In the 70 kg weightlifting competition at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, a dark horse rushed out, allowing Chinese and world audiences to know Zhejiang boy Zhan Xugang, who turned out to win the Olympic gold medal and broke the three world records for snatch, deadlift and total results.
Since then, he has opened up a new world in the weightlifting world, from the Atlanta Olympic Games to the present, it has been more than 20 years, after retiring he married a flight attendant, and he is currently the dean of Zhejiang Sports Vocational and Technical College.
Zhan Xu had just embarked on the road of movement
Zhan Xugang is a native of Kaihua County, Quzhou, Zhejiang, from the countryside, very able to bear hardships, from a small county all the way to the world stage, he spent 15 years, his efforts and hardships are also unimaginable to ordinary people.
Born in 1974, Zhan Xugang's talent is not particularly outstanding, and he can be seen in various sports in the school sports meeting since he was a child, he is the sports committee member of the class, he is very strong, and the amount of food is also very large.
He was able to practice weightlifting by chance, and he was recognized by Zhu Yun'er, a weightlifting coach at the county sports school. Zhan Xugang's physique and explosiveness are outstanding qualities that are especially needed by weightlifters. But Zhan Xugang's parents hesitated, their wish is that their son can learn to go out of the countryside and become a city person, practicing weightlifting to delay learning, and also affecting his height.
Coach Zhu Yun'er understood this, and patiently did the ideological work for his parents, and finally persuaded them to join the weightlifting team. After Zhan Xu first entered the weightlifting team, he found that he was very inadequate compared with other team members, and his only thought was to study hard and improve his skills.
Weightlifting is a boring sport, the tenacious and boundless Zhan Xugang first systematically learned the knowledge of weightlifting, and then carried out daily training, Zhan ping also paid attention to reading books on weightlifting and strength training, he carefully studied these books to learn the essence inside.
Talent and hard work coexisted for three years, Zhan Xugang achieved one result after another in various weightlifting competitions, so he was selected by the Zhejiang Provincial Weightlifting Team, to a larger stage, accompanied by better training conditions and technical guidance, Zhan Xugang cherished this opportunity, in addition to daily training and control of his weight, he worked harder.
At the age of 19, Zhan Xu was just selected by the national team, the task on his shoulders was heavier, he firmly believed that his future arena was the Olympic Games, that is, to win glory for the country, and he set a goal for himself in his heart, that is, to win gold medals and win honors for China.
Olympic champion
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Zhan Xugang took the time to win the 70 kg championship, which made the Chinese people excited.
But soon after, the International Weightlifting Federation revised the men's competition class, abolishing the 70 kg class, and Zhan Xugang was originally the champion of this class. Now to upgrade to the 77 kg class, he will have to change all his original training plans and weight plans, and the performance depends on the performance.
Many athletes at this level considered and left, but Zhan Xugang considered it again and again or stayed, he fell into the trough of life, while he needed to gain weight, but also constantly adjusted the training plan, changes in progress, but he was still uncertain in his heart.
Zhan Xugang's powerful spiritual strength supported him to continue practicing, and he strictly executed his plans and studied the technology.
The field that tested him came, the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Zhan Xu had no advantage at the beginning, not optimistic about outsiders, but he completed the reversal and won the second Olympic gold medal in his life, or different weight classes.
The peak of the weightlifter's sport was just a few years, his physical skills declined, his explosive power declined, and he had to consider retirement.
In 2002, Zhan Xugang considered retiring, but his heart of a child and his heart of winning glory for the country have not changed. Zhan Xu, who has completed the retirement transformation, was just drafted by the state to compete in the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, but the years were not spared, and he lost the competition that year, tears spilled on the field, and the hero was old.
Athletes transform into officials
After retiring from the army, Zhan Xu began another life and life. Once on the plane, Zhan Xugang met Yao Jian, a flight attendant of Air China, and the two fell in love at first sight.
After that, Yao Jian and Zhan Xu just established a love relationship, she accompanied Zhan all the way from glory to trough, and then climbed up from trough, and the two soon walked into the palace of marriage.
After Zhan Xu just retired, various training institutions and training grounds outside threw olive branches to the Olympic champion, hoping to hire him as a coach.
However, Zhan Xugang was not tempted, and under the unified arrangement of the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee at that time, he went to Taizhou County to serve as a standing committee member and deputy county chief, and worked as a grassroots cadre for two years.
In 2005, he returned to the bank and went to Zhejiang Sports Vocational and Technical College to manage weightlifting projects, and he has now turned from an athlete to a manager, from a different perspective.
His approach to working is to walk into the arena, listen to athletes and coaches, and watch their daily training, a set of methods that are different from previous leaders and have allowed him to achieve great results.
In 2008 he became an Olympic torchbearer, a huge honor that also affirmed his career in weightlifting.
In 2012, Zhan Xugang was promoted to vice president, mainly in charge of training and preparation, he also has experience in these two aspects, in recent years he has improved his management ability, naturally like a fish.
In 2015, Zhan Xugang was transferred to the deputy county level by the organization department, and Zhan Xugang, who has been managing training and equipment in the college, began to adapt to the actual work at the grassroots level, and others had a lot of criticism of him as an Olympic champion county magistrate, and he was a little distressed. His wife, Yao Jian, enlightened him that since he was not good at socializing, he should do practical things, be a practical official, and do more things for the people.
Zhan Xugang now has a son and a daughter with his wife, and the family life is happy, and his wife continues to support his work and take care of the children and family.
Zhan Xugang is now back at the academy as dean, and under his leadership, Zhejiang has sent Shi Zhiyong, Tang Deshang, and Feng Ludong a number of talented people to the country. Their athletes continued to create impressive records in the Olympic arena and continued the glory of the Zhejiang Olympic Games.
brief summary:
Zhan Xugang is a hero who has been fighting on the sports front, previously a weightlifting champion, won countless events of all sizes, and continued to explore talents for the weightlifting industry in Zhejiang and China after retiring, continuing the glory of China's weightlifting.
At the same time, he is also a winner in life, has a beautiful wife, has a happy family, he uses his stoicism and perseverance in the weightlifting career to explain what is love, his spirit is worth learning.