Sanxiang Metropolis Daily all-media reporter Ye Zhu video He Jiajie
(At the National Ski Jumping Training and Scientific Research Base in Laiyuan, Baoding, Hebei Province, Zhang Liang (right) accompanied the team members to train together.) Photo courtesy of the interviewee)
Profile: Zhang Liang, born in January 1985, Is a rower from Changde, Hunan, who has won the men's double sculls championship at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the men's single sculls champion at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, the men's double sculls champion at the 2019 Rowing World Championships, the bronze medal in the men's doubles sculls at the Tokyo Olympics, and the men's single double sculls and double sculls gold medals at the 2021 Shaanxi National Games.
Referring to the immortal "boat" in the Men's Rowing Event in China, the famous "Desperate Sanlang" and "Zhang Liang" in training must be a name that cannot be left unnoticed. His double sculls allowed the Chinese rowing team to "row" the men's Olympic champion at the World Championships for the first time, and the first men's medal for the Chinese rowing team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. After winning two gold medals at the Shaanxi National Games last year, a beautiful turn, Zhang Liang quietly came from the "water" to the ice and snow.
"What Biathlon nordic and rowing have in common is that athletes need to have strong comprehensive ability." On January 18th, as the deputy leader of the Nordic biathlon national team, the Chinese rowing "Big Brother", who just celebrated his 37th birthday, led the athletes to train at the National Ski Jumping Training and Research Base in Laiyuan, Baoding, Hebei Province. "When I was tired of practicing, as soon as the team members looked up and saw me, they got excited and said that they would take me as a 'benchmark' and continue to bury their heads in training."
21 years of athlete career, he is a "model worker" and a "benchmark"
Rowing is a very physically demanding sport, and there are no shortcuts except hard training. In weekday training, rowers sometimes need to paddle dozens of kilometers on the water to return to shore and undergo high-intensity land physical training.
Before the "cross-border" winter event, as the leader of Chinese rowing, Zhang Liang has always been called "rowing model". In his 21-year career as an athlete, he has won 3 Asian Games gold medals and 7 National Games gold medals, prepared for four consecutive Olympic Games, and won 1 Olympic bronze medal.
For many people, the thirties are a good time to develop in the workplace, but for professional athletes, to maintain a good competitive state and achieve brilliant results in the competition, it takes more effort than young athletes. The harvest achieved after entering the year of entry and standing is also unforgettable for Zhang Liang.
At the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, the 33-year-old "veteran" Zhang Liang successfully won the championship in the single boat event by throwing off the second place in 10 seconds, breaking the deadlock of the Chinese captain's 16-year loss of gold in the event. In 2019, Zhang Liang and his partner Liu Zhiyu won the men's double sculls gold medal at the World Championships, the first time that the Chinese rowing team won the men's Olympic event at the World Championships.
"Through the 2019 results, I have persevered unswervingly and wholeheartedly. At that time, in order to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, I strengthened my physical fitness. Get up at 4 a.m. every morning, ride a bike for an hour and a half, practice until about 6 o'clock, and get ready to wash and eat. Meet your teammates at 7:45 a.m. to start warming up, and at 8:10 a.m., start training sessions for more than 20 kilometers on the water. In addition, we have to do strength training. There are 5 training sessions a day, and I will add 1-2 lessons to the training plan every day. Whether in the Hunan provincial team or in the national team, Zhang Liang is a well-deserved "old" big brother, but his physical strength and endurance are difficult for the young people in the team to reach, and have always been regarded as a "benchmark". At the 2020 National Land Rowing "100-Day Record Race", Zhang Liang set a new world record for a slide-track dynamometer marathon (30 to 39 years old age group) with a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 20 seconds, more than 30 minutes faster than the original world record in this category.
"In the Sprint to the Tokyo Olympics, I set the screensaver of my phone as a medal for the Tokyo Olympics, printed the medal into a photo and placed it at the head of my bed, and saw it every day before going to bed. That's what drives us! In July 2021, at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Zhang Liang and Liu Zhiyu won the third place, which was the first men's event medal won by the Chinese rowing team at the Olympic Games. In September, at the Shaanxi National Games, Zhang Liang won two gold medals for hunan, the men's single double sculls and double double sculls.
(Zhang Liang (first from right) with the nordic biathlon players.) ）
In the winter event, rowing "Big Brother" has a new harvest
"Now I am mainly responsible for the logistics of the Nordic biathlon national team, setting an example, grasping physical fitness and mobilizing the enthusiasm of the team. Just arrived at the team, spent more than 20 days familiar with the new business, has been fully engaged in management work. Zhang Liang introduced to the Reporter of Sanxiang Metropolis Daily that after the Shaanxi National Games, he received a notice from the Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau, in accordance with the requirements of the State General Administration of Sports, came to the Nordic biathlon national team to help the team prepare for the Beijing Winter Olympics, "As a summer sports athlete, I can make some insignificant contributions to our country's hosting of the Winter Olympic Games, which makes me always grateful." ”
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, there are 3 sub-events in the Nordic biathlon, namely men's individual standard platform + 10 km cross-country skiing, men's individual big jump + 10 km cross-country skiing, men's team big jump + 4×5 km cross-country skiing. The competition day is February 9, 15 and 17, with two individual competitions and finally team competitions. There are a total of 55 seats in the competition, and each team can send up to 5 players to participate. Nordic binomiality has always been the strength of Nordic and Central European countries such as Norway and Germany. Before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese team had never qualified for the Nordic biathlon at the Winter Olympics.
Ski jumping requires athletes to have a relatively light body, while cross-country skiing tests the explosiveness, aerobic ability and super endurance of athletes, and it is difficult to cooperate with the two small events, and many athletes are difficult to take into account. Especially ski jumping, compared with foreign athletes, Chinese athletes need to quickly practice the ability to jump on the big platform, which is also a great challenge. At the FIS Nordic Intercontinental Cup in November 2021, China's Zhao Jiawen received a precious Winter Olympic ticket for the Chinese team in the men's individual standard platform + 10 km cross-country skiing competition. At this point, the Chinese Nordic biathlon team, which has been formed for just four years, will usher in the "Winter Olympic Debut" in Beijing.
"Seeing Zhao Jiawen qualify for the Nordic biathlon at the Beijing Olympics is even more exciting and exciting than I am to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics myself." Zhang Liang said that also in November, he received a letter of appointment from the Olympic Preparation Office of the Chinese Olympic Committee and became the deputy leader of the Nordic biathlon national team, "Compared with the previous athlete period, my 'role' is different now, and my ability to manage the team and communicate with the players and coaches has been greatly improved." ”
Although he no longer needs to train and compete, he is regarded as a "benchmark" by the players, and he will still be sparring on the side. "I am almost 40 years old, and I have more than enough energy to pick up the oars again and continue to win honor for the country and Hunan." However, in the new work, we will continue to carry forward the spirit of the Xiangjun Army. As a physical 'benchmark' in everyone's eyes, I often practice with the team members. Sharing my experience with young players, reducing pressure for them, and helping them win honors for their country is where my value lies. ”