Guangming Daily reporter Wang Donghuang Xiaoyi
On the morning of February 10, after the final of the women's U-shaped field skill of snowboarding, Liu Jiayu, who walked out of the arena, had his usual smile, and Cai Xuetong did not suppress the tears of disappointment. Participated in four Winter Olympics, this time on the doorstep of the game, no one wants to be on the podium more than they are.
On February 10, the women's U-shaped track skill finals for snowboarding were held at Genting Ski Park. The picture shows Chinese player Cai Xuetong in the competition. Guangming Daily reporter Chen Cheng/Guangming Photo
China's Cai Xuetong in the competition. Guangming Daily reporter Chen Cheng/Guangming Photo
Cai Xuetong's four Winter Olympics, the results of each session are steadily advancing.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, 16-year-old Cai Xuetong was the youngest female athlete in the snowboarding event. That year, she failed both in the U-shaped preliminaries, and finally ended her first Winter Olympic tour with a 23rd place finish.
In 2014, in the women's U-shaped field final of snowboarding at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Cai Xuetong finally ranked sixth.
In 2018, at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Cai Xuetong finished fifth with 76.50 points.
Entering the Beijing Winter Olympics cycle, Cai Xuetong is still making progress.
At the end of 2018, the 2018-2019 FIS Snowboard U-Shaped World Cup China Station was held at the Chongli Genting Ski Resort, and Cai Xuetong won the championship with 88.75 points and won the ninth World Cup championship.
In 2019, in the 2018-2019 FIS Snowboard U-Field World Cup, Cai Xuetong won the gold with 89.25 points in the first round.
In 2020, in the 38th US Open snowboarding U-shaped field competition, Cai Xuetong won the championship with 88.16 points, which was the first time that a Chinese athlete won a gold medal in the US Open.
Today she is better than she was 4 years ago, winning the best result of the Winter Olympics - 4th place, one step away from the podium. Cai Xuetong scored 81.25 points in the first jump with excellent performance, ranking third. In the next two rounds she kept trying to increase the difficulty and try to get a higher score, but it backfired. The Spanish player overtook Cai Xuetong with his outstanding performance in the second round.
"I was disappointed not to be on the podium. I didn't succeed, but I tried my best. "In the face of the interview, Cai Xuetong burst into tears." I wanted to show my best form here, but unfortunately didn't end up with a better score with the best finish. ”
"Can we see you in the next session?" In the face of questions, Cai Xuetong replied: "If I still have the ability, can continue to challenge my limits, or can tap my potential, I will continue." ”
Liu Jiayu is "luckier" than Cai Xuetong. Four years ago in Pyeongchang, she finished second on the podium. But today Liu Jiayu is really not "lucky" enough.
In the first two rounds of the competition, Liu Jiayu slipped and fell after the mid-section jump and did not complete the complete set of actions. The only chance was in the final round. In the last round, she did not choose to finish the game with low difficulty, but still pursued high difficult moves. 73.50 points, 7th place, she finished the race on her own terms. After the game, she said: "The last jump, I didn't think about anything, I just wanted to enjoy the moment. ”
She is such a person who does not accept defeat, a person who simply loves skiing.
In the 2007-2008 season, Liu Jiayu, who was 17 years old at the time, stood out, won the World Cup gold medal twice, and was once ranked first in the world. At the World Snowboard Championships in South Korea in January 2009, Liu Jiayu won the gold medal in the women's U-shaped track, becoming the first Asian female athlete in the history of snowboarding to win the championship.
But after that, injuries and changes to scoring rules made her results very unstable, but she never gave up and eventually won a silver medal in PyeongChang.
In the competition that Liu Jiayu participated in, no matter how well she played or what kind of opponent she faced, she was always like a child, with a smile on her face and laughter wherever she was. In the final, she still wore two small braids, and danced with her ups and downs during the game.
After the game, Liu Jiayu said: "In preparation for the Beijing Winter Olympics cycle, I developed a lot of actions and I completed a lot of breakthroughs. I've always been happy, really, nothing frustrating, and I enjoy snowboarding. After preparing for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics for another 4 years, the outside world may say that I am trying to persevere, but for me, I am really enjoying, and I am very happy every day. ”
"Can we see you in the next session?" Faced with the same question, Liu Jiayu's answer was more crisp: "Whether it is participating in four Olympic Games or preparing for the next Olympic Games, the reason I persevered was because I believed that I could have a better breakthrough." When asked by a reporter what her next dream was, she replied firmly: "Gold medal!" ”
Guangming Daily ( 2022-02-11 06 edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily