Source: Global People Author: Chen Juan
81.25、64.50、75.00。
After scoring in three rounds, Cai Xuetong finally won the fourth place in the women's U-shaped track skills competition for snowboarding. In an interview after the game, she wept with regret: "Maybe today is almost lucky." No way, competitive sports just have a lot of contingencies. ”
As the "elder of the four dynasties" of the Winter Olympics, Although Cai Xuetong did not have the opportunity to receive the podium, he made difficult moves in the course of the competition and created the highest ranking of his personal Winter Olympics.
Shortly before the start of today's game, the netizens who cheered for her also paid attention to an old news. Cai Xuetong once recalled in a show that he once fell directly from the top of the U-shaped pool to the bottom of the pool during training, broke his arm, and was asked to sit and sleep by the doctor on the night of the injury.
I have been passionate about snowboarding for nearly 20 years, but my heart to challenge myself has never changed. Cai Xuetong's experience is the best interpretation of the Olympic spirit. She didn't get a medal today, and the audience regretted her, but wanted to applaud her even more.
Four Winter Olympics
This is the fourth time that Cai Xuetong has stood on the field of the Winter Olympics.
The first time was to participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. That year, together with Liu Jiayu and Sun Zhifeng, she won three qualifications in the women's U-shaped pool competition for snowboarding. This is not easy – snowboarding is a niche sport in many of the Winter Olympics, starting late in China and not being officially launched until 2003.
Cai Xuetong, 17, is the youngest of the three contestants. The year before, she had just won the World Junior Snowboard Championships, her first gold medal in a world-class competition. She then competed as an athlete in the Winter Olympics, which excited her.
Unfortunately, because of her lack of experience in the competition, she was very nervous, "when she saw a very large number of spectators on the scene, and the stage was also very high, she was scared to the point that her legs were weak, and she felt that her mind was blank when she slid down twice."
In the end, she lost both games, ranking 23rd out of 30 players, and her first Winter Olympic trip unfortunately ended in the U-shaped pool preliminaries.
In 2010, 17-year-old Cai Xuetong fell at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Image source: Xinhua News Agency.
For the next 4 years, Cai Xuetong trained while participating in various competitions to sharpen herself.
In 2014, at the Sochi Winter Olympics, she qualified for the second time. But before that, she broke her right arm during a training session, causing a fracture of the humerus, during which she recuperated for more than a year. Fighting the Winter Olympics again, there are some shadows in the psychology. That time, she failed to play at her best in the competition, only finishing sixth.
Cai Xuetong at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Image source: Cai Xuetong Weibo.
8 years, twice folded, Cai Xuetong's heart is a little lost. Fortunately, she adjusted her form and decided to compete in the Olympics again.
By the time of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Cai Felt That She was at her best — both in terms of age and body, technology and psychology. At that time, she was full of confidence, "After all, in this cycle (2015-2017), I skated very well, constantly breaking through myself and breaking through history."
However, perhaps because of her high expectations of herself, she made mistakes in the first two rounds, and the narrator could not help but exclaim: "Cai Xuetong fell heavily on the ground this time, and we hope she is okay." ”
At that time, Cai Xuetong looked indifferent. It wasn't until the coach asked later that she confessed: "I feel really uncomfortable today." ”
In that competition, Cai Xuetong finally won the fifth place and missed the medal. Teammate Liu Jiayu won the silver medal and was also the first Winter Olympic medal in the history of Chinese snowboarding.
Cai Xuetong's heart was thrown to the bottom by himself. She chose to return to campus and adjust her mindset while studying at Beijing Sport University. During that time, like other students, she was busy with homework and exams, and she also had time to think. Half a year later, she became more aware of her inner dream, returned to the ski field, and continued to conquer the snowy mountains.
She no longer just wants to get good grades, and begins to enjoy the feeling of flying on the snow and enjoying the process of challenging herself. In the 2018-2019 World Cup season, she traveled to 5 sub-stations and was very happy in each game, whether she won or lost:
In Bronze Hill, "I was the only Asian who stood on the podium (except for Chloe King, who was Korean-American) and ended up winning the bronze medal";
In China's Genting, "facing the wind, it is the wind that blows me higher, and I also won the championship by virtue of my height";
In Lex, Switzerland, "(I) made a mistake in the second round, regrettably didn't finish fourth and didn't make it to the podium, but the feeling of the 900 was back and I was extremely happy";
……
Cai Xuetong summed up experience in actual combat and constantly created good results. Just last month, at the Snowboard Swiss Lex Open, she won the championship again of the season and won her seventh "crystal ball".
Cai Xuetong won back the 7th overall championship "Crystal Ball".
In the baptism of a game, she finally waited for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Before the game, she used four words in an interview with the media to describe the feeling of participating in the Winter Olympics four times: young, calm, peak and enjoyment.
This time, she truly enjoyed the feeling of "flying" on the Olympic field.
The road to victory in the snow field
Cai Xuetong's association with skiing is purely accidental.
She was born in 1993 in Acheng District, Harbin, Heilongjiang. As a child, she was energetic, a small hair, typical tomboy look.
When she was 4 years old, dad brought back a pair of roller skates of size 37, which aroused her curiosity. She looked at the upper of the shoe for a while, touched the sole of the shoe for a while, and secretly slipped in the living room while her mother was not paying attention. At first, she walked against the wall, staggered, always fell on her head, slid for a few days, and began to turn and rotate smoothly. When her parents found out she was talented, they slid her down.
Cai Xuetong when he was a child (left) rollerblading.
Three years later, Cai Xuetong was sliding and playing at home, and the national anthem suddenly sounded on TV. Looking back, the sports channel was broadcasting the event, a Chinese female athlete stood on the podium, and the five-star red flag was raised in the song.
At that moment, she froze and had the idea of "being an athlete". Later, she squeezed a piece of mud, wrote "My goal is to win the world championship" on the front, and signed her name on the back.
Cai Xuetong really embarked on the road of sports in 2003.
One day, as usual, she was rollerblading in a park near her home, and a stranger suddenly appeared across from her, "frightening me to grasp the sweet potato in my hand, put oil on my feet, and turn around and slip away." Later, she learned that the person was Li Daji, the coach of Yuquan Amateur Sports School, who was looking for a snowboarder.
Under the persuasion of Li Daji, Cai Xuetong began to train with the school ski team, and later was recommended by the teacher to enter the provincial sports team and start a professional ski career. This slip has slipped to the present.
When she first started snowboard training, Cai Xuetong was "like a blank piece of paper" and "I will learn what the coach teaches." "She practiced hard every day, didn't go home during the holidays, practiced an action hundreds of times, fell down and got up, got up and fell again."
The U-shaped pool is 120 meters long, 15 meters wide, 3.5 meters deep, and has an average gradient of 18 degrees. The drop from the bottom of the pool after being vacated from the highest point is equivalent to 6 floors. The first time I walked into the U pool, Cai Xuetong did not hesitate, "The coach took me to swing at the bottom of the U pool, twice, and the second time, I swung to the edge of the U pool, and then slid down and felt that this thing was really fun, like a roller coaster."
In March 2006, at the age of 13, Cai Xuetong participated in the National Ski Championships, won the championship in snowboarding competitions, and was subsequently transferred to the snowboarding national team.
She first represented her country in a world-class competition in 2009, at the FIS World Junior Snowboard Championships. On the field, she stepped on the skateboard, jumped over the edge of the track like a gallop, lowered the center of gravity, took off from the edge of the U-shaped track again and again, grabbed the board, jumped, rotated, landed on the dive, the action flowed smoothly, and finally won the gold medal of the women's U-shaped field, which was the first time that a Chinese snowboarder won gold at the World Junior Championships.
Since then, Cai Xuetong has emerged in international snowboard competitions and become one of the most promising athletes, which has also opened her way to victory on the snow field:
In 2010, she won the women's competition of the Snowboard U-Slot World Cup in Canada; in 2011, she won the 25th World Collegiate Women's Snowboard U-Slot Competition; in 2012, she won the Snowboard U-Slot World Cup in Canada...
She has represented China in more than 20 World Cup snowboard competitions, won 12 world championships, and was crowned the World Cup overall points champion for 6 consecutive times.
Like many athletes, behind the excellent results is the unknown sweat. Practicing snowboarding is not only hard, but also has many potential dangers: for example, the blade is stuck, such as falling when the difficult action is not completed well, and one carelessness may cause disability, but Cai Xuetong has survived.
She looks forward to breaking through herself on the snow field and harvesting that "explosive joy".
Continue towards the top of the mountain
Snowboarding to Cai Xuetong is like a game after another, "the moment you slide up, the whole mountain is like a world of you playing."
With a "play" mentality, she galloped through the U-shaped pool, in the terrain park, in the snowy mountains. She likes the feeling of freedom when skiing, "When you fly out, it's one thing." You can do whatever you want and forget all the rules and restrictions on land, which is the unique charm of the sport."
In addition to skiing, Cai Xuetong also loves to "play".
She opened a personal WeChat public account to share her growth story and feelings, such as how she was discovered by the coach and how she embarked on the ski road, and the text was funny.
Cai Xuetong described the scene of his first encounter with the coach in his personal WeChat public account.
She introduced herself: "I, Cai Xuetong, a member of the Chinese snowboard U-shaped track team, am the one flying around in the half-pull pipe, yes, it's Shaun White playing the drop that." To say that the biggest difference between me and Sean White is that when he was called 'Flying Tomato', I flew up or tomato scrambled eggs. ”
On Weibo, Cai Xuetong has a cheerful and funny side of a northeastern girl.
She will share her daily life, chase popular dramas, watch documentaries by well-known athletes such as Michael Jordan, Nadal, C Ronaldo, and send travel photos. She is also a loyal fan of Liu Shiwen, a member of the national table tennis team, and will "call" for the passion of the other party.
Cai Xuetong celebrated the birthday of a star on Weibo who was fascinated by the drama.
Cai Xuetong cheered liu Shiwen on Weibo.
She would shoot videos and take everyone "cloud" to slide the wild snow of the Cocoto Sea; record her favorite Burrito, and challenge the highest level of 10 spicy in front of the camera, and finally burst into tears, and couldn't help laughing.
Cai Xuetong sent a video recording himself in the Cocoto Sea to slide wild snow.
She likes to challenge all kinds of sports, roller skating, mountain climbing, sand rowing, etc., even the way the mountain is opened is joyful - on the weekend to climb the mountain, she trotted all the way down the mountain, the camera could not keep up with her footsteps and swayed, and it was dizzying. When posting a video on social platforms, she wrote a joke: "It is not recommended to try if the eyes are not good." ”
But Cai Xuetong's favorite is undoubtedly snow sports.
Today, young players are emerging on the snowboarding field, bringing fresh strength to the sport and challenging veterans. But Cai Xuetong's mentality has long become calm, "I just want to be able to slide well, slide happily, like a flying bird." Do your best in the process". As for the medal, it has become less important in her heart, but more importantly, to challenge herself and release herself.
She once said that only with a snowboard could you conquer the mountains. After this Winter Olympics, she will continue to march towards the top of the mountain, waiting for the next time to take off. Her goal is the vast world, ending in the endless snowy mountains.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Wu Text Editor: Li Linwei Caption Source: IC photo Image Editor: Shao Jing
Source: Author: Global People Jintai Huanhuan