On the evening of February 12, in the men's 500m final of speed skating held at the National Speed Skating Hall, Gao Tingyu, one of the standard-bearers of the Chinese delegation at the Beijing Winter Olympics and the bronze medalist of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, broke the Olympic record of 34.41 seconds set by Norwegian Haval at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games in 34.32 seconds in the competition of 30 world top masters, realizing his promise to stand on the highest podium and bring the first gold of the Winter Olympics to Chinese men's speed skating.
Ready to go, the peak will be left for the Beijing Winter Olympics
At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago, Gao Tingyu won a valuable bronze medal, becoming the first male athlete in Chinese speed skating to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Four years later, at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gao Tingyu became one of the flag bearers of the opening ceremony of the Chinese sports delegation, saying: "I will certainly live up to this trust and strive to show the best side on the field." ”
Today's speed skating men's 500 meters show a different competitive pattern than 4 years ago. The champion of the year was Norway's Lorensen, whose season best time was 34.28 seconds, and the silver medalist was South Korea's Che Minkui, whose season best time was only 34.33 seconds, and only the third runner-up Gao Tingyu maintained a good competitive state. However, the sluggish state of the last champion and runner-up does not mean that Gao Tingyu has no competitors. Today, Gao Tingyu and Yang Tao, two Chinese athletes, need to challenge many strong opponents from Canada, Japan and the Russian Olympic team.
"Good boy who doesn't want to win a gold medal!" He said in an interview earlier that he wanted to change the color of the bronze medal of the Winter Olympics 4 years ago, which is a simple few words that indicate Gao Tingyu's expectations and goals for himself.
The coincidence of the seventh group? Perfect start to break Olympic records
In the speed skating competition, the players are divided into two groups, and the schedule and order of departure are randomly determined by the lottery. Two players in the same group glide counterclockwise around the ice track after the starting gun sounds. Each group of runners is allowed one rush and will be disqualified if the athlete commits a second foul. In order to ensure that the total distance of the two skates is the same, after each lap, the two players need to exchange positions in the exchange area and inside and outside the road.
In the order of appearances, Gao Tingyu appeared in group 7. Interestingly, Zhang Hong, the first gold medalist in the history of the Chinese Speed Skating Winter Olympics, was in the seventh group in the order of appearances at that time. Gao Tingyu's advantage lies in the starting, this season's World Cup Gao Tingyu has skated 9.32 seconds in the first 100 meters, and is recognized as one of the "strongest starters" in the speed skating arena. Sure enough, this time Gao Tingyu started quite perfectly, full of explosive power, from the beginning to the end of the gliding to maintain a super high speed, and finally broke the Olympic record in 34 seconds 32 seconds, after which a number of players launched an impact on Gao Tingyu's performance, but all challenged fruitlessly, and finally Gao Tingyu won the championship.
Another Chinese player, Yang Tao, appeared in the eighth group with a time of 35.162 seconds.
The wind-chasing boy turned out to be a "Jue Emperor"
Do you know what moves the fastest on land, driven by manpower and without the help of external forces? The answer is speed skating. Speed skating competes on a 400-meter track, with Olympic champions reaching a top speed of more than 60 km/h. "The charm of speed skating lies in its speed, male athletes can reach speeds of more than 60 kilometers per hour, and how to control the ice rink at this time depends on their own strength." Gao Tingyu said that unlike the fierce confrontation of short track speed skating, speed skating is a confrontation between oneself and oneself, and it is also a competition of absolute speed.
Gao Tingyu and China's first ice and snow world champion Luo Zhihuan are both from Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, Gao Tingyu began to practice skating from the third grade of primary school, formally received professional skating training at Mudanjiang Sports School, and then was introduced to the short and medium distance group by Zhang Hong's coach Feng Qingbo. At the 2017 Asian Winter Games, Gao Tingyu won gold in the men's 500 meters of speed skating and set a new Asian record.
After winning a bronze medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Gao Tingyu became a little popular. His Weibo followers have grown from less than 10,000 to more than 600,000 now. Usually Gao Tingyu's biggest hobby is sleep, he has to ensure about 12 hours of sleep every day, sometimes 17 hours a day, is the "emperor" in the team. He is full of Northeastern humor, the mantra is "OK", slippery vomit will say "to die". This Yichun guy who is galloping on the field, but is chronic and cold jokes off the field, will surely gain more fans after winning the championship.
As a traditional advantage of China's winter ice and snow, the speed skating team once achieved a "zero breakthrough" in the history of medals for the Chinese delegation at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. After several ups and downs, at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Zhang Hong rode the dust in the women's 1000m final and won the first gold in the history of China's speed skating Winter Olympics. At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Gao Tingyu won the first medal of the Winter Olympics for the Chinese male speed skater. Four years later, the 24-year-old Gao Tingyu, who was at the peak of his peak, once again brought surprises, winning the first gold medal in Chinese men's speed skating with a perfect performance that broke the Olympic record, and The Chinese speed skating sport is on the rise.
Article/Hubei Daily reporter Guo Xiaoming Tong Junpeng sent from Beijing
Photo: Xinhua News Agency