At the age of 12, he switched from gymnastics to freestyle skiing aerial skills, won the Winter Games championship at the age of 15, won the Asian Winter Games championship at the age of 16, won the World Cup in Australia at the age of 17, and became China's first skiing world champion...
In the 1990s, Guo Dandan explored the path of China's freestyle skiing aerial skills project to the center of the world stage with amazing speed.
Guo Dandan during the athlete period (middle) Courtesy of the interviewee
At the Nagano Winter Olympics, although Guo Dandan, who participated in the competition with injuries, did not get the podium, the story of "the world stopped for her for ten minutes" made a good story in olympic history.
After retiring from the army, she became a promoter of ice and snow sports and continued to witness the great progress of the development of winter sports in China.
On topics such as how China's freestyle skiing aerial skills project can go to the world from scratch and the future development of China's ice and snow industry, China-Singapore Sports recently held an exclusive dialogue with Guo Dandan.
The first time "raising the national flag and playing the national anthem"
Sino-Singapore Sports: From the 1995 National Winter Games championship to the 1997 World Cup in Australia to win the championship over host star Koshiti, becoming China's first skiing world champion, you grew up very fast during the athlete period. How did this achievement come about in that "zero-starting" era?
Guo Dandan: I still remember that at that time, even the coach was transferred from gymnastics. There is no equipment to build a training table, and the athletes have to go to the forest to pull snow and use their hands to set up the platform little by little. The table is not particularly standard, it is quite dangerous. It was under these conditions that I always volunteered to be the first to jump.
At that time, the equipment we used for training and competition was eliminated by foreign players. I remember the first time I went abroad to compete, foreign players were a little surprised to see me. However, I finished seventh in that competition, setting a new new for the Chinese team in the best ranking in this project.
After the game, the representative of the International Snow Federation told me that he was particularly excited, they waited for China for many years, hoping that the Chinese team could participate more, more Chinese enter the world stage, and also wished the Chinese team better results.
Since then, the Chinese team has made many breakthroughs in this project. I finished second in the United States for the first time in the Chinese on the podium in this event.
In 1997, at the Australian leg, the host player, Koshiti, took off in front of me, and after landing on the ground, the whole audience boiled over, and the air show team's planes crossed overhead.
I was waiting for the scene, I didn't see how she finished, I thought it was particularly good, so I decided to increase the difficulty factor of the action. It was the most difficult move in the world at the time, and I hadn't used it in previous competitions, and I only used it four or five times in training for fear of injury, but I did it in the end.
The host, Australia, did not expect the Chinese team to win the championship, so he temporarily went to our embassy to borrow the national flag and gathered the band to play the "Volunteer March", so that the award ceremony of the competition waited for more than three hours. In this way, the Chinese team achieved "raising the national flag and playing the national anthem" for the first time in this project.
Guo Dandan served as a lecturer for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Courtesy of respondents
The world "stopped" for her for ten minutes
Sino-Singapore Sports: In your career, the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano was an unavoidable topic. What were your expectations in terms of grades at the time? What is the state of mind when you are injured unexpectedly before the game? With both feet injured, why choose to keep playing?
Guo Dandan: At that time, I was expected to impact the first gold of the Chinese delegation in the history of the Winter Olympics, and the team also set the goal of "guaranteeing the medal and competing for gold", so the pressure was very great at that time.
In the six months before the Winter Olympics, I participated in too many competitions, and by the time I arrived at the Winter Olympics, I was physically and mentally exhausted and not in the best condition. Probably also because of my poor form, I was injured in the warm-up training ten minutes before the game, with one ankle broken and the other ankle tendon broken.
At that time, I didn't expect it to be so serious, I thought it was a sprain, plus at that time, I wanted to compete for the country, I wanted to fight for honor for the country, I felt that I had practiced for so many years, I was close to the goal, and I also implied in my heart that I was okay and insisted on participating in the competition.
I remember that it was already time for the game, and the REPRESENTATIVE OFS came to communicate to confirm whether to play or not, and I always insisted on playing.
We are also old friends between us, he said to me: "This way down the road, I think you are very good, if this game is not involved in you, it is really not exciting, I hope you can play." 」 Since you also decided to play, the world will 'stop for you'. ”
That game was postponed for me by ten minutes, which is rare in the Olympic Games, which shows the importance attached to the Chinese team.
That time, we also showed the world what China's sportsmanship really is. It is not necessary to stand on the highest podium, but the spirit of never accepting defeat, moving forward bravely and uniting. We will never give up until the last moment. We have won the recognition and respect of the world in another way, and I think that is more valuable than gold medals.
Guo Dandan's family. Courtesy of respondents
"Ice strong and snow weak" will be broken
Sino-Singapore Sports: In the freestyle skiing aerial skills project, the Chinese team currently has a certain competitiveness in the international arena, and athletes such as Xu Mengtao and Jia Zongyang have shown good status and strength, how do you think about the development of the project in recent years? Is the pattern of the Chinese delegation's "ice strong and snow weak" expected to be broken?
Guo Dandan: More than 20 years ago, my jumping start has begun to be learned by foreign teams, and now our project is stronger internationally, and many countries are learning from us.
We are strong now, not because one of the previous team members is very strong, but because the entire Chinese team is very strong in the men's and women's projects, although we may not be able to win the championship every time, but in terms of overall strength and total points, we are at the forefront of the world.
Compared with before, our current physical training has been adjusted a lot, which is very scientific. In particular, according to the characteristics and attributes of the project, targeted training of small muscle groups, to ensure the balance of athletes' technical movements, as well as the stability after landing, the knee joint, lumbar joint and other places that are prone to injury have good protection, athletes can be less injured.
Supplementary training, including summer, is also more scientific than before. We hired foreign teachers, as well as researchers and psychologists, to analyze the movements on the electronic device in real time during training.
Today's athletes are also very good at emotional intelligence and IQ, know exactly what they want, and will not practice as hard as before. They will take time to learn English, learn knowledge, and compete abroad to communicate with foreign athletes without any obstacles. It's not like we still need to rely on translation. These are experiences that have been explored from generation to generation.
As for the situation of "ice is strong and snow is weak", I believe that one day it will be broken, our snow project was established relatively late, some things need to be continuously cultivated and slowly developed, it is impossible to break through as soon as it comes up, which is also not in line with the law.
Courtesy of respondents
Zhongxin Sports: After retiring, you have been engaged in ski-related work, how is China's ski industry and ice and snow culture developing? The data shows that ski resorts with an average number of skiers in the past few winters have been concentrated in Alpine regions such as France and Switzerland. Does China have a chance to get a piece of the pie?
Guo Dandan: Our Chongli ski resort has a large number of receptions a year, and later many ski resorts have been built in China, and skiers have been diverted to a certain extent, but the overall data is rising.
After I retired from the army, I engaged in the promotion of ice and snow sports for eighteen years, and in the past, Chongli did not have a car to go up and down the mountain, and now I have to get stuck in traffic every holiday.
Nowadays, everyone's living standards have improved, and the awareness of winter sports is constantly changing, and they are willing to accept such new things, and the atmosphere of winter sports is gradually forming. Many people will be driven by the people around them to experience winter sports.
Before going to schools, communities to promote ice and snow sports, many people's understanding of this aspect is a blank, after listening to our lectures, I think ice and snow sports are so interesting, want to try, I hope this promotion can continue.
I also believe that China's ice and snow industry will be better in the future, and after the Beijing Winter Olympics, the public will have a new understanding of ice and snow sports.
Including Yabuli, Beidahu, Changbai Mountain, Songhua Lake in the northeast region, and the Cocoto Sea in the Altay region of Xinjiang, our snow resources are very good. With the blessing of the vast domestic demand market, I am optimistic about the ice and snow industry in the post-Winter Olympic era. (Author Bian Liqun)
Source: China-Singapore Sports WeChat public account