"I like the shiny stuff."
Snowflakes in winter, stars in the sky
And your eyes."
Since the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, every Winter Olympics has included the romantic word "2.14" in its schedule. When pure ice and snow meet pure love, the aesthetic adventures of the Winter Olympics and Valentine's Day will continue to be written in Beijing.
"Love is not one heart hitting another, but the spark of two hearts colliding together." When the two hearts are closely intertwined, there is no longer a distinction between you and me in this pure world of ice and snow, and only us who are walking side by side are left.
In 1991, among more than 100 girls, Zhao Hongbo took a fancy to Shen Xue, who was less than 1.5 meters tall and unknown at the time. After a rapid four-month run-in, the two competed in the national championships and won the championship, and in 1993 they won the silver medal in the Asian Cup pair skating.
After that, the two became more and more courageous, and their achievements continued to improve. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, Shen Xue zhao Hongbo won two silver and one bronze at the World Championships. In 2002, the duo won the World Championships with the show "Turandot".
On March 21, 2007, at the Figure Skating World Championships held in Tokyo, Japan, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo won the third World Championship of their careers with perfect performances. At the end of the song, Zhao Hongbo fell on one knee and openly proposed to Shen Xue in front of the whole world. The couple finally came together after holding hands for 15 years.
In 2010, the two married and immediately chose to make a comeback. Their purpose is clear – to fulfill their Olympic gold dream. At the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo won the first gold medal in chinese history in pair skating by setting a new Olympic record for pair skating. The two hugged each other tightly, tears in their eyes. This year, Zhao Hongbo was 37 years old and Shen Xue was 32 years old.
Today, the two are still struggling in the hot land of figure skating – Shen Xue is currently the president of the Chinese Figure Skating Association, while Zhao Hongbo is the head coach of the Chinese figure skating team. The legend of "Turandot" on ice is still being written.
In the coaching staff of the Chinese biathlon national team competing in the Beijing Winter Olympics, there is also a legendary couple of multinationals - Bjør Darren and Domlacheva. Nicknamed "The King", Bjør Darren has won 8 Winter Olympic gold medals and 20 World Championship gold medals, and is a legendary superstar in biathlon.
In preparation for the Sochi Winter Olympics, Bjordalen experienced a major life change: he chose to divorce his wife, Santel, who had lived for more than a decade. He was 40 years old at this point, and the end of the relationship was a big blow to Bjordalen. Despite this, he still won two Olympic gold medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics, which impressed the world.
Two years after his divorce, Bjør Darren re-encountered his new love on the field. The "king's" wife, Dom ratcheva, is from Belarus and is also a world champion with three Gold medals for the Winter Olympics. The two fell in love and soon entered the palace of marriage.
In 2018, Bjør Darren announced his retirement, but he still couldn't give up the career he loved all his life. In 2019, Bjordalen came to China with his wife and became the head coach and coach of the Chinese men's and women's biathlons respectively, helping the Chinese team prepare for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Domlacheva said in an interview: "Biathlon in China has great potential and my husband and I are very happy to serve this country!"
There are famous Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo on the top, and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, who have good technical strength, and "sandwich biscuits" is the nickname that has been accompanying Pang Qing and Tong Jian for more than 10 years. But along the way, this "sandwich cookie" also has its own perfection and sweetness.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Pang Qing and Tong Jian won a silver medal by creating the highest score in the history of personal freedom skating. With the end of "Chasing Dreams Without Regrets", Tong Jian fell to his knees on the white ice and kissed deeply. After the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Tong Jian proposed to Pang Qing: "If you want, I will always accompany you to slide down." ”
At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the two veterans who played freely and with injuries chose the track "I Had a Dream" to tell the world their own story. After the performance of the two, the audience erupted into a long and warm applause. In 2015, Pang Qing and Tong Jian won the bronze medal at the Shanghai World Championships with a song "Waiting for You" and announced their retirement.
Silver medalist at the Winter Olympics, two World Championships... This "for you" is not only for Pang Qing and Tong Jian, but also for the figure skating career that they will never leave. After retiring from the army, Tong Jian opened an ice center to train figure skating talents. Pang Qing, on the other hand, served as a solo skating coach on the Chinese figure skating team. The couple continued to fight for China's figure skating career in their respective positions.
There are many husband and wife files in the Beijing Winter Olympics, but not many do not belong to the same project. Canadian female hockey player Turnbull and snowmobile male athlete Summer are a special example – the two have not seen each other for a long time to prepare for their respective events. After coming to Beijing, because the ice hockey and snowmobile events are located in the Beijing Division and the Yanqing Division, they also need to be stationed in different Olympic villages.
If the two loves are long, they are in the twilight of the dynasty. On February 4, the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics, they were reunited at the Bird's Nest at the National Stadium. The two hugged each other tightly and used the camera to freeze their sweet and unique memories. This is the first time the already engaged couple has met in nearly 3 months.
Turnbull and Summer then shared the photo of hugging at the opening ceremony on social media. Turnbull also wrote affectionately: "Reunited with a fiancé who has not been seen for 3 months." Is there a cooler reunion in the world than here? I'll wait for you to give me the answer. ”
This is a different kind of romance brought about by the Olympic Games. The Winter Olympics are not only competitive and united, but also full of strong love.
Liu Zhongqing and Zhang Xin, both former Chinese freestyle skiers, have both competed in four Winter Olympics: Liu Zhongqing won the men's bronze medal in aerial skills at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010; Zhang Xin won the women's silver medal in freestyle skiing aerial skills at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. In 2018, the two married and started a family after retiring from the military.
Although they left the arena, the hearts of the two never left the ice and snow sports. Two years ago, they learned that the National Winter Games Center was going to select a domestic technical officer (NTO) for the Winter Olympics in China, and the two signed up together. After several rounds of training and assessment and a strict English speaking test, the couple finally passed the selection and were selected as NTO: Liu Zhongqing's position is the captain of the freestyle ski snow skill track, and Zhang Xin is a finish staff member.
The couple told reporters that although their identities have changed from the athletes participating in the competition to the service athletes now, Zhang Xin and Liu Zhongqing said that as long as they stand at the end, their hearts will always be with their teammates. "Our aerial skills women's team has won a lot of silver medals, and I really hope to see them on their doorstep."
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, there are many sweet moments of love:
Norwegian curling mixed doubles couple Christine and Magnus cooperated with tacit understanding to win a valuable silver medal at the Water Cube;
British speed skaters Cornelius Ksten and Elia Smeadine are also a couple, they met at the British Championships as teenagers and are the best in their respective events;
In the ice dance performance of the figure skating team competition, Miri Komatsubara and Mazumi Komatsubara danced under the projection of brilliant lights to help the Japanese team win a bronze medal...
I sent three thousand pieces of white snow, and the red beans should be doubled. The Beijing Winter Olympics offer us all the necessary romantic scenes: snowy mountains, the Great Wall, spring breeze, love.
A festival full of happiness, let the passion of sports and the flying youth be completely released - I wish that there are lovers in the world who will eventually become dependents, hibiscus and ti, like ice and snow.
Text: Zhuang Tianyi (Intern)
Photo: Xinhua News Agency, etc
Editor: Zhuang Tianyi (Intern) Xu Ruofei (Intern)
Proofreader: Wang Chao