Claudia M. Pehistein gritted her teeth and continued to glide forward, turning the corner, leaving only the last straight in the 3,000-meter race, and although her opponent, China's Akhnar Adak, born on June 1, 1999, had already crossed the finish line, the audience still gave the German veteran a round of applause.
On the afternoon of February 5 at the National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon", Peschstein certainly deserved applause, which was her 8th time participating in the Winter Olympics, thus matching the world record of the most single athlete participating in the Winter Olympics held by Japanese ski jumper Norimi Kasai, and becoming the first female athlete to participate in the 8th Olympic Games.
However, time has prevented Pechstein from winning the 3000m race with a record-breaking Olympic record as he did at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Twenty years later, she was the last of the 20 contestants in the project, and her gliding pace was noticeably slower, with a time of 4 minutes and 17 seconds, nearly 5 seconds behind the previous contestant.
"10 years ago, someone said I was old, but now I'm proud because I can still compete with young people." After the match, in the mixed interview area, Peschstein did not feel any frustration at the end of the ranking, she proudly told reporters: "The young players now also affirm me, and Adak, who is in my group, said to me before the match, 'You are really legendary, it is really honorable to be in the same group as you'. I think she skated well today, showed her strength at home and she has a bright future. ”
Once upon a time, there must have been opponents who described Pechstein in this way. Fast forward to 1992, when 20-year-old Pechstein entered his first Winter Olympics as the youngest member of the German speed skating team, he won a bronze medal in the women's 5,000m. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, Peschstein went one step further, winning the gold medal in the women's 5,000 meters and achieving the third consecutive Winter Olympics championship in this event. At the peak of 2002, the 30-year-old Pechstein also won the Olympic gold medal in the women's 3,000 meters and set an Olympic record that was not broken until yesterday. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the 34-year-old Peschstein teamed up with his teammates to win his fifth and most recent Winter Olympic gold medal.
In fact, the Beijing Winter Olympics were supposed to be the 9th Winter Olympics in which Pechstein participated. In 2009, just as the "young" Pechstein was preparing to participate in the following year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she tested positive for drugs and was suspended for two years. Although German blood experts have since proved that Peschstein failed the drug test for genetic reasons, the outcome of missing the Vancouver Winter Olympics has become irrevocable. Years later, In an interview, Pechstein confessed that he had been bitter about it. Incredibly, Pehistein did not give up her career, and after the end of the ban, she returned to the field and qualified for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, of which in Sochi, she won the fourth place in the 3000 meters, just one step away from the podium.
Exactly 30 years after his first Trip to the Olympics, Peschstein came to Beijing to start his eighth Olympic journey. However, after finishing 17th in the season in January this year and qualifying for the Beijing Winter Olympics, she has long said that the results are not important, "For me, it is no longer important to stand on the podium or not, as long as I can come to the Beijing Winter Olympics, it is enough." According to the schedule, Peschstein will also participate in the collective departure competition, the Associated Press previously analyzed that compared with other sports, the collective departure requires athletes to have a wealth of competition experience, just right for the five Winter Olympic gold medalists who have been called "skating grandma".
Of course, there are many who are concerned about a further question – will Peschstein become the only athlete in history to compete in nine Olympic Games? On the afternoon of February 5, in the mixed interview area, there will naturally be reporters who will throw out this "tacky" question, and Peschstein replied: "Two days after the closing ceremony, I will have my birthday, and I hope that my family will be by my side." What happens 4 years from now? I was 4 years old again, and of course you guys are the same, so let's talk about it later! ”