Xinhua News Agency reporters Huang Xinxin and Zhao Xuetong
On the night of the 4th, a huge snowflake rose in the center of the National Stadium, and the Olympic fire was embedded in it, living in the cold wind, just like the Olympic spirit was passed down from generation to generation.
Before that, 7 torchbearers passed this torch in the "Bird's Nest", they were born in different eras, from the "post-50s", "post-60s", "post-70s", "post-80s" and "post-90s", all the way to the last two "post-00s".
In the thousands of calls, the "post-50s" torchbearer Zhao Weichang "flew" into the bird's nest with a torch, and the 72-year-old man witnessed the highlight moment of the 42-year history of China's Winter Olympics.
"So excited! So proud! At this moment, I represent all the members of the Chinese delegation in 1980! Zhao Weichang said.
In 1980, in Lake Placid in the United States, the Chinese sports delegation participated in the Winter Olympics for the first time, and 30-year-old speed skater Zhao Weichangrong served as the flag bearer, letting the five-star red flag flutter for the first time at the opening scene of the Winter Olympics. At that time, he did not expect that the expectation of "when will our country host a Winter Olympics" be realized so quickly. "What I wanted to do back then was to raise the national flag steadily, but now what I want to do is to pass on the ice and snow fire steadily." He said.
Former short track speed skater Li Yan took the fire in Zhao Weichang's hand and ran forward with a wave of his hand. During his tenure as the head coach of the Chinese short track speed skating team, Li Yan led the team to bring seven Winter Olympic gold medals to the Chinese team.
When talking about tonight's torch relay, Li Yan's heart was full of glory and excitement: "Becoming an Olympic torchbearer has always been my dream. As an athlete born in the 60s, when I won a medal at the Winter Olympics, and then became a coach, leading Zhou Yang, who was born in the 90s, and other athletes to compete for gold and silver in the Winter Olympics, I felt the hard work of Chinese ice and snowmen and the development and inheritance of China's winter sports. ”
For the future, Li Yan said: "Just like the torch relay, the spark of China's winter projects will be passed down from generation to generation, and the road ahead will certainly be more stable and broader." ”
Between the high-fives and hugs, Yang Yang, China's first Winter Olympic gold medalist, continued to pass the Olympic fire. Born in 1975, Yang Yang won two gold medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, USA, achieving a historic breakthrough in the Winter Olympics of the Chinese sports delegation. Today, Yang Yang serves as the chairman of the Athletes Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, helping more young people realize their Olympic dreams in a new capacity.
On the 100-meter track, "Asian Trapeze" Su Bingtian took over the fire. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Su Bingtian ran 9.83 seconds in the men's 100m semifinals, setting a new Asian men's 100m record and creating a new "Chinese speed".
Taking over the Olympic torch from Su Bingtian was former short track speed skater Zhou Yang. As a "post-90s", she won the short track speed skating women's 1500m and women's relay "double gold" at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and won the women's 1500m gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
"I am very proud to take over the Olympic torch from my predecessors, and I hope to inherit the fighting spirit of my predecessors who are not afraid of hardship, and also convey this belief of always striving for the first place to our 'post-00s' athletes." Zhou Yang said.
In the cheers of the audience, the baton of "Flying" was passed to the hands of the "post-00s". Fellow cross-country skier Diniger Yilamujiang, born in 2001, and Nordic biathlete Zhao Jiawen took the final baton of the Olympic torch.
"As a Uyghur athlete from Xinjiang, I am extremely excited and excited about this Winter Olympics." Diniger Yilamujan said, "Being able to serve as a torchbearer is not only a supreme honor and challenge for me, but also a pride and pride in the great motherland." ”
The two young men held torches together and ran to the center of the stage. Under the five Olympic rings, the "small snowflakes" with the names of all the delegations together constitute a shining "big snowflake", and the two athletes slowly rise with the ladder and place the main torch of the Winter Olympics in the center of the snowflakes. The Olympic spirit will bloom permanently and enthusiastically with the transmission of the Olympic torch from generation to generation.
(Participating reporters: Wang Jingyu, Lu Xingji, Ji Ye, Wang Haofei, Zhou Wanpeng) (End)