At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the scene of short-track speed skaters using the short time before the second departure to temporarily adjust their ice knives has become a special scenery in the Capital Gymnasium. In and around the Winter Paralympic Games, technicians who use professional tools to "operate" on wheelchairs and prosthetics are also very expensive.
Li Yaya is a staff member of the equipment maintenance point in the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, and almost every athlete who gives him a wheelchair or prosthesis will leave with a satisfied smile on his face. He confessed: "Seeing the smiles of the players is the greatest value of our work." ”
Li Yaya (right)
I have been associated with sports since I was a child
This time, Li Yaya followed the team of Ottobock to serve the Winter Paralympic Games. According to him, this time they have set up special equipment service points in Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, "In a few days I will go to support the Beijing division, where the task is relatively heavy." Talking about his relationship with sports and the Olympic Games, this technician who has been working overseas for many years revealed that sports have always played a very important role in his life.
"When I was a child, I practiced swimming, and I practiced for a while in the Kunming swimming team and the locomotive swimming team." Li Yaya said, "It taught me the spirit of not giving up and persevering to the end, which is a very important inspiration for me." Although Li Yaya's professional swimming training has not been continued, the seeds of sports have been planted in his heart. It is also for this reason that when he was in college, he took sports rehabilitation in sports colleges as the first choice for his major.
After graduation, Li Yaya entered the field of sports rehabilitation as she wished, becoming an indispensable support behind athletes. A few years later, by chance, he was offered the opportunity to work in Canada and "get in touch" with equipment such as wheelchair prosthetics. At that time, his idea was simple, to do his best to provide more help to the vulnerable group of people with disabilities, and from that moment on, the connection between Leah and the Winter Paralympic Games was quietly opened.
Experiencing it first-hand is not easy
In Canada, Li Yaya quickly gained industry recognition for her good working ability, and indeed provided a lot of help to the local disabled through her own efforts, as she had hoped. A charity games for the disabled in the Toronto community made him feel the hardships of Paralympic athletes.
In that sports meeting, the organizers set up an experience link, and Li Yaya, who loves sports, naturally did not miss the opportunity, and the results of the experience also gave him a big shock. Li Yaya remembers that when trying to run a blind man, from the moment his eyes were blindfolded, his body was like a stagnant machine, not knowing how to operate, "Although there were guides around, I never been able to adapt to such an environment, and I couldn't find the rhythm of running." At that moment, the technician with excellent business ability really felt the difficulties and obstacles that the disabled athletes needed to face on the field, "I felt that I couldn't move 30 meters, they had to run around the field several times." There is also a wheelchair basketball, which does not seem to be very difficult to operate, but after personal experience, I learned that controlling the direction of the wheelchair is a very difficult thing. After that charity games, Li Yaya made a decision to go to the arena to provide better services to the disabled players if she had the opportunity.
As a partner of the Paralympic Games, Li Yaya's company sent an Olympic service intention email to employees, and he did not hesitate to fill in personal information. "This Winter Paralympic Games will be held in my motherland, and I should contribute my strength to show the style of my countrymen."
Service work is heavy on detail
After coming to Beijing, Li Yaya was first assigned to the Zhangjiakou Division, which is mainly based on snow sports, to participate in the adjustment and repair of athletes' equipment. According to him, at present, the equipment department in Zhangjiakou area starts service at 9 o'clock every day and continues until the end of the afternoon game, "The competition density is not large in these days, basically until 2:30 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon." ”
After working on these several competition days, Li Yaya's biggest feeling is that in addition to the fighting spirit of the players, there is also the importance of details in equipment maintenance. "Last Sunday, Yang Hongqiong, who just won the winter Paralympic cross-country skiing women's long distance (sitting) gold medal, came to adjust the equipment, and she wanted us to make her ice chair wider." Li Yaya recalled that he and several colleagues quickly measured the size of the equipment and discussed in detail with the Xinke Winter Paralympic champions about the feeling of use in different directions, and even the location of the fixing screws. "When we get to the field, the real companions with the equipment are still the athletes, so what we have to do is to try to do the best in every detail related to the equipment." It is not easy for them to stand on this field, and we, as service personnel, must also compare our hearts to each other, and strive to let all the players come with hope, leave with a smile, and truly enjoy the journey of the Olympic Games. Li Yaya said.
Yang Hongqiong
The Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games not only gave athletes the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games, enjoy the Olympic Games, and perceive the Olympic Games, but also allowed the world to further understand China. For this, Li Yaya has the deepest feelings.
"On the plane to Beijing, I was next to a colleague from Finland." Li Yaya recalled that when the plane landed, the colleague was shocked by the scenery of Beijing, "Subject to media reports and the impact of the epidemic on the tourism industry, in fact, many foreign friends do not understand the situation in China, and this Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is a very good opportunity." Li Yaya said that from the services of domestic airlines to the setting of the exclusive channel of the airport Winter Olympics; from the spacious and convenient shuttle bus, to the good accommodation and catering conditions, all of china's rapid development and good competition hosting ability in recent years have been shown to more friends.
"This time, our team has more than 30 foreign colleagues, and when they go back, they will tell their relatives and friends about everything they see and feel, and there are at least 30 families behind it, and after radiation, the impact may be even greater," said Li Yaya, who believes that after the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, more people will refresh their impression of China.
Author: Xinmin Evening News reporter Lu Weixin Photo: Xinmin Evening News special reporter Li Mingyan Editor: Shen Yuye