The seemingly simple but profound way of "ignition" is the romance that belongs to Chinese.
| Author: Liu Xiao Sui Kun
| Editor: Xu Chenjing
"Everyone was looking forward to the lighting ceremony, but we actually stopped ordering..."
The final surprise of the opening ceremony of this Winter Olympics was the ignition moment – the last torch is the main torch.
The two torchbearers are Chinese Winter Olympic athletes Diniger Yilamujiang and Zhao Jiawen. Both are "post-00s", one is a cross-country ski girl from the Altay region, the other is a ski teenager from Shanxi, both have different struggle experiences, but both have a common characteristic: with ice and snow.
The Ice Girl of Altay
In Diniger Yilamujiang's profile, there is such a sentence: she is from Altay, Xinjiang, where human skiing originated.
Altay
For a long time, because Europe dominated many international ski events, many people around the world mistakenly believed that Europe, especially Scandinavia, was the origin of human skiing, and even the English word SKI (ski) originated from the ancient Norwegian word SKITH.
But an archaeological discovery in 2005 refreshed the world's understanding of the origins of skiing. At that time, someone found a ski hunting rock painting in Dundebulak, more than 40 kilometers from Altay City, Xinjiang, and archaeologists confirmed that the rock paintings are 10,000 to 20,000 years old, which proves that the Altay people began skiing activities at least 10,000 years ago. Compared with the previous research on the history of skiing in Sweden, Norway, and Russia, Altay has the longest history of skiing, so Xinjiang Altay is defined as the earliest origin of human skiing.
According to locals, in the following years, "experts and tourists from all walks of life came to the painted rock paintings of Dundebulak Cave, and everyone had a common wish - to appreciate the unique charm of the origin of human skiing up close, and to see the magnificent picture of human ski hunting tens of thousands of years ago." ”
Dundebrak petroglyphs
This discovery is not only archaeologically significant, but also has a profound impact on skiing in China. On January 16, 2006, experts and scholars from the China Ski Association and other departments issued the Altay Declaration "The Altay Region of Xinjiang, China is the Earliest Origin of Skiing in the World" to the world.
Diniger Yilamujiang grew up in such an atmosphere of ice and snow. Born on May 3, 2001 in Hot Spring County, Altay Region, China, she was the son of a cross-country ski instructor who won the third place in a national cross-country skiing competition in 1993.
In 2009, Altay began to popularize and promote ski lessons for primary and secondary school students. Diniger's father got involved, taking dozens of teenagers on cross-country skiing trails. Cross-country skiing has requirements on the site: snow must be pressed before each ski, and the slopes have grooves for snowboarding. He and the children stepped on the snowboard and used their own strength to press a snow trail through the snow-covered valley and start training.
Diniger began training with her father at the age of 12 and soon showed great talent. Soon after, she was sent to the training team. Some netizens said: "This is the realistic version of "Ski, Dad!" 》。 ”
Each time, the father would carefully wax Diniger's skis, tuck the tip of his boot into the iron clip on the ski, buckle it firmly, and watch his daughter do a warm-up: take a bouncing spin, then crouch down, drag the pole behind him and slide downhill. He always told his daughter to push the essentials of sliding with both rods: "When crouching and turning, pay attention to the angle!" Be steady! ”
Diniger is the team's seeded player with high hopes. In January 2018, the national cross-country skiing team went to Norway, a cross-country skiing powerhouse, for training, and the three-year training camp improved her level, and later she won the women's points championship at the ISB hot spring station.
Diniger
During the training, Diniger is also accumulating practical experience. In March 2019, she won a silver medal in the first leg of the FIS Beijing Cross-Country Skiing Points Grand Prix, the best result of a Chinese athlete in the event, breaking the monopoly of European athletes on cross-country skiing. In the final, she was in high spirits and led the way, but was overtaken by Sweden's Nordstam on the second downhill, and was only 0.19 seconds away from the gold medal. This competition brought her valuable experience.
On November 13, 2021, the national cross-country skiing team arrived in Hot spring county of Bortala Autonomous Prefecture, and Diniger joined the group to carry out training and participate in the International Snow Federation Cross-country SkiING FIS Points Series held at Xinjiang Hot Spring Station on November 27. The results of this competition further consolidated Dinigl's qualification for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Finally, on February 4, 2022, Dinigal Ilamjan boarded the "Snowflake" torchbearer of the Beijing Winter Olympics and will compete in the women's doubles chase (7.5 km traditional technology + 7.5 km free technology) cross-country skiing competition on February 5.
Nordic biptic "roll king" Zhao Jiawen
Another male athlete who boarded the "Snowflake" torch with Diniger was named Zhao Jiawen.
In 2001, samaranch, then president of the International Olympic Committee, announced that Beijing had won the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, and the entire Land of China was boiling with the Olympic Games, and the Century-old Olympic Dream of the Chinese Nation shone into reality at that moment. That year, Zhao Jiawen was born in Taiyuan, Shanxi.
At the age of 12, Zhao Jiawen was exposed to cross-country skiing and started his career as an athlete. A few years later, he switched from cross-country skiing to Nordic biathlon. He seems destined to die and make history.
Nordic biathlon is one of the most "hardcore" events of the Winter Olympics. It originated in the Scandinavian region of Northern Europe in the 19th century. There is a lot of snow here in winter, but it lacks the terrain similar to the Alpine high and gentle mountains, so there are skiing events that are fast and long jumps. At present, the Nordic biathlon includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing, which is an all-round test of guts, physical fitness, endurance and technology, also known as the Nordic all-round.
Nordic binomial
Compared with the Nordic skiing team, the mainland Nordic biathlon started late, and the national team was established in September 2016. In the years that followed, although Chinese athletes participated in the Winter Universiade, they were still far from the world stage in senior high-level events. Until Zhao Jiawen gradually emerged.
In 2019, Zhao Jiawen won the men's championship in the Nordic biathlon competition of the Second National Youth Games, and on November 26, 2021, Zhao Jiawen won the men's individual standard platform + 10 km cross-country skiing event in the INTERNATIONAL SNOW FEDERATION Nordic Intercontinental Cup in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
Zhao Jiawen
With this result, Zhao Jiawen qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics for the Chinese team, which is also the first time in the history of the Chinese team to qualify for the Nordic Biathlon of the Winter Olympics.
Zhao Jiawen's outstanding performance is inseparable from hard training. In the eyes of coach Ge Da, Zhao Jiawen is a "very good and strong" child, others skate 20 kilometers, he will skate 40 kilometers; others practice for two hours, he will practice for three hours. In the evening, Zhao Jiawen also had to do physical training alone. He is like a "roll king" on the training ground, bringing other teammates into the training state.
In Zhao Jiawen, there is not only the shadow of hard training, but also the concept of scientific training. At present, the Nordic biathlon national team is equipped with a fairly strong research team, who will use rigorous data to tailor training optimization programs for athletes. Zhao Jiawen has great trust in the scientific research team, and even has a bit of "worship". At the suggestion of the scientific research team, Zhao Jiawen improved the angle between the snowboard and the horizontal line after the jump, and paid more attention to physical training. These targeted trainings improved his grades.
The improvement of grades is the motivation for Zhao Jiawen to persevere. "I haven't been home since I started practicing Nordic (two) and it's been 6 years." Zhao Jiawen said, "When I chose to practice sports, my mother told me a word, and I chose to stick to the end. ”
Between training, Zhao Jiawen will also video with his mother. In the video, the mother never said anything more, but asked her son whether he was busy and tired in training. In the end, he always admonished: "I cheer you on, you have to win glory for the motherland!" ”
The low-carbon concept behind the "micro-fire"
The main torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics, jointly lit by Diniger and Zhao Jiawen, has attracted the world's attention. This main torch is much smaller than the main olympic torch in the traditional sense, but behind the "small body" is the condensation of China's promises to the world.
In 1928, the Olympic torch lighting ceremony first appeared at the Amsterdam Olympic Games. Since then, the ceremony of lighting the Olympic torch has become a "surprise link" that audiences around the world are looking forward to. As Zhang Yimou, director of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, said: "The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics is a process, a law, a symbol of definition, endless life, eternal burning and cannot be extinguished." ”
The main torch of the Amsterdam Olympic Games
Previously, the ignition method of the previous opening ceremonies was to make a fuss about how to "point", and this time, the biggest change is "not to light", and the last torch is placed directly on the main torch platform. "Everyone's first reaction must be very unexpected, the audience has doubts is actually very good, I believe that this ignition method can well popularize the concept of low-carbon environmental protection." Zhang Yimou said.
This seemingly simple but profound way of "ignition" is a romance that belongs to Chinese.
"The biggest innovation of this opening ceremony is the ignition method and the design of the torch stand, which is unprecedented in the history of the 100-year Olympic Games: transforming the burning Olympic fire into a snowflake-like holy and flexible small flame, this idea comes from the concept of low-carbon environmental protection." Zhang Yimou introduced that the Olympic fire is an important symbol of the Olympic spirit, as the concept of environmental protection becomes more and more popular, he firmly believes that the form of the previous raging fire will one day change, and the Beijing Winter Olympics just seize the opportunity. "This change is subversive, and sometimes I even ask myself if I'm outrageous."
Diniger and Zhao Jiawen (right) "ignition" moment
This innovation has also come under tremendous pressure from the Organising Committee.
According to China Youth Daily, Zhang Yimou's team focused on the concept of "low-carbon environmental protection" from the beginning of the design of the main torch. Radicals proposed to the IOC a "light instead of fire" proposal, but were ultimately not agreed. Later, they retreated to the second place and proposed a "low fire" plan to the Olympic Organizing Committee.
Chang Yu, director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Department of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, said: "The IOC Committee has concerns that the Olympic fire is to burn, and it cannot change the century-old tradition because of low carbon. However, at the insistence of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, the main creative team and relevant department personnel decided to "interview" with the International Olympic Organizing Committee.
Unfortunately, the interview schedule has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, in order to keep it secret, the two sides could only communicate through the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and later even this channel was forced to cut off. Later, the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee decided to send someone to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, to persuade the "party A" IOC to accept the bold plan.
After all the difficulties, Zhang Yimou's creative team finally met the members of the International Olympic Committee at the Olympic Museum on Lake Geneva. At the first day of the meeting, Zhang Yimou said, "We hope to make a reform of the actual form of ignition, and we want to turn the fire into a slight fire." Zhang Yimou recorded a video for a few minutes to explain to the IOC the idea of micro-fire and the concept behind it. In the end, Zhang Yimou persuaded the International Olympic Committee that the "tiny" torch was also presented to the world last night.
Low heat
Happily, after the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, this tiny main torch was well received internationally. Behind this small torch, it reflects China's solemn commitment to "low-carbon environmental protection", and proves the commitment of "carbon neutrality and carbon peaking".
As netizens put it: "When the fireworks in the shape of five rings lit up, the audience recalled the passionate summer of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games." But from the splendor of 2008 to the holiness of 2022, China has told the world the most wonderful Chinese story with the opening ceremonies of the two Olympic Games. ”
The Beijing Winter Olympics will surely write a new chapter in the history of the Olympic Games.