"The Paris cycle has started and I really want to be on the top podium in singles. I can't stop for a moment, I can't afford to miss a day, I have to do a good job of training every day, in order to step by step to stand at the top position. Wang Zongyuan continued to move forward firmly on the road to realizing his dream.
Recently, the Chinese diving team held an intra-team test again after 18 days. Hubei player Wang Zongyuan participated in all three items and was the only male player in the single event in this test.
Two achievements improved
In the Tokyo Olympic cycle, due to the postponement of the Olympic Games for one year, Wang Zongyuan, who was unknown but redoubled his efforts, overtook in the corner and squeezed into the Olympic list of the Chinese diving team. In the end, on the stage of his dreams, he stood on the highest podium of the Olympic Games with his partner Xie Sibei to regain the gold medal in the men's double 3m springboard for the Chinese diving team. The silver medal harvested three days later made the 19-year-old Xiangyang Wa plant a wish seed in her heart.
This year, the Chinese diving team sounded the rallying cry of the 2024 Paris Olympic cycle. In early April, the restructured Chinese diving team conducted an intra-team test, and Wang Zongyuan and his new partner Cao Yuan won the first place in the men's double 3m board, and then won the first place in the men's single 3m board, achieving a new cycle opening.
After 18 days, after the postponement of the National Diving Championships (i.e., this year's World Championships and Asian Games Selection Tournament), which was originally scheduled to be held from April 21 to 26, the Chinese diving team once again held an in-team test simulating the official competition, and combined with previous results to determine the standard score of the world champion level. After two weeks of training, Wang Zongyuan and Cao Yuan have improved in terms of the quality of action completion and the degree of tacit understanding. After the 6 jump, the two successfully reached the target with a total score of 462.54, which is also higher than their previous test score.
In the subsequent men's 3m board single test, Wang Zongyuan continued to be in good shape, completing six sets of actions with zero mistakes and high quality, ranking first with a total score of 568.90 points, an improvement of nearly 18 points over the previous test. At the Tokyo Olympics, Xie Sibei's winning record was 558.75 points.
Seven tests in four days withstood the test
In preparation for this year's World Championships and Asian Games, the test also set up a 1-meter board event. As the main player of the Chinese diving team in the Paris Olympic cycle, Wang Zongyuan faced the physical challenge of four days and seven games and participated in the project test.
Due to the fact that the 3-meter board double and single tests have been conducted, the physical consumption is large, and Wang Zongyuan made a mistake when completing the 305B action of the 1-meter board, and only scored 67.20 points. However, Wang Zongyuan, who has been labeled as a "teenager and an old man" since his debut, has never retreated and adjusted his state in time, and finally ranked first with 460.05 points, and exceeded the standard line by 20 points. After the game, Wang Zongyuan admitted that he withstood this challenge in four days and seven games. "I was a little tired the day before and my legs were a bit weak in the pre-race activity of the 3m board, but I adjusted in time for the test. Since the coach gave me this task, I will definitely complete it well. In this team test, Wang Zongyuan was the only male player in the single event to meet the standard, and this performance was even better than at the Tokyo Olympics. Still, he wants to step up the details and do better.
Three years ago, when Wang Zongyuan, who was under the age of 19, made his first appearance at the World Series to compete in the men's 1m board at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, he made a surprise to bring back a gold medal, thus taking the first step to Tokyo. This year, it is expected to stand on the springboard of the World Championships for the second time, and Wang Zongyuan also has higher expectations: to impact the 3 gold medals of the World Championships and become the first person in history.
Calm, down-to-earth, hardworking, demanding... This is the evaluation of Wang Zongyuan by former partner Xie Sibei, and it is also the "secret" of the latter's tokyo dream. Opening the Paris Olympic cycle, under the blessing of the Olympic baptism, Wang Zongyuan continued his self-superiority and moved forward firmly.
Text/Hubei Daily reporter Ma Mingyu
Photo/Weibo