"Oh my God! She doesn't have a snow pole! In the mixed interview area of the National Biathlon Center, a female journalist from the United States exclaimed loudly. Following the prestige, the athlete in the No. 41 vest on the field was struggling to climb the hill, waving both arms without a snow pole. This is athlete Zhao Zhiqing from China.
On the afternoon of March 9, the final of the women's sprint (free technical) standing group of the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games began, and Chinese athlete Zhao Zhiqing participated. At the beginning of the game, Zhao Zhiqing rushed out like an arrow off the string, and rushed to the second place. Among the 6 athletes who participated in the final, Zhao Zhiqing, who did not have a snow pole, was particularly eye-catching. I saw that she struggled to climb the hill like a climber, because without the snow pole, her ascent process was much more difficult than other athletes.
In the standing group, athletes compete with one or two poles, depending on their disability. As the only athlete in the stadium who did not use a snow pole, Zhao Zhiqing relied on his legs to exert his strength. With the decline of physical strength, Zhao Zhiqing was gradually surpassed by the athletes behind him. In the end, she crossed the finish line fourth. Although there were no medals, it received the loudest applause.
"It's amazing! How did she do it! Foreign reporters in the mixed interview area exclaimed.
Zhao Zhiqing, 24, lost both hands in an accident as a child. In the face of such a heavy blow, ordinary people may be devastated, but Zhao Zhiqing has lived a different and wonderful life. Zhao Zhiqing has been very stubborn since childhood, and if others can learn, she must also learn. She learned not only to ride a bicycle, an electric car, but also to rollerblad. Later, she also learned to ski and became a cross-country skier.
For Zhao Zhiqing, her legs are her snow poles. In order to be able to stand on the Winter Paralympic games, she practiced her leg strength and had to squat for several hours a day. In order to exercise her balance and avoid falling during the game, she has to practice balancing the hemisphere every day, standing on one leg to do various movements. In training, she also uses one leg downhill to exercise her stability. "One snowboard can stand firmly, let alone two." To her, none of this seemed difficult.
At this Winter Paralympic Games, Zhao Zhiqing also participated in the Paralympic biathlon competition. Zhao Zhiqing won the bronze medal in the Paralympic Biathlon women's sprint (standing) final on 5 March. Compared with the cross-country competition, the winter biathlon also has more shooting links, which is another big challenge for Zhao Zhiqing. "Healthy athletes only need more than 20 seconds to shoot down a round, like we need more than 50 seconds to play a round." Even so, Zhao Zhiqing still shot 9 of 10 shots in two rounds of shooting, and finally stood on the podium.
"Unfortunately, this time it was fourth, and I thought I could get into the top three." After the game, Zhao Zhiqing said with some regret. On the same day, her parents came to the scene to watch the game and cheer her on. Not being able to let her parents see her on the podium was her only regret.