It's been 10 days since Cai Xuetong slid out of the most difficult maneuver at Genting Ski Park, and during this time, she has been busy with interviews large and small. As the "Elder of the Four Dynasties", how does Cai Xuetong view his trip to the Winter Olympics? Behind the preparation for the Winter Olympics, what did she experience that no one knew? This time we talked to her about the stories behind the Beijing Winter Olympics.
First, the Olympics do not regret, will not deny their achievements on the snowboard
"My goal is to play the set of actions I want to accomplish on the doorstep." Before the game, Cai Xuetong put forward a different expectation for his Beijing Winter Olympics.
After the baptism of a game, Cai Xuetong waited for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and fulfilled his promise at his doorstep. In the women's U-shaped field skill final of snowboarding at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the girl from Heilongjiang finished fourth, creating the best ranking for the winter olympics.
Although he failed to stand on the podium, Cai Xuetong successfully stood in the race outside the 1080 turn, made his highest difficulty move, and achieved surpassing himself. "I did feel particularly uncomfortable after the day's game, and there was a feeling that my efforts had been failed, but I felt that it was a very real emotion. Failure is the norm in life, and I don't want to describe my Olympic journey with regret, because I have given 100% of all my energy. ”
Standing on the Winter Olympics for the fourth time, we saw that Cai Xuetong's eyes were more heavy and calm, "This time the mentality is very good, that is, I want to slide out of my best state, to slide out of my own level, enjoy the process of sliding, in addition to the last two trips did not succeed, I am still satisfied with my own play." Cai Xuetong believes that if you make all the efforts in the process, but the final result is not satisfactory, you will not be so upset, "or give yourself a little affirmation, but it is a little bit of bad luck." Cai Xuetong said with a choked voice.
Four years of sweat and hard work, perseverance and expectation, in competitive sports, pay does not mean gain. "Although I didn't achieve the desired results at the Olympic Games, I will not deny my achievements in this project." In the eyes of this optimistic, smiling girl, this experience is the same as life, because you can't always be smooth, "I want to tell everyone that very good people can also fail, but what matters is how to get back up in the process of failure." 」 ”
Second, the fourth time I stood on the Winter Olympics and insisted on making me stronger
As a "four-dynasty elder" and an athlete who has won the most season championships in U-shaped field projects, Cai Xuetong has been on the podium of the World Cup thirteen times and won seven world cup championships in the U-shaped field event of snowboarding. Now that she has stood on the Winter Olympics for the fourth time, what has been behind her in the baptism of a game in 16 years.
"I love snowboarding, when you're at the top of the mountain, you look around and you feel small, but when you slide down the mountain, you conquer the mountain, it's a wonderful feeling." Cai Xuetong said that perhaps it is this love of snowboarding that has supported her to the present.
The Olympic Games are held every four years, and it is not easy for every preparing athlete to successfully stand on the Olympic field. In the process of preparing for the war in the past four years, Cai Xuetong admitted that the biggest difficulty is still the epidemic, "I have been in that long-term isolation state, I have not been depressed, it is already quite magical." Cai Xuetong said jokingly. At that time, I only had one belief, that is, to stand on the stage of the Beijing Winter Olympics and want to show myself, which was the only goal I insisted on. ”
The increase in age is a big mountain in front of Cai Xuetong and the champion. Even though she has stood on the Olympic field four times, Cai Xuetong has never been afraid of getting older. "I don't feel like I'm getting old, I probably don't notice it, I don't think I can't do it when I'm older." In addition, the emergence of young people has not brought too much pressure to Cai Xuetong, she never hesitated to give advice to the young players, "I am actually more willing to help these young athletes, everyone must be at a similar level, this project can have better development." ”
Cai Xuetong also shared a small story about herself and the veneer star Chloe King, once, 21-year-old Chloe King said she was old, Cai Xuetong smiled and said to her, you can't say you are old in front of me, isn't this Versailles. In Cai Xuetong's view, when the age is relatively mature, in fact, you can better maintain physical fitness, and may even open a second adolescence on the body, in addition to having richer experience in the game, "After all, I have been playing veneer for almost 20 years." ”
In fact, Cai Xuetong's skiing career is not a smooth one, the four Winter Olympics have different tastes and are full of stumbling. The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was perhaps the biggest blow to her. In preparation for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Cai Xuetong's mentality changed, she described her state at that time, like being tightly imprisoned in a small bottle, the more she wanted to complete the action, the more she could not slip out of the feeling she wanted. "When I was close to the Olympic Games, I suddenly felt that I had to be what to do, the pressure came inexplicably, and I didn't know what the situation was." That time in Pyeongchang, Cai Xuetong's heart fell into the valley.
In order to better adjust himself, after returning from Pyeongchang, Cai Xuetong chose to go to school. Unlike the previous three-point life of training, eating and sleeping, living on campus like a normal college student has brought Cai Xuetong a new experience, but she still can't forget skiing. "In the new Zealand ski resort, you sit on the cable car, ski with your teammates, that feeling is still very happy, plus the blue sky and white clouds, it feels very free, without that pressure on the body, you will enjoy the feeling, I think I still want to play on snowboarding." 」
In this way, the love of skiing made Cai Xuetong insist on this for another four years.
Third, one year after another, it may slide to 2026
In 2003, China's snowboarding project was officially established, and the following year Cai Xuetong began to contact the sport. When this project appeared in China, many people may not know what snowboarding is, as the first batch of younger players, in Cai Xuetong's view, it is the first batch of old athletes to achieve results through their own efforts, and then they have their generation. "Thank you very much to these pathfinders, we also stood up on the shoulders of giants."
Between the two generations of athletes, Cai Xuetong sometimes laments whether it would be better if he was born a few years later, "Sometimes there will be this kind of thinking, but this kind of hypothesis is actually unnecessary, but sometimes it will still sigh." ”
Although she has participated in four Winter Olympics, for Cai Xuetong, she still has many things she wants to challenge, and there are many actions she wants to show to everyone, such as anti-foot 1080. "I've done this action successfully, I have more possibilities in the whole set of action arrangements, I am also pursuing my own action style, trying to skate out of the cool style." 」
After retiring from the army, Cai Xuetong also wanted to set up a ski training camp for girls: "I want to take them to ski together in the snowy mountains I have walked abroad, and I want to give girls more opportunities, which is a cool thing." ”
Cai Xuetong also wants everyone to remember a cool self" I want to show everyone a cool me, I want everyone to remember a cold cai Xuetong to the end. ”
"When I'm not laughing, it's cold, but when I laugh, I feel like I'm broken." Cai Xuetong smiled with two large dimples, which made a deep impression, but it was a pity that wearing that thick set of equipment hid her smile behind her.
After the Beijing Winter Olympics, the next Winter Olympics were also on the agenda. But Cai Xuetong did not make a decision too early. "I want to keep myself in a good competitive state, and if I can't skate to the kind of situation that I'm satisfied with, don't waste a place, it's better not to skate."
"I think every year, every year, showing my best self, I might be able to slide to Milan."
Text/Wang Mengru
Interview/Lei Zhang
Editors/Li Xu, Liang Lina
Visual/Liu Liang, Wang Ye