At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, in the women's race walk 20km event. Chinese track and field athlete Wang Liping followed the first echelon throughout the whole process, and when the other leading players were sent off, Wang Liping won the gold medal in this event with the bonus of strength and luck. The scene of Wang Liping crossing the line is still remembered by countless people. No one would have thought that Wang Liping, who had not accumulated any major tournament before, would win the championship, and no one came forward to celebrate Wang Liping after crossing the line, she wanted to go to the stands to find a national flag, but there was no staff to prepare it that day.
After winning the championship, Wang Liping could not find the national flag
In desperation, Wang Liping had to run around the track and field empty-handed to express the joy in her heart, of course, she was wearing a competition uniform with the Chinese flag, and also announced to the world that the Chinese had won the gold. Over the years, it seems that it has been difficult for us to see Wang Liping's name in the media, so where has she been all these years?
On July 8, 1976, Wang Liping was born in a rural family under the jurisdiction of Fengcheng City (county-level city) in Dandong City, Liaoning Province.
At that time, my father was working at a coal mine tobacco purchasing station in Fengcheng City, and his meager salary supported the family's life. The mother is an authentic farmer, in addition to busy with a few acres of land at the door of her house, she is responsible for housework and takes care of several children.
Although the family is poor, his father has great ambitions, he hopes that several children can go to school and pass the exams in the future, and he also firmly believes that reading can bring the children out of the mountains.
After going to school, her home was several miles away from the school, and there were many roads up and down the mountain, so there was no transportation at that time, so Wang Liping walked to school all day, and it took at least one and a half hours to go back and forth.
Walk the mountain road to school
When she was a child, Wang Liping was very sensible, she knew how to save time, and every day after school, she ran home, hoping to go back early to help her mother do some housework and farm work. So at that time, Wang Liping ran to school almost every day, and long-term running allowed Wang Liping's endurance to be fully exercised.
Later, every time the school held a sports meeting, Wang Liping would report some long-distance running events, and she was the first place in every competition. The PE teacher at the school spotted her talent and wanted her to practice PE. However, his father refused at first, thinking that practicing sports would delay Wang Liping's studies.
But Wang Liping likes sports, she had to practice secretly at that time, and followed the physical education teacher to the town to participate in competitions, and every time she got the certificate, she didn't dare to show it to her father.
Rural School Games
At the age of 13, she was favored by a coach at Fengcheng Sports School, and then she received an admission letter from the sports school. At that time, the sports school said that it would not charge Wang Liping tuition and living expenses, as long as Wang Liping trained well.
This made Wang Liping very happy, and she thought that this could also reduce the burden on her family. His father was not very happy at the time, but he did not object, he just told Wang Liping that since he had chosen this path, he must work hard to achieve satisfactory results.
Soon after arriving at the sports school, Wang Liping, who had been trained in middle-distance running, began to learn Xi race walking. Race walking started late in China, a combination of technique and endurance, and after Chinese sports scholars have studied it, they have found that this sport is suitable for yellow people to train, and if they can achieve the ultimate in technology, the probability of going out of the world to win the gold medal in the future will be very high.
Wang Liping on the field
In fact, this is not wrong, let the yellow race train for sprinting or long-distance running, in terms of innate physical conditions, we can't compare with blacks.
But when she first started practicing Xi race walking, Wang Liping found that her performance was always slower than that of other team members of the same age, which made her lose confidence for a while, and she didn't know why she wanted to change events. But with an attitude of not admitting defeat, Wang Liping will secretly practice, obviously it is vacation time, but she chooses not to go home, training alone on the sports field, polishing the movements taught to her by the coach over and over again.
Soon, Wang Liping's grades improved by leaps and bounds and became the most top-notch race walker in Fengcheng Sports School.
In 1992, 16-year-old Wang Liping was recommended by the enlightenment coach to Wang Kui, the coach of the Liaoning Provincial Race Walking Team. Wang Kui is the first generation of race walking coaches in New China, and Chen Yueling, China's first race walking gold medalist, is Wang Kui's student. But Wang Kui is also a well-known devil coach with a strict coaching style, and he once turned against Chen Yueling's master and apprentice because he slapped Chen Yueling.
Wang Kui
After coming to the provincial team, Wang Liping trained harder, there are many excellent seniors here, Wang Liping met Chen Yueling, who had just won the gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics. She has always regarded Chen Yueling as a senior, and she also dreams that one day she will be able to stand on the highest podium of the Olympic Games like Chen Yueling, wearing the five-star red flag.
People are carbon-based creatures, not steel monsters, long-term training will always bring injuries, and Wang Liping is no exception, all the time, knee injuries have always bothered her.
During a training session at the end of 1995, Wang Liping sprained her left knee again, which was very serious at the time, and Wang Liping could not walk for several days. The father also felt very sorry for his daughter, so he specially asked for leave to go to Shenyang and took his daughter to the hospital for medical treatment. At that time, the doctor persuaded Wang Liping to suspend training, and even told her: "I can't train anymore".
After hearing this, Wang Liping was very sad, and she could only follow her father back to her hometown first. During the period of recuperation, Wang Liping also had no income. In order to reduce the burden on her family, she went out to find a job, and even went to the street to sell vegetables.
After recuperating for about half a year, Wang Liping can already walk normally. She also received traditional Chinese medicine treatments such as massage and acupuncture. At the end of 1996, Wang Liping returned to the team for training again, this time, she did not rush to achieve, but slowly began to recover, through half a year of training, Wang Liping returned to the previous level.
In April 1997, Wang Liping was selected for the Chinese track and field team, which gave her the opportunity to participate in the Sydney Olympics. She then participated in the World Cup race walking, but the fledgling Wang Liping did not achieve satisfactory results. The following year, Wang Liping participated in the Asian Games trials in Chongqing, and she won the third place in the country in this competition.
Wang Liping participated in domestic competitions
At the 1999 World Athletics Championships, Wang Liping's teammate Liu Hongyu in Liaoning won the world championship in the women's 20km race walk. This made the world see the strength of China's race walking. While Liu Hongyu won the ticket to the Sydney Olympics, he was also regarded as the biggest favorite to win gold in the Sydney Olympics.
Liu Hongyu in the middle
For Wang Liping, the opportunity to go straight to the Sydney Olympics was missed, and she could only compete for the last qualification to participate in the Olympics through the domestic trials.
Before the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the Chinese track and field team held a total of three trials, with the belief that they must enter the Olympic Games, Wang Liping defeated Liu Hongyu and race walking star Wang Yan in these three competitions.
Wang Liping participated in the selection competition
Finally, Wang Liping and Liu Hongyu will represent the Chinese track and field team in the women's race walk 20km race walk at the Sydney Olympics.
Soon the Sydney Olympics will open, and in the women's race walk 20km competition, there are many famous athletes from all over the world. The difficulty of the Chinese players to win the gold is not small, the Chinese race walking coaching staff have pinned the hope of winning the gold on Liu Hongyu, and Wang Liping herself does not have too high requirements, she only hopes that she can break into the top three and get a medal.
After the start of the game, Liu Hongyu really had extraordinary strength, walked to the first echelon early, and was in the first place to lead the other players. In the long distance races, there is obviously a lot of pressure to lead from the start. In addition, for a long time in the lead, Liu Hongyu couldn't shake off the other players behind her, she began to be impatient, and her movements began to deform.
Liu Hongyu was sent off
In the end, less than 4 kilometers away from the finish line, Liu Hongyu was punished by the referee for action violations. At that moment, countless Chinese viewers who watched the live broadcast were very disappointed, thinking that the gold medal was gone. Even the staff and coaching staff of the Chinese race walking team also left the field early, although Wang Liping was still on the competition field, she was in the 5th position, too far away from the players in front, seeing that the finish line was getting closer and closer, everyone did not have much hope for Wang Liping to win the gold medal or even the top three.
Even the audience friends who prepared the national flag earlier also left, and in this way, Wang Liping became a lone hero on the field.
Wang Liping on the playing field
Shortly after Liu Hongyu was sent off, the two players in front of Wang Liping were also sent off, and she suddenly came to the third position. At that time, Wang Liping's heart was very complicated, seeing that her teammate Liu Hongyu was sent off, she became the only seedling of the Chinese team, she forced herself to pay attention to her movements, keep the top three positions, and must not be punished.
And less than 2 kilometers from the finish line, the Italian star Beluni, who was in first place, was sent off, and Wang Liping came to second place. At that time, she just thought that she had broken through herself by winning a silver medal, and she accepted this reality, so she didn't speed up, kept her rhythm, and kept her technical moves.
The host player was sent off
At the top of the list was the hosts' Seville, who had already won the game, but just in the way into the stadium, Sevelli was also sent off for technical reasons. Wang Liping came to the first place like a ghost, and Wang Liping became the first player to enter the stadium.
Wang Liping made the final sprint
All the spectators at the scene were surprised, and Wang Liping secretly glanced back and found that the players behind her were still far away from her. So instead of chasing speed, she continued to optimize her movements. Later, Wang Liping said in an interview: "There are 100 meters into the main venue, I think I walked very beautifully in these 100 meters, and the technique of the 100 meters is indeed incisive, and I feel that I have entered a new life."
Wang Liping entered the track and field
In the end, 24-year-old Chinese player Wang Liping crossed the line first and became the champion of the women's 20km race walk event at the Sydney Olympics. However, after Wang Liping crossed the line, no one stepped forward to high-five her, and the staff and coaching staff had already left the field early. Wang Liping was a little lonely at the time, and she tried to look for a Chinese flag in the stands, but she couldn't find it. In desperation, Wang Liping had no choice but to run around the track and field empty-handed.
Wang Liping after winning the championship
Since then, this scene has often been remembered by people, and Wang Liping is often referred to as the loneliest Olympic champion.
It is worth mentioning that in this competition, Wang Liping also defeated her predecessor Chen Yueling. At that time, the 32-year-old Chen Yueling was representing the U.S. team and ended up only in 38th place.
After the Olympics, Wang Liping became famous, but her coach told her that after coming off the podium, everything started from scratch.
Wang Liping standing on the podium
In November 2011, Wang Liping represented the Liaoning team in the 9th National Games held in Guangzhou. Due to the trouble of a knee injury, Wang Liping lost to teammate Wang Yan.
After the Ninth National Games, Wang Liping, who was plagued by a knee injury, finally asked the team for leave, saying that she would take a year off.
And this year, Wang Liping was not idle, but completed a major event in her life, that is, marriage.
Wang Liping and her husband
On May 1, 2002, Wang Liping wore a wedding dress in a hotel in Weihai City. It is reported that Wang Liping's husband is also a race walker, his name is Zou Menghui, two years younger than Wang Liping, and he won the men's 50km race walking championship in the 1997 Eighth Games.
The two are teammates in the national team, and Zou Menghui later said in an interview that he liked Wang Liping at the first sight of her. At that time, the team was not allowed to fall in love, and the two kept secretly falling in love. Later, Wang Liping won the championship and became famous, but she still chose to marry Zou Menghui, which shows that the relationship between the two is still very good.
Wang Liping and her family
After getting married, the two settled down in Dalian, at the beginning of 2004, Wang Liping gave birth to a daughter in Dalian, after giving birth to her daughter, Wang Liping was thinking about whether to make a comeback, whether to prepare for the Athens Olympics, after all, it was less than a year before the Athens Olympic Games, and whether she could meet the standards of participation if she made a comeback, various questions were placed in front of Wang Liping.
Wang Liping and her daughter
In April 2004, Wang Liping finally decided to make a comeback, and she put her daughter, who was only three months old, into her mother-in-law's house. Then he returned to the team, and after returning to the team, Wang Liping quickly devoted herself to training. At that time, the talent of the national team withered, and Wang Liping won the first place soon after her comeback, and she was the first in several selection competitions.
In the end, Wang Liping became the only Chinese athlete to participate in the women's 20km race walk at the Athens Olympics.
It's a pity that this time Wang Liping is no longer at the peak, she only won the eighth place, but this result is enough for Wang Liping. In an interview after the game, Wang Liping revealed the idea of retiring.
Wang Liping lost in Athens
In 2005, 29-year-old Wang Liping announced her retirement, leaving the arena where she had struggled for more than 10 years. After retiring, Wang Liping did not leave the sports career, she engaged in management for a period of time. But she always felt that she didn't have much experience except for her expertise in race walking, so in order to continue her studies, Wang Liping later entered Beijing Sport University and fulfilled her college dream.
At that time, Wang Liping studied sports pedagogy Xi university, and she hoped to contribute to China's sports industry after graduation. After graduation, Wang Liping also accepted the invitation of Beijing Sports University and became the coach of the race walking team of Beijing Sport University. During this period, she also often went to the national race walking team to help.
Wang Liping instructed Sister Qieyang Shi
In 2015, seeing that the national race walking team's results were getting better and better, and there were more and more talents, Wang Liping realized that there was no shortage of people here, and she chose to resign.
After resigning, Wang Liping co-founded a sports investment fund with Olympic champion Xing Aowei and two other partners, thus officially entering business across borders. During this period, Wang Liping returned to Beijing Sports University for further study, and this time she studied business management Xi.
In March 2016, Wang Liping founded the "Legend of Kings" club in Beijing. Wang Liping can feel that more and more ordinary people are becoming running enthusiasts, but their running movements and training methods are in urgent need of professional guidance. Therefore, Wang Liping's original intention of founding this club is to help these runners. At the beginning, Wang Liping even went into battle in person to explain the running movements in detail for the runners.
Wang Liping presented awards to the club competition
With Wang Liping's efforts, her family moved to Beijing, her career is getting better and better, and the life of the whole family is naturally getting better and better.
In recent years, the rapid development of short videos has made Wang Liping see opportunities. She also created an account on Douyin called "Wang Liping Race Walking Olympic Champion". After more than three years of operation, she has 589,000 fans, most of whom are accurate runners, and with the sharing of Olympic champions, these runners are more active about running.
Wang Liping's Douyin account
On September 9, 2022, the night before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Wang Liping posted a photo of a family of three on Weibo. With the text "The happiest thing in the world is to be happy and healthy, and may youth be forever." ”
Wang Liping's family of three
Judging from the photos, her 18-year-old daughter is tall and good-looking, inheriting the advantages of her parents. However, Wang Liping sometimes complains that she and her husband are athletes, but her daughter doesn't like sports. So now that she has time, Wang Liping often takes her daughter out for a run.
Today, 48-year-old Wang Liping is a businessman, an Internet celebrity, and a running friend. Her King's Legend Club often holds running competitions across the country, and Wang Liping also runs with all over the country. Life is endless, sports are not stopped, even after retiring for many years, Wang Liping has never left the runway.
A recent photo of Wang Liping
I believe that after winning the championship for so many years, Wang Liping has long been relieved of the scene of breaking through the finish line in 2000. She also understands that she has won glory for the country, and she has also received fame and awards, all of which is fair. Of course, we ordinary people should establish correct values, these athletes can appear on the Olympic stage, they have already succeeded, whether they win gold or not, we should not be stingy with our applause. Staff and coaches should also not leave early.