"(Life) You should always wish that you have made a little more contribution to society to others and to the nation and to mankind, at least you have done your best, that is, at least you have fully burned, fully radiated the light, and made full use of the use and promotion of your lifetime." This is a sentence in the writer Wang Meng's "Life is Burning".
In the summer of 2018, Xu Guoyi, coach of the national swimming team, recited an excerpt from "Life is Burning" in the CCTV "Readers" column. At that time, this passage did not come out of Xu Guoyi's mouth, but it became a portrayal of the life of this meritorious coach...
Entering the professional team at the age of 12, stepping into the coaching position at the age of 24, until the age of 50, Xu Guoyi devoted almost all of his life to the swimming career, as he himself described, "I like this career, this life is inseparable from the pool." ”
Xu Guoyi
He hasn't had time to make up for "romance" yet.
As the "gold medal coach" in people's mouths, Xu Guoyi can be described as peach and plum all over the world, and his disciples include Luo Xuejuan, the champion of the Athens Olympic Games, Ye Shiwen, the first "golden slam" in The Chinese swimming world, Wu Peng and Zhou Yafei, the famous butterfly swimmers, Xu Jiayu, the world champion of Xinke, and Fu Yuanhui, the "Girl of the Flood"... Behind this is Xu Guoyi's decades of diligence and persistence.
Even though he had been battling the disease for the past 5 years, he had not slackened off, and he had fought until the last moment of his life.
At the end of 2015, Xu Guoyi was diagnosed with brain cancer grade 4 (from low to high in total, grade 5), in order not to affect the preparation for the Rio Olympic Games, he once hid his condition from the team members, went to Beijing alone for surgery, not long after the operation, in early April 2016, he flew to Guangzhou to watch the disciples' qualifiers. Although he still had to go to the hospital every 3 months for re-examination, Xu Guoyi entered the swimming pool like a wild horse that had lost its reins, completely forgetting his health.
In the past few years, whenever he mentioned his illness, Xu Guoyi's most common words were "If it were not for my illness, the results of the Olympic Games would have been better."
Such a state worries outsiders, but as a wife, Lou Xia understands her husband best: "As long as he is happy, he is willing... One of the things I do most often every day is supervise him to take his medication on time. ”
The couple has paid for China's swimming career, and xu Jiayu, the beloved apprentice, was once asked what he wanted to say to the coach the most, "Hurry up and make up for a wedding, Lou's mother is a very romantic person." ”
Xu Guoyi and his wife Lou Xia
In 1997, Xu Guoyi and Lou Xia got married, there was no romantic marriage proposal, nor did they deliberately watch the yellow calendar to choose an auspicious day, and they rushed to go when they had time on weekends.
"The photos on the marriage certificate are all separate, one for each person." In an interview, Lou Xia smiled, "There was no marriage proposal, no wedding photos, even the wedding ring, I was looking for a friend to borrow money to buy." ”
The only time the couple traveled abroad alone was a cruise, or in the recovery period after Xu Guoyi's surgery, because this will not affect the time of leading the team after Xu Guoyi's recovery, the two chose a 5-day and 4-night itinerary, standing on the deck to see the sea, already feel very satisfied.
The team members are his children
After marriage, Xu Guoyi and his wife have not had their own children, asked the reason, "Without having their own children, you can save a lot of energy to do this thing (leading the team), I treat them as my own children, to cultivate, athletes are not easy ..."
In the mouths of Xu Jiayu and Ye Shiwen, Xu Guoyi is habitually called Daddy, Lou Xia is called Lou Mom, and there is a WeChat group between Xu Guoyi and his team members - the name of the group is "Big Family", and there are 33 team members personally brought by Xu Guoyi.
Xu Jiayu studied under Xu Guoyi in his 10s, and for these children, Xu Guoyi not only coached, but also played the role of father. Every night he would boil ejiao for his disciples, plus walnuts, sesame seeds and rice wine, and it would take at least 48 hours to soak, and then simmer for 3 hours in water.
Although he was seriously ill, but Ye Shiwen had a cold, Xu Guoyi would be nervous and anxious, "Athletes are very hard, if you have a cold, you can't take medicine indiscriminately... This is a youth meal, and I hope that they must go all out when it is time to work hard, and do not choose comfort. ”
Xu Guoyi and disciple Xu Jiayu
Xu Guoyi hoped that any precious time of his disciples would be well utilized and not delayed or wasted, and he often told himself, "While my body can still bear it, I will do more things." I have to tell my disciples with practical actions that I can enjoy the fun of swimming so happily and full of confidence in the future, and they have no reason to give up their efforts. ”
On the stage of "Readers", about the paragraph he recited "Life is Burning", Xu Guoyi also frankly said that he wanted to give it to children who loved swimming.
"Stay next summer and take the gold medal home to see you"
On July 19, destined to be a sad day, Xu Guoyi, who had struggled all his life by the pool, finally could no longer support, and at 4:09 a.m., the meritorious coach came to the end of his life.
Ye Shiwen wrote on Weibo: "I have been looking forward to a miracle happening, and I think that one day you will recover and reappear around us... On the road ahead, you can no longer accompany me and protect me, but no matter the highlight or the darkest moment, you are always the brightest light in my heart, guiding me forward! ”
Perhaps it was some kind of connection in the darkness, this past night, Xu Jiayu could not sleep well. "I had a dream last night, I was so tired in the dream, and Coach Lou (Lou Xia, Xu Guoyi's lover) cried and complained that the practice could not move, and Coach Lou was still gently comforting me. Tired of waking up to see the information of Coach Lou, sitting on the bed, empty around him, without the main heart, the memories poured out scene after scene. ”
In Xu Guoyi's eyes, Xu Jiayu is a big boy who loves to cry his nose, along the way, he has always told his disciples to be tough and domineering; Xu Jiayu always compares Xu Guoyi to a haven, "In front of your father, you are always a child." ”
Ye Shiwen mourned Xu Guoyi.
In Xu Guoyi's heart, there has always been a long-cherished wish, he said in an interview: "The 2018 Asian Games, the 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the Olympic Games are the most important, symbolizing the highest honor, (among the disciples) there is still a lack of an Olympic men's gold medal, the Tokyo Olympics must be decisive." ”
Xu Jiayu, who has already won the World Championships, wrote a promise on Weibo: "Xu Dao'an, your expectations of students Students clearly remember that when Gwangju won consecutive years, you told me on the sickbed, this is nothing, Tokyo is your stage." Xu Dao is good to go, stay in the middle of summer next year, and take the gold medal home to see you! Xu would be relieved to have knowledge in heaven, because his children had grown up.
"The critical years at our disposal are only a few decades, and then there is no second chance, and life is precious and magically beautiful because of its transient and irreversible, one-time." This is the beginning of "Life is Burning".
Xu Guoyi's life was written at the age of 50, which is too short for most people, but the past 40 years of no complaints and no regrets have made his life burn to the fullest.