Source: China News Service
This is a somewhat long speed skating story of Heilongjiang.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, athletes such as Fan Kexin and Ren Ziwei from Heilongjiang won the first gold medal for the Chinese delegation.
On February 5, in the short track speed skating mixed team relay race, Fan Kexin won the gold moment and burst into tears, crying bitterly, she said: "I have been waiting for this gold medal for too long."
This is Fan Kexin's third participation in the Winter Olympics.
In 2014, at the Sochi Winter Olympics, in the women's 500m semifinals of short track speed skating, she accidentally fell during the competition and missed the final, which made the sports fans who loved her regret and heartache;
In the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the short track speed skating women's 500m competition, Chinese female athletes were eliminated in the semi-finals, including Fan Kexin...
This Beijing Winter Olympics will be the last Winter Olympics for the 29-year-old veteran to participate in.
In the post-match interview, Fan Kexin's voice choked when he received the award:
"When the flag was raised on the top podium, I felt very proud, and the moment [the gold medal] was put on my neck, it was all worth it."
On the evening of February 6, the short track speed skating mixed team relay award ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics was held. The picture shows Chinese team members Fan Kexin, Ren Ziwei, Qu Chunyu, Wu Dajing, etc. (red clothes, left to right). Photo by China News Service reporter Li Jun
"It's all worth it", this is only 5 words, but it is loud.
This gold medal made the mighty "Fan Ye" in Wang Meng's mouth move several times, and the "tears" that could not help but be filled with emotions expressed her perseverance for more than ten years for this gold medal, and also expressed a lot of forbearance and dedication to outsiders who were "incomplete", and perhaps also gritted their teeth for the faith in their hearts and endured countless hardships.
This tearful moment is a moment that all the athletes who have participated in the Winter Olympics and participated in the World Series can realize and understand.
01
On the podium of this Winter Olympics, Wu Dajing, a northeastern Man from Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, only said such a short 8 words: "There have been too many experiences in 4 years..." Instantly burst into tears.
In the short track speed skating mixed team relay final that ended on the evening of February 5, the Chinese team composed of Wu Dajing, Ren Ziwei, Fan Kexin and Qu Chunyu took the lead in crossing the finish line and won the first gold medal for the Chinese sports delegation at the Winter Olympics. The picture shows Wu Dajing celebrating after the game. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
Ordinary people live by year, athletes live by season, an Olympic season is 4 years, and how many 4 years can an athlete have in his career?
When people are full of energy, it is not difficult to do one thing with great energy. The difficulty is that in the boredom, confusion, stress, and exhaustion that can't see the head, still do the same thing at the same rhythm.
This is the daily routine of athletes.
In the men's 1000m final of short track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics on the evening of February 7, China's Ren Ziwei took the lead in hitting the line and won the championship. The picture shows Ren Ziwei celebrating the victory. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
Short track speed skating "Big Devil" Wang Meng said in his commentary on the game that training is very boring, and a person who skates in a circle on the ice has to endure loneliness.
To borrow another meme from the commentary of "Mao Lord": "This player is a person with a story". In fact, every player is a person with a story, including Wang Meng.
In the history of Chinese speed skating, Wang Meng was once an unshakable "big sister" and the absolute hegemon of the international short track speed skating industry for many years.
Wang Meng. Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Wang Meng had a serious cold, and her coach Li Yan was worried. However, Wang Meng easily defended the 500-meter championship with absolute strength, and won the 1000m and 3000m relay championships at the same time, becoming the first "triple crown" in the history of China's short-track Winter Olympics.
After the game, to everyone's surprise, Wang Meng slid directly from the track to the front of the coaching area, knelt down to thank Li Yan, and then jumped up, hugging the coach across the field fence and crying. This scene, to this day, still makes countless people moved.
The picture shows Wang Meng kneeling in front of coach Li Yan. Photo by Sheng Jiapeng, China News Service
Previously, this was a pair of almost "troublesome" masters and apprentices.
At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Wang Meng participated in the World Youth Championships for the first time and won the first gold medal at the China World Youth Championships by relying on 500 meters. Since then, she has transformed into a gold medal harvester, winning the 500-meter event in various events such as the World Championships, the World Cup, and the Ten Games. After the Turin Winter Olympics, the newly appointed head coach Li Yan adopted a new training method.
In 2007, at the Changchun Asian Winter Games, Wang Meng openly said in front of the media that she felt that the training of the national team was not suitable for her, and she wanted to return to the local team herself.
Source: Wang Meng
Li Yan believed that Wang Meng was too rigid and easy to fold, and should take the opportunity to grind it.
"She was a child with a lot of personality, extraordinary strength, but I saw her as a 'prick' at the time, and I had to see her shortcomings to help her improve."
The best love is that I know you better than you.
After a period of calm and run-in, the two masters and apprentices came together again because of the common goal and achieved good results in a row. Wang Called Li Yan "the woman who changed the history of short track speed skating in China."
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Chinese women's short track speed skating team led by Li Yan won four gold medals in all events, setting a record for the Winter Olympics.
02
Li Yan, another Heilongjiang native.
Born in Mudanjiang City, Li Yan is a "godmother- level" figure in the history of Chinese short-track speed skating.
Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
During her tenure as the head coach of the national short track speed skating team, she brought out countless world champions, including Wang Meng, Wu Dajing, and Ren Ziwei. Prior to the Winter Olympics, China had won a total of 13 gold medals, seven of which Li Yan had won when he was manager.
Sweeping away the Chinese speed skating circle, "Longjiang people" can be seen everywhere. Because from the birth of Chinese speed skating, it is the innate "Longjiang gene".
Heilongjiang, China's northernmost province, is a cold winter for almost half a year, making Heilongjiang the first province in China to carry out ice and snow sports.
Guan Yanyun, former speed skating coach of Dongfanghong Primary School in Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, courtesy of Guan Yanyun
To borrow another phrase from Wang Meng: "This province is a province with a story." ”
In the 1950s, the winter was long, and people were "playing skating" and "skating", and China's speed skating career began to take off.
At that time, New China did not have a legal seat in the United Nations, was not eligible to participate in the Olympic Games, and only table tennis, weightlifting and speed skating were eligible to participate in the World Championships. Therefore, speed skating performance for China at that time, not only a sport, but also a way to enhance China's international status, is of great significance.
Sun Xianqi is now 91 years old. He is the first generation of speed skating coaches in China, the coach of the Heilongjiang Provincial Speed Skating Team established in 1960, which is also the first provincial speed skating team in China.
China's first generation of speed skating coach Sun Xianqi. Photo by Nina Wang
There are 10 people in this team, 5 men and 5 women, the male team members are Luo Zhihuan, Wang Jinyu, Wang Wensheng, Yang Jucheng, Li Taiquan, and the 5 female team members are known as the "five golden flowers" in The Chinese speed skating industry, namely Liu Fengrong, Sun Hongxia, Yang Yunxiang, Jin Meiyu and the youngest Wang Shuyuan.
The coach of the women's team is Lee Chang-ho and Sun Hsien-chi is the coach of the men's team.
Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
03
If spring is coming, you need a seed and a piece of land. Then, the earth will make it complete little by little, spreading green all over the world.
China's speed skating has a difficult start from 0 to 1.
"I saw a Soviet Sports Illustrated newspaper with a picture of the former Soviet world champion skating arm swing, and I was so excited that I took the picture and practiced swinging my arm every day in front of the shadow on the wall." Sun Xianqi learned too seriously, imitating for 40 minutes every day, and practicing with his own "shadow" until he was sweating profusely, dripping to the ground, wet a large piece.
"When I can't hold on, I will meditate on myself, and the sweat will never flow in vain." Sun Xianqi said.
Sure enough, the sweat did not flow in vain!
In 1953, China held the first national ice sports conference in Harbin. Sun Xianqi represented the Northeast Region in the competition because of his self-study and excellent skills in "shadow".
"I have never experienced such a scene, the red flag is displayed, and the wooden stands of the Eighth District Stadium in Harbin are particularly beautiful." Sun Xianqi said.
"The ice rink is poured with fire brigade water spray trucks, the track line is sprinkled with snow, and then the water is sprayed with water, so that the 'line' freezes solidly, or the wind blows, and the snow will fly." When Sun Xianqi was interviewed by China News Network, he laughed and said, "It's too primitive." ”
Sun Xianqi's powerful arm swing surprised the audience, and finally set a national record for China's first men's 1500-meter speed skating, which also changed his fate. The following year, China sent 22 students to the Soviet Union to study sports, and Sun Xianqi was the only international student specializing in speed skating.
Studying abroad for 4 years, Sun Xianqi has been holding a momentum in his heart, "The speed skating level of the Soviet Union is world-class, I have to study hard, I can't, sooner or later, the athletes I trained can enter the world competition, and I can raise my eyebrows for the Chinese nation." Sun Xianqi said.
He did it!
He became China's first generation of speed skating coaches, combined with the characteristics of Chinese athletes to develop a set of training methods, 12 years later cultivated China's first speed skating world champion, but also made speed skating one of the fastest improving sports in China, in just over a decade, there are a group of athletes among the world's top pop.
04
"Zhi Huan, do you look down at what's on your chest?"
On February 24, 1963, at the 57th World Speed Skating Championships in Karuizawa, Japan, Sun Xianqi stood in the coaching area and shouted to his team member Luo Zhihuan.
Luo Zhihuan looked down and saw that on his clothes, the traditional word "China" was close to his chest, and the huge national emblem on it was brightly colored, and he nodded his head gently toward the coach, and a force rose in his heart.
At that moment, he knew that he was carrying the fate of China and fighting for the country.
2:09:02.
This is an achievement for the world to see China.
Luo Zhihuan won the gold medal in the men's 1500m speed skating. Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
When Luo Zhihuan crossed the finish line, the world speed skating championships field, the cry of "Long live China" sounded, through more than 100 pairs of overseas Chinese tearful eyes, a Chinese five-star red flag, rising in the world arena...
Luo Zhihuan won the gold medal in men's 1500m speed skating, breaking the men's all-around world record in speed skating, which was China's first world champion in winter events.
Luo Zhihuan received the award at the World Series. Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
At the moment of winning the championship, the winter sports field, which has always been dominated by European and American countries, was broken by a Chinese athlete for the first time to break the monopoly situation for more than a decade. At that time, New China was not understood by the world, and people in and off the field, people in European countries began to ask:
"China? Where is China? ”......
In the short track speed skating mixed team relay final that ended on the evening of February 5, the Chinese team composed of Wu Dajing, Ren Ziwei, Fan Kexin and Qu Chunyu took the lead in crossing the finish line and won the first gold medal for the Chinese sports delegation at the Winter Olympics. The picture shows the Chinese team players celebrating after the game. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
Sun Xianqi, Luo Zhihuan and the Heilongjiang speed skating team did it, letting the Chinese five-star red flag fly high on the international arena, and they used this method to give the best answer for China:
"China, right here!"
At the scene, all the overseas Chinese cried silently, shouting "China! China! "All the humiliation and hardships of the athletes have been sublimated at this moment.
At this moment, the eyes of the world saw China;
At this moment, the world knows that in Asia, there is a country called "China".
05
Behind the highlight of the world podium are countless unknown, long and boring training days.
A little girl, riding a 28-type "big stupid bicycle", rides from downtown Harbin to the suburbs every day, riding 100 kilometers back and forth, because of her height of 159 cm, even if the saddle is lowered to the lowest, the little girl can only keep moving her ass, so that she can barely reach the pedals, after a few days of training, her inner thighs have been grinded to a blur of blood and flesh...
This little girl is now more than 80 years old, known as the "grandmother" of China's speed skating industry, she is Wang Shuyuan.
In 1963, in the women's 1000 meters event of the 21st World Women's Speed Skating Championships, she won the first silver medal in Chinese women's speed skating, creating a record for Chinese speed skating.
Wang Shuyuan and her teammates. Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
In those difficult years, speed skating training was all "eating by the sky", basically "migration" training, in order to be able to get on the ice a month earlier, the training team always had to go north early to find wild ice training.
Since 1960, every October, Wang Shuyuan and the team members sat in the open-top "Great Liberation" car for eight or nine hours to train in Heihe, because it was cold and the drive was long, and the team members were frozen even if they were wearing thick military coats.
Once, they went to the "Little North Lake" in Manchuria early for ice training, all of which were on the surface of the big wild ice. Because it was the first day of ice, everyone was very excited, Wang Shuyuan kicked the ice without braking, slid far away, "clicked", and fell into the ice cave.
The ice water is cold and bone-chilling, and it is instantly cold through the back...
Wang Shuyuan said: "In that era, there were no speed skaters who had not fallen into the ice cave. ”
Yang Yang (left) Wang Xiuli (center) Li Yan (right). Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
Wang Xiuli, a native of Heilongjiang, is now the coach of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
On February 11, 1990, she won gold in the women's 1500m, the first world championship in Chinese women's speed skating. After retiring from the army, she coached the Canadian national team for 20 years, when she was honored and lived a comfortable life.
In 2017, the state issued an invitation to Wang Xiuli to return to China to teach.
On May 17, 2017, she completed the resignation procedures of the Coach of the Canadian National Team, and the second set, on the 18th, she was already standing on the speed skating training ground in Beijing and began to train for the Chinese national team players.
In the eyes of the cheerful Heilongjiang people, "saying" is never more powerful than "doing".
In the 20 years of coaching in Canada, Wang Xiuli has been an enthusiastic "volunteer" for Chinese foreign training athletes for 20 years, picking up, buying vegetables, renting a house, contacting the training ice rink, doing translation, the calgary training center's big events, athletes will be the first to think of Wang Xiuli, 20 years has never stopped this "volunteer service".
Because of Wang Xiuli, some team members have made rapid progress, among them, Ning Zhongyan was also found by Wang Xiuli and went to the world competition, and China has several more gold medals in world-class competitions.
Wang Xiuli, the "daughter" who has been away from home for many years, has been pressing this deep love for China for too long in her heart...
Wang Xiuli coached the players on the field. Photo by Tao Gang
There is no doubt that they are the founders and guides of China's speed skating cause, and it is precisely with the inheritance of this generation of old sports people in Heilongjiang that they have paved the way for Heilongjiang athletes to win gold and silver at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
06
There are dreams in the heart, so there is light in the darkness.
The belief in "winning glory for the country" in the hearts of generations of sports people in Heilongjiang has made them shine.
The moment of joy for Wang Meng and his teammates to win gold. Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau
Fan Kexin said that in the national team for 12 years, "every day when we train on the ice, there is blood in the throat. "But she, no matter how difficult it is, still persevered, when she won the gold, the parents, the eldest brother and the sister-in-law in the family, a large family of people hugged and cried...
The little girl who lives in the 6-square-meter basement with her parents and has to pick up the rags after school to earn tuition is now winning glory for the country.
This Winter Olympics, relying on the strength of the interpretation of the circle of the "Lord", too much netizens liked, have shouted "please weld Wang Meng on the commentary seat." Wang Meng explained: "I let you can't keep up with me, let you which country, you can't keep up with me, so that you can't even see the shadow of my ass, I see how you pull me?" I see how you sentence me? ”
In the men's 1000m final of short track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics on the evening of February 7, China's Ren Ziwei took the lead in hitting the line and won the championship. The picture shows Ren Ziwei celebrating the victory.
In the face of absolute strength, all intrigue and trickery are futile. Behind this absolute strength, there are too many lonely perseverance, relying on the support of faith, in order to grit their teeth, wipe their tears, and walk through that long 4 years after another...
On the evening of February 6, the short track speed skating mixed team relay award ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics was held. The picture shows Fan Kexin, Ren Ziwei, Qu Chunyu, Wu Dajing and Zhang Yuting (left to right) awarded the gold medal. Photo by China News Service reporter Li Jun
Heilongjiang Province, several generations of sports people, ice and snow, silent cultivation and accumulation of 70 years, only now at the Winter Olympics amazing "Longjiang" gold medal continues to be born.
Heilongjiang Province held the first national ice sports conference,
Cultivate:
The first winter sports speed skating world champion Luo Zhihuan,
The first Chinese Winter Olympic medalist Li Yan,
The first Winter Olympic gold medalist Yang Yang,
First Winter Olympic figure skating gold medalist Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo,
The first Winter Olympics snow sports gold medalist Han Xiaopeng,
The first Winter Olympics speed skating gold medalist Zhang Hong,
Wang Meng, who won four gold medals in short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics alone, and a large number of outstanding athletes...
Hemingway said that the world is a good place and worth fighting for.
Ren Ziwei, Wu Dajing, Ning Zhongyan, Gao Tingyu, Qu Chunyu... Generation after generation is rising, and more gold medals will be infused with "Longjiang nationality", so that the five-star red flag will fly high in the eyes of the world.
Longjiang athletes will shout in unison in their hearts: "Everything is worth it!" ”