beginning
At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing, an 18-year-old girl in China, played for the first time and won 2 gold and 1 silver record, which can be called the annals of history.
One person has raised a country's record in three freestyle skiing events to the ceiling position, which is really powerful!
However, what many people don't know is that as early as 25 years ago, there was a ski girl in China.
In 1997, at the Australian Freestyle Skiing World Cup, she became famous for her B46 action with the highest difficulty coefficient for women, winning the first gold medal in the world competition of Chinese skiing.
She was China's first ski world champion, Guo Dandan, when she was 17 years old.
Guo Dandan deeds
Guo Dandan, born in 1980 in Anshan, Liaoning Province, learned gymnastics since childhood, and at the age of 12, transformed into one of the first freestyle skiing aerial skill athletes in mainland China.
You know, at that time, the Chinese ski project team was just established not long ago, the ski supporting facilities were not perfect, and the equipment field could be said to start completely from scratch.
It was in such a difficult environment that she began to win the World Series at the age of 15 and the Asian Games at the age of 16.
In 1997, he even competed in the World Cup in Australia to challenge the defending champion.
Those who can enter this kind of competition can be said to be masters like clouds. In particular, the defending champion of Australia has won many awards before, and this time it is a home battle, which can be said to occupy the right time and place.
After the champion finished jumping, the scene was out of control, the whole audience was boiling, you can imagine how well they danced at that time, the championship trophy seemed to be waving in front of it.
When it was Guo Dandan's turn, the pressure could be imagined. But what she thought at that time was that she would just finish what she had to do, let go and fight, and even if she failed, she would have no regrets.
So they chose the most difficult move in the world at that time for women's freestyle skiing, the B46 action.
Flip backwards for 2 weeks, with a 360-degree air turn in the first week and a 720-degree air turn in the second week, for a total of 5 turns.
This action can be called the women's freestyle ski ceiling at that time, because no one has successfully jumped.
Sliding, vacating, turning, landing, Guo Dandan in one go, crisp and clean.
The referees were stunned, they couldn't believe that an Asian, a yellow person, could do such a beautiful and perfect action, and the audience was also extremely surprised.
After a long time, when the scoreboard was scored, the translator of the Chinese team rushed down the hillside with a rolling belt and hugged her tightly: "Dan Dan, we are the champions!"
At that time, she had no idea what was happening, and her head was still buzzing. "Am I a champion?" "Yes! You did it, you succeeded."
This is the first time that China has won the championship of ski competitions, and it also marks a new beginning for Chinese skiing.
When it was the turn of the award, there was also a small episode that the organizers did not prepare the Chinese flag.
Why? Because at that time, many people abroad felt that this project has long been their dominant list, as for the Chinese team, it is impossible to have medals, and it is even more impossible to win the championship, to put it bluntly, it is discrimination against us.
But this time, Guo Dandan's perfect performance really hit their mouths hard.
But now that the Chinese team has won the championship, it can't be without the national flag!
No way, the organizers quickly went to the nearest consulate to borrow a Chinese flag, and then urgently called a band to play the Chinese national anthem, so that the award ceremony was postponed for more than three hours.
This reminds me of what Liu Xiang said after winning the 110m hurdles at the Athens Olympics: "Who said that yellow people can't make it into the top eight?" I am the Olympic champion! "
Yes, what happened to the yellow race, as long as we are strong in technology, we can still win the championship!
Dream of the Winter Olympics
However, Guo Dandan's skiing career is short and brilliant, and like many athletes, injuries have always plagued her.
By the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, her life had taken a turn.
After experiencing the joy of winning the championship in 1997, the Chinese people feel that Guo Dandan will definitely be able to return with a gold medal in this Winter Olympics. And in her own heart, she also felt that this gold medal was really her own.
It should be mentioned here that before the official Olympic Aerial Skills Competition begins, each participant must first do his own movements and be able to complete them before participating in the official competition.
When it was Guo Dandan's turn, she still chose the very difficult B46, but this time it may be almost lucky. She was accidentally injured, both ankles were injured, one was fractured, one was broken...
Because she did not complete the action, she could not participate in the official competition, and the coach also felt that it would be better this time, and wait for the next four years to fight again.
The staff of the organizing committee, considering that she was a favorite to win the championship, also came forward to ask her if she could continue the competition.
"I'm okay, I can!" Guo Dandan still resolutely decided to participate with an injury. The organizing committee also made an exception because she agreed to postpone the game for 10 minutes, and Dan Dan finally came on the field, and on that day, she slipped a seventh place.
Although she did not receive a medal, everyone in the audience gave her a standing ovation.
Competitive sports are so cruel that no one can always have a highlight performance, and no one can predict the arrival of injuries and accidents.
But the Olympic spirit we can not do without, even if injured, but also tenacious, hard work, do not accept defeat, brave forward, fight to the end!
However, since then, Guo Dandan's entire state and mood have declined, and three years later, when she was 21 years old, she retired early.
After retiring from the army, she once dared not mention ice and snow sports again, because ice and snow brought her too much pain.
She's run a laundromat, she's stood at the counter, and so on, but none of that is the life she wants.
Until the former mentor Shan Zhaojian invited her, or to promote the public skiing! Although she didn't quite understand what Volkswagen skiing would look like in the future.
But she longed to put her snowshoes back on and gallop through the vast snow, and maybe that was the life she wanted.
As it is said in the movie "Head Text D": The most important thing for people is to find their own world, and life is meaningful.
So Guo Dandan began to devote himself to the promotion of ice and snow sports, which has been doing for more than 20 years, during which many athletes who won the Winter Olympics in China have emerged, and the public's love for skiing has also increased day by day.
At this time, she realized that in fact, the ice and snow brought her not standing on the highest podium in the international competition, but a sense of achievement accumulated by many things!
Sentiment
Let's say a few more final words.
What is the point of the Olympic Games?
Some people say that it is to win the championship, work hard for four years, make yourself faster, higher and stronger, why not fight so hard for medals?
In fact, I think it is more about challenging yourself.
For example, in the final of the freestyle ski jump, Gu Ailing made a stunning leap and challenged the 1620 that had never been completed on snow; the Japanese ice figure skater Yu Yusei challenged the human limit 4A (Axel around the jump); the short track speed skater continued to break the existing record on the field...
Each of us comes into this world with a different mission, and God has given you opportunities or talents, perhaps because you have unshirkable responsibilities and missions.
Since it is a challenge, there will be successes and failures, but regardless of success or failure, all mankind will applaud you!