On February 5, 2022, Chinese short track speed skater Fan Kexin and his teammates narrowly defeated Italy in the mixed 2000-meter relay race with a margin of 0.016 seconds, winning the championship and winning the opening of the Chinese team at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
After the competition, the participants all cheered with their arms, but Fan Kexin burst into tears, and she said excitedly: "I have been waiting for this gold medal for twelve years!" I will always believe in the team! From the day I entered the national team, I always believed in my teammates! That's the power of a team! ”
At this time, in the Huimin community near Datong Street in The Eggplant River District of Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province, a family also burst into laughter from time to time, and it turned out that Fan Kexin's parents Fan Zhizhong and Nie Guiling were cheering for her in front of the TV.
When Fan Zhizhong talked about Fan Kexin's early years of learning speed skating, his eye circles couldn't help but turn red again.
First, the pants I picked up were worn for three years.
Fan Kexin was born in 1993 in Burleigh County.
At that time, Fan Zhizhong learned from others to do business, but because of his lack of experience, he not only lost his capital, but also owed a lot of foreign debt. In desperation, Fan Zhizhong had to take his wife and children to the Qitai River to join relatives and friends, looking for opportunities to turn over.
At that time, Fan Zhizhong only had a total of 300 yuan in his pocket, and he spent 130 yuan to rent a 6-square-meter semi-basement and settle his wife and daughter. With a little shoe repair craftsmanship, a shoe repair stall was set up at the door, and some handicraft money was earned by repairing shoes for people.
Fan Shizhong sighed: "At that time, I was too poor, even the dumplings Chinese New Year's Eve night were brought by kind neighbors." ”
At that time, Fan Kexin had just entered the first grade, and he sang and danced all day long, and he was very active. Fan Shizhong saw that she liked to dance, and it happened that the school also opened a dance class, and Fan Shizhong sent her to the dance class.
This can make Fan Kexin happy, she dances well, and often gets praise from teachers. But it wasn't long before she stopped going. Nie Guiling, her mother, asked her, why not go? She said she didn't like dancing and wouldn't learn it in the future. Many years after this incident, Fan Kexin told Nie Guiling that at that time, the dance class had to charge 150 yuan for clothing, and she knew that her family was poor, so she decided not to dance. Actually, she really likes to dance.
Indeed, Fan Kexin has been particularly sensible since he was a child. Every time she came home from school, she always picked up some scraps and came back, she said that it was a matter of stopping by anyway, and it was time to play. Scrap accumulates more, and you can sell it for money. After returning home, Fan Kexin always finished his homework first, and then helped his parents to do what they could, especially diligently, and especially knew that he was distressed by his parents.
Once, Nie Guiling found a pair of torn pants in the garbage can, so she washed the pants, sewed them up, and gave them to Fan Kexin to wear. Fan Kexin was not picky, the pants were sewn up and patched up for several years, and then the pants were too small, plus they were rotten again, so she didn't wear them.
2. Coaches who do not charge tuition fees.
On this day, the neighbor's aunt visited Fan's house, and she said that there were a group of children about the same age as Fan Kexin on the other side of the stadium who were training every day. She also said that studying sports is good and can't spend much money.
The speaker has no intention, the listener intends. After the neighbor's aunt left, Nie Guiling took Fan Kexin to the stadium and happened to meet Ma Qingzhong, a speed skating coach with a small team member training.
Ma Qingzhong gave Fan Kexin a personal ability test, seeing that she jumped high, jumped far, and had very good physical fitness, Ma Qingzhong let her participate in training. Fan Kexin was both happy and a little worried, so she looked up and asked Ma Qingzhong, how much is the tuition fee? Ma Qingzhong smiled and said, if you can train hard, I will not take your money.
Fan Kexin firmly remembered these words in his heart.
Fan Kexin had to go to the stadium every morning at 4 o'clock to practice. In the afternoon, after class at school, I trained for another 2 hours. When I got home, it was dark. Although the days of training were extremely hard, Fan Kexin never dared to be lazy in training, and she was afraid that the coach would not be satisfied with her training and charge her tuition. So every time she trains, she is the most serious and the hardest.
After going to the ice in winter, Ma Qingzhong considered the economic situation of Fan Kexin's family and spent 150 yuan to buy a pair of second-hand ice knives for Fan Kexin, although the shoes were a bit large, But Fan Kexin was very happy.
The winter winds of qitaihe are bone-chilling, and the temperature outside is often more than minus 20 degrees. The stadium's open-air swimming pool was covered with thick ice, and it became a training ground for the young players. Training in that icy environment, many small team members really can't stick to it, and slowly stop coming. But Fan Kexin not only wasn't late, but every time someone else left, she also practiced her movements on the ice.
Once, after Fan Kexin returned home, he was so tired that he fell asleep. When Nie Guiling helped her undress, she found that Fan Kexin's knee was bruised. When I took off my socks again, I couldn't take them off, and later I found that I was stuck with pus and blood on my feet. After peeling it off little by little, the pus and blood on her feet broke again and flowed straight down, which made her heart hurt.
Later, Fan Kexin told Nie Guiling that the knee was broken like that, and the foot was worn because the shoe was too big. Because she did not want her parents to worry about her, she never dared to take off her socks when she slept. Nie Guiling really did not want to watch her daughter suffer and advised her not to practice at all. But Fan Kexin buried his head in the bed, and at 4 o'clock the next morning, he went out on time to train.
Third, all the way to the provincial team.
In 2003, Meng Qingyu returned to Qitaihe to select team members. After two rounds of testing, Fan Kexin was successfully selected into Meng Qingyu's training team in Harbin.
Under the professional guidance of Meng Qingyu, Fan Kexin made rapid progress. In addition, she especially cherishes hard-won opportunities, so she works harder than the other team members. Meng Qingyu believes that Fan Kexin has to buy a double ice knife, after all, "if you want to do a good job, you must first use it." Considering Fan Kexin's family situation, Meng Qingyu, in order to let Fan Kexin continue to slide, paid for herself and spent 2500 yuan to buy her a new pair of ice knives.
2500 yuan is Fan Kexin's living expenses for the new year, so Fan Kexin refused to accept the ice knife at first. Meng Qingyu said to her: "You have to practice well, you can only change the situation at home by working hard." ”
Out of gratitude, Fan Kexin trained harder. Coupled with her great talent, she soon became the best in the team.
Despite this, Meng Qingyu's requirements for her have become more and more stringent. For example, others slow down in curves, but Meng Qingyu asked her to "overtake in curves". Others only train to complete the prescribed training tasks, while Fan Kexin is often left behind to practice alone.
The plum blossom fragrance comes from the bitter cold. After a year of training, Fan Kexin won many championships in the national primary school short track speed skating competition, including the 500 meters and the 1000 meters. Fan Kexin remembers that when the coach sent her the bonus, she happily called home immediately. It didn't take long for her to take home the prize money and give it to her parents.
Looking at the pride in his parents' eyes, Fan Kexin deeply understood that if he practiced skating well, he would not only be able to enter the provincial team and the national team in the future, compete for the world championship, and win honors for the country; he could also take the prize money he had obtained home and improve the economic situation of his family.
Since then, Fan Kexin has had a very clear goal.
Fourth, dreams are blocked.
In 2008, Fan Kexin was favored by coach Yimin of the provincial sports school and was transferred to the ice and snow branch of the provincial sports school to continue training. Like Meng Qingyuan, Yi Min also took Wang Meng, and she once worked as a national team coach. Therefore, her experience is also richer.
Fan Kexin trained with Yi Min for a year, and her skills and endurance have improved significantly. She has won the second place in the National Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships and the National Short Track Speed Skating League. Becoming a national champion is the first condition for entering the national team. Obviously, as long as Fan Kexin continues to work hard, it will not be long before she can enter the national team.
However, at this moment, Fan Kexin found himself often dizzy and weak. Fan Kexin, who was born in pain, did not mention his discomfort to anyone, and still insisted on training.
It wasn't until she almost fainted during a training session that she had to go to the hospital for a medical examination. Only then did I learn that I was suffering from iron deficiency anemia in adolescence, and it had reached a very serious point. The provincial sports school took into account her health problems and sent her back to Qitaihe.
Fan Kexin understands that if her anemia does not recover, her athlete career will only be lost. Her dream could not have come true. For her love of skating and hard training for 10 years, this makes her very unhappy. But the family's financial situation is there, where is the money to treat her?
At this time, after Ma Qingzhong knew the situation, he took Fan Kexin to his home. On the one hand, he paid for her treatment, and on the other hand, he tried to make her eat better and supplement her nutrition.
After a period of recuperation, Fan Kexin's body gradually recovered. So she was able to return to the team and continue to participate in training.
Fan Kexin has mixed feelings because he can regain the opportunity to ride on ice. Since then, she has vowed to make a difference in short track speed skating to repay all those who have helped her.
Fifth, become famous early.
In 2010, Fan Kexin won the women's 500m runner-up and the 3000m relay runner-up at the Speed Skating World Youth Championships. Her tenacity on the field and never accepting defeat attracted the attention of Li Yan, the head coach of the national team. So in October of the same year, she was transferred to the national short track speed skating team and became teammates with world champions Wang Meng and Zhou Yang.
Perhaps by God's favor, 17-year-old Fan Kexin entered the national team less than a month ago and got the opportunity to participate in the World Cup. In the women's 3000m relay, she performed well, successfully breaking through the defense and winning the championship. As a result, she became a world champion and quickly became one of the main players in the national team.
Fame should be early, like Fan Kexin only 1 month to the national team, there are very few athletes who have become world champions in the national team. Obviously, she has a future to come. In the eyes of everyone, she must be "Wang Meng's second". And in the next game, she did show a level and strength that no one could match.
In 2011, in the women's 500m final of the Short Track Speed Skating World Championships in Sheffield, England, Fan Kexin has maintained the leading position and won the championship, and the Chinese team has won the world championship for four consecutive times.
In 2012, Fan Kexin defeated veteran Liu Qiuhong in the 12th National Winter Games short track speed skating 500m final. In March of the same year, Fan Kexin won the world short track speed skating championship again, helping the Chinese team achieve the fifth consecutive championship of the event.
In 2013, Fan Kexin competed in the World Championships again, winning the women's 500m runner-up and the women's 3000 relay championship.
At this time, Fan Kexin is already a well-known athlete on the International Snow Federation, and he is also a well-deserved little Flower Dan in the national team. For her countless gold medals, she is even more eager to win an Olympic gold medal to prove her strength and level. However, no one expected that this wish would be twisted and turned, and it would not be fulfilled for a long time.
Sixth, a good "Fan" is not afraid of late.
In 2014, due to wang Meng's injury during training during the preparation period for the Winter Olympics, Fan Kexin was given the opportunity to play in the Sochi Winter Olympics. Technical stability, composure and calmness are her strengths. Coupled with the fact that she had already won countless gold medals at that time, everyone thought that she would become a popular person to win gold medals in the Winter Olympics.
Regrettably, however, she tripped over her own ice knife in the women's 500m semifinals and fell off the track, an accident that left her losing money and affecting the subsequent races, allowing her to win only a silver medal in the women's 1000m final.
Four years later, with the retirement of veterans such as Wang Meng and Liu Qiuhong, Fan Kexin has grown into a sister of the Chinese short track speed skating team. However, at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, she first fouled out of the women's 500m short track speed skating. Then in the 3000m relay race, he was fouled again and missed the gold medal.
Fan Kexin, who returned empty-handed, was not only ridiculed by the championship-winning South Korean team as the "foul king", but many people also doubted her strength, believing that she did not have the strength to carry the banner of the Chinese short track speed skating team.
When he participated in the Beijing Winter Olympics, Fan Kexin was 29 years old. If she can't win the gold medal this time, maybe she will be left with a lifetime of regrets.
Fortunately, the first battle was successful, she and Wu Dajing and others won the gold medal in the mixed 2000-meter relay final with a high degree of tacit understanding.
This gold medal made Fan Kexin cry several times, and also made her full of confidence in the next women's 500 meters gold. Regrettably, however, in the women's 500m 4/1 final, Fan Kexin, who played in the first group, was surrounded by three Canadian players. On the last lap, Fan Kexin was ready to overtake from the outer circle, but was accidentally tripped by a Canadian player, fell off the track again, and finally had no choice but to get out.
As a veteran athlete who has participated in the Three Winter Olympics, perhaps this is the last time Fan Kexin will participate in the Winter Olympics. For such a result, after leaving the arena, Fan Kexin could only look up at the big screen, in addition to the unwillingness in her eyes, she had no choice.
Maybe it was bad luck, maybe it was the creation of people, Fan Kexin, who won countless gold in the World Championships and world cups, finally failed to win the individual gold medal in the event she was good at at the Winter Olympics, which became her biggest regret.
However, her all-out performance on the field still won everyone's respect and applause.
Good "Fan" is not afraid of late. In the next Winter Olympics, maybe Fan Kexin can continue to appear on the field and finally realize his ultimate dream.
We look forward to it!