Opening Ceremony Flag Bearer Gao Tingyu: Show your best self on the field

I have imagined many times what I would look like standing at the Beijing Winter Olympics. To my surprise, I became the flag bearer of the opening ceremony of the Chinese sports delegation at the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is a glorious mission. The identity of the flag bearer fills me with strength.

I've been practicing speed skating for more than a decade. When I was in elementary school, there was an ice rink in the school, and I started to get involved with this project, and I liked the feeling of flying on the ice. When I was a child, I grew slower than children of the same age, and I remember the first time I went to Heilongjiang Province to meet Coach Liu Guangbin, and he was not very willing to ask me, saying that he would come back in two years. Later, I became his student as I wished.

In 2016 I was selected for the national team. In 2018, I participated in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which was my first time participating in the Winter Olympics. In order to prepare for the game with peace of mind, I deleted all the social software on my mobile phone before the game. The 500m race is constantly changing and there can be no mistakes. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, I won the bronze medal in the men's 500m race in speed skating, becoming the first Chinese male athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. The feeling of competing in the Winter Olympics is different from other competitions, and I feel extremely proud to stand on the podium and watch the five-star red flag rise. I felt that I was not in the best shape that time, and I felt that I could skate better.

Entering the Beijing Winter Olympics cycle, I threw myself into training. At the end of the training session, I was often so tired that I couldn't get up. My teammates say I'm a slow speed skater. I said to myself, adjust the rhythm, train well, and improve a little bit every day.

In the China Cup Speed Skating Elite League in September 2021, I skated 33.83 seconds, just 0.22 seconds away from the world record. At that moment, I was more confident and believed in myself more. In the 2021-2022 ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Poland, I won the first World Cup of my career and set a new field record. I am very excited, but I also know that the most important goal of this season is to stand on the beijing Winter Olympics.

Playing in the Winter Olympics "on the doorstep", I want to play my best. After the World Cup, I tried to improve the details of the starting and improve myself in all aspects.

Now, the race is about to begin. I will not fail to live up to everyone's trust and strive to show the best version of myself on the field.

(People's Daily)