Wu Dajing, the defending short track speed skating men's 500m champion, deserves applause

On the evening of the 13th, the Beijing Winter Olympics short track speed skating men's 500m 1/4 final ended, China's Ren Ziwei and Sun Long appeared in the first group, and finally the former won the third place in the group with 40.714 seconds, and Sun Long won the fourth place in the group, all of which missed the subsequent competition. Wu Dajing, who played in the second group, successfully won the first place in the group with a time of 40.528 seconds and successfully advanced to the final. In the semi-finals, Wu Dajing, who played in the second group, faced the strong impact of Hungary's Liu Shaoang and South Korea's athlete Huang Daxian, and won the third place in the group in 40.478 seconds, advancing to the final of Group B, and finally failed to defend the title.

Wu Dajing has a lot of labels on his body, "National Model of Dedication", "The Most Handsome Short Track Speed Skating Male Athlete", etc., of course, he values the Olympic gold medalist most, before it was one, that is the men's 500 meters championship won in Pyeongchang 4 years ago, and this time, he hopes to continue to add "a stroke" to his label, of course, if it can be "a few strokes", it is better. Eight days ago, he won the first gold medal for the Chinese delegation, and now on the 500-meter track he is most familiar with, Wu Dajing has once again tried his best, and although he has no chance to defend his title, he still deserves applause.

He values the Olympic gold medal most

Searching for Wu Dajing's name on the Internet, a lot of news came into view in an instant, handsome appearance coupled with outstanding sports performance, Wu Dajing can easily become the focus of media attention and the object of pursuit by ice fans. Many times, everyone's concern is no longer limited to those things on the ice rink, but for a top athlete, what he cares about most is training and competition results, as for the rest, it should be after this. Although Wu Dajing also has good talents in other aspects, it must be explained that he is actually more dominant on the field.

This is not unfounded, the time back to 2013, when the fledgling Wu Dajing has already made a name for himself in the men's 500 meters, and after several short track speed skating World Cup matches, the northeast boy has become a regular on the podium. Although the gap between him and the champion was not too big, after all, he was not yet the world champion at that time, and the young Wu Dajing naturally dreamed of "stepping" over the hurdle of the world champion first.

Just a year later, the 20-year-old Wu Dajing was crowned the world champion as he wished, and at the Sochi Winter Olympics that preceded him, he won a lot on behalf of the Chinese team, not only won a silver medal in the 500 meters race, but also won a bronze medal with his teammates in the 5000 meters relay, and won two medals on his first winter Olympic trip, And Wu Dajing began a very good Olympic journey.

Entering the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic cycle, the increasingly mature Wu Dajing is a regular champion of various events, and after successfully defending the world championships in the men's 500 meters event, he set his sights on the 2018 Winter Olympics. With the arrival of the Asian Winter Games and the short track World Cup in different races, it is even more optimistic that he can win the final championship in Pyeongchang. In fact, this gold medal came a bit thrillingly, and Wu Dajing, who had a good record in the preliminaries and rematch, encountered a strong challenge from his opponent on the final stage in the final, and the first shot also appeared to be rushed. Fortunately, after adjusting his state in time, he finally succeeded in overpowering the two South Korean players and Canada's Girard, winning this precious gold medal as desired, and achieving a breakthrough of zero for the Chinese men's short track speed skating team.

The lack of opportunity to defend the title at the doorstep also deserves applause

Another 4 years, as a famous player who holds olympic gold medals, Wu Dajing has begun a new preparation again, this time, he wants to impact the Winter Olympics held in front of his home. Everyone knows what it means to fight on the ground, and if they can successfully win something in Beijing, this is definitely a satisfactory result for Wu Dajing, who has been the elder of the Olympic Games for three terms. But if you want to get a podium seat, you must make hard efforts, especially for Wu Dajing now, in addition to bringing him rich competition experience, of course, there are constant injuries. What followed was the ups and downs of the state, and I have to say that in the past few years, he once had a more obvious gap between himself and the most outstanding self, but fortunately, Wu Dajing had carried it.

When the relay project won the championship, Wu Dajing was in tears, and he thanked everyone for not giving up on him. Today, although he has not succeeded in standing on the highest podium in the 500 meters, his persistence for so many years is still worthy of respect, from Sochi to Pyeongchang to Beijing, Wu Dajing, who has competed for the country in the 3 Olympic Games, deserves applause.

Speak up after the game

Make every game a final battle

Facing the camera, Wu Dajing said the most "regret". He regrets not winning a medal in the project he is best at, he regrets not being able to skate his best speed, his opponents' results are improving, and he regrets not being able to show his absolute strength in this project at his doorstep.

"Maybe a year ago, my goal was to compete for gold, but over time, my goals have changed, I want to get good results, but we have to face reality, for a while maybe the goal is to advance the Olympics, coaches and teammates have told me, just enjoy the Olympics." When he said this, Wu Dajing was still somewhat helpless, after all, as the defending champion of this project, he was also the holder of the world record and the Olympic record, he still hoped to gain something, but some cruel reality was placed here, and he could not even step on the stage of the final.

"The first shot came up because the opponent behind was too tight, so he gave up the speed, as far as possible to suppress him, resulting in the speed did not slide up, the semi-final in the 3rd lane, everyone's level is very close, the results are improving, so it is indeed a pity." The Olympics are like that, anything can happen. The single event is over, now prepare for the relay, or do your best, and go all out with your teammates. Wu Dajing mentioned regret again. That said, there wasn't much time left for him to adjust, because in a few days, he and his teammates would also be in the men's 5000m relay, so was he ready for this last race?

Wu Dajing gave an affirmative answer to this: "This game is over, I accept any kind of results, and I will also compare every game as the last game, because I don't know if I can continue to participate in the world competition, or the Olympic Games, and then face the last relay final, I will still go all out." ”

Teamed up with teammates Qu Chunyu, Zhang Chutong and Zhang Yuting to win the bronze medal in the women's 3000m relay in short track speed skating

Fan Kexin: Because of love, I insist

On the 13th, the women's 3000m relay final of the Beijing Winter Olympics ended at the Capital Gymnasium, and the Chinese team composed of Fan Kexin, Qu Chunyu, Zhang Chutong and Zhang Yuting finished the competition with a time of 4 minutes 03.863 seconds and won the bronze medal. It is worth mentioning that this is the second time that the Chinese women's relay team has won an Olympic medal after 12 years.

What was once a "little fan" became an "old fan"

Unconsciously, everyone's "little Fan" has become "old Fan", after 3 Winter Olympic Games, Fan Kexin finally won his first Olympic gold medal 8 days ago, and in the women's 3000 meters relay, the Chinese team was under her leadership, and finally won this precious bronze medal. After experiencing ups and downs, at this Winter Olympics, Fan Kexin handed over a satisfactory answer sheet, and she is 29 years old, winning the respect of everyone.

Born in 1993, Fan Kexin became famous very early, and in 2011, at the age of 17, she won the 500-meter World Championships, staged a good play of fame in a battle, and she was once considered another king of the short distance event of the Chinese short track speed skating team. However, it is a pity that although she won countless gold at the World Championships, she seems to have no chance of winning the highest podium of the Olympic Games, in Sochi, she did not reach the final in the 500 meters and won the silver medal in the 1000 meters; in Pyeongchang, she did not get any results. Because of this, when she won the gold medal in the mixed relay of the Beijing Winter Olympics with her teammates, Fan Kexin cried silently, and 12 years of waiting was finally exchanged for a moment of glory at home, which was worth it.

She can also continue to fight on the ice rink

People familiar with Fan Kexin know that she looks very grinning, but in fact she is delicate inside. When she saw her family working hard for her training, she was secretly determined to work hard and get ahead in the future. This persistence is more than ten years. In the 12 years since she entered the national team, she has experienced personal highlight moments, and the team has experienced a low, when the teammates around her have changed batches of batches, only this northeast girl persisted, she gritted her teeth and survived the physical pain, but also suffered from the psychological pressure from unstable results, these 3 Winter Olympics, she is really not easy to carry.

She should have ushered in the peak of her personal career in 2018, but she encountered the lowest trough in Pyeongchang, and the voice of external criticism made her a dilemma, often made mistakes in technology, and always had problems in her mentality. At the critical moment, the company of her family and the encouragement of the national team coach and team members allowed her to survive the most difficult time, and in 2022, Fan Kexin decided to fight again.

In the Olympic Games every 4 years, Fan Kexin participated 3 times, she was happy like a child after winning this precious women's relay bronze medal, to know that several of her teammates are nearly 10 years younger than her, Fan Kexin can continue to fight, because of the love from the bottom of her heart. At the age of 29, it is still the peak period for many athletes, and for Fan Kexin, she can continue to fight on the ice rink she loves.

It's not just the ice surface that's the word "Beijing" on it

The flower awarding ceremony of the women's 3000-meter relay has not yet ended, "Fan Kexin Pro-Ice Noodles" has been on the hot search, and in the mixed mining area, everyone is most concerned about this problem, as a veteran of the Three Dynasties, why would she make such a move? What is the special meaning of this? In the face of the joint questions of many media, Fan Kexin first corrected a mistake of everyone, she was not only on the ice, but the word "Beijing" on it, the reason for doing so was entirely to express her inner gratitude and excitement, and she also mentioned that she hoped that young athletes could inherit the spirit of short track speed skating, continue to make continuous progress, and impact the gold medal.

"Thank you for our strong motherland to host the Winter Olympics, but also thank this ice rink, so that more athletes can show themselves on the field and on the ice of our motherland." The moment we stand on the field today, we are going all out to fight to rush. The charm of short track speed skating is that it changes rapidly, and no one can definitely win. Fan Kexin, who said this, was very confident, and his eyes also revealed firmness. Yes, as the most experienced veteran of today's Chinese short track team, Fan Kexin's 12 years of Olympic experience is not available to others, and this team has also regained the medal in the collective project after 12 years under her leadership.

So for the whole team, does Fan Kexin have anything to comment on? She said: "For the Chinese short track team, we have grown in this Olympic Games, I am participating in the Olympic Games for the third time, Qu Chunyu is the second time, Han Yutong has also participated twice, and two young generals have made their debuts, I hope this is a inheritance of the short track spirit, I have been in the national team for 12 years, I hope that young people can take over this baton and continue to attack the gold medal, because this is our goal all along." "Participating in the Winter Olympics 3 times, Fan Kexin won gold medals, of course, there is a lot of experience, so as a veteran, how did she lead young people to continue to forge ahead and finally win the collective project medal again after 12 years?" I think I want to encourage everyone more, so that they don't have regrets the moment they go to the field, I don't want them to go the same way as I did. ”

When asked if he would continue to gallop the field in the future, Fan Kexin smiled and said that in the speed skating arena, there is a 50-year-old aunt who can still compete for the championship, and he is only 29 years old. "Yes, I still say that, as long as the country needs me, the national team needs me, the short track speed skating needs me, I will always stand here." With such a big sister with this group of young people, the future of China's short track speed skating is still worth looking forward to.

Short comments from reporters

Hats off to the veterans

Fan Kexin and Wu Dajing, the two leading figures of the Chinese short track speed skating team, are generally no problem giving them such an evaluation, after all, they are both Olympic gold medalists. In fact, the two have another thing in common, that is, three veterans, starting from Sochi, the two have fought side by side until today. The two men on the field led the men's and women's teams to compete for gold and silver, and the two people off the field were very good friends. At this competition on the doorstep, the two once again played a key role, is the absolute cornerstone of their respective teams, 12 years of journey, please pay tribute to the veteran.

This past night, Fan Kexin's tearful kiss on the ice surface of the head body is the most authentic expression of the veteran's emotions, and it is also a different way for her to pay tribute to her beloved short track speed skating. Gold medals and championships are what every athlete pursues and aspires to, but it is not the only criterion for measuring whether they are excellent, for 12 years, she has been constantly surpassing her fan Kexin, although she only stood on the highest podium of the Olympic Games once, but it could not hide her light, after two failed Olympic journeys, she still smiled and stood at the starting point, which is worthy of respect in itself.

4 years ago in Pyeongchang, Wu Dajing fist-shook the scene of celebration vividly, 4 years later, he finally ended the last individual competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics with the result of Group B champion, saying that he was not sorry that it was a lie, but he was able to achieve such results in the face of fierce competition and pressure, and Wu Dajing also deserved the efforts and perseverance of the past 4 years, and handed over a satisfactory answer sheet. Like his friends, his trip to the Winter Olympics was not smooth sailing, and he did not disappoint everyone after experiencing peaks and valleys, of course, everyone never gave up on this northeastern man.

Whether this is the last Winter Olympics for the two of them, 12 years of hard work, they deserve more respect.

This edition / reporter Zhang Kunlong

Source: Beijing Youth Daily