"I'm not convinced."
In the men's 1500m speed skating competition on the evening of February 8, Ning Zhongyan, who debuted on the Olympic stage but only ranked seventh, did not play at a normal level. As a rising star in the Beijing Winter Olympic cycle, ning Zhongyan, who is strong, silently set the goal of winning the medal at the doorstep before the opening.
But the enormous psychological pressure eventually led him to miss out on the podium. Ning Zhongyan was depressed after the game, and a person silently slid lap after lap on the ice rink. In a later interview, he mentioned that "that day was my first battle at home, my first time in the Olympic Games, and I was so nervous, so I restrained myself and didn't play my best." The boy, who was extremely demanding of himself, decided to focus on himself first and adjust his mental state according to his own rhythm. Encouraged by his teammates, coaches and family, he set off again to continue the game that followed.
Ten days later, in the men's 1000m speed skating competition of the "Ice Ribbon", Ning Zhongyan finished fifth in 1:08.60, creating his best time on the plains ice rink and being the only Asian player in the top eight. On February 19, the Chinese men's athletes who advanced to the final of the men's group start for the first time ranked twelfth. Regarding the performance in the men's 1000 meters of speed skating, Ning Zhongyan said: "I am quite satisfied, my own best result has been improved by 0.2 seconds. However, it is a pity that he could not stand on the podium. "Play at the level and leave no regrets for yourself" is his next goal, the 22-year-old all-rounder, although he failed to stand on the podium, he and the rising Chinese speed skating, will continue to refresh history.
The "speed skating dark horse" championship that became famous in the first world war did not happen overnight
In the homepage of Ning Zhongyan's Weibo, there is a video at the top, which is fixed on December 9, 2019.
Just the day before, the Speed Skating World Cup in Kazakhstan, the men's 1500m, the race entered the final corner. At the moment of anxiety, Ning Zhongyan completed the surpassing of the Dutch players, and then took off and sprinted.
"The final dash Ning Zhongyan is still ahead of Niusi!" The narrator's voice became more and more excited, "Ning Zhongyan Chong! At the end of the long way, Ning Zhongyan took the lead in crossing the finish line.
1 minute 44 seconds 918, this result broke through the "gold medal drought" of the Chinese men's team for 56 years of world championships. The 20-year-old Ning Zhongyan became the first 1500m World Cup champion in the history of Chinese speed skating.
After the game, he said, "I never wanted to win this championship, it was really unexpected, I didn't expect the results to improve so quickly!" After becoming famous in World War I, "speed skating dark horse" and "rocket speed" are the most labels given to Ning Zhongyan by the outside world. But his growth is not achieved overnight, the pure love of dreams, the self-discipline efforts to the peak and the spirit of never giving up have made Ning Zhongyan what he is today.
Before this game, almost no one knew how the "dark horse" came out of the Olympic road.
Without the hardships of youth, there would be no progress in entering the national team
"Welcome back to winter"
"I've loved skating since I was a kid, and it's my dream to be a national champion and even a world champion," Ning zhongyan said.
In 2008, Ning Zhongyan attended primary school in Shiyan Town, Ning'an City, Mudanjiang City. An ice rink was poured into the campus. Going to the ice and pouring the ice rink has also become the daily routine of the students on this campus. Along with the ice surface is the skating dream of this 11-year-old rural child.
He grew up like to glide, and it felt like he was "taking off.". When he was a child, his mother gave him a pair of roller skates. When he got home from school, he changed into roller skates and slid around his home. Many senior students play on the ice rink. The ice knife slashed across the ice, splashing flakes of ice. In Ning Zhongyan's memory, falling in love with ice and snow began from that moment.
Thanks to roller skating, Ning Zhongyan on the ice rink has no teacher. The physical education teacher called him into the school team. Soon, he finished second in a match in Mudanjiang City, and was sent to the Municipal Sports School by the enlightenment coach Zhu Yuliangxiang.
From the day he entered the professional team, Ning Zhongyan took care of learning and skating. Every day after school, at least two hours of ice training is required, with the left foot outside the blade biting the ice and the right foot inner blade stepping on the ice. Day after day, sweat flowed into the ice, without a word of complaint. In addition, there are land training and physical training. "At the end of the day, my whole body is sore, and I am often so tired that I can't sleep at night." He said that especially when the body is long, the ice knife always does not fit the foot, every day on the ice heels fall a lot, there are always bruises on the body, but he never wanted to give up.
Give Zhang Hong a sparring partner, get out of the confusion and vow to "slide out"
Ning Zhongyan was not without a period of confusion.
In the 2017-2018 season, 18-year-old Ning Zhongyan was selected for the national team. Young, not adapted to the selection method of survival of the fittest in the team, he was eliminated with low grades, and in the Pyeongchang cycle, he was Zhang Hong's sparring partner.
Ning Zhongyan was extremely depressed.
Sparring is to change into training clothes every day, in the training ground, waiting for the arrival of the selected players. During ice training, sparring leads for teammates; during strength and relaxation training, they play assist; and pack equipment after training. Until the athletes are put on the plane, and then pack their bags and return to the local team.
Boys generally glide faster than girls, and Zhang Hong can only get close to them with enough strength, never giving up because of the speed gap between them. Looking at Zhang Hong's desperate training, Ning Zhongyan described it as a feeling of all-out struggle. He was deeply touched.
"Zhang Hong's training and competition attitude of persevering to the end at all times infected me, and I also established the determination to slide down and slide out!" Ning Zhongyan said. After returning to the local team, he consciously strengthened his ice training and physical training.
Without Wang Xiuli, there would be no him now
Trying not to disappoint everyone who has a heart, Ning Zhongyan met Bole - Wang Xiuli. He often said that without Wang Xiuli, there would be no him now.
Wang Xiuli was the first world champion of Chinese women's speed skating, and after retiring from retirement, she went to Canada to coach, during which she brought out many Olympic champions. After Beijing's successful Olympic bid, Wang Xiuli returned to China to serve as the head coach of the middle and long distance group of speed skating.
Experienced Wang Xiuli saw ning Zhongyan's potential and shortcomings at a glance, she said: "Ning Zhongyan is a long-distance transfer, so his speed maintenance ability is good, the most important thing is training and competition (when) willing to use his brain, very smart, improve quickly." ”
Under the leadership of Coach Wang, Ning Zhongyan realized his advantages in mid-range and back-end and the key to winning in his cornering skills, worked hard to adjust the details, and went to Canada with the team for training. "I haven't been home for almost a year, and I miss home, my parents." Ning Zhongyan said, but it was also the hard training of foreign training that laid a solid foundation for him, after which, Ning Zhongyan's progress rate soared like a rocket.
Good ice feeling, talented, and hardworking, is the evaluation of him by many people in the industry.
Due to climate change, speed skaters can only do physical training in the spring and summer. Cycling is considered the best way to increase the amount of aerobic training. Therefore, Ning Zhongyan also often punches in various cycling training sites.
When the weather is good, the group rode on the greenway in Chengde in the morning, about 110 kilometers, which took more than 3 hours. For safety reasons, sometimes only indoors can be ridden. Adjust the resistance, pinch the meter to keep time, indoor riding is far more difficult than outdoors.
The harsh and day-to-day boring cycle is the main theme of training.
"Although the daily training is very tiring and the process is very tight, everyone is very happy together." Ning Zhongyan introduced that the plan was formulated according to each person's physical condition, and the overall feeling was very good. In the face of the Winter Olympics, the mentality of the players has also changed. "I'd love to pin my head to the waistband of my pants," he said with a laugh.
Halfway up the mountain is always the most crowded, and you have to go to the top of the mountain to see
After 2020, Ning Zhongyan won 6 gold medals in the National Speed Skating Championships and Championships. He topped the World Cup in Norway and Canada. Repeatedly breaking the national record, he is also demanding more and more of himself - "halfway up the mountain is always crowded, you have to go to the top of the mountain to see."
Entering the sprint cycle, Ning Zhongyan became the leader of China's speed skating in the middle and long distance after ensuring the qualification for the men's 1000 meters of the Winter Olympics. He and Gao Tingyu are regarded as "speed skating geminis".
"If you don't get a medal, you may not have as much confidence in participating in the Winter Olympics." "It's also an important factor in preparing for war," he said. For him, being on the podium is not only an honor, but also a responsibility. He hopes to have better results for the glory of the country. "Speed skating is a mission for me, as a member of the national team, I will sprint to the top podium step by step." He said.
The debut of the Winter Olympics, Ning Zhongyan could not hide his excitement, "I am especially looking forward to this Winter Olympics, because it is the first time that China has hosted the Winter Olympics, and it is also the first time in my life to participate in the Winter Olympics, and I will do my best to complete my project." He focused on the first event, 1500m speed skating, because "if it can be compared, it will have a big impact on the later races." ”
Opportunities are left to those who are prepared, and the blockbuster of the "speed skating dark horse" is no accident. He is convinced that "olympic champions are not particularly far from those who work hard".
Written by Liu Lingyu
Editor/Li Xu Liang Lina
Visual/Wang Ye Liu Liang