Extreme Eye News Winter Olympics special correspondent Lin Chuhan
On the evening of February 14, Xu Mengtao, 32 years old and playing in the Winter Olympics for the fourth time, won the championship with a high score of 108.61 points in the final of the freestyle ski women's aerial skills of the Winter Olympics, winning the fifth gold medal for the Chinese delegation. After the game, Xu Mengtao shouted loudly, "At the doorstep, I finally won!" She wore a national flag, roared in anger, and cried loudly, expressing her inner excitement and joy. At the same time, she also warmly said to all the people present: "Happy Valentine's Day!" The "Four Dynasties Elders" of the Winter Olympics finally won her first Olympic gold medal at her doorstep, achieving a grand slam of her career.
At the post-match press conference, Jimu News interviewed Xu Mengtao with many media at home and abroad, and Xu Mengtao, who walked into the press conference, has been in tears. Today happens to be Valentine's Day, the organizing committee of the event also intimately sent a bouquet of flowers to Xu Mengtao, who was in tears, after receiving the flowers, smiled while shedding tears and said: "Thank you." ”
Reporter: What do you want to say to yourself four years ago?
Xu Mengtao: I would like to say that I would like to thank Xu Mengtao for coming out of that period of low days, and then please continue to move forward, for the sake of dreams, I chose to love, and I chose to continue to engage in such a charming, challenging, very hard and testing project. Thanks to these four years, step by step, step by step, step by step to today.
Reporter: You cried when the freestyle skiing aerial skill mixed group received the award a few days ago, but you have been comforting your teammates, after winning the gold medal today, you cried again, can you share with us what is the difference between these two cries? Do the other two medals mean anything different to you?
Xu Mengtao: The freestyle skiing aerial skill mixed group event is actually a medal that our team has more hope for, of course, everyone does not want to end with such an ending, but we all accept such an ending, and the moment I really go to receive the award, I break through the defense, because I am particularly eager to raise the flag of my own country and play the national anthem in front of my home. At the time, I felt like we were second without such an opportunity, so I cried. This time I cried because the last time I won an Olympic medal (silver medal) was 8 years ago, and it was not easy to get to this day, so I didn't control my crying.
Of course, both medals are very meaningful to me, and mixed teams are the first Winter Olympic medals we have won since we started this new project. I have made a lot of efforts for this mix, and I have changed many partners, no matter what, I hope that I can do this reassurance in the team. No matter what color the medals are, the medals of the mixed group are like my own children, and I have been carefully managing them from the beginning to the present.
This gold medal was a dream I started as a child, and today it finally came true. Before, some people joked that our team was a "cashier", especially the Chinese women's team, constantly going to get silver medals, and in 2014 I was also a part of the silver medals. (Laughs), today I finally made history at my doorstep and got my own Grand Slam, I am very happy, I can be such a lucky person, because without the efforts of my predecessors, without the help of everyone, I could not be this lucky person.
Reporter: Do you want to say something to your family?
Xu Mengtao: I am very grateful to my parents for their support to me, my father is a relatively poor person to express love, maybe he said "my daughter is awesome" is that he can say the biggest encouragement to me, but he will generally praise me with others when I am not in my face. Then I hope to have more time with them later.
Reporter: Netizens have been affectionately calling you "peach", and the impression you have left on everyone has always been optimistic and cheerful, but in fact, you have experienced a lot in the past few years, what is the motivation behind you? What keeps you going until now?
Xu Mengtao: To be able to get to this day, it is still my love of aerial skills, which is a belief in the dream of the Winter Olympics. The belief in becoming an Olympic champion was ingrained in my blood when I was 5 years old, and I hope to have the opportunity to stand on the top podium of the Olympic Games and realize my dream. Behind the support of my dream is my dear motherland, these 4 years are actually very difficult for me, especially during the epidemic, we can't go abroad to compete, that is, three points and one line, training hall, dormitory, and rehabilitation training hall. In addition, I would like to thank the team that has worked hard in this process, including the reasonable training arrangements of the coach, the fate of the physical coach, and the cooperation of our medical team, without such a systematic guarantee, there will be no me standing calmly on the Olympic field today.
Reporter: Many netizens said: "I'd rather be single for three years and want Peach to win a championship" "I'd rather not eat for three days and let Peaches win the championship", what do you want to say to your friends and netizens who support you?
Xu Mengtao: The immersive competition you want is coming, thank you all for your support of me, thank you for the trust you all have placed in me, and for the luck you have given me. Effort may not help you at any time, but it will definitely help you when it is most critical.
Reporter: You once said that no matter how many roots of your ligaments are broken, you will stick to it for the sake of your dreams, and the shout you shouted when you landed was not releasing all these experiences in your heart over the years, and what did you think when you shouted?
Xu Mengtao: It's just happy, it's excitement. I don't want to sleep tonight and wish this happy moment could slow down a bit.
Reporter: How do you want to relax, how do you want to celebrate, how do you celebrate the Lantern Festival?
Xu Mengtao: The Lantern Festival is tomorrow, I want to pass on my good luck to the Chinese men's team, I hope they can cut through the thorns and show their best side, I hope that my success today will also bring them morale, because our team now has a gold and a silver medal, I hope that the men's team will be more open to fight this hard battle, we will progress together.
Reporter: Today is February 14, Valentine's Day, how do you understand love?
Xu Mengtao: February 14 will be all my anniversaries, February 14, 2009 in Moscow won my first World Cup title, February 14, 2014 at the Sochi Winter Olympics won my first Winter Olympic medal, february 14, 2022, I won my first Olympic gold medal in my life at the Beijing Winter Olympics, so February 14 is a good day, I wish you all a happy Valentine's Day.
(Image from Xinhua News Agency)
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