China, China, or China! At Zhangjiakou Awards Square this evening, three five-star red flags were raised at the same time.
In today's Paralympic Snowboard Men's Steeplechase (UL Level) Grand Final, Chinese athletes historically finished in the top four. In the end, Ji Lijia won the gold, Wang Pengyao won the silver medal, and Zhu Yonggang won the bronze medal. The three Chinese athletes are very young, all "post-00s", which is a dream.
The "March of the Volunteer Army" was played, and three five-star red flags were raised at the same time for the first time at the Winter Paralympic Games. The audience took out their mobile phones to record this exciting moment. On the podium, three "post-00" Chinese guys put their respective medals together and spelled out an "iron triangle". The boys said that this was the idea they discussed after the game, and the "Iron Triangle" represented the friendship between the three people and the unity of Chinese athletes.
Born in 2002, Ji Lijia, who won the gold medal, is the highest point athlete in the world's men's upper limb group for paralegal snowboarding. After winning the gold medal, Ji Lijia was full of emotions. "It's sports that has changed me a lot." Ji Lijia said that before he was exposed to sports, he was very shy. Even in the summer, he wears long-sleeved clothes and is reluctant to face his disability. After being exposed to sports, he met many disabled friends and he also came out of the dark. He said that by winning the gold medal this time, he would do better to be himself and raise the flag to the highest.
"If my physical condition allows, I will always be an athlete and will never give up." Ji Lijia said that he will continue to work hard to bring more disabled friends into contact with sports and regain self-confidence.
"Standing on the departure platform, we thought of the scene of three five-star red flags rising at the same time." Wang Pengyao, who won the silver medal, was born in 2000. He said that the historic breakthroughs achieved again and again are inseparable from the help of coaches and the support of teammates. He admits that the players participating in the men's obstacle course (UL level) are mainly physically disabled, and many athletes have only one hand. Snowboard waxing requires two-handed operation, which is difficult to complete with one hand. At this time, everyone will cooperate with each other to wax the snowboard together. It is this kind of team spirit that the team members twist into a rope and make their hearts go together. "Before the competition, a few of us cheered each other up, no matter who won the championship, the pride belongs to China!"
Behind the medals, it is inseparable from hard training. Obstacle course chases are highly dangerous in snow sports, and falling is commonplace. Zhu Yonggang, who won the bronze medal, said that disabled athletes are prone to the back of the center of gravity when sliding, and in order to overcome this problem, it takes a long time to train, form muscle memory, and let the body's center of gravity press forward. Luckily, several of them persevered. In the semi-finals, Zhu Yonggang jumped from the third place in the group to the first place in the group with a beautiful overtaking, thus advancing to the finals. "The achievements are inseparable from the motherland's cultivation and attention to disabled athletes, and it is the motherland that makes us stand here!"