She is China's first Winter Olympic figure skating medal winner, she is the "ice butterfly" who brought oriental aesthetics to the ice and snow arena
At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, accompanied by a song "Liang Zhu", figure skater Chen Lu completed his closing performance. Her graceful figure and smooth movements quickly conquered the judges and the audience, like a brilliant butterfly, dancing on the ice. Her dancing style reminds people of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, where Chinese athletes went to the world for the first time to experience the unique oriental aesthetics on the stage of figure skating.
Since the first Winter Olympics in 1924, figure skating has officially become a competition in the Winter Olympic Games. The project requires the contestants to choose their own music within the specified time and complete a set of ice performances, which is both a test of the players' own skills and a grand event of aesthetics and culture between athletes from different countries. For a long time, the champion of this project has been monopolized by European and American countries. Asian countries with deep cultural heritage have a hard time finding a crown in this project. The first person to win a medal in the women's winter olympic figure skating event was Japan's Midori Ito, who reached the women's figure skating final at the 1992 Winter Olympics and eventually won a silver medal, becoming the "first person in Asia" in figure skating. China, on the other hand, has not had a medal since it first competed in the Winter Olympics in 1980.
In the 1990s, Chen Lu gradually emerged in international competitions, making the ice stage appear for the first time Chinese figure. Chen Lu's technical advantages are not outstanding, but the unique artistic style and aesthetics have left a deep impression on the judges and audiences around the world. At that time, three contestants on the world women's figure skating stage attracted attention for their unique artistic performances. They are Oksana Bayur of Ukraine, Guan Yingshan of the United States, and Chen Lu of China. Chen Lu's unique understanding of musical rhythm and action design made her shine on the stage. In a group of performances, Chen Lu can complete multiple three-week jumps interspersed, which is unique in the women's figure skating world at that time.
It is also with her artistic expertise that Chen Lu has successfully ranked among the top players, making a Chinese figure appear on the international figure skating stage.
Chen Lu, who has stepped onto the international stage, has always been committed to integrating the characteristics of Chinese culture into the figure skating action. Chen Lu's signature movements are inspired by Dunhuang's mural "Flying Sky". On the field, she danced to the music, like a flying fairy. At the 1994 Winter Olympics, Chen Lu danced in a song called "Valley of the Winds". The smooth movements and the high degree of completion won her a round of applause. After the performance, before the judges could announce the results, Chen Lu could not cry: she had completed one of her most successful performances.
At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, China's Chen Lu won the bronze medal in women's figure skating. She won her first figure skating medal for China!
Time flies to the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, and in the face of the decline of her own state and the impact of new talents, Chen Lu understands that it is time to say goodbye. On the day of the final, the figure skating competition venue sounded the song "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", which was familiar to Chinese. Along with the music, Chen Lu began her own performance, and the audience at the scene was appreciated by Chen Lu's posture, and couldn't help but clap their hands with the music and beat the beat for Chen Lu. According to the previous day and night training, Chen Lu will end her performance with three consecutive three weeks of jumping. But her state is different from the past, and she can't complete this action even during training. Recalling the scene at that time, Chen Lu sighed: This is the magic of the Olympic Games, stepping on the field, I can't feel tired at all. At the end of the last jump, a burst of warm applause broke out on the field. Amid the applause and cheers, Chen Lu bowed with tears in his eyes and left the arena he loved. As she grew older, Chen Lu's technical movements began to fade, but her love for figure skating was like the one depicted in "Liang Zhu", breaking through the cocoon into a butterfly and flying on the dance floor.
Winter goes from winter to winter, and over the decades countless figure skaters have taken to the ice rink, danced to the music, and countless athletes have left silently. But people will always remember the "ice butterfly" that used to flutter and fly in the cold winter.