The story behind the Sochi gold grab, interview with IOC member Zhang Hong

Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Jingyu, He Leijing and Wang Chunyan

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency a few days ago, Zhang Hong, a member of the International Olympic Committee, revealed the behind-the-scenes story of winning gold at the Sochi Winter Olympics eight years ago, and she made a somewhat risky decision at the last moments of the competition.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Zhang Hong won the women's 1,000m championship with a time of 1:14.02, achieving a breakthrough of zero gold medals in the Chinese Winter Olympics in speed skating.

Zhang Hong said: "I still remember the feeling of shooting from firing the gun to crossing the finish line in 2014 at 1 minute 14 seconds. What impressed me most was not when I stood up and saw all the spectators cheering me, not running around the venue with the flag and everyone applauding me, but the process from firing the gun to sliding across the finish line, which was the moment I enjoyed the most. Because when you're engrossed, you can forget everything. I couldn't hear the audience's shouts, and I couldn't see the applause of the audience. I could only feel every ice pedal, every breath, every swing of my arm, and I could feel as if my body, my ice knife, and the ice surface were connected. ”

In that race, Zhang Hong started from the inner road, slid a lap according to the rules, changed to the outer road, and had to change back to the inner road when there were about 200 meters left. At the time of the last lane change, Zhang Hong chose to overtake the Canadian player Nest who was sliding in the same group ahead of schedule. Otherwise, she would have to reduce her glide speed to avoid colliding with her opponent.

"I should come out from behind the Canadians because I'm inside the road to close (sprint). But the last 200 meters were the most tiring time, and I couldn't guarantee that I would be able to finish the race with this physical ability, so I accelerated ahead of her. Actually, I was exhausted by then, but I wanted to keep my speed. In fact, that moment is only a few tenths of a second, and you have to make a judgment. ”

Zhang Hong revealed that she was very tired in the last 200 meters, and her legs "have softened" in the last bend. She said that while the decision to overtake in advance was a bit risky, it was a matter of moments, and no one could help her make the decision at that time. "When you face the arena, you're the protagonist. I made the right decision in that moment, and then I got the championship. Zhang Hong said.

The 1000-meter race was only two and a half laps in the speed skating hall, and sliding down was more than 1 minute and ten seconds. However, Zhang Hong told reporters that in this process, in fact, athletes are thinking every second.

"Every second you have to think, the rhythm of the corners, the distribution of physical energy. From the start you have to pay attention to the opponent, because your opponent may be fast in the first half, it may be fast in the second half, and you have to calculate her time. Whether it is a domestic competition or a world competition or a Winter Olympics, you only have one chance to qualify, so you have to play your best in the shortest possible time, which is very challenging for the players. ”

Zhang Hong was a short track speed skater before moving on to speed skating (commonly known as "Avenue"). The "avenue," she says, is very different from the short track, and every day she thinks about how to get a little faster.

"Every day I have to fight with myself in training, from cycling in the summer, roller skating, to doing special strength, every day I think about how I can be faster, how can I still have a little more strength, this is also a process of enjoyment." 」 Zhang Hong said, "Maybe in the short track, this game I surpassed you, I played my tactics well, I won, this game may leave me with a memorable moment." But in 10 years in speed skating, I probably care most about who I win in the game, but the breakthrough in training. For example, when I rode a bicycle for 4 hours, this time I rode for 3 hours and 58 minutes. For example, I often do speed training, and maybe after three weeks of stage training, I am 0.00 seconds faster than I was three weeks ago. Do you know? This feeling will make you very proud. ”

That's why that sense of accomplishment beyond yourself runs through every day of training.

"Every day. Even my laps are sometimes faster than the boys on our team. It's not that you can skate the fastest in a game if you're in good shape, but you must have trained to this level so that you can control your body when you're in good shape. Of course, the combination of technology, tactics and physical fitness can reach its peak. ”

Because she was once a short track speed skater, Zhang Hong has some advantages in cornering technology, but the starting has always been her weakness, and many people have not been very optimistic about her development. But, in the end, she responded with her own efforts.

"My strength is the corners because I used to be a short track speed skater, but my weakness is that I started particularly poorly and my top 100m was almost the bottom of the top 30 in the world. However, I run faster and faster on laps because I can take advantage of my cornering skills. So, I also want to tell more speed skaters that when people think you can't do it, you have to make it happen that they can see you. ”

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