With the ice knife as a companion, figure skating as a dream. Ren Yihan was born in the "ice city" of Harbin, when he was 4 years old, he stepped on the ice rink for the first time, and he was fascinated by the smooth ice rink and speeding skates. Today, 13-year-old Ren Yihan is an athlete in the figure skating team of Heilongjiang Province. From hobbies to professional training, he has fallen and been depressed, but he has never given up. He has won several competition titles, and his biggest wish is to always practice figure skating and enjoy every minute and second on the ice rink.
Ren Yihan: There are many people around me who love skating. With the help of Coach Yang Chao and my neighbor's sister, I was able to skate on the ice at a very young age, although I didn't skate as fast and beautiful as they did. Listening to the wind whistling in my ears, I felt like a swan soaring above the ice, and this state fascinated me.
Every other day, my mother would take me to the ice rink for two hours. The temperature of the ice rink is very low, but the more I skate, the higher the mood rises. Every time I skate to the end, I sweat and my ass is not light, but I am still reluctant to leave the ice. At that time, I was especially looking forward to the next two hours of ice.
Ren Yihan practices figure skating at the ice rink Xu Kaixin /Photo
Ice and snow sports inherit ancient customs, but also derive unique charm, but also carry the dreams of generations of people. In Harbin, there are too many people like Ren Yihan, who love and enjoy the wonderful experience of ice and snow sports such as skating, and exert their enthusiasm in the ice and snow.
Ren Yihan: In the past, I didn't like to talk much, but after studying figure skating for a few years, I met a group of friends who loved skating, and we communicated with each other and encouraged each other. I gradually became more cheerful and confident.
In order to prepare for the first professional competition, the figure skating competition of the 14th Heilongjiang Provincial Games, Coach Yang carefully selected the competition track "Black Swan" for me, and my parents personally designed the competition costume for me. Later, I spent more time on figure skating.
The first time I won the championship was in a race in 2018. When I successfully finished the race, got off the podium, and hugged my mother, I was very happy and excited.
Figure skating requires athletes to demonstrate technical movements such as balanced jumping, spinning, jumping, and gliding footwork. Ren Yihan's men's single skating practice in recent years includes two parts: short program and free skating, in which he will complete 3 jumps, 3 spins and 1 footwork; in the free skating, it is 7 jumps, 7 spins and 2 footwork. Along with the graceful figure of figure skating, which is often suffered during training, it is accompanied by various injuries that are often suffered during training.
Ren Yihan: In February 2021, I accidentally fell while practicing for 3 and a half weeks. After going to the hospital for a check-up, my parents told me it was a torn ligament. After the injury, I recuperated in bed for more than two months, and for nearly 6 months I did not officially participate in ice training. I was anxious, but my parents seemed to be more worried than I was. Mom and Dad also specially purchased yoga mats, yoga balls, horizontal bars on the door and other types of training equipment, and the home is like a small training room.
Now, I'm back on the ice rink and am recently optimizing the completion of the 3-week jump on the back of the outer ice. I know that the pain in training is still indispensable, because behind every perfect movement, there are thousands of falls. If the action is not beautiful enough, it is not falling enough.
Every day at the end of training, I would write a diary, write to myself, and also to my two "partners" in the ice rink and skates. I confided in "them" my dreams, hoping to one day stand on the Olympic podium and watch the national flag rise.
Medal won by Ren Yihan Xu Kaixin/Photo
In the past 10 years, Ren Yihan has been full of enthusiasm for figure skating, and has found himself, proved himself, and broken through himself in countless falls. From him, we seem to be able to appreciate the true meaning of sports: it is important to win competitively, but it is the meaning of sports that enjoys sports itself.
"Half Moon Talk Internal Edition", No. 2, 2022
Half Moon Talk Reporter: Xu Kaixin Wang He
Source: Half Moon Talk