Within 1 year, he broke the world high jump record 3 times, and the best result he set in the past 30 years was unbreakable, and he showed "China Height" on the world stage! In this issue, the Ziya Children's Fun Sports Observer introduces you to the Chinese "god of high jump" in the last century - Zhu Jianhua.
Zhu Jianhua was born in Shanghai in 1963. Although he was taller and taller than his peers since he was a child, he was not keen on sports. When he was 10 years old, coach Hu Hongfei of Shanghai Huangpu District Sports School was like Bole and hit this thousand-mile horse. Since then, he has been training in the high jump and has shown great talent.
In 1979, he made his debut in the World Student Athletics Competition, jumped 2.13 meters, won the second place in the first competition, and broke the domestic juvenile men's high jump record, and was awarded the title of "Athlete". In 1980, he went one step further, winning three consecutive titles at the National Athletics Championships, the International Youth Athletics Games in Mexico and the World Student Games.
In 1981, he jumped 2.30 meters at the Asian Athletics Championships, and the Chinese high jumper finally broke the Asian men's high jump record for the first time after 11 years, which was even in the global ranking of fifth place.
As he fought, in 1982, he continued to set new personal bests. At the Shanghai "Golden Sparrow Cup" track and field, he raised his record to 2.32 meters; at the Asian Games men's high jump, he broke the record again, winning the gold medal with a staggering result of 2.33 meters, and was named the best athlete in the New Delhi Games.
China's athletics projects are relatively lacking in advantages, and 19-year-old Zhu Jianhua has achieved a lot of success, like a rising star, carrying the expectations of the people of the whole country.
Gifted people don't always have a smooth ride. In 1983, he felt the pressure of the competition for the first time. It was at the inaugural World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, when he was the holder of the world high jump record and was seen by everyone as the strongest candidate to compete for the title.
Unfortunately, on the day of the race, there was heavy rain, and the bad weather conditions still greatly affected his race status, zhu Jianhua was not able to break through the personal best again, only skipped 2.29 meters and won a bronze medal.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment, many people think that he is playing abnormally, and even some people have begun to sing down, saying that he is in a state of decline. As everyone knows, this bronze medal is the first medal won by the Chinese track and field team in a world-scale event, and it is the only medal won by asian athletes at this World Championships.
Despite the incessant voices of doubt, Zhu Jianhua only cares about strengthening training, and he only speaks with strength. In September of the same year, he jumped to the world's top result of 2.38 meters at the Fifth National Games in Shanghai, instantly leaving those who were waiting to see him fall without a place to look at himself.
In just 3 months, he once again broke the world record, and the speed of this progress is simply unparalleled! In recognition of his sportsmanship, the state awarded him the title of "Top Ten Sports of the Year", and even foreign newspapers and periodicals ranked him on the list of the world's top ten athletes of the year.
In 1984, he was invited to compete in the World High Jump Classic in Germany. Under the stimulation of the fierce competitive atmosphere, his potential was once again stimulated, and he even crossed the height of 2.39 meters at once, won the gold medal with an absolute advantage, and became a veritable world number one!
This great victory made him famous. In the hearts of the people of that year, he was simply an invincible national hero, and there were countless articles praising his outstanding performance. The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics were of great significance to the mainland, when it was the first time that a delegation was officially sent to participate in the competition in the name of the country after the mainland restored its Olympic seats.
The athletes of the delegation have a heavy responsibility, because this game is an important stage to break the world's prejudice against Chinese! Naturally, Zhu Jianhua was pinned high hopes on by everyone, and even when interviewed by foreign coaches, 15 out of 17 people thought he could win the gold medal in the men's high jump of the Olympic Games.
In an interview, he also replied decisively that he could win the gold medal, but under the determined appearance, hidden was a heart that was forced by huge pressure to breathe. He knows that he has the expectations of the people of the whole country and even the people of the world, and he seems to have been recognized by everyone as the olympic champion in advance. Not only the champion, but also the best to break the world record again.
These expectations weigh heavily on him, making him feel that he has no way back, and if he does not meet his expectations, he will become a sinner of the nation. At the Olympics, he really played out of order. In the beginning, he managed to cross the 2.31m crossbar. So, in the first test jump, he asked to raise the crossbar to 2.33 meters, but due to poor condition, this time the test jump failed.
A German competitor who competed in the same field jumped a height of 2.33 meters in the first test jump, and according to the rules of the competition, if the two final results are the same, the athlete with fewer test jumps wins. In order to win, he could only raise the height again to 2.35 meters.
As he was preparing for his second jump, a middle-distance runner suddenly fell to the ground, just near the high jump. The high jump was interrupted and his rhythm was disrupted by a sudden accident. The race continued, but he did not find his form, and two consecutive attempts and jumps ended in failure, and the final result was only 2.31 meters, and only one bronze medal was won.
Although Zhu Jianhua failed to win the gold medal and set a record as usual, he also made outstanding contributions to the country and was awarded the titles of "Special Sports Medal" and "New Long March Commando" in Shanghai. However, the people were extremely dissatisfied with his defeat, and the comments about him overnight were reversed, and the praise of the past became the derogatory rebuke of the present.
Zhu Jianhua only wants to challenge himself, he forces himself not to read the relevant evaluations, and speed up his training rhythm. At the 1985 National Athletics Invitational in Guangzhou, he asked to raise the crossbar to 2.40 meters. The audience held their breath and did not dare to make a sound, only to see him running quickly, taking off lightly, and falling on the thick cushion through the crossbar. The audience was about to applaud and cheer for him when they saw the crossbar shake and fall to the ground. The almost successful attempt was the undocumented peak of his athletic career.
Since then, his racing status has been declining due to illness, and he has not been able to perform miracles except for winning the gold medal again in the 2.24 meters at the 1986 Asian Games. In 1988, he chose to retire, and the golden age of a generation of high jump gods came to an end, leaving countless people sighing.
Some people criticized him for being too poor in mental quality to bear the pressure. For this evaluation, he finally responded in an interview, the audience outside the arena, all they can see is the crossbar and the result, the athletes jumped over they will be happy, and if they did not jump over, you may be greeted by a soda bottle smashed head-on.
Yes, as spectators, it is very normal for us to be excited about the wonderful performances of athletes. However, if we want to impose our expectations for the championship on the athletes, it will be detrimental to their competition, and we cannot demand that they maintain a perfect state of competition, and also demand that they have a heart that is still not bad in the face of denigration and doubt.
After all, we, as spectators, pay only a few shouts and a few tears, and the price paid by athletes is a healthy body. More understanding, more tolerance, this is the best thing we can do for athletes!
Today's Zhu Jianhua has long returned to normal life, and he has slowly released his criticism. What attitude do you think we should take towards athletes who lose on the field? Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss. If you like my article, please follow this account and like and forward it for me. Each of your encouragements will be the motivation for me to make better works