving his hand and leaving a sentence "Everyone wants to see what you want to see can leave a message to tell me". It's a habit of him communicating with fans, and it seems to be gently extending an invitation to a friend, "Hey, why don't you talk about what you've been doing lately?" ”
As for saying that some people like to watch the game, and some people like to look at himself (face and abs), Wang Shun feels that he does not have to pay too much attention or entanglement, "Either way, everyone is expressing their concern and support for me, which is very good." ”
This sincerity and calmness is also reflected in his countless "thanks".
In various post-match interviews, Wang Shundu specifically mentioned Coach Zhu Zhigen. When Tokyo won the championship, he hugged Coach Zhu for the first time and posted a photo of Coach Zhu with a gold medal on Weibo.
"When the results are not ideal and when I am injured, in addition to putting my mind at ease, I also have to communicate with the coach, who usually encourages me in life and training."
Has he helped you a lot?
"That's for sure, without a coach I wouldn't have my current results." Wang Shun used two "affirmations" in a row to express his strong identification.
Because of this, Wang Shun was impressed by the scene when he could stand on the podium with the coach at the National Games award ceremony. He felt that more applause and honor should be given to those who paid behind the scenes. In an interview with the media, Wang Shun also said that he hoped coach Zhu could take a good rest and do something he liked.
When he was a child, Wang Shun began to learn to swim with the idea of "learning a survival skill", and felt that the coach was "very scary and severe"; along the way, wang Shun gradually took on more responsibilities, wanting the coach to no longer worry too much, "A lot of things can be entrusted to me to complete." ”
Whether it's thanking someone who helps him or someone who likes him, he expresses his sincere heart over and over again through words and actions.
So, how to repay everyone's support?
Wang Shun gave his own answer, "As an athlete, you still have to look at your performance in the pool and do your own thing, which is the most important thing." ”
Enjoy life and cherish the moment
Mature and stable play on the field, often people forget that the "big brother" of the swimming team is only a 27-year-old young man in life.
At the shooting scene, the lights and lenses were in place, and Wang Shun stood in front of the white curtain and immediately entered the state, with a figure comparable to that of professional models, and the expressiveness in front of the camera was not much more. The delicate face is hidden under the black brim, and there is more depth, toughness and mystery between the light and shadow. The good skin and smooth facial lines created by the athlete's self-discipline can undoubtedly withstand the face-suffocating shot, allowing the photographer to keep pressing the shutter. After changing outfits, Wang Shun switched to the sunny handsome side freely, showing a sporty demeanor between his hands and feet.
Of course, this seriousness is only the "limitation" of shooting. In the gap between the staff and the photographer to confirm the photo, Wang Shun, who was waiting on the side, suddenly pulled the zipper of his clothes up and down a few times, and then felt embarrassed by his slightly childish performance, touched his ears and smiled mischievously. Seeing someone patting themselves, he also held out his hand than a small heart. The occasional childishness in addition to the stability makes him add a little unpolished cuteness to the charm.
Wang Shun, who is outside the lens, enjoys the current state of life and cherishes the daily bits and pieces. During the holiday break, he usually chooses to go home with his parents and chat with his family. The approach of training and living in physical distance also compresses the sad space, "because I have been away from home since I was a child, and I usually have more time in Hangzhou, and if I go back to Ningbo, the train will arrive in about an hour, not too far away, and it is very convenient to go home." "When he has time, he will do as much public welfare activities as possible, or go out with friends to get together."
In many ways, Wang Shun has some small stubbornness, such as not easily defining himself, and for example, when going out to play, he must bring his own pillow, "This is more comfortable, others are not used to sleeping."
When asked where he most wanted to travel, he quietly planned a special itinerary, "I hope that if I have time, I can go to Tibet, and I will not let others accompany me, so I will drive myself." ”
It seems that the spirit of the love of challenge and adventure that is active in the bones of young people has once again prevailed.
Pack light and swim higher
This spirit has brought strength to Wang Shun more than once.
On the day of tokyo's gold medal, he posted a microblog and set a new goal for himself, "Winning the championship is not the end, walking off the podium, everything starts from scratch, we see you in Paris." This dynamic was pinned on the social platform homepage, showing its determination to "start again".
Making such a decision is not an easy task. With the End of the Olympic Games and the National Games, a lot of things are quietly changing.
One is the surroundings. Wang Shun's teammates of similar age have retired, and those faces who were originally active in Wang Shun's vlog will embrace another world and enter a new stage of life. In the new Olympic cycle, the physical fitness coach was also replaced, and Wang Shun quickly adapted to these changes, "all of which are normal and belong to some natural developments." After that, I hope that on the basis of the original, I can have a better improvement. ”
The other is their own competitive status. As we age, the recovery of the body after high-intensity training and competition will inevitably slow down, and at the same time may face injuries, which are objective problems.
Wang Shun also has optimistic expectations for this, "Now the guarantee is getting better and better, one is more scientific, the other is more systematic, and everyone does their own professional field." I think under these conditions, the sports career will last a little longer. ”
Among the changes, the only constant is the determination to continue to swim higher.
For him, the previous honor was a thing of the past, and now he needed to go light. "A month or so after the Olympics doesn't feel very real, and after the past, I don't think about it anymore, and the goal is still on the future." As we athletes often say, everything starts from scratch when you step off the podium. ”
After a brief period of hustle and bustle, Wang Shun will return to the familiar world and continue to train repeatedly, boringly and hopefully, as every day in the past two decades.
The pool was so quiet that all I could hear was the sound of water and heartbeats. Such a pool of clear water made him feel familiar and down-to-earth.
In September this year, the 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. From the fame of World War I in 2010 to the fourth participation in the Asian Games, as the host Wang Shun also looks forward to defending the title, "I have been training in Hangzhou since I was a child, and I have been there for 20 years, hoping to swim out of my own level and return the love of the people in my hometown." ”
Before the Paris Olympics, there were still many records waiting for Wang Shun to break through one by one. He is not ready to stop his pace, and he is used to turning pressure into motivation - why bother with where the end point is, go all out, leave no regrets, and fight. As Albert Camus expressed in The Myth of Sisyphus, the struggle to climb to the top of the mountain is in itself enough to flesh out a human heart.
There are many people on the shore who support themselves, and there is a possibility of breaking a new record underwater, which is Wang Shun's courage in the face of new challenges in the new cycle. Even with some doubts and scrutiny, he still believes in "athlete Wang Shun", "Every time I jump into the water, I feel that I can still do it, no problem." ”
The full text was published in the spring issue of ELLEMEN New Youth
Produced by Zanch
Producer Mori Butterfly
Photography by Jumbo Tsui
Styling Pepe
Edit Yaoyao
Makeup And Hair Wang Qian (MQ Studio)
Written by Sun Xiao