On a summer morning in 1984, the Los Angeles Olympic Stadium was crowded with people, and a hearty qualifying match had just ended, 19-year-old Zhou Jihong walked down the 3-meter platform with a smile on his face and received warm hugs and congratulations from his coach and teammates.
Qualifying for the women's 3m platform final at the Olympics is another big step towards her gold medal goal.
In the pre-match training, Zhou Jihong showed a level of stability that amazed everyone. Her instructor exclaimed several times after her movements: "Oh my God, this girl is not human! She is like a dolphin born in the water, with natural feelings."
Indeed, 19-year-old Zhou Jihong is already one of the most skilled and experienced competitors on the platform. Four years ago at the Moscow Olympics, she won a silver medal at the age of 15.
Now, the gold medal is closer to her.
On the day of the finals, Zhou Jihong was unusually lively and cheerful, and seemed unusually quiet. She sat alone in the corner of the dressing room, her eyes open, and she was engrossed in simulating the connection system between movements and difficult movements in her mind.
"As long as I play normally and don't make mistakes, today is my day!" Before entering the official competition, Zhou Jihong said to himself in his heart. First jump, second jump...... Zhou Jihong completed the prescribed actions and optional actions one after another, and all the scores were stable at more than 8 points, far ahead of other opponents.
When she elegantly completed the last movement and jumped into the water gently, Zhou Jihong knew that the gold medal was firmly in her hand. As soon as the score came out, sure enough, Zhou Jihong won the championship with a score of more than 10 points ahead of the second place, adding another gold medal to the Chinese delegation.
She excitedly raised her hands to greet the audience, and then hugged her coach with tears streaming down her face.
In 1998, the Chinese diving team was at a low point in its development. The Sydney Olympics are not far away, but the entire diving world is gloomy and lacking in confidence.
At this time, the Chinese Olympic Committee made a surprise personnel appointment - Zhou Jihong, the first Olympic diving gold medalist in 1984, was appointed as the national team leader, leading the team to a resurgence on the verge of collapse.
As soon as the news was announced, there was a lot of discussion inside and outside the team. After all, Zhou Jihong, who has reappeared after many years, is no longer the high-spirited and radiant young champion.
Not only is she old and her physical strength has declined, but she has not systematically trained athletes for many more years and lacks coaching experience. But just when there were different opinions, Zhou Jihong quickly took over the team.
She first re-screened and deployed the coaching staff, and hired authoritative experts at home and abroad to join the team for teaching and guidance; secondly, she adjusted her training ideas, broke the inherent model, and adopted scientific physical training methods to improve the physical fitness of each athlete in a targeted manner; In the end, she adjusted the management model and implemented both rewards and punishments, which greatly boosted the morale of the team members.
Under the edge of her reforms, the national team, which was on the verge of collapse, was brought back to life, and the whole team worked together to prepare for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Sure enough, after just about two years of hard work, the Chinese diving team led by Zhou Jihong rose to the challenge in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
The team won a total of five gold medals in diving, including a number of gold medals in events established for the first time. Having won more than half of the total number of diving gold medals in one fell swoop, the Chinese diving team regained its position as the second largest in the world, second only to its old rival the United States.
At this point, Zhou Jihong officially began the glorious writing of his legendary team leader career, and the era of the "dream team" in the Chinese diving industry also began.
In 2002, a news that shocked the Chinese sports world broke out in the media: Tian Liang, a two-time Olympic diving gold medalist, actually accepted a large number of commercial endorsements and signed a contract with an entertainment company without the permission of the national team! According to the very strict requirements of the sports system at that time, this completely violated the regulations of in-service athletes, which can be described as a reckless move.
After the news broke, public opinion was in an uproar. Tian Liang, as a rising star in the diving industry, has reached the peak of strength and popularity, and the positive and good image he has been creating before was destroyed immediately.
When people were arguing endlessly, Zhou Jihong, the leader of the national diving team, responded quickly, and she immediately dismissed Tian Liang! For such a two-time Olympic champion, Zhou Jihong's decision was undoubtedly cruel.
However, she firmly believes that everyone is equal before discipline and that standards cannot be relaxed because of personal charisma. This is not only a severe punishment for Tian Liang, but also a warning to other athletes in the team, athletes should consciously abide by the rules of the sports world, otherwise the consequences will be serious.
Despite many doubts from the outside world, Zhou Jihong did not choose to give in. In her opinion, only by consistently insisting on strict requirements for athletes can the Chinese diving team truly gain a foothold in the international arena.
Sure enough, in the more than ten years she has coached, the Chinese diving team has repeatedly achieved great results, and dozens of world champions have been born under her tutelage. To this day, a strict discipline attitude is still the hallmark of this dream team.
It is precisely because of the athlete standards set and strictly adhered to at the beginning that the Chinese diving team has achieved its current glory.
In 2006, Zhou Jihong was faced with a difficult decision. With only two years to go until the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she needed to select the final members of the national training team from a pool of candidates.
One of the names, Quan Hongchan, was a little girl who was only 14 years old at the time. In the face of this newcomer with zero experience, there is a lot of opposition in the coaching staff, and many experts believe that Quan Hongchan is indeed talented, but it is too early to have high hopes for such an important Olympic Games.
But Zhou Jihong is full of confidence. With years of coaching experience and a unique vision, she judged that this little girl had great potential. In the selection evaluation, Quan Hongchan's physical fitness test data and basic movement level are among the best, and she is fully worthy of the requirements of an Olympic preparation team.
In the end, Zhou Jihong decisively included Quan Hongchan in the national training squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, allowing her to prepare side by side with many veterans. In the subsequent intensive special training, Quan Hongchan's physical fitness and professional skills have made great progress, laying the foundation for the success of her debut on the field.
In August 2008, the women's 10-meter platform final of the Beijing Olympic Games officially began. Quan Hongchan, who has always been restrained and steady, showed the courage to amaze all the audience in her debut at this Olympics.
She resolutely overcame the psychological pressure, played steadily, and finally won the gold medal in this competition! For a while, this 14-year-old "little flower" who was unknown a few months ago became a new star in the domestic diving world.
What's even more gratifying is that behind the change of veterans, the Chinese Dream Team has cultivated a successor, and the glory will continue.
During her tenure as the leader of the national diving team, Zhou Jihong knew the importance of language. Since sports rules and referee scoring are deeply influenced by the host country and language country, Chinese athletes cannot simply bury their heads in physical fitness and skills if they want to give full play to the competition.
Therefore, Zhou Jihong set out to train a group of athletes and referees who are proficient in English to better fight for the right to speak and interpret the rules in international competitions.
One of the most typical representatives is the "diving queen" Guo Jingjing. Zhou Jihong paid out of her own pocket and funded her to go abroad for further study and participate in various English courses for a long time. A few years later, Guo Jingjing was qualified as an FINA certified referee and was able to play a key role in many major competitions.
If a Chinese athlete is unfairly scored or misjudged, Guo Jingjing can question the referee team as soon as possible and strive to make a statement or change the verdict. In the international arena, language and logic are often equally important, and Zhou Jihong is the one who knows this "officialdom rule".
As it turned out, Zhou Jihong's layout worked. After many important competitions, referees from other countries no longer dare to arbitrarily suppress Chinese players, and the scoring criteria are significantly more objective and fair, and athletes can compete more easily and happily without worrying about being made difficult.
It is precisely because of this that the Chinese diving team has dominated the five rings in world competitions for many years. And behind all this, there is Zhou Jihong's keen judgment and decisive action.
Time flies, years change. Now, Zhou Jihong, the "Iron Lady" who once commanded the Chinese diving world, has long since faded out of the front-line coaching position and no longer shouts and commands with the athletes on the training ground every day.
She chose to work as a consultant behind the scenes to continue to contribute her experience and wisdom to the China Dream Team.
After years of iron and vigorous action, the dream team has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and everyone up and down has kept the standards in mind, and the execution is incomparable.
Celebrity veterans have retired one after another, and rookies have emerged, but there has never been a worry about the lack of successors in Chinese diving. Because this team has created a gene of self-growth and iteration, there are opportunities for newcomers to relay the older generation and take over the torch of inheritance.
And the solid cornerstone of all this is thanks to the golden tonic and resistance system polished under the blade of Zhou Jihong's reform.
Today's Zhou Ji has gray hair and is refreshed. She often drove to the training hall alone and sat in the corner to watch the new batch of young players train.
Looking at their sweat splashes and smiling appearances, Zhou Jihong couldn't help but smile slightly. She is proud of the glory of the Dream Team and is full of expectations for the next continuation.
The benchmark that she has adhered to for more than ten years has long been deeply rooted, and the future of China's diving is still bright.