Who were China's phenomenal sports idols before the Beijing Winter Olympics? If the "phenomenon-level" is roughly defined as going up to 99 down to just going to know, then it basically goes back to Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, and Li Na. After them, Chinese sports phenomenon idols seem to have an empty window period. With the birth of Gu Ailing at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the post-00s sports idols have begun to rise, which may mean that Chinese sports idols have entered a new era.
New Chinese sports idols have gone through three major stages
Looking back at the development of new Chinese sports, sports idols have roughly gone through the following three stages.
The first stage was the early stage of reform and opening up, and New China returned to the Olympic family. Starting from Xu Haifeng's shot of the first gold of the Chinese Olympic Games, the Chinese women's volleyball team reached its peak in five consecutive championships. Lang Ping is undoubtedly a phenomenon-level sports idol of that period, and also the first generation of national sports idols. From a competitive point of view, the women's volleyball team from the third in Asia to the fifth consecutive world championship can be described as a miracle. The tenacious fighting spirit of the women's volleyball team has been most fully demonstrated in the "iron hammer" Lang Ping. At the beginning of China's opening of the country, the women's volleyball team led by Lang Ping announced to the world the confidence and ability of the rise of the Chinese nation in the form of sports, and Lang Ping naturally became a national idol in the years of burning passion!
In the new century, with China's accession to the WTO, China's economy has been formally integrated into the world economy, and globalization has had a far-reaching impact on China's economy and society. At this time, Chinese sports ushered in two new live-level idols - Yao Ming and Liu Xiang. They have made a breakthrough that has attracted global attention in the large project of almost European and American monopolies. Yao Ming entered the NBA as a champion, under the pursuit of Chinese fans, almost every year to become an All-Star Western Conference starting center, due to the popularity of basketball, even if the rocket's results are not ideal, but it does not prevent Yao Ming from being sought after as never before, and even become a bridge between China and the United States. Liu Xiang's amazing performance at the Athens Olympics made him a national idol overnight. Before Liu Xiang, no one believed that the yellow race could reach the top in the straights of athletics. In Lausanne, the world record of 12.88 seconds has given Chinese people who are experiencing the collision of Chinese and Western cultures a strong sense of national pride. Unfortunately, both idols ended their careers prematurely due to injuries.
As sports become more market-oriented, Li Na and Ding Junhui may be seen as representatives of the third stage of Chinese sports idols. After the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Li Na chose to break away from the system and enter the professional tennis world alone, which once caused an uproar. In professional tennis, winning a Grand Slam title is the highest goal for all athletes. Li Na, who began competing at her own expense and hiring a coaching team, also faced great pressure in the early days of solo flights, but two Grand Slam titles made her the first person in China in the highly professional sport of tennis. Ding Junhui is even more a product of marketization, and the Ding Junhui model of selling houses to study has once triggered a big discussion. Ding Junhui is the first Asian player to be ranked no. 1 in the world, and the world championship, World Cup champion, British championship and other championships helped Ding Xiao be inducted into the Snooker Hall of Fame in 2018.
A new-age sports icon was born
For a long time after Yao Ming, Liu Xiang and Liu Na retired, there was a relative vacuum in China's phenomenal sports idols. Originally, Sun Yang may be able to fill it, but he has no choice but to criticize it continuously. Until the Current Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing's birth was born.
It is not accurate to say that it turned out to be born, before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing has already attracted much attention. But the frog princess really became the top of the national attention, or at the moment when she won the first gold of the Winter Olympics. Born in 2001, the mixed-race beautiful girl won the gold medal with the left turn 1620, which is currently the most difficult action for women's freestyle ski jumping! This was actually the first time she had tried this move in a competition, and it was her by-product that won the gold first.
Gu Ailing's academic background, the story of becoming a talent, and Gu Ailing's mother, known as the ceiling of Haidian Mother, will not be repeated here, everyone has long been familiar with it. Focusing on the Chinese sports industry, Gu Ailing has become a representative of a new generation of top sports stars. At present, there are nearly 30 commercial brands signed with her. This energy level is not only small in the sports stars, but also far beyond the first-line entertainment stars. Last year, Shanghai boy Zhou Guanyu became China's first F1 official driver, Zhao Xintong won the snooker Championship, and the EDG team won the global championship, and a new generation of sports idols is rising.
As a top sports idol, athletic performance is undoubtedly the foundation of everything. At the age of 18, he participated in the Olympic Games for the first time and had 2 gold and 1 silver, and Gu Ailing had enough confidence. In addition to the results, we also clearly feel the difference between the new generation of sports idols and their predecessors.
They have filled the gap in China's corresponding projects and expanded the boundaries of China's competitive sports.
Skiing and F1 were all Chinese were not good at, but they were popular in Europe and the United States. Gu Ailing won 2 gold and 1 silver in the three events before the rare Chinese athletes. The F1 China station has been settled in Shanghai since 2004, which has greatly promoted the development of domestic motorsport, and although the event has cultivated a large number of loyal F1 fans, there has never been a formal Chinese driver appearance. Last year, Zhou Guanyu joined the Alfa Romeo team, and China gave birth to the first official driver to land in F1!
Most of the projects they are involved in are highly commercial and have a fairly high threshold.
A set of junior ski equipment is about 5,000-10,000 yuan. And that's not counting the high expenses of the venue, hiring coaches, and competing. Some media have revealed that Gu Ailing's mother, Gu Yan, spent at least more than $1 million on raising her children to ski. F1 is a money-burning sport, and Zhou Guanyu's family has invested in hundreds of millions of dollars. Therefore, in order to make a breakthrough in these highly commercial projects, it is necessary to have a solid family foundation as a guarantee.
They grew up in an environment where Chinese and Western cultures are combined, and they have a global perspective.
As a mixed-race child, Gu Ailing naturally grew up in an environment where Chinese and Western cultures were integrated from the moment of birth. She grew up in the United States, where Americans' enthusiasm for sports even went deep into the marrow and learned to ski in a mature environment in the United States. She studied Olympiad in Haidian and went to the United States to take the exam after receiving a solid basic education in China. This is an excellent example of the allocation of high-quality resources in a global world.
Zhou Guanyu is a native of Chinese, but his father specially put Little Zhou Guanyu in Shanghai, one of the most international cities! In 2004, Zhou's father took his 5-year-old son to the scene to see China's first F1 event. In that race, Spanish driver Alonso won the championship. Zhou Guanyu was taken by his father to Sheffield in the middle of England when he was 12 years old, and has since embarked on the road of F1 drivers. Today, 17 years later, Zhou Guanyu may not have thought of becoming a rival with his childhood idol, Alonso, the champion of the 2004 Shanghai station.
They have the confidence and personality of a new generation of young people, and they dare to challenge.
The younger generation of Gu Ailing no longer has to carry the pressure of their predecessors from outside sports, and the growth environment and experience allow them to be confident enough to challenge and show themselves in the game. Gu Ailing won the first gold in the last jump, using a move she had never used in a big competition, and she had such courage at the age of 18! Being able to win a championship is important, but charisma may be a key element of a new generation of sports idols. Why did Yu Sheng's failure to win the medal still become the top of this Winter Olympics? The moment he challenged the human limit 4A, the gold medal was less important!
Authenticity gives them their own aura.
Su Yiming encouraged Gu Ailing before the game: I wish you a happy time! This was unimaginable before! Another manifestation of self-confidence is that they dare to show their truer selves! Gu Ailing does not use filters and beautification on the self-media number, and acne is the best mark of youth. As a top star, take out the plastic bag and chew the leek box after the game! There is no idol baggage at all. Compared with the over-packaging and perfect character design of many celebrities, such authenticity and sincerity are more attractive and more impressive!
summary:
As China becomes the world's second largest economy, more high-threshold, high-investment, high-commercial projects have begun to emerge a new generation of sports idols, and Gu Ailing and Zhou Guanyu are more confident, more individual and more international. Their appearance will help China have more voice in international mainstream projects and enhance the influence of Chinese sports in the world. At the same time, in the traditional advantages of table tennis, diving, badminton and other sports, China's institutional advantages will ensure the continued birth of top athletes, including many high-quality sports idols. Under the dream of a sports powerhouse, there are huge opportunities for development inside and outside the system. In order to consolidate the foundation of the training of youth sports reserve talents, Shanghai has made every effort to build a sports reserve talent training system that coordinates the three modes of ordinary school training, traditional sports school training, and social force training. Gu Ailing and Zhou Guanyu have stepped onto the stage of history, and we look forward to the emergence of more high-quality sports idols, so that Chinese sports idols can enter a new era of blossoming flowers.