Finally not at the bottom!
In the Beijing Winter Olympics men's ski jumping qualifier that ended last night, although China's 20-year-old Song Qiwu still failed to qualify for today's final round, this time he did not rank first from the bottom like the previous men's standard stage.
Song Qiwu, who participated in the Winter Olympics for the first time, overtook Ukrainian athlete Korchuk in the big jump event with 56 athletes to rank 55th.
The Chinese team's ski jumping at this Winter Olympic Games has also been completed. In addition to Song Qiwu's two men's individual events, Dong Bing ranked 31st in the women's standard stage qualification competition, and one missed the final round; Peng Qingyue, the youngest athlete at the Beijing Winter Olympics of the Chinese delegation, 17, ranked last. The Chinese team also ranked at the bottom of the mixed team competition.
Ski jumping from a height of 100 meters, derived from the Norwegian farmer's creation of the platform leap in 1860, has always been regarded as the "sport of the brave". At the first Winter Olympics in 1924, ski jumping was already an official sport.
But for Chinese sports fans, the real understanding of this Winter event where Chinese players have not yet reached the world-class level is because of a small character inspirational movie called "Flying Eagle Eddie".
This film is based on real events, in which the protagonist Eddie Edwards has long been a famous figure in the ski jumping event, and even in the history of the entire Winter Olympics.
The British athlete, who competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, ranked last in ski jumping, even changed the rules for the entire Winter Olympics.
Behind the "shortcut" was a serious injury to two fractures of the skull
At the closing ceremony of the Calgary Winter Olympics 34 years ago, The Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Frank King, said: "In this Olympic Games, some athletes won gold medals, some athletes broke records, and some athletes flew like eagles. ”
He was talking about Eddie Edwards, nicknamed "Eddie the Flying Eagle," a British ski jumper who spent just 20 months from scratch to the Winter Olympics.
Can you play in the Winter Olympics in just 20 months? Eddie wasn't a super genius for ski jumping, he relied on the fact that the project was not popular in the UK at the time.
When Eddie, who was particularly fond of sports as a child, began learning to ski at the age of 13, he dreamed of one day appearing on the Field of the Winter Olympics wearing the costume of the British delegation.
He tried to make himself a fairly good amateur alpine skier, but in this event, not to mention participating in the Winter Olympics, he was not ranked in the United Kingdom.
So in 1986, at the age of 22, Eddie decided to switch to a ski jumper. The reason is simple, ski jumping is almost a blank in the UK, and no one practices the project. As long as he practices and his grades meet the minimum standards, he will definitely be able to represent Britain in the Winter Olympics, which is his last chance to complete his Winter Olympic dream.
Although this is a "shortcut" to the Winter Olympics, there is no real shortcut for Eddie, who is starting from scratch. Jump from the 10-meter platform, then 15 meters, 40 meters, 60 meters... Each jump is a new challenge, a bigger challenge for Eddie.
The skull was fractured twice, the jaw, collarbone and three ribs were broken, and the kidneys and knees were damaged. In the 20 months leading up to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Eddie had three accidents on the snow, leaving a staggering injury.
Eddie once said in an interview, "Originally you needed to practice for a year at each height, but I only practiced 10 times." And I didn't get any more serious injuries, it was a miracle. Just a month after a skull fracture, I returned to the training ground. Sounds silly, but that's what I did. Because I'm accomplishing my mission. ”
Received good news in the asylum for the Winter Olympics
In addition to the hardships of training, another problem that tormented Eddie was funding. Because the United Kingdom did not carry out this project, Eddie had to go overseas to train, which was bound to be a big expense.
In the movie, Eddie at least has an amateur coach, but in fact, he can't afford a coach at all, and can only grope on his own.
Eddie's first jump attempt was at Lake Placid in New York, where he simply bought some discarded equipment at the lost and found office and began his preparations for the Winter Olympics.
In order to save money for dinner, Eddie often spends the night in the car, or sleeps in a cowshed, and spends the night in a barn at minus 25 degrees.
Eddie said: "It was really a huge challenge, but I never wanted to give up. I love what I do. Even if you want me to sleep on the street, it doesn't matter. I would rather trade CHF 30 for a month's meal than just one night's sleep, because I can continue to train with food. ”
In order to ensure strong training, Eddie also revealed that he would even go to the trash can to find food.
When the final qualification for the Winter Olympics was confirmed, Eddie happened to be in a mental hospital in Finland, because the rent for the cubicle there was very cheap. Eddie received a call from his parents, who read him the letter of induction.
Of course, Eddie did not just choose to ski jump to represent Britain in the Winter Olympics. First of all, it is true that because he is halfway out of the house and self-taught, his grades are too poor, and the British Olympic Committee actually does not want Eddie to lose people, so it sets him a distance standard that they think cannot be achieved. Second, Eddie must finish in the top 55 at the World Championships the year before the Winter Olympics to qualify.
Unexpectedly, Eddie did both of these things. The British Olympic Committee obviously underestimated Eddie's determination and ability; and at the World Championships, luck sided with Eddie, a total of 56 players participated in the competition, although Eddie's result was the first to last, but there was another player who had no results because of the foul, so he completed the line to advance.
Focus on participating in the penultimate first, giving birth to the "Flying Eagle Rule"
Stories of small people counterattacking always resonate with the general public. Eddie, who was interviewed by the BBC before leaving for the Winter Olympics, immediately caused a sensation in Britain, not only did the newly received nickname "Eddie the Eagle" appear on the huge banner after arriving at the airport, but the British Olympic Committee also held a press conference for him.
There was no suspense in the official competitions that followed, and there were no miracles in competitive sports, especially when Eddie and the other participating athletes had a chasm-like gap.
He was 58th in the regular stage, in the first place, with a total score of 69.2, which was half of the total score of the second-to-last Spanish player. Compared with the other runners who have practiced tens of thousands of times, Eddie only jumped 5 times, and this time he finished 55th. Some of the rankings improved because there were athletes who fouled and didn't get results, and the point gap between him and the penultimate Canadian player was almost double.
"Eddie the Eagle" became a hot topic at the Calgary Winter Olympics, and most people were amazed by the efforts of this little man, believing that he represented the Olympic movement in the spirit of participation, courage to pursue and realize dreams. At the closing ceremony, the phrase "some players fly like eagles" was the biggest compliment to Eddie.
But the IOC doesn't seem to support Eddie's highlights, because his level of competition is so low that he feels that his amateur behavior makes such a high-level olympic sport seem very childish. So in 1990, the IOC adopted a rule, also known as the Eagle Rules.
The rules stipulate that only athletes within the top 50 of the world ranking or within the top 30% of the overall ranking are eligible for Olympic tickets.
This led directly to the fact that Eddie failed to qualify for the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. In 1998, although Eddie received sponsorship from a British company to help him participate in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he failed because he could not meet the standard.
Eddie said of the "flying eagle rule" introduced because of himself, it was like breaking his wings, "I was popular at the Winter Olympics, and the most important reason is that I represent the Olympic spirit." But many federations complain to the INTERNATIONAL Snow Federation that too many people pay attention to me, which is the rule. It sounds ironic to kick me out of the Olympics because I represent the Olympic spirit. ”
"If Eddie achieves his Olympic dream, then I can achieve my dream." When the film "Eddie the Eagle" was released in China, Eddie Edwards came to China to do publicity, saying that he hoped that the story would be intense for everyone with a dream.