Igniting China's Ice and Snow Dream – China's First Winter Sports World Champion Luo Zhihuan Witnesses "China Speed"

Xinhua News Agency, Harbin, January 20 Title: Igniting China's Ice and Snow Dream - China's First Winter Sports World Champion Luo Zhihuan Witnesses "China Speed" (Part 2)

(Subtitle) Experienced wind and rain and grew up with China's ice and snow sports

My ice knife, my motherland, is always stirring in the hearts of ice and snow athletes!

After retiring, Luo Zhihuan became a speed skating coach in the national team and Heilongjiang provincial team, bringing out a number of outstanding players such as Yang Chunyuan and Wang Xiuyu. After leaving the Heilongjiang provincial team, Luo Zhihuan still loves ice and snow sports, and the seedlings he has cultivated have been favored by various sports teams.

In 1994, Luo Zhihuan was named "45 Heroes of Chinese Sports". It was also at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, that year that he finally entered the Winter Olympics for the first time as a coach. At that Winter Olympics, Chinese female speed skater Ye Qiaobo passed by the Winter Olympic gold medal, and Luo Zhihuan sighed at the scene.

At the end of 1997, 56-year-old Luo Zhihuan suffered a myocardial infarction and was rescued by the hospital.0 For his outstanding contribution to the winter event, Luo Zhihuan was selected as the torchbearer of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. Due to physical reasons, everyone advised him not to go to Japan, but his belief was very firm: "I must go!" One is that it is where I won the world championship, and there is still a monument engraved with my name; the second is that I have never participated in the Winter Olympics, and passing the torch is also the most direct participation. ”

Today, on the hillside next to the Nagano Karuizawa Alpine Ice Rink, there are still monuments to the 10 champions, including Luo Zhihuan, which has carved an important mark in the history of Chinese winter sports. Unfortunately, however, at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the Chinese legion won 6 silver medals and lost gold medals again and again.

In 2002, the "breakthrough of zero" for the gold medal of the Chinese Winter Olympics was finally completed by Yang Yang at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. In 2014, Zhang Hong won China's first Winter Olympics speed skating gold medal in Sochi.

Spanning half a century, from being blocked out of the Gate of the Winter Olympics to winning the gold medal at the Winter Olympics, Luo Zhihuan has witnessed the historical process of China's ice and snow sports from weak to strong in different capacities.

When it comes to Zhang Hong's victory at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Luo Zhihuan's words reveal the deep pride of the speed skater: "Zhang Hong is a breakthrough, watching her on TV is in good shape, I am excited to shed tears, skating is too beautiful, this is the effort of several generations, there is such a champion." Zhang Hong is a hero who inspired the speed skating world and proved that we are capable of winning the Winter Olympics. ”

Spiritual inheritance, the indestructible torch of China's ice and snow sports

Time has passed, Luo Zhihuan's achievements in that year have long been surpassed again and again, and even many female athletes have skated faster than he did that year, Luo Zhihuan said that he was very happy to see this, reflecting the progress of the mainland speed skating sport.

From an ordinary peasant boy to a world champion, Luo Zhihuan said that he had no regrets and was more grateful. Growing up in rural Heilongjiang Province, when he was 16 years old, he could only use two shoelaces to tie bare ice knives to his feet and slide, and now, children can wear comfortable skate shoes, beautiful skating suits, and professional protective gear for training from an early age.

"Now the training conditions of athletes, whether it is hardware and software, are better and more scientific, facilities, nutritional conditions, physical fitness, training technology, scientific and technological assistance, and in the past, I believe that one of these children will definitely break the world record and win the world championship." Luo Zhihuan said.

Nearly 60 years have passed since Luo Zhihuan won the first world championship gold medal, and the development of ice and snow sports in China is moving forward rapidly.

When Luo Zhihuan was an athlete, the team was looking for ice skating everywhere, and now, the ice rink is increasingly becoming the "standard". According to statistics, as of the end of 2020, more than 1,000 skating rinks have been built across the country, and children no longer have to wade through mountains and waters, but can skate at the doorstep of their homes; in that year, Luo Zhihuan traveled for several days at a time, and now, the domestic high-speed rail in all directions has greatly compressed people's time on the road; at that time, skating was only the hobby and dream of a few teenagers in the north, and now, ice and snow sports are in full bloom in the north and south of the river, as of October 2021, The number of participants in ice and snow sports in the country has reached 346 million.

Without accumulating steps, there are no thousands of miles. Nearly a year, the vicissitudes of the sea, the mulberry field, Luo Zhihuan through this period of time, every step witnessed history, witnessed the trajectory of ice and snow sports, witnessed the Chinese nation to the center of the world stage with its head held high.

Speaking about the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Luo Zhihuan hopes that Chinese athletes can make a breakthrough. From the Nagano Winter Olympics to the Beijing Olympics, Luo Zhihuan has been a torchbearer many times. In Nagano in 1998, he commemorated his glorious past, and in Beijing in 2008, he witnessed the realization of the dream of hundreds of millions of Chinese, in that year, he once said: "Chinese athletes have achieved a breakthrough of zero gold medals in the Winter Olympics, and we believe that the flame of the Winter Olympics will one day be lit on the land of China." ”

Today, this Chinese "ice and snow dream" is around us. "I firmly believe that it will be held in China, but I didn't expect it to be so fast, which is the miracle and answer brought to the world by China." He said.

Now, life is better, and Luo Zhihuan is old. But even at the age of 81, he still takes time to visit the young players at the ice base in Heilongjiang Province and guide them to skate.

Mr. Luo's home is filled with medals he's won, as well as old photos from his game. The past is vividly remembered, and when it comes to the emotional place, Luo Zhihuan's eyes are full of tears. "I hope I can watch the Winter Olympics on the spot and cheer up the children!" Luo Zhihuan said that he looked forward to the Good Results of the Chinese team at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and looked forward to the generations of dolls to thrive and work hard to live up to history and the times.

The world is looking forward to China, and China is ready! Luo Zhihuan gently caressed the crimson medallion, stared at the hardships and glory of the past, stared at the ignited "Chinese Ice and Snow Dream", which was the heat and light of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and that was the call and expectation to the future together... (End)