Run, chase the Olympic dream

Run, chase the Olympic dream

New Gansu Benliu News Reporter Lu Weishan

Thirty years ago, he collected millions of signatures in support of Beijing's bid to host the Olympic Games, and later became a torchbearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; 30 years later, he ran 100 marathons in support of the Beijing Winter Olympics with the Xiangyun torch. Four years ago, after retiring from the Sports Culture Development Center of the State General Administration of Sports, he set up a sports collection in the community; today, he continues to run towards health, happiness and dreams.

He is Liu Chaoying, chasing the Olympic dream in his own way.

He created the Olympic Scroll 30 years ago

"The connection with the Olympics was in 1991, when Beijing first bid for the Olympic Games. One night, CCTV was broadcasting a film called "Looking at the Great Wall," and I thought about why I didn't combine the Great Wall with Beijing's bid for the Olympic Games, and I came up with the idea of using stamps to form a long scroll of the Great Wall. The 'Olympics Connect Me and You' autograph campaign in support of Beijing's bid for the Olympic Games also began at that time. Liu Chaoying said. At that time, the signature campaign planned by Liu Chaoying received a positive response from all walks of life, many people mailed him stamps from all over the world, and the signatures on this long scroll were also more and more, and soon exceeded one million, connecting the length of more than 8,000 meters.

When Beijing finally won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, Liu Chaoying was thrilled. Now that Beijing has become the world's first double Olympic city, Liu Chaoying is also very proud, he said: "This is the pride of every Beijinger, but also the pride of all Chinese." ”

Ran 4219.5 kilometers with torches in hand

"Since 2020, I have insisted on running ten kilometers every day, holding the Beijing Olympic torch when running, with the purpose of transmitting the Olympic spirit to more people and cheering for the Beijing Winter Olympics." Liu Chaoying introduced.

In 2010, Liu Chaoying's heart was stented, the doctor did not let him participate in strenuous exercise, Liu Chaoying gave his long "marathon" a name, called "leisurely marathon", he said: "Do not pursue how fast to run, how long to run, you are insisting, passing on the concept of healthy life." In June 2021, Liu Chaoying ran 4219.5 kilometers with the torch and completed the goal of 100 marathons.

Open the Olympic exhibition hall in the community

Liu Chaoying is also a sports collector and has accumulated a lot of collections over the past 30 years. In order to promote the Beijing Winter Olympics, he arranged a lot of exhibits related to the Winter Olympics in his small exhibition hall, and also set up a countdown card for the Winter Olympics, which attracted many people to come to visit. Liu Chaoying said: "If these exhibits are only collected by themselves, they certainly do not play their full value. Now using the venue provided by the community to open to everyone, it is also hoped that through these collections, everyone can see the prosperity and development of Chinese sports. ”

Liu Chaoying said that there is a chance that he will go to Lanzhou to participate in the half marathon, and he also hopes that gansu friends who like sports can go to his collection after they go to Beijing, feel the Olympic culture together, and talk about sports life.