Text/Kihashi said
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preface
"A world champion goes to the Universiade, I'm ashamed of you!"
On August 8, after the Chengdu Universiade, Zhang Yufei single-handedly won nine gold medals in swimming competitions.
When the Japanese media on the side saw that Zhang Yufei's two arms were covered with gold medals, he instantly couldn't sit still and said angrily: "We are not convinced, they are not college students, why should they participate in the Universiade!" ”
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Yufei was questioned by the Japanese media, and also ridiculed and criticized by many Chinese netizens.
However, at this time, Zhang Yufei's words ushered in the understanding and support of many netizens.
Returned with a reputation
Zhang Yufei's achievements are inseparable from her mother, and she herself once said on the show that she was very grateful for her mother's persistence in the sport of swimming.
Born in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1998, Zhang Yufei has a unique talent for water since she was a child because her parents are swimmers.
When she was very young, because her parents often led the team to train, no one took her with them, and when they were in class, they would put Zhang Yufei in the swimming ring and let her play on the side.
Until Zhang Yufei was 3 years old, one day she followed her parents to the training ground to play as usual, because her parents were leading the team to train and had no time to play with her, so Zhang Yufei fluttered from the pool to the other end of the pool.
When Zhang Yufei appeared next to her mother from the water, her mother was startled and said in surprise: "My good baby, you can actually swim!" ”
As a coach, her mother knew what this meant instantly, so she also brought Zhang Yufei with her every day when she led the team to training, and occasionally taught her a little skill and knowledge.
And when Zhang Yufei was 5 years old, she was sent by her mother to the city swimming team for formal training, but not long after Zhang Yufei didn't want to practice swimming, she was too tired.
Because Zhang Yufei's mother not only asked her to practice swimming, but also required her to not score less than 90 points in her studies, running at both ends, the young Zhang Yufei was a little unbearable.
She went back and told her mother about it, but her mother said very firmly: "No! In the end, Zhang Yufei, who really had no choice, could only continue to study seriously while practicing swimming.
Later, Zhang Yufei gradually got used to it and slowly liked this sport.
In 2010, Zhang Yufei participated in the 17th Jiangsu Provincial Games and won 2 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze in the women's swimming competition.
In 2011, 13-year-old Zhang Yufei was unexpectedly entered the provincial swimming team because of her outstanding talent and achievements, becoming the youngest member in the history of the Jiangsu professional team.
Zhang Yufei, who just entered the provincial team, just adjusted his state and went to participate in the National Middle School Student Games held in Baotou City, and won 3 golds and 1 silver in the competition.
The following year, Zhang Yufei stood on the world stage for the first time and participated in the short pool swimming World Cup series, winning a gold medal and a silver medal in the women's 400m freestyle and 100m butterfly finals, and only finished 6th in the 50m freestyle final.
In 2015, at the 16th World Swimming Championships in Russia, Zhang Yufei made it all the way to the final, and successfully set a world youth record with a time of 2:06.51 in the final, and won the bronze medal in the women's 200m butterfly.
In 2016, Zhang Yufei competed in her Olympic debut, and in the women's 200m butterfly event, Zhang Yufei successfully advanced to the final, and finished 6th in the final with a time of 2:07.40.
At the end of August of the following year, at the 13th National Games in Tianjin, Zhang Yufei successfully won the gold medal in the women's 4x100m freestyle final with a time of 3:36.67. In the following days, he won two medals, a silver and a gold medal in the 100m butterfly and the 200m butterfly.
On September 30, Zhang Yufei won the silver medal in the women's 100m butterfly event in the women's 100m butterfly event with a time of 57.26 seconds, and the next day, in the women's 200m butterfly event, she won the gold medal in the event with a time of 2:08.64.
On October 6, Zhang Yufei won the gold medal in the women's 200m butterfly with a time of 2:07.43. In the 100m butterfly event of Zhang Yufei at Tokyo Station, he won the bronze medal. In Singapore, Zhang Yufei won the gold medal in the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:04.22.
In mid-July 2018, at the Los Angeles Swimming Invitational, Zhang Yufei won the gold medal in the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:08.97. In the subsequent Asian Games in Jakarta, he won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly again.
Then Zhang Yufei entered his peak, and in the summer test match of the national team in July 2020, Zhang Yufei successfully won the championship.
On September 27, Zhang Yufei successfully won the first place in the women's 100m freestyle heats with a time of 52.90 seconds in the national swimming championships and the Tokyo Olympic qualification competition, and broke the national record in this event!
On the 29th, Zhang Yufei won the first place in the preliminary round again in the women's 100-meter butterfly event with a time of 55.62 seconds, and successfully broke the national record and the Asian record. The next day, in the final of the 100-meter butterfly, Zhang Yufei won the event with a time of 56.29 seconds.
In 2021, Zhang Yufei was successfully selected for the Tokyo Olympic squad, and in the final of the women's 100m butterfly, Zhang Yufei successfully won the first medal for the Chinese team.
In the women's 200m butterfly final, Zhang Yufei beat competitors from other countries to break the Olympic record with a time of 2:03.86, winning the gold medal and winning her first Olympic gold medal.
In June 2022, in the 50m final of the Budapest Swimming World Championships, Zhang Yufei broke the national record with a time of 25.32 seconds and won the bronze medal.
In October, in the trials for the 2022 World Short Course Swimming Championships, Zhang Yufei broke the world record again in the women's 50m freestyle with a time of 23.82 seconds.
Controversial
In July 2023, Zhang Yufei was successfully selected as the Chinese delegation to the Chengdu Universiade!
At the end of July, Zhang Yufei participated in the FINA Championships and successfully swam 25.05 seconds in the women's 50m butterfly event, setting a new Asian record in the 50m butterfly!
In order to prepare for the next Hangzhou Asian Games and the Paris Olympic Games, Zhang Yufei applied for 9 events at one time in this Chengdu Universiade.
On August 1, Zhang Yufei successfully won a gold medal in the women's 4x100m relay event. On August 2, in the women's 50m butterfly, Zhang Yufei once again won a gold medal for the Chinese team. She then competed in the mixed 4x100m relay and won another gold medal.
On August 3, in the women's 100m freestyle final, Zhang Yufei successfully broke the meeting record with a time of 53.34 seconds and won a gold medal.
On August 4, Zhang Yufei once again cooperated with her teammates to win a gold medal in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay.
On August 5, in the final of the women's 100m butterfly, Zhang Yufei broke the meeting record with a time of 56.57 seconds and won the gold medal again. He then finished first in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay and won the gold medal.
On August 7, Zhang Yufei won the gold medal again in the women's 50m freestyle event. In the final women's 4x100m medley relay event, she won her 9th gold medal in this Universiade, which ended successfully!
After the game, Zhang Yufei and his teammates and coaches celebrated and took photos together, and the atmosphere of joy of the Chinese team attracted the attention of the Japanese media on the side, and directly began to question the Chinese team: "We are not convinced, they are not college students, why should they participate in the Universiade!" ”
After this incident, it quickly spread on major websites, and many netizens began to ridicule after seeing it: "Treat yourself and eat a table of dishes." ”
Some netizens directly expressed their views: "A professional athlete going to the Universiade, should not, self-deception!" ”
Some netizens said directly: "Zhang Yufei really should not participate in this kind of event, and he can't just win the championship!" ”
Cool and sassy
In the face of these floods of questions, Zhang Yufei also mentioned in the post-competition interview that she said: One of the 2 stations worth checking in in my life is the Youth Olympic Games, because this is what all athletes can only participate in once in their lives.
Then there is the Universiade, in fact, I have calculated the Universiade, and it seems that there is only one chance to participate in my life, so I am honored that I can participate in both competitions, and both at my age.
After hearing this interview, many netizens began to understand and said: "She was originally a college student, why didn't she compete for medals for the country?" ”
There are also reasonable netizens who said: "As long as it meets the requirements of the rules, you can participate, since you must go all out to win glory for yourself and the country, why not rely on strength?" ”
According to the regulations, the participation age of the Universiade should be between 18 and 25 years old, or previous college students who graduated in the year before the Universiade can participate in this Universiade.
However, because this year's Chengdu Universiade has been postponed twice in a row due to the epidemic, the qualifications of athletes have been relaxed, and the age of participation in this year's Universiade is college students between the ages of 18 and 27.
As well as previous graduates of the three academic years from 2020 to 2022, they can participate in this year's Chengdu Universiade.
epilogue
A few years ago, due to the epidemic, many things were postponed again, Zhang Yufei herself is also a victim, plus this is the Universiade that can only be participated in once in her life, why can't she participate in such a meaningful thing?
And to the extent that the regulations allow, everyone has the right to chase what they find meaningful and enjoyable.
What's more, Zhang Yufei will soon start preparing for the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Paris Olympics, and participating in more competitions during this period is also an exercise for her.
Finally, I also wish Zhang Yufei excellent results in this Universiade, and also hope that she can achieve better results in the next Asian Games and Olympic Games and continue to win glory for the country!