Sui Wenjing/Han Cong: Walk hand in hand, pursue dreams without regrets

The day before the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, 26-year-old Sui Wenjing and 29-year-old Han Cong finally reached the highest podium of the Winter Olympics, ending the Chinese sports delegation with a gold medal. In April, the two won the title of "Outstanding Contribution Individual" of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the Winter Paralympic Games, and the hardships, tribulations and perseverance behind the 15 years of holding hands were understood by more people, they encountered doubts without self-doubt, faced injuries without self-harm, brave and strong in the face of difficulties, and spelled words also inspired more young people.

Rise to the challenge Challenge the highest difficulty

The double skating gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics made the five-star red flag rise, and also made up for the regret that Sui Wenjing and Han Cong were runners-up at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, "Our dream has finally come true, and I feel extremely lucky, happy, and joyful." Han Cong said.

Looking back on this thrilling battle, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong resolutely chose the highest difficulty in the plan in front of a powerful opponent, and finally won with only 0.63 points, which proved that their choice was correct, and it was the fearless fighting spirit that brought them to the top.

The Sui Wenjing/Han Cong duo is a "small man" player in the pair skating world, although the two have a height difference of 20 centimeters, but because they are not tall, they do not have an advantage in jumping and lifting, and if they want to compete with tall Russian players in height and distance and not fall behind, they must be stronger than their opponents in difficulty. "We weren't conservative and unflinching in terms of the difficulty of the movements, we had good physical fitness and were able to prepare for the difficulty of the challenge." Han Cong said, "So we added the high-scoring actions of twisting around and the front outer spiral, and at the same time we also pursued the novelty of the design and the hierarchy of difficulty in lifting." ”

In the lifting action, the two designed four or five versions, and then tested through the competition to determine which version could get the highest level 4 in the action rating and get a high score. In the last lifting action of the free skating "Golden Bridge on the River of Sorrows", Sui Wenjing's head-down posture is thrilling. In order to practice this movement, there have also been dangers in training. "Once, during training, the pestle went straight down to the ground, and I couldn't move my neck at that time." Sui Wenjing said, but after resting, Sui Wenjing still believed in her partner without hesitation and continued to practice this action. At the same time, Han Cong was more diligent in carrying out additional strength training to enhance muscle strength, and Sui Wenjing further lost weight and fat while maintaining a large amount of exercise training. In the summer of 2021, Sui Wenjing lost about 6 to 7 pounds, and by the time of the Beijing Winter Olympics, she weighed less than 80 pounds. "The race suits are constantly changing because the clothes are getting fatter." Sui Wenjing said happily, "My figure is still very good-looking, this is the reward for paying." ”

Practice hard internal skills and chase the highest honors

Because they do not have an advantage in height, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong have encountered many questions, and the way they respond to the questions is to make more efforts and get more results. "I know that my inadequacies depend on the efforts of the day after tomorrow, I have no talent, I have to rely on hard work to grow." 」 Han Cong, who is 1.7 meters tall, is not in good physical condition among the male partners of the pair skater, and if he wants to achieve results, he can only rely on "practice", Han Cong said, "I have to practice more than normal people every day, after practicing the boys' plan, I will add the girl's plan." I had to go from lifting a barbell pole to a lot of effort, and finally I had as much strength as they (tall male players), or even more than theirs. So I've been practicing desperately, practicing desperately, not letting go of every minute. Sui Wenjing also has a deep understanding of this, "When we break through the difficult actions of twisting around and the front and outer spirals, we need to use more strength to make up for the height gap." Brother Cong's hips have not been in good shape, and the more exercises such as twisting around are trained every day, they will cause more damage. After the training and competition every day, it is the time when the rehabilitation division of the figure skating team begins to be busy, Han Cong needs the help of the rehabilitation division to put the bones "Gaba Gaba" back to the position, but the two believe that the challenge is the concrete embodiment of the Olympic spirit in their hearts that is faster, higher and stronger, and winning glory for the country is not an empty slogan, and the two portrayed winning the gold medal as a conscious pursuit, "This is also the common pursuit in our hearts." The two said.

Sui Wenjing's waist and ankles are plagued by injuries, "If I want to be as tall as other female players, or even surpass them, I must have more strength, which will affect my ankles, knees and spines much more than other female players." Sui Wenjing said.

Win the championship together and move forward together

The so-called strong, but more than others to pay. In the stories of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, we can feel this all the time. Behind the flowers and gold medals, they are condensed with countless sweat and tears, pain and abrasion.

In 2016, Sui Wenjing underwent surgery for the reconstruction of the lateral collateral ligament of the right ankle and the reduction of the tendon of the left ankle, the cartilage of the right foot was all removed, the ligaments of both feet were nailed with steel nails, she lay in bed for 40 days, after going to the ground to learn to walk and practice, Sui Wenjing once thought that she would never be able to return to the ice rink. At this time, Han Cong often visited her, taking her to do land lifting exercises in the small place between the beds, waiting for her to recover and return.

At the 2017 Four Continents Championship, Sui Wenjing won the first match after his comeback, and in March of the same year, the two won the gold medal. After the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Sui Wenjing underwent ankle surgery again. At the 2019 World Championships, the two regained the gold medal.

Sui Wenjing often said, "There are some things I can't do alone, but the two of us can do it." "In the process of fighting side by side, they experienced the strength of unity and felt the strong support of the motherland and the team."

In 2020, due to the global impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the World Championships were cancelled, and Han Cong took advantage of this vacancy to perform surgery to solve the hip problem that has been plaguing him. In 2021, the two won the Grand Prix in Canada and Italy respectively, and locked the qualification for the Beijing Winter Olympics.

At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the figure skating team competition was carried out first, and the pair skating competition was arranged in the last two days, as the main force of the team competition, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong went all out from the beginning, and then after a long wait, the two endured both physical and mental suffering. Psychological pressure coupled with the lack of blood sugar caused by long-term weight loss, Sui Wenjing had a shock situation before the final. Although "no matter how thick the makeup did not cover the blue face", as long as she stood on the field, Sui Wenjing entered a "fighting" state. In the short program "Mission Impossible", their clean and neat movements and sharp eyes showed a "domineering spirit" beyond their height, setting a new world record for the short program; and in the free skating "Golden Bridge on the River of Sorrows", the two played the honor and humiliation of accompanying each other for many years, supporting each other, and at the same time bowing down for each other as a bridge, and the world was moved by the pair of "small atmosphere".

Photographed by He Zongwen Ni Minzhe and Wang Xianmin