Cai Xuetong was known as a "genius girl" at the beginning of her debut. Figure/IC photo
Beijing News (reporter Zhou Xiao) On the morning of February 10, the final of the women's U-shaped field skill of snowboarding at the Beijing Winter Olympics was held in The Genting Ski Park in Zhangjiakou Division. Cai Xuetong once again got the chance to touch the Winter Olympic medal, however, this time the opportunity once again slipped past her. Fourth place was her personal Winter Olympics best. In fact, the veteran's front is not the podium, but the future of the breakthrough.
debut
Roller skating master transformed into a snowboard "genius girl"
Born in 1993 in Acheng District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, Cai Xuetong has been a "tomboy" since childhood. With a small hair, his favorite recreational activity is to go to the park and play roller skating. Don't look at the young age, roller skating is not ambiguous at all, Cai Xuetong's self-evaluation is not modest: "In today's words, it should be 'Wan Ruo YouLong, Fei Ruo Feng Hong, that is called a sa!'" ’”
Cai Xuetong's snowboarding trail began with roller skating. Because he skated too well in the park, he was discovered by an amateur sports school coach at the age of 11 and has been uprooted for veneer ever since. Snowboarding has many small events, and Cai Xuetong describes his snowboarding U-shaped track technique as "the project that flies around in the half-pull pipe".
In the "flying around in the half-pulled pipe", Cai Xuetong showed her talent and won the praise of "genius girl". From winning the bronze medal at the National Games in 2008 when she first competed in an official competition, to winning the gold medal in the women's U-shaped track of the FIS World Junior Snowboard Championships in 2009, the honorary road of "talented girl" has a good start. For more than a decade, she has won large and small championships, the most important of which is of course the two world championships and seven World Cup championships. However, in these honors, something seems to be missing.
Yes, she has not won a Winter Olympic medal so far, not a single one.
The Beijing Winter Olympics is Cai Xuetong's fourth time to compete in the Winter Olympics. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Frustrated
The reasons for the first three Winter Olympics were different
In 2010, Cai Xuetong participated in the Winter Olympics for the first time. At that Vancouver Winter Olympics, she was the youngest female snowboarding U-track skill athlete. The journey of the debut of the Winter Olympics is not too good a memory, Standing on the departure platform of Cai Xuetong, "the brain is completely in a state of blindfolding." ”
The result can be imagined, and the youngster, who failed in both rounds of the preliminary round, eventually ranked 23rd. What makes Cai Xuetong feel a little comforted is that no matter what, she has already seen the Winter Olympics, "At that moment, standing on the field of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, there was already a feeling of fulfilling her dreams." ”
Four years later, the Sochi Winter Olympics came as promised, and Cai Xuetong was able to face the competition with a more relaxed attitude. But injuries have become her "roadblock" in the Winter Olympics – in 2012, Cai Xuetong suffered a serious injury to her right shoulder, resulting in the entire preparation cycle in the shadows. Psychological fear after the injury and the decline of competitive status became her biggest problem, and Cai Xuetong, who "did not have real difficult moves to fight with opponents", finally won the 6th place.
The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago was Cai Xuetong's own highest expectations of the Winter Olympics journey, and the technology, state and physical fitness were at their best. Her results in the preparation cycle of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics are equally eye-catching, not only creating history to win the silver medal of X-Games, but also winning the world championship, but also walking to the podium of major commercial competitions. However, mistakes in the first two rounds of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Final became Cai Xuetong's nightmare, and he did not play normally until the 3rd round, and finally only won the 5th place.
This is almost a huge psychological gap that ordinary people can't bear, and Cai Xuetong chose to temporarily leave the arena and return to Beijing Sport University to continue campus life.
Cai Xuetong in the women's U-shaped track skills final at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Beijing News reporter Tao Ran photographed
regretful
The set of actions I wanted to do was not completed
In Cai Xuetong's heart, the flames that hit the higher peaks had not actually been extinguished. Although she returned to campus, Sean White's final jump at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics made her passionate and unforgettable. Since then, Cai Xuetong has set a goal: "In my 4th Winter Olympics, that is, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, I want to have something to gain, after all, the first 3 Winter Olympic trips were not satisfactory." ”
Inspired by this goal, Cai Xuetong shortened the rest and study time, and returned to the national team to start training again after half a year. In 2019, she achieved a difficulty breakthrough, completing the difficult movements of two 900-degree turns of the front foot and the reverse foot.
In that year, Chloe King was an unsurpassable opponent ahead, and Cai Xuetong even gave the answer of "She is the Boss" when facing reporters at the 2019 World Championships in Park City, USA, when confronted with reporters' questions about "how to surpass Chloe". The coach later taught his disciples a little bit of hatred, "If your back foot 900 is successful at the World Championships, you can beat Chloe and get three consecutive championships." Chloe can't play well every game, you can't give up trying. ”
Before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Cai Xuetong had two goals, one was to "complete the set of actions that he wanted to complete", and the other was to "relax, start with another mood, and feel the Olympic Games" - this is a breakthrough plan in both athletics and psychology.
On February 10, 2022, the final of the women's U-shaped field skill of snowboarding at the Beijing Winter Olympics was held at the Genting Ski Park in Zhangjiakou Division. Cai Xuetong made mistakes in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the final and failed to complete the first goal. Although she finished fourth in her personal best at the Winter Olympics, she still failed to stand on the podium.
After the game, Cai Xuetong's eyes and nose were red as he walked through the mixed interview area, and he kept choking up and telling everyone: "My uncomfortable point is that I failed to complete the set of actions I wanted to do." "Failing to surpass yourself is something that touches the hearts of skiers more than rank."
For Cai Xuetong, another 4 years have come to an end, and she has not given a clear answer on whether to play in the next Winter Olympics, but skiing and life will continue. Ranking is never the end of breaking through oneself.
Beijing News reporter Zhou Xiao
Edited by Liu Jia Proofreader Chen Diyan