Fan Kexin got down on his knees and kissed the ice surface! This is a scene that happened after the women's 3000m relay race in short track speed skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. In this final, the Chinese team swept away the haze of Pyeongchang's penalty four years ago and won the bronze medal.
The Beijing Winter Olympics is the third and perhaps possible last Olympic Games for 29-year-old Fan Kexin. From the strong victory of the team mixed relay to the individual event 500 meters out of the track and did not qualify for the final, to tonight's 3000 meters relay bronze medal, Fan Kexin has been fighting, fighting.
It may be her farewell performance, but it is by no means her end. There have been achievements in becoming a world champion at the age of 17, and there have also been losses in Pyeongchang's penalization. Today, she finally completed her mission and was relieved to kiss the ice rink that had accompanied her for 12 years. After the race, Fan Kexin talked about his future: "I am only 29, I still love short track speed skating, as long as the country needs me, I will definitely continue to slide!" ”
Along the way, Fan Kexin has many stories on the ice. Troughs, tears, controversies, but she still didn't want to bow her head and give in. This time, neither the opponent nor the referee could stop a heart that aspired to be a champion.
Old skates grind blood bubbles to make the beginning of speed skating Mother scraped together money to buy the first pair of new skates
Fan Kexin was born in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang Province. Although her family conditions were very poor, she was very sensible from an early age. She will take the initiative to share the housework and has not complained. She understands that it is not easy for her parents to help others repair shoes every day.
Since she didn't have the money to buy skates for practice, she went to find old skates that others didn't want to wear. The unsuitable skates often grind large blood blisters on her feet. But she did not give up because she was afraid that her teammates would see her and worry about her, and when she was training, she wrapped her feet in a cloth and did not dare to take off her socks when she returned home.
Once, Fan Kexin's mother saw her scarred feet, and she was distressed and guilty, and her mother pooled her money to buy her a new pair of skates. Despite the poverty of her family, Fan Kexin does not feel inferior, but she is proud to have such a father and mother, and her achievements have always been in the front. As Fan Kexin's grades became more and more outstanding, her family life also got better step by step, and when she won the prize money, she sent it home, leaving only a small part of her life for herself.
This pair of skates, Fan Kexin has stayed until now. It carries the love of her parents for her, and it also carries the direction she faces her dreams.
"Speed of Light" Growth: 17 years old to become the new world champion
Fan Kexin first participated in the World Championships just turned 17 years old, and won the gold on his debut, a battle that made the world remember this "tomboy".
It was 2011, at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, where Fan Kexin won the women's 500m final. The battle brought together the six strongest players at the time, and among the many players, no one noticed the small youngster. Running together Fan Kexin grabbed the first position, and then kept the lead all the way to the end, and since then this humble "tomboy" has been remembered by ice fans.
From being selected for the national team to becoming a world champion, it took her less than 5 months. Participating in the World Championships for the first time had an individual gold medal in the account, which was not achieved by Wang Meng and Zhou Yang.
This year is also the first year that Fan Kexin has entered the national team, and compared with the old players, she has a fierce spirit of "newborn calves are not afraid of tigers" on the field. At that time, the head coach Li Yan praised Fan Kexin for his good sense of ice and his movements were also very standardized, "like Wang Meng when he was young.". Fan Kexin shook his head and smiled when he heard it: "Sister Mao is my idol, and I am far from her." She was not proud of this, but took her predecessors as role models and learned with an open mind.
After winning the first gold of the individual World Championship, there was no special celebration, and Fan Kexin began new training without stopping, preparing for the next game. From the time she joined the national team, she devoted all her energy to training and competition, and did not return home once until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Unremitting hard training has also brought rewards to Fan Kexin. In the women's 1000m final at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, she crossed the finish line for the second time and made her debut on the podium at the Winter Olympics, when she was only 21 years old.
Get out of the haze of Pyeongchang and witness the transformation from "young general" to "famous general"
From Sochi to Pyeongchang, Fan Kexin continued to speed skate this road is still duty-bound. Wang Meng transformed, Fan Kexin took on the leadership of the women's team, and she and Zhou Yang continued to set off. After all, she is only one Olympic gold medal she cares about most from her Grand Slam dream.
But fate still did not favor her.
Fast forward to February 13, 2018, in the semi-finals of the women's short track speed skating 500 meters at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Fan Kexin, who was in a group with South Korea's Choi Min-jing and Italy's FanTana, appeared in the fourth lane. Glide over the finish line and the display appears – "FAN KEXIN, PEN".
Foul, missed the final. Fight again, another foul. Despite the Chinese team's appeal, it could not be changed.
Fan Kexin burst into tears: "Maybe the Olympic Games are like this, I also seized the opportunity, I also went all out, but it was over." ”
The strongest Chinese short-track female athlete after Wang Meng and Zhou Yanghou won the five-time World Championships, but failed to win the gold in two Winter Olympics. In the eyes of ordinary people, the world championship champion is an extraordinary achievement, but the lack of an Olympic gold medal is a regret that is difficult for Fan Kexin to resolve.
Stand on the field of Beijing and finally realize the dream of olympic champions
The road to start again is not without difficulties for Fan Kexin. As the years go by, competitiveness declines, and opponents stubble after stubble. Indeed, when it comes to the golden medals, who doesn't aspire to stand on the top podium? She once said this with Zhang Bin in a conversation with "Fengyunhui", "At that time, crying every day was particularly uncomfortable. When I can't do anything about it, I feel particularly unreliable. ”
This regret makes Fan Kexin have no way back. She does not believe that fate has always been so harsh on herself, unable to get rid of the fate of the "millennium old two", she is eager to change her life against the sky with the Olympic gold medal and live up to her insistence.
On the evening of February 5, in the final of the 2000-meter mixed relay of short track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese team won the first gold of the Chinese sports delegation at the Winter Olympics with a time of 2 minutes 37.348 seconds. 29-year-old Fan Kexin finally waited for this gold medal, and when she was interviewed after the game, her tears burst out: "This gold medal, I have waited too long!" I will always believe in my teammates! Every time I trained, every time I got off the ice, my throat was covered with blood! ”
Fan Kexin has experienced too much along the way. Short track speed skating is not only a sport for her, but more and more like a roommate, a companion. This special "friend" is like sunshine and a faint fragrance of flowers, everywhere and unrestrained.
We are glad that we can meet Fan Kexin at the most beautiful age, she loves to eat three fresh, dares to love and dare to hate her, and she gives countless young people strength and teaches many young people to grow. Because of this, our affection is not betrayed!
"Because of dreams, because of love." Starting from an old pair of skates, he became the world champion of xinke at the age of 17, the runner-up of the Winter Olympics at the age of 21, and the 29-year-old Fan Kexin is still constantly transforming.
Not every game will have the best ending, but her efforts deserve our respect.
Written by Zhang Zichen
Editor/Li Xu Liang Lina
Visual/Wang Ye Chen Zhaohang