Close-up: Flames deep inside, repelling darkness and cold

Xinhua News Agency, Xi'an, October 23 Close-up: The flame in the depths of the heart, driving away the darkness and cold

Xinhua News Agency reporters Yao Youming, Wang Ze and Zhao Yingbo

Just like the main torch tower that is burning on the sidelines, on the 23rd, Tokyo Paralympic champion Liu Cuiqing, led by frontrunner Xu Donglin, successfully won the women's 400m T11 final of the 11th National Paralympic Games athletics event. The light and heat emitted by this "gold medal combination" illuminate and warm every corner of the Xi'an Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

Overcome the impact of injuries, persevere, go to Paris and strive to create more good results! After the game, Liu Cuiqing and Xu Donglin also set goals for themselves in the new Olympic cycle.

At the last National Paralympic Games, Liu Cuiqing won a total of four gold medals, but by the time of this Paralympic Games, the situation was different: on the one hand, she had just participated in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, which had been postponed for a year, and in the case of gold and silver, there was not much energy left in reserve this season. On the other hand, Xu Donglin suffered a knee injury, and the two were not trained systematically during the quarantine period after returning from Tokyo.

This adds a little bit of variability to the game.

Although the competition is held in the afternoon, the temperature outside xi'an in late autumn has dropped to around 14°C. After entering the venue, Xu Donglin quickly and skillfully helped Liu Cuiqing to the starter. Ready, run! The duo took advantage of the extremely short pre-race time to complete the only in-field warm-up run among all the participants in the event.

Before the official competition gun, Xu Donglin was completely different from before the warm-up run, he carefully let Liu Cuiqing step on the starter, and before tying the running rope, patted Liu Cuiqing's shoulder to show encouragement.

The starting gun sounded, and the two men rushed out like an off-string arrow. The running rope seemed to have become Liu Cuiqing's "eyes". Xu Donglin's rhythm was just right, and the tacit cooperation between the two allowed Liu Cuiqing to establish a leading edge in less than half a journey. Before entering the final corner, Liu Cuiqing had already left other opponents far behind, and in the end, she finished the race with a time of 1 minute, 1 second and 21 seconds, winning her first gold medal in the third national paralympic games.

Born in Guangxi in 1991, Liu Cuiqing went blind due to an eye disease when he was young, and when he was found to have running skills during school, he began practicing athletics. Xu Donglin, three years older than Liu Cuiqing, is a professional athlete from Jiangxi, and before retiring, he chose to be the front runner after being recommended by his coach. In the past eight years, the two have fought side by side, and the company of each other has made the two regard each other as relatives and brothers and sisters.

"Thank you very much to the front runner, who took me to the top podium again and again, and thank him very much for taking on his responsibilities." Liu Cuiqing said after the game.

"Thank you Cuiqing for showing myself. We've been working together for eight years, and over the years we've seen our results go up little by little, and with our efforts, from the National Paralympic Games to the Asian Arena to the Paralympic Games, I myself have a special sense of accomplishment. Xu Donglin said.

After a long season, counting the time before training and preparation, whether it is Liu Cuiqing or Xu Donglin, they have not returned home for a long time.

Xu Donglin said that after the Paralympic Games, he wanted to go back to his hometown to take a good rest and focus on dealing with his knee injury.

'Maybe we have to be apart for a while, we've been preparing for all these years and rarely we're not together for a long time. Xu Donglin said, "When my injuries are handled, if the country still needs us, if she still needs me, I will return to her, and we will continue to run." (End)