On February 14, in the Beijing Winter Olympics snowboarding men's big jump qualifying tournament, Chinese teenager Su Yiming ranked fifth in the qualification with a total score of 155.25 points, and successfully advanced to the final on the afternoon of the 15th, which is expected to impact the gold medal. On the same day, Gu Ailing also won the promotion place in the freestyle ski women's slope slalom final with the third place in the qualifiers, and will challenge her second gold on the 15th.
At this Winter Olympics, there are young talents like Su Yiming and Gu Ailing who continue to surprise us, as well as respectable elderly veterans, who continue to work hard, show the Olympic spirit, and also use strength to prove that "age is only a number". This year, nearly 3,000 athletes, young and old, came to China to participate in the Winter Olympics and show the Olympic spirit through their hard work.
Chinese youngster "blockbuster"
New people are frequently produced at this Winter Olympic Games. For example, in the snowboarding men's big jump qualifier, 8 of the 29 players are after 00, and Su Yiming, born in 2004, is the youngest player. Previously, the overall strength of the Chinese team in the snowboard big jump event was not outstanding, but Su Yiming wrote the history of China's snowboard big jump project last year. On October 28, 2021, su Yiming successfully challenged the difficult move of Bs1980 Indy Crail (internal rotation 1980 degree grab) while preparing for the Beijing Winter Olympics in the Stubai Training Camp in Austria, becoming the first athlete in the world to complete this action. In December of the same year, Su Yiming won the Snowboard Jump world cup at the Steamboat Station in the United States, which was his first international championship, the first World Cup champion of The Chinese Snowboard Jump, and the first World Cup champion of Chinese men's snowboarding. In the previous snowboard slope obstacle course final, Su Yiming made the only 1800-degree aerial turn in the whole game. Although In the end, Because of the referee's mistake, Su Yiming regretted winning the silver, he still created the best result in the history of Chinese snowboarding.
In the 13 small events of freestyle skiing, many of the Chinese athletes participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics are "post-00s", in addition to Gu Ailing and Su Yiming, there are also freestyle skiing aerial skill athlete Shao Qi born in 2001, and Ran Hongyun, a freestyle ski track chaser born in 2003. The participation of the young generals also allowed the Chinese delegation to achieve zero breakthroughs in the Nordic biathlon, ski jumping and other events. Taking ski jumping as an example, the Chinese team won 1 male and 2 female with a total of 3 qualifications, can participate in 4 small events, and achieved a historical breakthrough in the number of people who have qualified for the Olympic Games, of which the women's ski jumper Dong Bing and the 17-year-old young player Peng Qingyue were shortlisted for two qualifications, and the men won 1 host chair, and Song Qiwu, a "post-00s" young general from Sichuan, was selected for the competition.
Up-and-coming Winter Olympic rookies
At just 15 years and 6 months old, Anezka Indrackova is the youngest athlete to compete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The ski jumper from the Czech Republic does not have much experience in top events, and the Winter Olympics is her first time to compete at a high level international level. Indrackova is grateful for this opportunity and is looking forward to it, saying that she "never thought I could realize my life dream at the age of 15."
Indrackova isn't the only 15-year-old to compete in this year's Winter Olympics. Kamila Valieva, just over two months older than Indrackova, a player from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC Sports Delegation), took the figure skating world by storm in her first year on the senior tour. Walyeva is one of the most high-profile young talents in figure skating, with the ability to complete Axel's three weeks (3A), Sakhov's four weeks (4S) and the rear outer point ice four weeks (4T). She has broken several world records and is a popular candidate to appear on the women's singles podium in figure skating. However, due to the ban on drugs after the team competition, it is debatable how much Vallieva can achieve in this Winter Olympics.
Gustav Legnavsky from New Zealand is the youngest male athlete to compete. The 16-year-old freestyle skier will compete in the men's U-shaped track skill event in freestyle skiing. Gustav is excited to step on the global stage: "U-shaped freestyle skiing fits my personality: high difficulty, precision, expressiveness, opportunities for progress and competitiveness. His father, Pete Legnavsky, is also a skier who competed at the 1993 World Championships, while his mother is an extreme skier. Gustav has been exposed to snowboarding since he can remember and has been honing his skills under the guidance of his father. Despite his young age, Gustav has already competed in the 2021 World Championships and broke into the top ten of the World Cup earlier this year.
Only for participation, not for achievement
Claudia Pechstein, a 49-year-old female speed skater from Germany, surpassed the 48-year-old age record held by bobsledder Anne Abernathy of the U.S. Virgin Islands to become the oldest woman to compete in the Winter Olympics, and she will celebrate her 50th birthday the day after the Beijing Winter Olympics close. Since the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, this is Peichstein's eighth Olympic participation, and she has won nine Olympic medals, including five, with her extensive experience. This time, Pechstein served as the standard-bearer of the German team at the opening ceremony.
On February 5, in the women's 3,000m final of speed skating, Peschstein witnessed Dutch athlete Irene Schouten break her own Olympic record 20 years ago with a margin of 0.77 seconds to win the gold medal. Although Peschstein may no longer be at her peak, finishing the race with a time of 4 minutes and 17.16 seconds, ranking last among 20 athletes, she still raised her arms and smiled in celebration. "I'm not fast, but I'm happy to be able to achieve my goals, it's my eight Olympic Games," Peschstein said, "today's result is not so important, the opportunity to raise the flag for the German team, to be able to compete, to be here makes me very proud." My legs are old, but my heart is still young. Peschstein is also expected to participate in the speed skating group departure event on February 19.
The oldest and youngest athlete in Olympic history
The youngest athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics was British figure skater Cecilia Colledge, who represented Britain at the 1932 Lake Prasid Olympics at the age of 11 and 73 days. She finished eighth in her first entry and four years later won a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics. Figure Skating Hall of Famer, writer and referee Tyke Richardson said of Cecilia in 1938: "Her free skating program has been by far the toughest attempt for anyone (men and women alike), but she stood out at such easy, reliable speed to complete these incredible jump and spin combinations." Her life then took an unexpected turn for the worse, working as an ambulance driver during the Second World War, but returning to competitive skating in 1946 and winning her sixth and final British title.
The oldest Ever Winter Olympics participant is Swedish curler Carl August Kronlund. Karl made history at the 1924 Olympics at an advanced age of 58 years and 155 days, and his team became the oldest Winter Olympic player to win a medal after winning a silver medal in the men's curling final.
Athlete with the most participations
Being able to get into the Olympics is not an easy task, and it is even harder to qualify for a second or third time and represent your country. Between athens in 1896 and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, 515 athletes competed in at least five Olympic games, and the leader in this list is Ian Millar from Canada. Miller competed in a total of 10 Olympic Games from 1972 to 2012, and won the team silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and is known as a living fossil of equestrianism. He is one of the most successful riders in the history of Canadian equestrian track steeplechase and a legend and flag of Canadian equestrian sport, often nicknamed "Captain Canada". "When I was a kid, nobody really talked about goals, it was more like a modern thing, and young people were taught to know their goals and understand their dreams. The destination of life is always uncertain, and the process of travel is the most worth learning and enjoying. ”
Source: iWeekly Weekend Pictorial
Disclaimer: Wisdom Yantai published this article for the purpose of transmitting more information. If there is a source labeling error or infringement of your legitimate rights and interests, welcome to contact the private message to correct and delete, thank you.