Competitive sports really have magic.
The Winter Olympics, held on the doorstep of Home in February, focused the eyes of all of China on the ice and snow athletes who had rarely been concerned about before. Compared with the fierce competition, the big things and small things of the entertainment stars seem boring, and the performance of the Chinese national team has become the hottest topic.
Put on your skates, step on the ice rink, and with the power of the ice knife, break through the resistance brought by the cold air, and humans can fly on the ground.
Of course, flying comes at a price, and in order to take off, athletes need to make preparations that are unimaginable, and the scars hidden on their bodies record the history of human beings challenging themselves.
"Everyone's destiny is in their own hands"
Fan Kexin's first pair of skates was bought by his family for 150 yuan, "At that time, our family rent was 150 yuan." Fan Kexin said, "Then we will not have our own house, a family of four lives in a small tin house of less than 10 square meters." ”
Fan Kexin, a little Fan Kexin who embarked on the short track speed skating road, quickly "ate a hundred meals": "When I won the championship, there were many people who wanted to thank me, my parents used to repair shoes and repair bicycles, my mother put the photos of me taking the national championship when I was a child in the store, and then the guests were curious about what this child practiced, and after understanding, there were many people who helped me, and then the skates and other expenses were donated by well-wishers." ”
After that, everyone knows the story: after nearly 20 years of unremitting efforts, this little girl who slipped out of Heilongjiang Qitai became an Olympic champion at the age of 28.
Age: 28 years old
Training duration: 19 years
Training marks: injuries to the waist, multiple calluses on the feet
But Fan Kexin does not think that changing his family's situation through short-track speed skating is "fate".
"I got the chance, it's not that I was born to skate." Fan Kexin said, "Everything is my choice, the first day I stood on the ice rink, I liked the feeling, I loved the project." Everyone's fate is in their own hands, but at that time I made a choice and then went on seriously. ”
Fan Kexin is obsessed with the competitive sense of short track speed skating: "As long as there is someone in front, you want to surpass him." Beyond is what attracts me most to short track speed skating and I really want to win. ”
Fan Kexin wants to continue to win, with this strong momentum, conquer the "destiny" and become a winner.
In the women's 3,000m relay final of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese short track speed skating team won the bronze medal, making up for the regrets of four years ago. After the game, Fan Kexin kissed the ice before leaving.
"I kiss ice as if you loved your family." She described it this way, "Your family has given you a lot of care, a lot of love, and a lot of help. The ice rink is the same, she gave me a stage to show myself, she is an integral part of my life. I went to kiss her with these feelings because I loved it. ”
"Curling is the same as living a life"
At this Winter Olympic Games, Ling Zhi and his partner Fan Suyuanqi won the victory and won the "opening red" for the Chinese team. The handsome appearance and beautiful technology have attracted a lot of attention in a short period of time, and the Number of Weibo comments has risen from dozens to thousands in an instant, and the number of fans has exceeded one million.
But it's not an "overnight fame" story.
He had been waiting for this opportunity to stand on the Olympic stage for thirteen years.
Age: 28 years old
Training duration: 13 years
Training marks: the arms are obviously different in thickness, the index finger of the right hand is deformed,
Perennial cracking at the junction of the middle finger of the right index finger, etc
Curling is not a purely competitive sport, it is known as "chess on ice", and strategy is the most attractive part of curling. But in order to achieve their own strategy well, you need to master the sliding, although the sliding part is shorter than other sports, but the more stable the technical sliding, the more accurate the pot can be played, so the athletes need to repeat the technical sliding action over and over again.
These repetitive trainings make Ling Zhi irritable, especially when facing bottlenecks.
"The bottleneck period is really impetuous, it's the feeling of being stuck at 99 all the time. You think you've practiced well, but you just can't get out. Every day that you can't reach 100, you will fall from 99 to 1 or 0, and this time will be difficult. But if you can survive, you can reach 100 after breaking through. ”
The 28-year-old Ling Zhi, who is still very young for curling at the peak of 35 or 40 years old, looks forward to his future performance: "This time I am not very satisfied with myself, my mentality is not good enough, the competition experience is also relatively lacking, I hope that in the next competition, I can correct these." ”
Since the age of 15, Ling Zhi's life has no options other than "curling", and he hopes that he can play for a lifetime: "When I reach fifty or sixty, there is still old curling, as long as I want, I can always play." Ling Zhi pondered that when the time came, "if you can play professional, you will play professional, and if you don't play professional, you will play entertainment", in short, Ling Zhi will "keep fighting".
Even in the future, when he really retires, Ling Zhi will continue to work on curling: "I want to do my best to promote curling." ”
"The dilemma is learning"
Jin Boyang, the owner of the best result in the men's single skating of figure skating in China, was the first athlete in the world to complete the action of "hooking hands around the jump and then pointing out the ice for three weeks" in the competition.
Figure skating has been seen in JimBoyang's life for nearly 20 years, and he was born in 1997 and will only turn 25 years old in October this year.
Jin Boyang can't imagine life without figure skating, and the world can't imagine how Chinese figure skating would perform without Jin Boyang.
"Figure skating" and "Jin Boyang" are two inseparable nouns, and they belong to each other.
Age: 25 years old
Training duration: 19 years
Training marks: torn ankle ligaments
As a milestone figure in Chinese figure skating, Jin Boyang is the pride of Chinese figure skating. He made several major achievements at a young age, and after being promoted to the adult group, he single-handedly brought the world men's singles figure skating into the era of jumping around, but he was always a little bit away from the Olympic medal.
"Will there be regrets?"
"The results will definitely be, I expect I can achieve better results, but at the moment I am not ashamed."
Because of love, Jin Boyang feels that every moment he stands on the ice is very happy: "For example, jumping around, because in the air you have to complete 4 (spins) between 0.6 and 0.7 seconds, and a little distraction can't be completed, every time is a challenge." You have to jump decisively and without distractions, and when you finish it, you will have a great sense of accomplishment and happiness. ”
"But the more times it becomes, the happier it will decline," he said, "Versailles" a little.
"So what's the most fascinating part of figure skating?"
"Constantly challenge yourself." Jin Boyang pondered for a moment, "Figure skating is a sport of diversity, it is always renewing, jumping, spinning, sliding, performing... Jumping alone is a lot, and these movements are constantly being updated. You feel like you have it, but all of a sudden it goes away, and then you have to keep chasing. ”
He paused, then gave a romantic and cruel metaphor: "This sport will make you truly realize that 'no one is perfect'." You can clearly feel this sense of distance, distance, and then keep chasing, and then keep getting stronger. ”
Age: 27 years old
Partner training time: 16 years
Training traces: Wang Shiyue once fell on ice causing concussion,
Liu Xinyu buried eleven steel nails and two steel plates in his right hand
"Dependent on Life and Soul Mate"
Since holding hands on ice at the age of 11, double ice dancers Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu have never been separated again. Born in 1994, after 16 years of hard work, they have created the best performance in the history of Chinese ice dance at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
When she saw Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu in the dressing room, Wang Shiyue was helping Liu Xinyu's wound change. Liu Xinyu had just done surgery to remove the nails from his hand, the wound had not yet grown well, and he needed to change the medicine every day: "The doctor said that it takes twenty days for the knife edge to grow well, and it takes three months for the bones to return to a state of being able to exert force." ”
Liu Xinyu's hand was accidentally injured in August 2020. "Accidentally injured, I went to the hospital with Shi Yue at that time." The doctor said that there are two options, one is conservative treatment, that is, a cast, but the recovery speed of the bones cannot be guaranteed; the second is more painful, that is, nailing steel plates, recovering faster. ”
"The two of us didn't hesitate to choose the second option." Wang Shiyue said, "I know he is very anxious for the next game, and I have to support him. At that time, grades were no longer important, but the body was the most important. ”
Finally, Liu Xinyu's right hand was implanted with two steel plates and eleven steel nails: "The doctor said that if you retire now, you can not take it off, in the body for a lifetime, but if you continue to jump, the hand will repeatedly force, the wound will be swollen, then you have to find time to take it out." ”
"Dependent on each other" is the most commonly used word for Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu to describe their relationship with each other, "Then what if you want to define your relationship with one word?" We asked.
They looked at each other and smiled, and immediately gave me the answer: "Soul mate."
Athletes who have chosen each other from the ice sports since childhood, driven by love, after years and decades of hard work, finally stand in front of us.
In the current situation of repeated epidemics, constant disputes and frustrating situations, we need these gentle, firm and inspirational little stories most of all to continue to live and move forward.
The full text is published in the summer issue of ELLEMEN New Youth