Budapest, 18 Aug (Xinhua) -- After coming to the World Championships in Athletics again after a year, even if he has always grinned like Feng Bin, he has begun to feel the change in atmosphere. Competing for the first time as the defending champion, she is still adjusting to this new identity.
Feng Bin at the warm-up venue of the World Championships in Budapest. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Junkuan
"There is more attention from the outside world, many foreign players greet you, and even many people come to film, observe you, and ponder you." Feng Bin said that this was a "treatment" that she had never had before the game.
A year ago, the then 28-year-old Feng Bin won the women's discus throw at the World Championships in Oregon with her first throw, and her 69.12m time improved her personal best by more than 3 meters. For the world athletics world at that time, this Chinese face, whose best result in the World Championships was only fifth, and the Tokyo Olympics did not even qualify for the Olympic Games, was a world-like existence. After all, they were competing with Tokyo Olympic champion and American Allman, and two-time Olympic champion Pelkovic of Croatia, both of whom had personal bests of 70 meters away.
But Feng Bin's first shot in the opening game made all these past resumes worthless. Reviewing the match later, the World Athletics Federation called Feng's performance "a heads-up of the previous report card."
On July 20, 2022, Feng Bin celebrated in the final. On the same day, in the women's discus final of the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, USA, she won the gold medal with a score of 69.12 meters. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Xiaoling
"That vote seems to be the right time and place, and if you completely copy the venue, weather conditions, and whatever conditions are the same, I can't guarantee that you can still cast it." Recalling Oregon in Budapest, Feng Bin was as honest as ever, saying that she was more focused at that time, or that the external environment made it easier for her to focus.
Other players pay attention to Feng Bin partly because of her status as a defending champion and partly because of her unique technique. According to her coach, Li Weibin, Feng Bin has trained according to the techniques of men's discus throwers since he was a child. Women's discus throw mostly relies on rotation speed, while men pay attention to the range and rhythm of the run. In the case of absolute ability inferior to European and American players, Feng Bin's "technical flow" route has paved a way for her to compete in the world where she is full of strongmen.
"We Chinese players are more detailed, and it can be said that my technique is unique among the top players in the world." Feng Bin said, "In training, my special training load is larger than theirs, heavy equipment will throw more than them, and the overall poor ability can only be made up for with special ability." ”
On July 31, 2021, Feng Bin was in the women's discus qualifier. On the same day, the Tokyo Olympic track and field competition was held at the New National Stadium in Tokyo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Lili
Now, his "secrets" are being paid attention to and explored by more people, and Feng Bin said that the most important thing is mentality. "It is true that you want to express yourself more, but you still have to have a normal mind, and sometimes a calm mind is more likely to produce a good result."
This is not the first time Feng Bin has realized the importance of mentality. When she participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, as an Asian Championship champion, she was affected by her lack of pillows, and failed to exceed the target line in her three qualifying attempts. After the game, she cried, who always showed her smile. During the Spring Festival that year, the most her family said to her was to "calm down."
That time, she hit rock bottom and lay in a corner where no one was looking. This time, she is already standing at the top, and being "watched" is a new subject she wants to learn.
After training, Feng Bin (left) and coach Li Weibin take a selfie. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Qinou
"I have an expectation in my mind, but it's not about the rankings." Feng Bin said that this season, her results have stabilized at around 65 or 66 meters, and she hopes to throw 67 or 68 meters at the World Championships, and then leave the ranking to the situation on the spot.
This "open-mindedness" of the ranking makes it impossible to see the pressure that the defending champion is under. During training, the media and companions who came to take pictures came and went, and Feng Bin just practiced his front foot and grinned, and then got up on his back foot and hummed a song, because his voice was loud, and this "humming" could be heard clearly outside the power room. After training, the sunset in Budapest was just right, she pulled her coach Li Weibin to take a selfie, continued to loudly "complain" that the coach did not look at the camera, and took many pictures in a row...
"Do yourself with a normal heart" is the answer given by Feng Bin in the spotlight.