Chongli, Hebei, February 16 (Xinhua) -- In the men's aerial skills final, Jia Zongyang appeared again.
Before him, 10 players had finished the race and he was ranked 7th. Just 0.08 more points than his first jump of 123.45 points, he will stay in the final round of the Winter Olympic final for the third time.
On February 16, China's Jia Zongyang competed in the men's aerial skills final of freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Haofei
You can only succeed, you can't lose.
Slipping, taking off, spinning, like a thousand training sessions, Jia Zongyang threw himself into the sky. Straight backflip one week plus one turn week, then straight backflip one week plus two weeks of rotation, then straight backflip one week plus one week of rotation.
In the night of minus twenty degrees Celsius, time seems to be frozen at this moment, and the huge Genting Ski Park is surprisingly quiet. Everyone at the scene held their breath, waiting for Jia Zongyang to land perfectly.
Immediately after, a sigh suddenly resounded over the clouds. Jia Zongyang made a mistake again, the snowflakes splashing when he landed seemed to engulf him, and on the way to the waiting area, he held his head in both hands, but this time, there was no pain in his roar.
On February 16, China's Jia Zongyang made a mistake in the men's aerial skills final of freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fei Maohua
He raised his right hand and gestured to the audience, with a slight apology in his eyes and no tears. "For myself, it's very good, really good, but unfortunately, there will definitely be."
Yes, how can there be no regrets, for a "four-dynasty elder", how much time can he continue to dream on the field of the Winter Olympics.
He stood on the sidelines and applauded every player in the finals. However, as far as the eye can see, it is all about the aerial skills project and the nostalgia for the Winter Olympic games.
When his teammate Qi Guangpu's difficulty 5.0 action landed smoothly, he frantically applauded his teammates. Seeing that Qi Guangpu finally won the gold medal, he burst into tears.
'It's really hard to describe how I feel, I'm happy for my team-mates. From Xu Mengtao to Qi Guangpu, the teammates who fought side by side have fulfilled their dreams one after another, and he is really happy for them, because no one can have such an unusual empathy for the hardships along the way like him.
He also longed for his dreams to come true, so much so that this attachment to dreams had turned into steel nails and become an integral part of his body.
On February 16, China's Jia Zongyang competed in the men's aerial skills final of freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xue Yubin
A few days ago in the mixed team final, because of his mistakes, the Chinese team regretted to pick up the silver, but then an X-ray when he was injured in 2015 made people instantly break the defense - two steel plates, 22 steel nails, even if 7 years have passed, it is still shocking to see.
"Now take an X-ray, and there are 21 nail holes to show." Time has passed, and the unbearable suffering, in his eyes, is just "very hard, very difficult." ”
"Do so many steel nails in the legs have an impact on doing the action?"
"On cloudy days and rainy days, the joints are a little uncomfortable, but they are used to it." Whenever someone asked him, he always replied so lightly.
After three surgeries, it wasn't until the winter of 2017 that his training was really on track. During this period, he did not have any achievements, he did not know, returned from injury, and whether there was a return of the king.
Before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, he once again stood on the top podium in the World Cup race at Genting Ski Park after three years. At this moment, he finally came out of the long-term haze of injury and illness.
"I proved that I was okay myself." When the Iron Man also had tender feelings, he said that he cried that day, and the tears were flowing for himself.
At the subsequent PyeongChang Winter Olympics, he successfully reached the final. Due to the wind speed and direction of the scene, he waited for more than a minute to set off. For ordinary people, this is how painful, but he enjoys it immensely. Because he knew that he was almost desperate to have a chance to finally stand here.
He enjoys the mentality of the game and brings him good luck as well. He landed perfectly in that jump, and although he eventually missed the gold medal by 0.46 points, he had no regrets. "When I injured my calf, it was hard for me to imagine that I would be able to return to the Winter Olympics again, so for me, I was very lucky to be on the podium."
On February 18, 2018, China's Jia Zongyang celebrated after the third jump of the freestyle skiing men's aerial skills final at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Xiaowei
"I'm not sure how many more times I'll have to fall, but I'm sure the next time I'm in the air will be closer to perfection than the last one." That's his attitude towards the game. From the time it took off to the ground, a complete set of aerial maneuvers was only a few tens of seconds. He did his best to leave no regrets.
Because of his injuries, he became what people call "Iron Man", but outside the arena, he did not want to show people with the image of "bitter and bitter". Wearing a helmet, goggles, and putting on various protective gear, he is the winner of two Winter Olympic medals in the men's freestyle skiing aerial skills, taking off the equipment, he is a "blogger" and also a "dan player".
Some people praised his eyes with beautiful pupil line, and he boasted and ridiculed: "Vegan face, realistic, natural beauty, in our Northeast dialect called thick eyebrows and big eyes, double eyes bursting skin." ”
On February 16, China's Jia Zongyang competed in the men's aerial skills final of freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Yijiu
He also took the initiative to reveal that although he was the world champion in skiing, he actually did not know how to ski at all. "Because aerial skills are better than athletes' skills in the air, the essence of my project is in the air, like a trampoline athlete, he is really good in the air, but he doesn't have to parkour, right?" 」 There are many more like this sharing, which makes people can't help but be funny.
On March 1, Jia Zongyang will celebrate his 31st birthday. In his fourth Winter Olympics, although he could not usher in the same happy ending as Xu Mengtao and Qi Guangpu, he was still willing to summarize this dream-chasing journey as "an honor is greater than a regret".
Admittedly, the Olympics have never been more than champions. For Jia Zongyang, there is no need to have feelings of regret and tragedy. After all, the limits are always there, but the courage to challenge is indispensable.
Treading through the wind and snow, several times over the winter, full of ideals, the veteran is still on the road.
Editors: ShuWen, Wu Bowen, Cao Yibo, Liu Xi (Intern)