In the Chinese sports delegation of the Beijing Winter Olympics, there were many athletes from the "non-traditional professional team system", which made great achievements for the hosts to make repeated breakthroughs at the "doorstep". In the process of preparing for the Winter Olympic Games, the national team opened the door and established a more diversified talent training and team model, which also provided more experience and ideas for the future development of China's competitive sports.
Su Yiming can be described as a successful representative of the "cooperation" inside and outside the system to cultivate talents.
Family Nurturing: An effort born of love
One gold and one silver, for a teenager under the age of 18 who has never participated in the World Championships or the Winter Olympics before, such an achievement can be described as amazing. Su Yiming was born in front of people with the aura of "genius", and before he was selected for the national training team in the summer of 2018, he was always an "outside the system" semi-professional player.
Su Yiming's growth trajectory is similar to most of the Professional Skaters in Europe and the United States, in childhood by his parents or environment, he received skiing enlightenment in his family, and then gradually emerged under the multiple "blessings" of talent, hard work and excellent family conditions, attracting the attention of sponsors, and then obtaining better development conditions, step by step on a higher stage.
Coincidentally, Jung, a 19-year-old youngster who won the fifth place in the women's snowboard jump, also came into contact with skiing in Canada as a child, and then trained with family support. The veneer jump was set up at the last Winter Olympics, and the Chinese team did not qualify for the competition. Four years later, the Chinese team won a gold medal and a fifth place, and the "family-style training" was indispensable.
In fact, not only skiing, but also in ice hockey, figure skating and even relatively niche short track speed skating and curling events, the cultivation of competitive talents is no longer "walking on one leg". Especially in economically developed cities such as Beijing, a number of athletes who were initially trained for their families were selected for the delegation. The general characteristics of these athletes are: they have a strong internal drive because of their love, they are engaged in training, hardworking, clear goals, and they are very tenacious, open-minded and not easy to give up in the face of setbacks. Su Yiming slipped and broke several snowboards a week, Jung was injured in training and did not want to rest, and all kinds of "self-masochism" actions came from heartfelt love.
It is worth mentioning that Su Yiming and Jung have made great progress after entering the national training team and obtaining more systematic equipment, medical treatment, logistics, and participation in the competition. Su Yiming's 2019-2020 season is not at the top in the world, and Jung, whose talent is relatively mediocre, did not stand out when he joined the team last summer. When the diligence born of love and the strong guarantee provided by the system have a chemical effect, a breakthrough will come naturally. The talent training model of "cooperation" between family and social forces and systems has achieved phased results in this Winter Olympic Games, and also provides more possibilities for China's competitive sports that are quietly transforming.
Yuan Junjie (left) fearlessly fights on the field shouldering national honors.
Overseas Chinese: Responding to the call of the motherland
When it comes to the breakthrough of the Chinese delegation's snow project, it is necessary to mention Gu Ailing, who achieved 2 gold and 1 silver. This Mixed-Race Girl with a "Haidian accent" and likes to eat roast duck, shabu-shabu and leek boxes has become the hottest sports star in China at the Winter Olympics.
As an athlete, Gu Ailing's growth style to the trajectory of competition is European and American. But at the same time, she has maintained close ties with the motherland from childhood to adulthood, not only brushing up on "Haidian True Questions", tasting Beijing snacks, participating in domestic commercial events, but also helping Beijing bid for the Winter Olympics and actively participating in ice and snow promotion activities. In 2019, Gu Ailing reported as a "Chinese athlete" on Weibo, which can be described as the expectation of everyone.
Gu Ailing's "return to the team" filled the gap in China's skiing. In the ice hockey event, where the host is not strong, a large number of Chinese players have also responded to the call of the motherland and put on the Chinese team's battle robes. In this Winter Olympics, although the results of Chinese ice hockey are difficult to say excellent, but the gap with powerful opponents is not a big scene, so that many people re-understand Chinese ice hockey, the players' tenacious and hard-working spirit has won praise. And Chinese players play an important role in this.
In this competition, there are 11 Chinese players in the Chinese men's and women's ice hockey teams. They grew up in the North American youth system, some people can speak fluently Chinese, and some people don't know much about China before participating in the selection camp for the Winter Olympics. But when they learned that they had the opportunity to join the Chinese national team and play for their ancestors' hometown, they were deeply excited and honored. "The dream of every Chinese athlete is to represent China in the Olympic Games and win glory for the country." Male ice main defender Yuan Junjie said.
At the same time, both Gu Ailing and the mixed race players on the ice hockey rink regard "helping the popularization and development of the project in China" as an important goal. On the one hand, they use their public image and competitive performance to promote the public's awareness of the project, and the projects they are engaged in have gained many "fans" during the Winter Olympics; on the other hand, through joint training and daily exchanges, the international vision, professional attitude, training philosophy and even lifestyle of these players have also helped local young athletes, especially athletes in the system, to deepen their understanding of the project. Compared with the breakthrough in achievements, the "butterfly effect" brought about by the return of Chinese players is obviously more meaningful.
Smith loves his helmet painted with Chinese elements.
Naturalized Players: Achievements in both directions
In the Chinese men's and women's ice hockey teams participating in this competition, there are also six naturalized players, of which four defenders of the men's team have formed a defensive backbone, and the two "sharp knives" of the women's team have played the main scorers, and several of them are indispensable combat strength of the team.
In fact, in highly professional hockey, naturalization is the norm in high-level competitions, whether it is The Asian neighbors Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan or the United Kingdom, France and other European teams, there are naturalized players in the squad. At the last Winter Olympics, the host Korean men's team performed well with naturalized players.
Naturalized players are not surprising and in line with the "international trend" of the development of the project. More importantly, these naturalized players are serious and dedicated on the field, actively integrate into Chinese culture off the field, and unite with their teammates to have a positive impact on the development of the project with practical actions. Male ice main goalkeeper Smith not only took the initiative to learn Chinese and wear Hanfu with his family to take family portraits, but also asked his teammates to give him Chinese name - Shi Mengjie. Miller, who scored a key goal for the women's team to win the Japanese team, posted on Weibo after the end of the Winter Olympics trip that "there are regrets and losses", but the sisters will not give up, because "the road to Chinese ice hockey has just begun".
Admittedly, for these players, if they are not called up by the Chinese team, it may be difficult to stand on the Winter Olympics. Smith, who has had a brief NHL experience, has admitted that he is just an obscure goalkeeper, looking for opportunities to play in small leagues, and joining the Chinese club ignites his Olympic dream. The chinese team's competitive shortcomings have been compensated, and the naturalized players have also achieved higher self-worth, and the achievement of this "two-way rush" should be said to be a successful attempt.