0.016 seconds! Wu Dajing took the lead in rushing the line with a slight advantage of a knife tip, and then raised his fists and raised his arms to shout. On the evening of February 5, the short track speed skating project of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics began at the Capital Gymnasium. The Chinese team fought hard and finally won the 2000m mixed team relay championship, winning the first gold medal for the delegation on the first competition day after the opening.
The short-track mixed group relay is a new event for the Beijing Winter Olympics and the first gold rush point for the Chinese delegation. In the four World Cup matches this season, the Chinese team played steadily, winning 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, ranking first in total points, and having the strength to compete for gold at home. In the previous five Winter Olympic Games, the Chinese short track team, which has the reputation of "sharp knives on ice", has won the first gold for the delegation four times.
On the evening of February 5, the Chinese team won the first place in the group with a large advantage in the first round of the quarter-finals, and advanced to the next round with its head held high. The world record holder and The South Korean team, the main opponent of the Chinese team for gold, was eliminated due to a mistake and fell.
In the semi-finals, the Chinese team made a lineup adjustment, replacing Fan Kexin, the "elder of the three dynasties", with Zhang Yuting, a young player who participated in the Winter Olympics for the first time. In the starting stage, Qu Chunyu failed to take the lead in the fierce confrontation with his opponent and slid in second place. With 12 laps left in the game, the Chinese team fell to third place. Although the Chinese team once surpassed to second place, they were quickly overtaken by their opponents and finally finished in third place.
However, after a long video review, the on-site referee decided that the second-place Finisher of the American Team had infielders blocking the Chinese players during the handover. In addition, the Russian Olympic Committee team was also cancelled for fouls. The Chinese team advanced to the final of Group A as the second place in the group.
The Chinese team replaced Fan Kexin again in the final, and the other three players were still Qu Chunyu, Wu Dajing and Ren Ziwei. After the first starting gun, the Chinese team took the lead, but the game was suspended due to a foul committed by a team member in the departure stage. After the race resumed, Fan Kexin, who started from the outside, failed to occupy a favorable position again and slid in third place.
However, with 14 laps left in the game, the Chinese team used the smooth handover to overtake to the first place, and when there were 6 laps left in the game, the opponent collided and fell, and the Chinese team's lead became more and more obvious. Although the Italians struggled to catch up in the sprint stage, Wu Dajing still took the lead in the line with a slight lead.
In the end, China won the championship at home in 2:37.348, Italy ranked second with a difference of 0.016 seconds, and Hungary finished third. In the post-match interview, the most said by the players was "Believe in the team, thank the team!" Qu Chunyu said: "Relay is not a one-person thing, it needs to rely on the joint efforts of the whole team." Wu Dajing also shared: "When sliding the last stick, it was the teammates who were always around shouting and cheering. Zhang Yuting, who participated in the Winter Olympics for the first time, said very excitedly: "All of us in the short track team will never give up and will never give up until the last moment." ”
Fan Kexin said that the game process is indeed very difficult, the short track speed skating field changes quickly, but it is also the charm of this game, "When the penalty results are not announced, I still believe in my teammates and believe in the team, there are many changes on the field, what we can do is to try to do ourselves well and deal with any accidents." For the twists and turns of the game process, Ren Ziwei said, "The challenge has just begun, and every game will be played well next!" ”
For more information, please pay attention to the Winter Olympics.
Photo by Liu Ping, reporter of the Winter Olympics
Source Client The Winter Olympics | Reporters Li Li Wang Xiaoxiao Liu Shuang Li Songlin
Edited by Kang Dian
Process Editor Liu Weili