The Paper's reporter Ma Zuoyu
Wang Jianan
Eugene's Hayward Stadium is the most important landmark in the "City of Athletics".
In the past, this stadium has witnessed many glorious moments of Chinese celebrities, and now, these famous scenes have added Wang Jiannan's exciting jump to fame.
On July 17, in the men's long jump final of the 18th World Championships in Athletics, 25-year-old Wang Jianan jumped 8 meters 36 meters in the final jump, improved his performance by 33 centimeters in one breath, and completed an incredible reversal kill.
While winning the first gold medal of this World Championships for the Chinese Athletics Team, Wang Jianan also rewrote history and won the first gold medal in the men's athletics event of the World Championships for Chinese Athletics.
From winning the gold medal at the World Youth Championships in Eugene 8 years ago, to winning the first bronze medal for China in the long jump at the Beijing World Championships 7 years ago, filling the gap in the 32-year field competition, to now winning the first gold in the history of the World Championships for China in the long jump, Wang Jianan has always been the person who made history.
"I'm not an ordinary person, I can do it." This is Wang Jianan's bold statement after the long jump from the decathlon, although it has experienced a period of hibernation, but this optimistic big boy finally wrote a new chapter of China's long jump as he said.
Wang Jiannan finally fulfilled his dream of world championship.
The last jump, the realization of the dream that was made 3 times
Before the final jump, Wang Jianan was ranked 5th out of 12 finalists. At that time, his best time of 8.03 meters was nearly 30 centimeters worse than that of Greece's Tentoglu, who was temporarily ranked first.
'There was a bit of a foul before the last jump, but I looked at the results and gave myself confidence." Standing in the mixed interview area after the game, Wang Jianan recalled his thoughts at that time.
"Before the last jump I looked at the big screen, 8 meters 15 (can fight) medals, I think I myself even if I jump on my head will have a chance to fight a medal. I just calmed my mind a little bit and didn't think much about anything else. ”
Standing on the starting line, Wang Jiannan did not rush to start. He kept exhaling heavily, adjusting his rhythm, then looking up at the bunker, picking his eyebrows, and comparing the technical movements that he was about to complete with his hands, "At that time, the coach and I had reached an agreement that the steps would not be changed."
Start, swing arm, start, accelerate, jump... In less than 10 seconds, all of Wang Jiannan's technical movements were completed in one go, and then he stepped heavily on the springboard and jumped high. At that moment, he slid like a red lightning bolt through the bunkers of Hayward Stadium.
Wang Jianan jumped hard.
The moment he landed, all the spectators who were watching the long jump final exclaimed, mixed with excitement and surprise. The final result has not yet come out, and Hayward Stadium has become restless, because just from the location of the pit, Wang Jiannan can get at least one medal.
"I looked at the bunker and knew it wasn't a gold medal but a medal, so I subconsciously ran forward." Wang Jianan, who jumped up from the bunker, couldn't contain his excitement, jumped forward and ran forward.
And when the final result of 8 meters 36 appeared on the big screen, Wang Jiannan's excitement reached the extreme, and the tears of excitement could not stop falling.
"I was so excited, I cried." After the game, Wang Jianan told the reporters in the mixed interview area that he had actually dreamed of such a gold medal, "I have dreamed, and I have dreamed of winning the gold medal at the World Championships 3 times." I dreamed about it this year, but every time I woke up after dreaming, I told myself to be realistic. ”
Now, that dream that he had done 3 times had become a reality in his last leap. "It's a fantastic feeling to dream come true." When the 25-year-old boy realized that this time it was really not a dream, he held the medal and sighed.
Wang Jianan was excited after winning the championship.
Seven years later, he made history again
Eugene this long jump field, Wang Jianan is actually very familiar with.
"Eight years ago in Eugene, in this venue, I won the gold medal at the World Youth Championships." At that time, Wang Jiannan was still a fledgling newcomer, and with a burst of energy, he won the 2014 World Youth Championship. At that time, his winning time was 8.08 meters.
It was also after that season that Wang Jiannan began to emerge on the world stage.
2015 became the most important year of Wang Jiannan's career. At the Beijing Athletics World Championships that summer, 19-year-old Wang Jiannan became famous and won the bronze medal at the World Championships with a time of 8 meters 18 meters, becoming the first Asian athlete in the history of athletics to win a medal in the men's long jump competition at the World Championships.
Before the World Championships made history, Wang Jiannan also jumped 8.25 meters in the IAAF Diamond League Shanghai in May of that year, setting a new Asian youth record.
Since then, more and more audiences who pay attention to Chinese athletics have learned Wang Jiannan's "famous saying": "I feel that no matter what I practice, it is not a problem, I am not an ordinary person, I can do it." ”
Wang Jiannan is a long jump from decathlon.
Wang Jiannan's "famous saying" comes from a statement he made when he talked about his transfer in an interview earlier. Born in 1996, Wang Jiannan's initial main event was decathlon. According to reports, at the age of 16, Wang Jiannan scored 7,063 points in the decathlon, which was the second best result in the 2012 World Youth Games.
However, the advantages of the slender Wang Jiannan in running and long jump are not enough to make up for his shortcomings in the shot put event. So, he chose to turn the long jump. When Wang Jianan first jumped 8 meters, he was only 16 years old and 26 days old.
After winning the bronze medal at the World Championships in 2015, Wang Wong won another gold medal in the long jump at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, and in that year, he also equaled lee's national record of 8.47 meters in the men's long jump. But after that, Wang Jiannan did not have much eye-catching performance on the world stage.
From the fifth place in the final of the Rio Olympics to the sixth place in the Tokyo Olympics, Wang Jiannan's ranking has only hovered in this position.
In the past year or so, due to the epidemic, Wang Jiannan's training has become mainly based on reserve physical fitness and polishing technology, and there are not many opportunities for actual combat.
However, the optimistic Wang Jianan adjusted his state well: "If you delay it for one year, then insist on preparing for another year." The coach said that my strength is much greater than last year, and the absolute strength and explosive strength are better than last year, and I feel the same way. ”
In the accumulation and precipitation, Wang Jiannan finally waited for his own outbreak. Although his record of winning the title at Eugene was not an individual best, he withstood the pressure and improved his score by 33 centimeters in the final jump to complete an amazing counterattack.
It is also this jump that makes Wang Jianan once again become a person who creates history after 7 years.
Wang Jiannan completed the counterattack with the last jump.
Coach Randy accompanies him all the way, and the future can be better
"Before entering the check-in area, my coach Randy said to me, 'Welcome home.'" After the game, Wang Jiannan told the media about such a detail, "Coach Randy let me play well at the door, so my mentality also relaxed a lot." ”
The Randy coach who helped Wang Jianan adjust his mentality at key moments is actually Randy Huntington, the hero who helped the Chinese athletics team make breakthroughs in sprinting and long jump events in the past few years, that is, Su Bingtian's foreign coach in charge of the national team.
Randy has been coaching the Chinese athletics team since around 2013. As the legendary coach who has brought out the triple jump legend Willie Banks and the long jump world record holder Mike Powell, Randy has provided guidance to both the Chinese track and field sprint and long jump groups, and creatively integrated the respective characteristics of the two events.
As early as the time when Wang Jiannan won the bronze medal at the Beijing World Championships in 2015, Coach Randy said that the then 18-year-old young player had more room for improvement, "Wang Jiannan is only 18 years old, and it is not easy to achieve today's results, after all, he created China's history." ”
"But they (Wang Jia Nan and Lee Kim Chul) are not yet able to maintain a stable high level of performance, and I am helping them change their understanding of the long jump and tell them how to learn to win."
Wang Jianan displays the national flag.
After so many seasons, Randy has not only accompanied Su Bingtian to create one record after another, but also has been helping Wang Jiannan to adjust and improve.
"Randy has been encouraging me by my side and has helped me a lot with my confidence. He taught all my techniques, running, aerial techniques, and jumping. Between each jump in the race, he would emphasize to me the accuracy of the running aid, the rhythm, and the running aid. ”
Whenever talking about Coach Randy, Wang Jiannan is always full of gratitude. Under Randy's guidance, the 25-year-old Wang Jiannan also has a great chance to continue to improve his performance. After all, Randy, who is known for scientific training, and his team helped Su Bingtian rise to a new level after the age of 30, and Wang Jiannan, who is only 25 years old now, obviously has more room to improve himself.
Eugene is a blessed land for many famous Chinese players. The earliest Chinese audiences learned about this "city of athletics" because of Liu Xiang, who ran 12.87 seconds there. And Liu Xiang is actually Wang Jiannan's idol.
Wang Jiannan once said that he most admired Liu Xiang's temperament on the field, and the strength of the idol also allowed him to maintain his enterprising spirit in the fierce competition. Today, Wang Jiannan is also making history in the place where his idol became famous, which is undoubtedly a kind of inheritance.
After creating history, Wang Jiannan has more goals ahead, and in the new Olympic cycle, he will attack towards better results.
Editor-in-Charge: Pu Yaolei
Proofreader: Luan Meng