"Nezha" finally haunts the sea, butterflies spread their wings "Fei"

Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, July 29 Title: "Nezha" Finally Haunts the Sea, Butterflies Spread Their Wings "Fei"

Xinhua News Agency reporters Xia Liang, Zhou Xin and Wu Shuguang

Five years of waiting, a dream come true.

Touching the wall, looking up, waving his arms, Zhang Yufei smiled brightly and kept waving at the coaches and teammates who were cheering for themselves in the stands.

As the "hope of the whole village", this moment, she did it!

The haze that had plagued her for five years, at this moment, vanished.

(subtitle) "For the 200m butterfly, I've always had a fear mentality"

Zhang Yufei, 23, became famous at a young age, born in a swimming coach's family, and entered the national team at the age of 14, focusing on the 200-meter butterfly.

At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Zhang Yufei became famous in one battle, won the bronze medal in the 200m butterfly, and then stood on the podium with her teammates again in the women's 4×200m freestyle relay.

She was only 17 years old and competed in the World Championships for the first time.

"Double bronze one night, stand on the podium twice. It felt like everything was going so smoothly that I didn't even have any ideas and didn't spend any energy on it, and I easily got those honors and achievements. ”

It turns out that sometimes being too smooth sailing is not a good thing.

Winning two bronze medals at the World Championships for the first time also gave Zhang Yufei the illusion that he could stand on the podium like the Rio Olympics.

After arriving in Rio, she shared a group of photos of jiugong on social media, showing her, combing her head with a red streamer, and captioning: "I just told you that Nezha should play." ”

The reality, however, is harsh. At the Rio Olympics, she lost groundlessly, finishing sixth in the 200m butterfly. "I've never swam 100 meters, my body stiffened, and I don't know how I swam down the next 100 meters."

Rio's frustration, she is unforgettable. So five years later, even if she swam a good time of 2:06.11 in the preliminaries of the National Swimming Championships, she would still be afraid before the final of the 200-meter butterfly.

"For the 200-meter butterfly, I have always had a kind of fear mentality, I feel that I am quite intimidated, why the same project is afraid for so many years." She was puzzled.

"Whenever I have faith, reality always gives me a slap in the face"

From the Kazan World Championships to the Rio Olympics, the interval is only one year, and she has already experienced the ups and downs of life.

Before the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, she thought to herself that she would definitely lose. As a result, in the selection competition, the 100-meter butterfly unexpectedly rose to her performance, and she also won the first national championship in her life, which also gave her confidence again.

The Budapest World Championships improved slightly, and then at the Jakarta Asian Games, Zhang Yufei won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly and the silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly, justifying her name again.

Zhang Yufei is looking forward to doing a big job at the 2019 Gwangju World Championships, but what awaits is an unprecedented rout.

In the competition, she was wiped out in the 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly and 200m butterfly, and none of them reached the final. The main event, the 200m butterfly, was set back nearly 8 seconds from the bronze medal at the Kazan World Championships four years ago.

For some athletes, the sudden outbreak of covid-19 has forced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, disrupting the pace of preparation. But for Zhang Yufei, who is at the bottom of the valley, a one-year extension is not necessarily a bad thing.

In order to let Zhang Yufei regain confidence, coach Cui Dengrong changed her main event from 200 meters butterfly to 100 meters butterfly. To this end, Zhang Yufei did not less practice strength and change technology. "Many times at night I felt my muscles burning and I was woken up in pain."

The process of change is difficult, but the results are immediate. At last year's National Swimming Championships in Qingdao, Zhang Yufei, who broke world, Asian and national records, described how she felt when she competed, "like flying in water.".

"Whenever I have faith, reality always slaps me in the face." Looking back on this experience, Zhang Yufei said: "It feels as if God has already helped me plan, first let me step up to the sky, and then let me fall down." And then give me an incentive to just go up and down, up and down. ”

(Subtitle) "Five years ago, Nezha made trouble in the sea, the result was not made, and this year it was successful!" ”

Butterflies can't fly in the ocean, and no one will blame them. But the defeat five years ago, in Zhang Yufei's heart, has always been a hurdle that cannot be passed.

On her trip to Tokyo, she printed out her photo of herself five years ago with her head covered in balls and a red streamer and hung it on her backpack. She likes to share her life on social media, and the dynamic of "Nezha should play" five years ago is still at the top.

"This is me five years ago, compare it, five years ago Nezha made a fuss about the sea, the result was not successful, was photographed on the beach, this year successful!" After completing her first adaptation training at the Tokyo competition venue, she said domineeringly.

Domineering comes from the bottom line. Before coming to Tokyo, Zhang Yufei held the world's best result of the women's 200m butterfly this year and the second best result in the world of the women's 100m butterfly.

100 meters butterfly 0.05 seconds to lose silver, many people feel sorry for her, but she does not think so, thinking that "everyone has a chance to win." After the match, she celebrated the camera with her trademark sweet smile and shook her fist and shouted "Come on! ”

Later competitions proved that after experiencing the hardening of the 100-meter butterfly, this new generation of "butterfly queens" who had high hopes was ready to spread their wings and fly high.

200m butterfly semi-final, 2:04:89, the world's best this year! Final, 2:03:86, Olympic record!

When the Tokyo Aquatics Center raised the national flag for Chinese swimming and played the national anthem for the first time in the Olympic Games, she finally reached a reconciliation with the 200-meter butterfly.

As she herself put it: "The road is difficult, smile at each other." ”

This is Zhang Yufei. (End)