On a sunny day in 1981, 7-year-old Xiong Ni was in the first grade at Triangle Tan Primary School in Changsha City. Suddenly, Ma Yanping, a diving coach from the Hunan Provincial Amateur Sports School, and a gymnastics coach came to the campus to select potential children to join their team.
The young Xiong Ni attracted the attention of the two coaches at a glance. His big bright eyes seemed to shine with an innate spirituality. Ma Yanping and the gymnastics coach both wanted to invite this seemingly outstanding child to join their team, and the scene was once lively.
Faced with this difficult career choice, Xiong Ni consulted his elderly parents. His father was a mechanic repairing clocks and watches, and his mother was doing ordinary work in the unit, and the family was not wealthy.
Hearing his son's question, the two elders couldn't give a clear advice, so they could only whisper: "Whoever discovers you first, you will follow him and work hard to realize your dreams."
In the end, Coach Ma Yanping, who took the lead, successfully recruited Xiong Ni into the army. Full of longing, Xiong Ni confidently decided to learn diving skills from Coach Ma.
As soon as he entered the diving hall, he was like a dry land thirsty for rain, hungry for learning, and extremely focused in class. In just a few months, he has mastered many difficult moves on the 3-meter springboard.
Soon after, Xiong Ni was eager to try a higher challenge - to overcome the stubborn problem of the 10-meter platform. Despite the pressure and fear of the heights, he still bravely pursued his goal and climbed the peak.
There is an episode that is still impressive to this day - when Coach Ma first taught him this difficult move, it was supposed to be the head of the water first, but surprisingly, Xiong Ni took the way of landing on his feet to enter the water.
This seemingly ordinary small action actually reveals the courage and perseverance of this child, and nurtures great potential for his brilliant sports career in the future.
The huge blow of his father's unexpected death
On the night of September 21, 2015, Xiong Ni was watching a game with the leaders of the Chinese Football Association in Chenzhou when he suddenly received an urgent call from his family - his 76-year-old father had mysteriously disappeared in a residential complex in Changsha's Yuelu District.
After learning the bad news, Xiong Ni did not hesitate, immediately took the high-speed train back to Changsha, and devoted himself to the intense search and rescue operation. He mobilized his relatives and friends, and searched every corner where his father might be haunted day and night, but in the end he found nothing, and he was at a loss.
Just when everyone was gradually losing hope, the ruthlessness of fate hit the family again - in the early morning of September 23, an angler in the Xianjia Lake section of the Xiangjiang River was surprised to find a floating corpse, which was confirmed by many parties to be Xiong Ni's long-missing father.
After an autopsy, the medical examiner determined that the cause of death was drowning.
The sudden death of his father was like a thunderbolt from the sky, hitting Xiong Ni's heart hard, plunging him into unprecedented boundless pain and guilt. Although he knew intellectually that it was just an unfortunate accident, deep down he still reprimanded himself for being negligent, failing to arrive in time, and failing to protect his loved ones.
He was haunted and could not extricate himself from the gloom.
In order to distract her mother, Xiong Ni arranged for a professional nanny to take care of her diet and daily life 24 hours a day. Every holiday, he will personally take over the nanny, guarding his mother's side around the clock, caring for him carefully, and teaching him by word and deed.
His wife Li Jingman is as filial and considerate as ever, and thinks about her mother-in-law everywhere. has a son and daughter-in-law who are so attentive that they finally let their mother slowly get out of the haze and resume her old life and rest.
But Xiong Ni himself couldn't let go, and his father's death became a lifelong nightmare and burden in his heart.
Back in 1998, ten years ago, Xiong Ni left the national diving team and began a period of recuperation. In these ordinary days, he met his life's confidant, Li Jingman, a returnee woman who was two years younger than him, and the two met late and fell in love at first sight.
Li Jingman was born in a scholarly family in Changsha, and he is gentle and virtuous, and he is very dedicated to his feelings. In order to give Xiong Ni enough space to develop her career, she repeatedly postponed her long-awaited marriage.
It wasn't until January 12, 2008 that the two finally got married in their hometown of Changsha and ushered in a new beginning in their lives.
After marriage, they accompanied each other and enjoyed each other, busy with work during the day, and still spurred themselves and worked hard at night. It wasn't until 2013 that 39-year-old Xiong Ni ushered in the birth of his son.
Li Jingman decided to quit her job full-time and become a housewife, devoting herself wholeheartedly to taking care of her children and family, and giving her husband meticulous care and support.
Brilliant athletic career
In September 2000, the men's 3-meter springboard final of the 27th Sydney Olympic Games, the atmosphere in the arena was tense. Xiong Ni once again had a peak showdown with his old rival Russian star Saudin when Mars collided with the earth.
At the beginning, Xiong Ni's play was slightly passive, and the score temporarily lagged behind the opponent. But as an experienced athlete, he quickly stabilized his position, and with his excellent psychological quality and superb technical performance, he completed every movement with great mastery, and his skills were amazing.
In the end, Xiong Ni scored a total of 708. With a proud score of 72 points, he finally won the first Olympic gold medal in his life after sprinting to the Olympic Games for the fourth time! At this moment, the scene fell into a crazy boil, and team leader Zhou Jihong burst into tears and hugged the highly praised Xiong Ni tightly.
Back to July 29, 1996, the 26th Atlanta Olympic Games men's 3m springboard final. This time, Xiong Ni has just switched to the three-meter springboard, which is a new opportunity and challenge for the Chinese diving team.
When the gold medal was put on his neck, the long-awaited hope finally came true, and the excited Xiong Ni couldn't help but burst into tears. This gold medal has witnessed his years of hard work and has become a milestone in his life.
Going back in time, we travel back in time to the Barcelona Olympics on July 25, 1992. In the qualifying round of the men's 10-meter platform event, Xiong Ni played well and won the first place in one fell swoop.
But in the most critical final, he made a mistake in a basic move and fell into extreme self-doubt and pain.
At that moment, he cried alone in the dressing room, asking himself if he would stop there, and he had no chance to cheer.
The earliest retrospective date goes back to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It was the 14-year-old's first appearance in a world-class tournament for China, and he faced off against 14-year-old American diving champion Louganis.
Despite her young age, Xiong Ni was proud and heroic in the arena and played well, leading her opponents by as many as three points.