On the evening of February 11, in the men's steel frame snowmobile competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Yan Wengang won the bronze medal with a four-round performance of 4:01.77, creating a historic breakthrough for Chinese athletes in this event.
In October 2015, the Chinese steel frame snowmobile was officially formed, and the team members all came through cross-item selection, and they did not even know what the steel frame snowmobile was. In less than six and a half years, Chinese athletes who started from scratch have reached the podium of the Winter Olympics in this extreme sport known as f1 in the ice and snow. How did they create the "China Speed"? Behind this, what kind of effort has the team put in? How much effort has been put in?
On February 11, China's Yan Wengang celebrated after the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Wenyao
500 pinch slides to return to the Winter Olympic medals
When Yan Wengang wore a national flag and held a bronze medal after the game and took a picture with the crowd that lined up to celebrate, he couldn't help but say, "It would be better if it were a gold medal." Actually, I want a gold medal! We've skied more than 500 times here before, and we're all too familiar with the track. ”
Back in the summer of 2015, 121 athletes from all over the country came to Yanqing, Beijing, to participate in the selection test, and finally 5 male athletes and 5 female athletes stood out. Geng Wenqiang, Yan Wengang and Yin Zheng, who later came to the team, all cross-border from athletics to steel frame snowmobiles, and have since run from the Summer Olympics to winter Olympians. Including Zhang Peimeng, a former 100-meter flyer, he also transferred to steel frame snowmobiles after retiring.
The progress of China's steel frame snowmobile can be said to be realized little by little. In January 2016, just two months after the team was formed, the Chinese team participated in a steel-framed snowmobile international invitational tournament held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Geng Wenqiang, who had been training for more than two months, won the bronze medal. At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Chinese athletes appeared in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time, and Geng Wenqiang won the 13th place, creating the best result of The Chinese steel frame snowmobile in the Winter Olympics.
Entering the Beijing Winter Olympics cycle, China's steel frame snowmobile continued to "go out, please come in" and actively participated in international events. On January 11, 2020, in the International Snowmobile Federation Steel Frame Ski World Cup in La Plagne, France, Geng Wenqiang won the third place and reached the World Cup podium for the first time. In the 2021/2022 Steel Frame Bobsleigh World Cup last November, Geng Wenqiang made history by winning China's first championship with a total time of 1:46.04.
On February 11, China's Yan Wengang set off in the competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter He Changshan
Talent thickness increases
Take advantage of the host
The steel frame snowmobile is a "meat-wrapped iron" sport, in which athletes lie on the snowmobile and swoop down from the ice-covered track with a drop of more than 100 meters, with a maximum speed of more than 130 kilometers. The athlete has no steering wheel, no brakes, and can only rely on slight body shaking to control the direction. Because it was too thrilling, he was disqualified from the Winter Olympics twice. From Geng Wenqiang to Yan Wengang to Yin Zheng, they all mentioned that the impact caused concussion during training, and at one point they had amnesia symptoms. According to captain Geng Wenqiang, at first he asked to quit the national team many times, but several people eventually persevered.
What makes the Chinese steel-framed snow team so confident in the Winter Olympics is the confidence of sitting in the home race. To this end, the team organized four rounds of selection competitions before the Winter Olympic Games, and the team members could only decide who could represent the Chinese team through four rounds of competition. Geng Wenqiang, the "first person in China's steel frame snowmobile" who previously won a gold medal in the World Cup to create history, lost to Yin Zheng and Yan Wengang in the selection competition and missed the Winter Olympics. When the list was announced, the outside world was very surprised, and even triggered the speculation that Geng Wenqiang himself was in trouble. But in fact, this precisely reflects the talent thickness of China's steel frame snow team, and the internal competition is very fierce.
Hanging the bronze medal of the Winter Olympics around his neck, Yan Wengang still kept complaining to himself: "After more than 500 times of watch-pinching, I would never have made so many mistakes today." Before today's race, I kept telling myself not to worry, athletes from other countries haven't skied the track much, but I already know it all too well. "Yan Wengang's self-blame is justified, and the steel frame snowmobile players who play at home have a unique advantage because of their incomparable familiarity with the track, as evidenced by the victory of South Korea's Yin Chengbin at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago.
Hire foreign teachers + high-tech help
Of course, the host's familiarity with the track is only an objective advantage condition, and what really makes China's steel frame snowmobile take off, in addition to the hard work and sweat of the athletes, there is also scientific training and scientific and technological assistance.
On February 11, China's Yan Wengang celebrated after the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter He Changshan
Yan Wengang said after winning the bronze medal, "Thanks to the country and the team, we have invested so much to solve a series of problems and created a very superior training conditions and training environment for us." In fact, since its inception, the Chinese steel frame snow team has clearly defined the strategy of "please come in and go out", and the high-level foreign teachers have brought new ideas and new ideas for project development, and continuous honing in international competitions after scientific training is the only way to improve the level. The German head coach Schmidt, who led the Chinese steel-framed snow team to the Winter Olympics, and his assistants have rich coaching experience, and they get along with the team members day and night, and they are fully trusted.
In addition, the China Steel Frame Snow Team attaches great importance to improving the performance of its team members with the help of scientific and technological power. At the National Bobsleigh Center, there is a facility called the Igloo, a training hall that can be used from summer to winter to train on the track. The team members trained here for a long time, perfecting the details of the technical movements in the departure stage, from digital cameras capturing and correcting the athletes' starting techniques, to using the wind tunnel to help athletes find their posture with the smallest wind resistance on the snowmobile, and scientific and technological means to help Chinese athletes master the most effective technical movements in a short period of time and form muscle memory.
On February 11, China's Yan Wengang competed in the competition. Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fei photographed
It can be said that boosting the speed of China's steel frame snow team has formed a joint force. For example, the team of Li Bo, a professor at the School of Civil and Architectural Engineering of Beijing Jiaotong University, conducted many wind resistance tests for Chinese team members. A 10% reduction in wind resistance increases performance by 1%. Tasting the sweetness of scientific and technological empowerment, these technical means combined with the hard training of athletes have gradually improved the self-confidence of the Chinese steel frame snow team and realized the wish of standing on the podium of the Winter Olympics.
The two German players who won the gold and silver medals this time, Christopher and Junker, are from the powerful German team. When talking about the Chinese steel frame snow team, both said that they envied the Chinese athletes with such good training conditions, "This track condition is particularly good, their team is also particularly strong, from service to equipment, have helped the Chinese team grow rapidly." ”
Column editor-in-chief: Qin Hong, Gu Wanquan, Zhang Wu
Author: Beijing Youth Daily
Source: Beijing Youth Daily