On February 12, Gao Tingyu was in the competition. Global Times reporter Li Hao photographed
On February 12, Gao Tingyu was at the ceremony of awarding souvenirs. Photographed by Wang Xiaguang, a reporter of this newspaper
The moment he crossed the finish line, the 24-year-old Gao Tingyu looked like a bolt of lightning in the eyes of the audience. At a distance of 500 meters, it takes 34.32 seconds, and a new Olympic record is born! Amid the cheers, Gao Tingyu continued to glide calmly. At this time, there are still 8 groups of players who have not appeared.
The audience waited with bated breath as each player completed the race, and no one could surpass the result. Win! The exciting melody of "I Love You China" sounded on the field, and Gao Tingyu held high the national flag and ran around the field. After screaming on his back, he quietly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
On February 12, the National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon", which has been recorded frequently since the beginning of the competition, was downloaded to the glorious moment of history: Gao Tingyu won the men's 500-meter speed skating championship at the Beijing Winter Olympics, achieving a breakthrough of zero winter Olympic gold medals for Chinese men's speed skating.
This heavy gold medal, counting from the 1980 Winter Olympics of Lake Placid, several generations of speed skaters have waited for 42 years. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, it was Gao Tingyu who won a breakthrough 500m bronze medal, opening a new chapter in Chinese men's speed skating. At that time, he was full of ambition: "In 4 years, I will change the color of the medal." "Now, he's really done it.
Speed skating is a contest between athletes and time. For many years, accompanying Gao Tingyu to sleep every day was the picture of gliding in his mind over and over again. Starting skating at the age of 8, he devoted all his energy to the sport. Behind strong self-discipline is the desire and pursuit of dreams.
This young man who is chronic in life has become the "vanguard" of the Chinese speed skating team. Excellent physical fitness, amazing explosive power, so that Gao Tingyu quickly stood out in the short distance project, at a young age to rank among the world's top. After the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, he was pinned high hopes on the rise of his sports career and carried the banner of China's speed skating to continue to break through.
However, there are always challenges and tests waiting for Gao Tingyu. During the Beijing Winter Olympic cycle, his performance once fluctuated, and there were several mistakes on the field. The high starting point of his sports career has put him under a lot of pressure, and the problem of injury has added to the uncertainty. He confessed: "After many training sessions, I was so tired that I couldn't get up when I lay there. ”
No matter how difficult it was, Gao Tingyu did not think of giving up in the slightest. He told himself again and again: "Good results are not based on thinking, just go all out and rush forward." Day after day of high-intensity training, he never relaxes the requirements for details, and every day like a "demon" to watch the game video and study the technology. Even if affected by the epidemic and more than a year away from the international arena, Gao Tingyu still maintains a better competitive state.
In September 2021, in the men's 500m race of the China Cup Speed Skating Elite League, Gao Tingyu skated a good time of 33.83 seconds, which was only 0.22 seconds away from the world record. Two months later, he won his first World Cup title in Poland. Successive matches to prove his strength made him "feel more and more confident."
The speed skating men's 500m event is full of strong players, and the Winter Olympics are set to win or lose in one round, and there is no room for half a miss. Gao Tingyu set a clear goal for himself, "Our speed skating foundation is relatively weak, and we need to be hard to play iron." In the last two months of preparation, he constantly checked and filled in the gaps, improved various technical details such as starting.
At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, as one of the double flag bearers of the Chinese sports delegation, he proudly walked into the venue with the five-star red flag. This honor filled him with strength, and the second time he participated in the Winter Olympics, Gao Tingyu's eyes were more determined.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, gao Tingyu, who won the men's 500-meter speed skating championship with a new Olympic record, skated the best of himself with a "big heart", allowing the world to witness the "Chinese speed". The roar after the game was full of years of hard work. The moment he realized his dream, he was still ambitious, "Today's start is slower than usual, I can do better." ”
In two Winter Olympic Games, Gao Tingyu made history twice. This young man who "dreams of skating" confessed affectionately after the game: "The gold medal is dedicated to the motherland!"
People's Daily ( 2022-02-13 05 edition)