Written by Wang Yiming Xu Sijia
Editor/Li Xu Liang Lina
Visual/Wang Ye
"1080 is here!"
Cai Xuetong brought the most difficult action of the women's U-shaped venue to the Beijing Winter Olympics, and slid steadily into the pool.
When I first saw her, the impression was about one word, "Sa".
Riding on the snowy mountains and gliding in the U-shaped pool, she has a heroic movement and a light and handsome posture. Taking off her battle robe and sitting in front of the camera, she has healthy wheat-colored skin, her hair neatly combed behind her ears, and she speaks cleanly and neatly.
In the field of competitive sports, which does not allow the eyebrows to be raised, anyone who looks at it will feel that the image of Cai Xuetong makes her only one opportunity away from the "fire out of the circle".
In the Winter Olympics, even if she failed to stand on the podium, Cai Xuetong showed the world the strength of Chinese girls.
The turning point in life was a pair of roller skates
Cai Xuetong, when she was 10 years old, her father brought roller skates from abroad in the courtyard, but was accidentally discovered by the ski team coach and invited her to join the Ski Team of Harbin Amateur Sports School.
For Cai Xuetong's enlightenment coach Li Daji, Cai Xuetong initially attracted him not to talent, but to "Tao".
"At that time, Tong Tong was rollerblading in the courtyard, and the little girl didn't practice this at that time. I look at this kid Tao, this kid is OK, practicing veneer, yes. ”
More important than the physical condition of practicing veneer is the child's character. Cai Xuetong's mischievous play in the yard made coach Li Daji see the unlimited potential contained in Cai Xuetong.
Unexpectedly, although Cai Xuetong himself was very interested in this, this invitation was strongly opposed by Cai Xuetong's parents. Their expectations of their daughters have always been "successful in school" and do not want their daughters to embark on the path of competitive sports.
While wanting to learn, while not letting go, in the end, Cai Xuetong used his persistence to win a year for himself, if he did not practice results, he would come back to continue studying.
At the age of 10, Cai Xuetong carved a line on a humble mud block the day before entering the Harbin Youth Sports Team training.
"The goal is to pursue a highest level of sports" From this sentence, you seem to be able to appreciate this 10-year-old child's pursuit and dream of snowboarding and sports.
02 After a thousand sails, return to campus
According to Cai Xuetong's own words, she who had not been exposed to skiing when she first entered the professional team was "a blank piece of paper".
"Whatever the coach gives me, I can learn." Cai Xuetong described his entry journey this way.
In this way, Cai Xuetong, who was frantically absorbing skiing skills like a sponge, won his first national championship in only 3 years and entered the snowboarding national team. In the national team, she began to train specifically in the snowboarding U-track project and began to achieve results in this event.
It seems that the snowboarding road is not so difficult. From the beginning to the national team, Cai Xuetong has been very smooth.
She only began to participate in the World Cup in 2009, and in 2010 she stood on the field of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Although the most terminated qualifying round, for Cai Xuetong, who was only 16 years old at the time, as the youngest player in the snowboarding event, as long as he stood on the field of the Winter Olympics, it was like a childhood dream come true.
But setbacks followed after Cai Xuetong had just enjoyed the fun of snowboarding.
During the Sochi cycle, a fracture of Cai Xuetong's right arm allowed her to go through the test of injury. Winter snow sports are mostly thrilling, and the snowboard U-shaped pool is one of the X-Game events. In the face of the venue he once had to set foot on every day, the injury made Cai Xuetong feel a little afraid. The fear of injury made her afraid to do difficult moves, and it was difficult for her to appreciate the happiness that snowboarding had brought her.
Overcoming the difficulties caused by injuries. This seems to be something that every good athlete has to learn.
At the Sochi Winter Olympics, although Cai Xuetong has not yet shaken off this fear, she unexpectedly played well on the field and won the sixth place. Although she did not qualify for the podium, for her in the trough period, this achievement is undoubtedly a booster.
After Sochi, Cai Xuetong of the Pyeongchang cycle ushered in his own highlight moment. A series of glories such as world championships, World Cup champions and so on were collected by her one by one. Cai Xuetong, who was at the peak of his ability and physical strength, ushered in his third Olympic journey with glory.
This time, she was full of expectations for herself, and the podium of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics seemed to be waving to her.
But it backfired.
The winter Olympic trip was not as smooth as she thought, and in the final stage, Cai Xuetong lost twice, resulting in an early miss on the podium. Summing up the reasons for the defeat, as she herself said in an interview, "There are many expectations of myself, and excessive desire makes pressure into baggage." ”
When there is nothing, it is natural not afraid to lose, but when all the glory is added to himself, the sudden defeat at the Winter Olympics makes Cai Xuetong unable to accept it for a while.
And this is already Cai Xuetong's third Winter Olympics.
When will your highlights at the Winter Olympics come? Can you still climb over this mountain called the "Winter Olympics"?
Cai Xuetong, who has been trapped in defeat, resolutely put down these senseless troubles after Pyeongchang, and she chose to return to the campus, walk out of the arena, re-examine her life, and find her inner peace.
03 Go again, just to find your original happiness
The Cai Xuetong who enjoyed skiing was back.
Back on the field, Cai Xuetong found his original intention of skiing. Returning to her original love of snowboarding, she lifted the crystal ball trophy for the seventh time and successfully qualified for the snowboarding U-shaped venue of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, officially announcing her return.
Cai Xuetong, who has competed in three Winter Olympics but missed the trophy every time, will once again attack the highest peak of competitive sports.
Cai Xuetong once said, "Only with a snowboard can you conquer the mountains." Today, although her achievements in other events are dazzling enough, she still wants to take her snowboard and climb over the mountain of the Winter Olympics.
After the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics snowboard U-pool qualification, Cai Xuetong, who advanced to the final stage with a third place, said, "The fourth time feels like the first time, and enjoying this Olympic venue is the main thing." ”
In the final, she fulfilled her promise, and the highest difficulty of "1080" became.
4th Winter Olympics, even if he failed to stand on the highest podium, Cai Xuetong used the perfect "1080" action to prove to the world: Chinese girls can do it.