In the past few days, Uncle Dao has interviewed in the closed loop of the Winter Olympics, and his biggest feeling is excitement - witnessing athletes from all over the world surpass themselves and compete for gold and silver, especially when they hear the national anthem ringing, it is really "macho tears" several times.
After watching the game in the past few days, everyone knows more about the ice and snow project: Gu Ailing's "1620", Su Yiming's "1800", many people have been cleared; short track speed skating rules, figure skating scores, netizens eat thoroughly, and even can give others science on the Internet.
Of course, behind the medals and hot searches, there are many "unpopular" projects. To say "unpopular" is not that these sports are not good and wonderful, but that in the past, almost no Chinese athletes participated in these sports, and the vast number of Chinese audiences were not familiar with them. However, in this Winter Olympics, many Chinese athletes have stood on the field of these events, and they have achieved a "breakthrough of zero" by being able to participate in and finish the games.
Feng He, the first Chinese athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics to participate in the women's steeplechase competition on snowboarding. Source: Xinhua News Agency
One
In 2015, when China successfully bid for the Winter Olympics, about one-third of the Winter Olympics had never been carried out in China. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, 35 of the 109 sub-events were participated by the Chinese delegation for the first time.
For example, Zhao Jiawen, who lit the main torch with his teammates at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, was the first Chinese player to appear on the Nordic biathlon stage of the Winter Olympics. On 9 February, he finished 43rd in the Nordic two-event competition.
Nordic biathlon is one of the most difficult Winter Olympic events, including cross-country skiing and ski jumping, requiring athletes to have outstanding cross-country skiing, accurate body posture control and jumping ability, which has extremely high requirements for athletes' physical fitness, technology and even guts. But the sport started late in China, and it wasn't until June 2018 that China's Nordic biathlon national training team was officially established.
When Zhao Jiawen joined the team, he only had cross-country skiing experience. He said that the first time he stood on the big jump platform, "he couldn't even move his body." From overcoming fears, extra time training, polishing techniques, to going to various countries to train and participate in "saving points", Zhao Jiawen finally came to the Winter Olympic Games as he wished.
You should know that in the past, this project was the world of European players. Zhao Jiawen was able to enter the stage of the Winter Olympics and has achieved a huge breakthrough.
Zhao Jiawen in the game. Source: Xinhua News Agency
Similar projects include alpine skiing, which literally translates to "Alpine skiing" in English. As you can know from the name, this has always been the "home" of European and American athletes. Athletes need to fly down from a starting point of up to 900 meters, jump and turn in high-speed taxiing, and do not have enough courage and strength.
Before 2015, alpine skiing and super giant slalom training was still blank in China, and athletes had to start from scratch to compete. On February 7, Xu Mingfu became the first Chinese athlete in history to participate in the Alpine Ski Downhill Competition of the Winter Olympics and finish the competition, with a top speed of 123.5 kilometers per hour! Talking about the past preparation experience, Xu Mingfu said that every day when he opens his eyes, he is not skiing, or practicing physical fitness. This time, the finish is no less than a victory.
Xu Mingfu in the game. Source: Xinhua News Agency
Two
In addition to "make up small items", there are also "increase items". For example, in the past few days, at the National Alpine Ski Center, athletes Fan Duoyao, Wang Peixuan, Huang Yebo/Peng Junyue have successively appeared in the men's and women's individual and double events, achieving a breakthrough for Chinese athletes in the bobsleigh event.
Judging from the law of project development, it generally takes about 7 years to train a bobsleigh athlete who has reached the level of international competition. But for Chinese bobsleigh projects with thin foundations and scarce talents, the timeline of athlete training may be stretched longer.
To this end, China has adopted a "cross-border and cross-project" material selection method. The so-called cross-border cross-project is to dig up good seedlings from other projects and transfer to practice ice and snow projects. Sleigh female general Wang Peixuan, who used to practice javelin, also learned ballet and ethnic dance, and her body shape is very suitable for sliding on the sleigh, and she was favored by coaches as soon as she was selected for the national training team.
Wang Peixuan in the women's single sled competition. Source: Xinhua News Agency
Van DuoYao switched from cross-country skiing to a toboggan track, and after the transfer, the biggest problem he faced was "gaining weight". You heard that right, it's about gaining weight. Fan Duoyao, who used to practice long-distance skiing, is lean, but the bobsleigh project focuses on explosiveness, and the body is not weighty. After joining the training team, Fan Duoyao set a goal: to practice for himself and not to lose himself because his opponent was strong.
Van Duo Yao is ready to go in the game. Source: Xinhua News Agency
There is also Liu Rongsheng, who created the best result in the men's double chase competition of cross-country skiing, who originally specialized in middle and long-distance running; speed skater Guo Dan, who was once the world champion in roller skating; song Qiwu, a ski jumper who used to practice track and field, and before he turned to ski jumping, he had never even seen real snow...
According to Ni Huizhong, secretary general of the Chinese sports delegation at the Beijing Winter Olympics, about 1/5 of the 177 Chinese athletes participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics were transformed through cross-border and cross-sports material selection. Ni Huizhong called these athletes "tinder", the spark is burning, and they will bring more people to participate in ice and snow sports in the future.
How to improve the level of competition in a short period of time? The Chinese sports community has opened its doors to invite outstanding foreign teachers. Among the 78 coaches of the Chinese sports delegation at this Winter Olympic Games, there are 51 foreign teachers alone, from 19 countries such as the United States, Canada, Russia, France, and Japan, who have won 18 Winter Olympic gold medals in the past. Behind the excellent foreign teachers, there are also a number of international coaching teams and technical logistics support teams, who also silently contribute to China's ice and snow sports.
After years of hard training, many projects that Chinese have never been involved in in the past, or even beyond their reach, have now Chinese figures. Although there is still a big gap with the world's top level, the first step to catch up is to participate.
Biye became the first Chinese player in the history of the Winter Olympics to participate in the men's parallel giant slalom competition on snowboarding. Source: Xinhua News Agency
Three
The road to the Winter Olympics in Chinese has been a long time.
When the Chinese delegation first went to the Winter Olympics in 1980, there were only 28 athletes participating in 18 individual competitions in skating, skiing and modern biathlon, and none of them entered the top six. It was not until the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 22 years later that China achieved a breakthrough in the first gold medal of the Winter Olympics.
Over the past 40 years, the Chinese sports delegation has completed all 7 major events and 15 sub-events of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, and many sports have won medals and refreshed the best results in the history of participation. China's ice and snow sports have achieved "all-project development, all-project team building, all-project training".
Why? In Uncle Island's view, the answer is closely related to everyone.
When bidding for the Winter Olympics, China put forward the grand goal of "bringing 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports". Over the years, there are definitely island friends who have achieved the small goal of skiing for the first time in their lives, and some people have achieved "freedom on the ice". Over the past few years, the number of ice and snow rinks in the country has doubled, and even in the south, people have the opportunity to enjoy ice and snow.
The development of mass sports and competitive sports complement each other. Chinese athletes appeared on the Winter Olympics and achieved good results, so that cold ice and snow and cold projects warmed up, naturally there will be more people to pay attention to and participate, so that it is possible to emerge more Gu Ailing and Su Yiming. Even if you don't take the career path, love and enjoy ice and snow sports, strengthen your body from sports, make friends, and pursue self-breakthrough and self-transcendence like Olympic athletes, it is also excellent.
In the future, many athletes will become coaches and managers, and the talent pool of ice and snow sports will gradually grow. In the long run, whether it is the number of people participating in ice and snow sports, or the number of athletes engaged in ice and snow sports, it will be like a snowball, rolling bigger and bigger. In the words of IOC President Bach, China is already a country of winter sports.
In this sense, the athletes who stand in the middle of the arena and make history for the development of Ice and Snow Sports in China are worth remembering even if they do not win medals! They are like the "micro-fire" on the main torchbearer of the Winter Olympics, where a glimmer of light gathers to illuminate the future of Ice and Snow Sports in China.
Text/Onier
Edit/Dot Cang