(Beijing Winter Olympics) The starting point of the "flower road" of figure skaters
China News Service, Beijing, February 20 Title: The Starting Point of the "Flower Road" of Figure Skaters
China News Service reporter Zhang Su
The lights dimmed, the music changed, and the figure skaters' expression completely relaxed, talking and laughing, and playing. It's time for the show to slip.
The top athletes who accompany "ice" these days are already familiar with the ice rink of the Capital Gymnasium. From the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4 to the day before the closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics, figure skating competitions run through it. The team competition "started", followed by men's singles, ice dance, women's singles, and pair skating, who left countless marks on this ice surface.
The exit of the ice rink where the players usually walk has been decorated, and a huge "2022" light sign has been erected on the side of the field, along with a circle of arches, paving a "flower road", as if leading to the future.
Standing at the starting point, first take stock. A total of 5 gold medals were produced in the figure skating project of this Winter Olympic Games, and 4 individual gold medals witnessed the "coronation" of new faces.
Men's singles champion and U.S. team Chen Wei was only ranked 5th in Pyeongchang due to major mistakes; women's singles champion and Russian Olympic Committee player Serbakova was not promoted to the senior group four years ago. After a winter Olympic cycle, they have become a new generation of leaders.
Russian Olympic Committee player Anna Serbakova competes on February 17. On the same day, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics figure skating women's singles free skating competition was held at the Capital Gymnasium. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
Ice dance and pair skating are both silver medal winners of the last Winter Olympics "to the next level". In ice dance, the French duo Papadagis/Sizeron broke the highest overall score held by themselves and won the championship strongly. The two veterans said they had never been so desperate to win a gold medal in their entire careers, "except for this one."
In the pair skating, from missing the PyeongChang Winter Olympic gold medal with a difference of 0.43 points to winning the gold medal with a slight advantage of 0.63 points, the Chinese duo Sui Wenjing/ Han Cong crossed the gap. They have been tormented by doubts and illness, and the hardships are indescribable.
"It felt like there was no road from the start." Sui Wenjing turned sharply, "But what if there is no road?" Just create a path. ”
These new Winter Olympic champions and the same competition of a number of good players, is not for the figure skating to open up a "new road". For example, after the male players, the women's players ushered in the era of "jumping around". Women's singles champion Serbakova, runner-up Trusova, and Provisionally No. 4 Vallieva made a total of nine "four-week jumps" in the free skating final.
The "Sui-Han Duo", which won the gold medal in pair skating on the closing day of the figure skating competition, won with the difficulty of "twisting around". Although their "twist three weeks" success rate is as high as 95%, "twist four is more than two points more than twist three", and "the difficulty is a pursuit of the Olympic spirit".
On February 19, the Figure Skating Pairs Free Skating Competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was held at the Capital Gymnasium, and the Chinese duo Sui Wenjing (left) / Han Cong won the pair skating championship. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
In fact, it is the "Sui-Han combination" spirit of "never give up" that not only makes IOC President Bach praise "this is the glory of figure skating", but also convinces opponents. When someone questioned the unfair score of the referee, Russia's meritorious coach Tatyana Tarasova stepped forward and said that "the Chinese combination is simply outstanding".
It is true that there have been some problems inside and outside the figure skating competition of this Winter Olympic Games, some players have been forced to withdraw from the competition for medical reasons, the "doping incident" is unresolved, the award ceremony of the team competition is far away, as well as unreasonable athlete selection methods, some foreign media are suspected of racial discrimination, and the outside world's criticism of the International Skating Federation and the current scoring system, etc., all deserve more reflection.
Fortunately, figure skaters from different teams walked through the "flower road" and gathered together in the performance skating, sliding out of the "concentric circles" for a while, and forming the "Olympic Five Rings" for a while, vividly interpreting the slogan of the Beijing Winter Olympics "Together to the Future".
Whether it is a victory or a momentary frustration, through the winter Olympics of figure skating, the sport and its impact on the world are more promising.
Belgian figure skater Andricks came to Beijing this time by crowdfunding, and cherishes every practice and every game at the Capital Gymnasium. Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo is also worried about financial problems, and after coming to Beijing, he has planned to build a professional ice rink in his hometown that meets the standards of the Winter Olympics.
With the rise of the national tide, traditional Chinese culture also shows a "home field advantage" in the international arena. Pictured here on February 10, China's Jin Boyang appeared in a dazzling Chinese red Kausten in his personal event competition. Image source: Visual China
Jin Boyang, a Chinese men's singles player who actively showed the enthusiasm of the host, smiled and sunshine, "the heart is not a taste". Seeing the continuous emergence of new people in other teams, he felt more responsible for leading children to participate in figure skating and let the reserve forces come up as soon as possible.
Zhao Hongbo, head coach of the Chinese figure skating team, finally realized his long-cherished wish of "winter Olympic champions bringing out winter Olympic champions". He said that the Winter Olympics are a platform to show themselves and bring more people to participate in ice and snow sports, which is exactly what they should do. (End)