Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, on the first competition day of athletics, has become a stage for veterans to shine. Just before the 34-year-old Gong Lijiao completed the women's shot put three consecutive titles, Wang Zheng, who is about to turn 36, finally dreamed of winning the Asian Games gold medal.
On the evening of September 29, in the women's hammer throw final of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Wang Zheng won the gold medal with a score of 71.53 meters, and her "post-00s" teammate Zhao Jie won the silver medal with 69.44 meters.
Wang Zheng (left) and Zhao Jie win gold and silver medals.
In 13 years, 4 Asian Games, Wang Zheng has become the "first sister" of Chinese women's hammer throw, but in the first three journeys of the Asian Games, she ended in silver medals.
Wang Zheng wanted to retire at one point, but her desire for gold kept her on the field and eventually changed the color of her fourth Asian Games medal.
"I wanted this gold medal so much that I was under a lot of pressure." Until he won this gold medal, behind Wang Zheng's tears of joy and tears, the persistence and love were discovered by more and more people.
Wang Zheng finally won the Asian Games gold medal that she cherished.
"I want to win so much, I want this gold medal so much"
In Wang Zheng's own words, Hangzhou is her blessed land, "The first time I threw 70 meters when I was young, I reached the A mark of the Beijing Olympics, and it was in Hangzhou. ”
At that time, Wang Zheng was still a young player who had just passed 20 years old, and in front of her, the main player in the team was Zhang Wenxiu, who was one year older than her.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Zhang Wenxiu rewrote the history of Chinese women's hammer throwing without a medal in the Olympics with 74.32 meters, while Wang Zheng only threw 65.64 meters in the qualifying round and did not even stand on the final stage.
Fifteen years have passed, and now Wang Zheng has already taken over the banner of Chinese women's hammer ball from Zhang Wenxiu, and has also become a rare "veteran of the four dynasties" in the Chinese athletics Asian Games delegation.
However, in the four Asian Games since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, Wang Zheng has not been able to stand on the championship podium before, whether at home or as far as Incheon and Jakarta.
"At the beginning, because I probably wanted this gold medal too much, the pressure was a little big, and the rainy weather skating had a great impact on my type of athlete."
Wang Zheng in the game.
Wang Zheng said in an interview after the race that the desire for a gold medal and the impact of the competition environment were the main reasons why she fell behind at the beginning of the competition - in the first throw, Wang Zheng only threw 65.83 meters, nearly 3 meters less than teammate Zhao Jie's 68.50 meters; In the next two throws, when Zhao Jie further improved his score to 69.44 meters, Wang Zheng threw but hung the net twice.
Fortunately, Wang Zheng's rich experience in the competition made Wang Zheng quickly adjust her mentality, and after the psychological pressure was reduced, her concentration on technical movements also improved - in the crucial fourth shot, Wang Zheng threw a score of 69.83 meters, surpassing Zhao Jie in one fell swoop.
In the final two throws, Wang Zheng threw farther than one - in the end, she fixed her best time in the final at 71.53m in the sixth throw.
"I added too many things to myself in the front, and then I added the floor slippery and had a lot of ideas, and then I calmed down and felt that as long as I could turn it down (before throwing out), I could have it."
The moment she won the Asian Games, Wang Zheng flashed her trademark bright smile, and she and Zhao Jie each held up a national flag and walked around the arena to celebrate the victory.
But on the way back to the mixed interview area, Wang Zheng cried with a smile, and the more he cried, the more he couldn't control his emotions, "I don't know why, just want to shed tears, or because of the dream." ”
Fight for the Paris Olympics
Behind the tears, the 35-year-old Wang Zheng hides too many emotions, including the joy of fulfilling his dream of the Asian Games, and the relief from considering retirement to resolutely returning.
"After the Shaanxi National Games before, because I was older, I was ready to retire." While wiping away the tears that kept flowing from the corners of his eyes, Wang Zheng choked up and told the story that had been unknown for more than two years.
After winning gold at the Women's Hammer Throw National Games in her hometown of Shaanxi, Wang Zheng intends to end her sporting career. However, the regret of missing a gold medal at the Asian Games has been on my mind.
"But thinking that the Hangzhou Asian Games will be on our own doorstep, I have never won a championship, so I have insisted until now, just to win a championship to fulfill my dream."
According to China Sports Daily, after the National Games, Wang Zheng took a 19-month break until early April this year, and won the gold medal by throwing 72.83 meters in his season debut in Chengdu.
Since then, she has maintained a high level of competition, reaching the top podium with a time of 74.12 meters in the subsequent Southwest Division of the Athletics Division Invitational – a result that also helped Wang Zheng successfully meet the criteria for competing at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
Later, in the 2023 National Athletics Championships, Wang Zheng met the entry criteria for the Paris Olympics.
"In fact, this year's Asian Games competition is not very good, and there are many problems. I will go back and strengthen my workouts for my problems and then fight for the next Olympics. ”
Wang Zheng (left) and Zhao Jie will sprint together for the Paris Olympics.
"She's like my crutch"
What makes Wang Zheng happy is that on this road to realizing her dream, she is no longer alone.
As his own little junior sister, Zhao Jie of the "post-00s" has been training with her, and the two are as close as blood family members, supporting each other and moving forward together, "Zhao Jie and I train, eat and live together every day, and she is like my crutch." ”
Wang Zheng said that she hopes to play more international competitions with Zhao Jie in the future, whether as a teammate or in another capacity, she will accompany Zhao Jie and also accompany the Chinese women's hammer ball to continue to advance.
Growing up, Wang Zheng is a late bloomer, but she can last longer than others. Today, she still has the fighting spirit and momentum to go to a higher stage like the Olympics and write more of her own legendary story.
"I believe that every athlete who stands on the field must want to win the championship, so so do I, I still want to win the championship."