(Beijing Winter Olympics) Winter Olympics "veterans" write "new biographies"
China News Service, Beijing, January 26 Title: Winter Olympics "Veterans" Write "New Biography"
China News Service reporter Zhang Su
When the athletes and coaches of the Chinese sports delegation at the Beijing Winter Olympics took the oath in Tiananmen Square in the early morning of the 25th, Zhao Hongbo stood next to the oath taker. His eyes were resolute, and his sideburns were stained with frost.
This is Zhao Hongbo's seventh Olympic trip. As an athlete, he has experienced four Winter Olympics. Among them, at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, he partnered with Shen Xue to win the first figure skating gold medal in history for China. After retiring, he became the head coach of the double group of the Chinese figure skating team.
Data chart: On February 15, 2010, the Figure Skating Pairs Free Skating Competition at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo fulfilled their dreams. Photo by China News Service reporter Sheng Jiapeng
Zhao Hongbo's disciples had not yet been able to replicate his glory. Facing the third Olympic Games he coached, Zhao Hongbo said that he had made all the preparations and wanted to take the team members to give it a go.
When Zhao Hongbo led the team into closed-loop training, Shen Xue, who was the president of the Chinese Figure Skating Association, was busy connecting with the International Skating Union. She said that this time the International Skating Union will come to nearly 100 people, including staff, referees, etc., and she will repeatedly follow up with them to implement some matters.
Shen Xue still remembers the day Beijing successfully won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, and as ambassadors for the Olympic bid, she and her husband Zhao Hongbo were at the scene and "jumped up from their chairs with excitement." Over the years, she has not only participated in the preparation of the Winter Olympic Games, but also led more people to participate in ice and snow sports by launching the figure skating club league and promoting the first set of figure skating broadcast exercises.
When Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo were preparing for the Winter Olympics in their respective posts, another Chinese ice skater who had fought alongside them, Pang Qing/Tong Jian, the runner-up in pair skating at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, opened up another "arena".
After retiring from the army, feeling that there was a gap in the figure skating industry at home and abroad, Pang Qing/Tong Jian did not transfer to the international professional figure skating performance, but began to start a business. In the words of Tong Jian, "athletes who have been athletes must be able to withstand the wind and waves."
As the Beijing Winter Olympics approached, the couple was getting busier. They not only participated in the interpretation of the Theme Promotion Song of the Beijing Winter Olympics "Together to the Future", but also sent the Xiaoice children they cultivated to the Olympic Arena service event. Recently, they led the main creative team of an ice dance drama to the Pang Qing Tong Jian Ice Art Center and announced the establishment of a fund to realize the "ice and snow dream" of more people.
Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao, who shared the same division as the first two pairs of ice couples, took the opportunity of the "Meet in Beijing" Olympic Cultural Festival to jointly perform the ice dance drama "Treading on Ice and Chasing Dreams". This is the second time they have worked together after a decade.
Zhang Hao hopes to pay tribute to the Beijing Winter Olympics. In fact, as a teacher at the China Ice Sports College of Beijing Sport University, his relationship with the Winter Olympics does not stop there. In the middle of this month, he read out the city volunteer proposal at the Changping District Winter Olympics City Volunteer Oath Ceremony, and his students will also serve as ice refills at the Winter Olympic Games.
Zhang Dan, who has a good appearance, appears more in front of the magnesium lamp, promoting movies, endorsing advertisements, participating in magazine shooting, and starring in game roles. During this time, she was preparing to interpret the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Three Chinese figure skating groups have left a highlight moment in the Olympic arena. Walking off the field, each "turning" is not the same. Interestingly, their choice basically covers the trajectories of most ice and snow "veterans".
After retiring, he became a coach and led a team to the Olympic games, such as Yue Qingshuang. The former curling "Golden Flower" began to serve as the head coach of the national wheelchair curling team in 2017. During the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic Games, she led the team to achieve a breakthrough of zero gold medals in the Winter Paralympic Games for China. This time, she is eager to lead the master of honor to create glory again.
Transform into referees, such as Li Geliang. As a "pioneer" in China's cross-country skiing project, he has been engaged in cross-country skiing instructor work at the grassroots level for a long time after retiring. The referee in charge of cross-country skiing control and track safety at the Beijing Winter Olympics is the leading edge of his continuation with the Winter Olympics after 16 years.
Those who serve in the system, such as Li Nina and Han Xiaopeng. When "Snow Princess" Li Nina was in service, she won 50 medals from world-class competitions, including two silver medals at the Winter Olympics. Last year, she represented China in Greece to participate in the collection and handover of the flame at the Beijing Winter Olympics. At present, she is in charge of the management of the freestyle skiing aerial skills national training team, and she wants to see her sister realize her Olympic gold medal dream.
Han Xiaopeng, who also works at the Winter Sports Management Center, holds the only gold medal in the Snow Sports event of the Chinese Legion so far. Over the past few years, he has been campaigning to give the state a pool of talent for winter sports.
Those who work in colleges and universities, such as Xu Yuanyuan, who achieved a breakthrough of zero medals in the snow sports of the Winter Olympics for China. Now as the director of the Ice and Snow Teaching and Research Department of Shenyang Sports College, teaching students to fall in love with skiing makes her feel very accomplished.
Data chart: February 16, 2002, Salt Lake City, USA, 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics short track speed skating women's 500 meters final, Yang Yang won the championship. For the Chinese delegation to achieve a "breakthrough of zero" for the gold medal of the Winter Olympic Games. Image source: Visual China
Those who have been active in the international stage for a long time include Yang Yang, the first gold medalist of the Chinese Winter Olympics, and Zhang Hong, the champion of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Since serving as vice chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency and chairman of the Athletes Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, Yang Yang has continuously spoken out for sports. Zhang Hong, a member of the International Olympic Committee, will "celebrate the New Year" with international colleagues in the closed loop, and wait to present awards to athletes on the field.
Those who embarked on the road of entrepreneurship and advocated the establishment of skating rinks and ski halls in their own names, such as Ye Qiaobo, who achieved a breakthrough of zero medals for the Winter Olympics for China, Chen Lu, China's first figure skating world champion, and Guo Dandan, China's first ski world champion. Or join the Winter Olympics propaganda team, or talk to a new generation of athletes, they are also contributing to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Whether you have been frustrated or not, the new Olympic Games have brought unlimited hope. The "veterans" of the sports world also practice this familiar slogan with their own actions, "Together to the future". (End)