Who went from "sparring" to world champion and achieved a breakthrough of "zero" medals for the Chinese men's Winter Olympics?
Who became famous at the age of 18 and became China's youngest Winter Olympic champion?
Who wrote down their wish to "believe in miracles" before the Winter Olympics and finally really create miracles on the field?
At the broadcast site of "Legend of China's Ice and Snow", BAZAAR filmed and recorded unforgettable reunion moments for the famous short track speed skaters of "Master of Kings", and jointly cheered for the Chinese athletes of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics!
Of the 13 Winter Olympic gold medals won by the Chinese team so far, 10 are from the short track speed skating team, and they are the well-deserved "master of kings" in the Chinese Winter Olympic Team.
Li Jiajun's national team career began with "sparring", while "accompanying" the Olympic champion, he also "trained" himself into a world champion, achieving a "zero breakthrough" in Chinese men's short track speed skating; the topic of "he sparred for 5 years to become a world champion" recently rushed to Weibo hot search. Li Jianrou wrote down his wish to "believe in miracles" before the departure of the Winter Olympics, and as a result, in the final of the 500-meter short track speed skating, there was really a "dramatic surprise"!
On the track where the ice chips splashed, the speed skaters overtook one passionate curve after another, chased hard again and again, and wrote the history of Short Track Speed Skating in China, which was full of honors and honors.
Zhou Yang
Short track speed skating women's 1500m champion at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Short Track Speed Skating Women's 3000m Relay Champion (Wang Meng, Zhou Yang, Zhang Hui, Sun Linlin)
Short track speed skating women's 1500m champion at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
In the women's 1500m final of short track speed skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, 18-year-old Zhou Yang, as the only Chinese runner, endured tremendous pressure on the crowded track of 8 people, and under the interference of American Catherine, she defeated all opponents, including three South Korean athletes, with legendary explosive power, and won the gold medal with a record of 2 minutes 16.993 seconds, becoming China's youngest Winter Olympic champion.
Zhou Yang, who was selected by the coach with his unique talent at the age of 7, won his first provincial gold medal in short track speed skating at the age of 10, and won the national championship at the age of 13. At the age of 18, she became China's youngest Winter Olympic champion, a legend in the short track 1500m speed skating.
And four years later, at the Sochi Winter Olympics, she came out of the trough and strongly defended the short track speed skating women's 1500m championship without being optimistic!
"Zhou Yang is the short-track spiritual leader of the Chinese team," coach Li Yan praised. As a three-time Winter Olympic gold medalist, Zhou Yang has created achievements that many players cannot match. Now that she has retired, she is still committed to promoting the development of ice and snow sports in China: "I hope to drive the development of our ice and snow industry through my own strength, and I really love the short track speed skating project."
Li Jiajun
Runner-up in men's short track speed skating 1000m at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
In the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, USA, he won the silver medal in the 1500 meters, and teamed up with his teammates to win the third place in the 5000 meters relay
2006 Winter Olympics in Turin – men's 1500m third place
In order to be able to participate in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Li Jiajun took the initiative to ask for a "life and death certificate" signed with the national team. In that battle, the Chinese men's short track speed skating event achieved a breakthrough of "zero" medals in the Winter Olympics, and Li Jiajun won the silver medal in the 1000 meters event.
His appearance seems to be to make up for the "yin and yang" of China's short track speed skating project. Before officially becoming the leader of men's short track speed skating, his professional identity was behind-the-scenes sparring in the women's group; after deciding to compete as a male player, he had to "train" himself while completing the work of "accompanying" the female players.
From 1991 to 1995, in order to produce faster and better results, Li Jiajun insisted on high-intensity training; this also caused his body to develop a condition, suffering from exercise hematuria, which later deteriorated into gross hematuria. Every day, he had to use a centrifuge and a microscope to observe the tubular cells in the urine: "If there are more tube-shaped cells in it, it means that it is inflammation, and I will reduce the amount appropriately; if I think it is good, I will follow the normal training together." ”
"It had an impact on his body and even on his life, warning him several times." Coach Xin Qingshan said. Although at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Li Jiajun finally lost by a small margin of 0.053 seconds, "he is definitely a very good athlete." ”
Li Jiajun sighed at the scene of the show: "Today, I have witnessed that many male athletes have grown up very fast, and they have been like our female athletes in the past, and they can have the advantage of a group, which I think is the most gratifying." ”
Li Jiajun, who once fought alone, won the first men's medal at the Winter Olympics for China, and won 2 silver and 3 bronze medals in the next 4 Winter Olympic Games.
Li Jianrou
Women's 500m short track speed skating champion at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics
Short track is not Li Jianrou's strong point. In preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, in order to improve her short-track starting skills in a short period of time, whether on ice or on the flat ground, she used all her free time to make up for her homework and strive to reach the final.
Before the final, Li Jianrou only had a simple wish: "Whether I am a sprint athlete or not, I am doing my duty: to continue this gold medal that belongs to China." ”
Unexpectedly, in the final of the 500-meter short track speed skating, the leading players of the other three countries collided together, and Li Jianrou avoided the "danger" with his mind and strength, and rode the dust to win the championship!
At the scene of the program, Li Jianrou saw his mentor Xin Qingshan, and it was difficult to hide his excitement in his heart, and he could not cry for a while. At the age of 24, she was once returned to the provincial team and almost gave up her career; it was under the encouragement and guidance of coach Xin Qingshan that she regained her confidence to rise from the trough, standing on the Olympic field for the first time at the age of 28, and then miraculously winning the Olympic gold medal. Behind this fortunate care, "it is inseparable from her personal efforts", Xin Qingshan said: "She herself is also very serious and very hardworking." ”
Zhang Hui
Winner of the women's 3000m relay in short track speed skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics (Wang Meng, Zhang Hui, Zhou Yang, Sun Linlin).
Revisiting the women's 3,000m relay final at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Chinese team broke South Korea's 16-year monopoly on the event with a solid gold medal.
At that time, the South Korean team that crossed the finish line first was cheering for its "champion" status, and the "four golden flowers" of Zhang Hui, Wang Meng, Zhou Yang and Sun Linlin stood on the field and did not want to leave. Amid the controversy, the referees reviewed the video footage of the match.
It turned out that when there were still 5 laps left in the game, the Korean players suddenly collided with Sun Linlin of the Chinese team and took the opportunity to overtake, and finally the South Korean team rushed to the line first. The South Korean team's violation of the Olympic spirit did not escape the referee's eyes. In the end, the Chinese team won the championship.
"Before that game, we didn't want to win the championship!" Zhang Hui was convinced of this. The year before that match, Zhang Hui had just been selected for the national team.
Zhang Hui, whose strength is not outstanding, quickly found her own position in the team competition; with stable play, keen observation and good teamwork ability, Zhang Hui became an indispensable member of the team relay, and she took the third baton at the Vancouver Winter Olympics and won the championship with the team with excellent performance.
Zhao Nannan
2010-2011 Three-stop World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Champion
During the 2010-2011 Short Track Speed Skating World Cup, Zhao Nannan won three individual championships.
Although he did not win a medal at the Winter Olympics, Zhao Nannan's love and persistence in the ice and snow cause has never changed. Today, she has transformed into a short track speed skating coach and opened a "new track": "One is youth education, the other is popularization, entering the community to contact more people." ”
Zhao Nannan said that Beijing Shijingshan District attaches great importance to ice and snow sports, and she has choreographed a set of ice and snow exercises with physical education teachers and dance teachers to promote them in schools; not only can strengthen the body, but also cultivate young people's interest in ice and snow sports to a certain extent.
Wang Shi'an
Short Track Speed Skating Meritorious Judge
Professor of Shenyang Institute of Physical Education
After 40 years of refereeing work, the most memorable memory left for Wang Shi'an is the judgment controversy and regret on the field. Due to the controversy over the penalty, Li Jiajun's defeat in the Battle of Nagano almost became an eternal scar in the hearts of the Chinese people. Wang Shi'an believes that the biggest regret is that the South Korean team's illegal lunge sprint method has not been punished.
With the continuous improvement of the level of competition, Wang Shi'an believes that "the rules should also be constantly revised and continuously improved." The chief referee is a difficult position that tests comprehensive professional ability, with the development of modern technology, with the help of various technical means such as video equipment and playback system, but the most important thing is still the head of the referee.
"As a referee, I still have my own ideas in it." Wang Shi'an thinks so. Considering the characteristics of short track speed skating with a subtle vision and a magnifying glass, the real judgment is based on understanding the characteristics of short track competition.
"In these 40 years, I have heard and witnessed his dedication and dedication to this project," said Wang Shi'an's wife. In order to fully support Wang Shi'an's cause, the wife took on the heavy responsibility of the whole family and paid silently. And she is just one of the thousands of heroes behind the scenes who bear the responsibility for the other half of China's Winter Olympic sports cause.
(This article is based on CCTV4's "Legend of China's Ice and Snow")