On May 15, Liu Xiang returned to the public eye with a video of "Long Time No See", 20 years ago he won the gold medal in the men's 110m hurdles at the Athens Olympics with a world record of 12.91 seconds, opening a glorious era of Chinese hurdles. 20 years later, Wu Yanni, Lin Yuwei and Xia Sining, three hurdle "goddesses" with both appearance and strength, were born, making hurdle sports regain national attention.
Among them, as Liu Xiang's little fan sister, Wu Yanni has been full of controversy since her debut, with pre-run actions, rushing, tattoos, makeup, high-profile remarks...... "Internet celebrity", "conspicuous bag", "crazy" and other labels, so that she is on the cusp of gaining huge traffic. In the face of doubts and ridicule, Wu Yanni chose to face and enjoy it calmly, "The more I spray me, the happier and more motivated I am", and she responded strongly with her performance of breaking her personal best four times in the season and creating the best result in Asia. Beautiful and sassy, not afraid of controversy, she constantly breaks through herself, challenges the limit, and uses her strength to compete with Lin Yuwei for the "first sister" in hurdles.
Tensei "Rebellion"
Da Gu never has stage fright, "my life is up to me"
Wu Yanni was born in Zigong City, Sichuan Province in 1997, and began to learn dance at the age of 3, and she has been dancing for 9 years. In the eyes of her family, Wu Yanni, who has never had stage fright, is not a good baby, she likes to play games such as marbles, racing and cycling, and has practiced piano and guzheng, but the pedal of the piano is broken, and the strings of the guzheng are broken. "The more (my family) won't let me do anything, the more I want to do it!" In order to keep her focused, her mother rewarded her with 100 yuan to sit for a minute, but she "didn't do it".
In 2009, Wu Yanni's family moved from Zigong to Neijiang. At the Zizhong County Games, Wu Yanni won the women's 100-meter championship, tall and long-legged, fast she showed extraordinary sports potential, this star of hope was inspired by coach Zhou Youjun and embarked on the road of track and field. Although she is very new to track and field, in order to escape stretching, practicing her body, and dancing every day, Wu Yanni resolutely chose track and field, and since then her idol has changed from Yang Liping to Liu Xiang.
In 2012, Wu Yanni was recommended to the Sichuan Provincial Athletics School, and then studied under Coach Yang Hui of the Athletic School of Beijing Sport University, and gradually emerged in the domestic arena. Third place in the women's 100m hurdles at the 2016 National Track and Field Championships, third place in the 2017 National Games, champion of the 2020 National Championships, champion of the 2021 National Championships, runner-up in the 2021 National Games, and champion of the 2023 National Track and Field Championships...... Wu Yanni became a leader in the Chinese women's short span field in one fell swoop.
On the field, Wu Yanni's beautiful and sassy image and distinctive twist braid hairstyle spread all over the Internet, and she gradually changed people's stereotypes of athletes in the past.
Wu Yanni is self-assertive, firm and self-confident in her personality, and has a "big heart" that is not afraid of high pressure and doubts, all of which are inseparable from three people: mother, grandfather and idol Liu Xiang. Her mother had basketball training experience and supported Wu Yanni to choose the path of track and field. "My mom told me that my life is up to me and that I can do whatever I want. But if you choose, you must do it well. ”
In 2014, Wu Yanni suffered a serious back injury, and the death of her grandfather, who had a deep relationship with her, put her into the most difficult stage of her sports career. Wu Yanni changed from chatter to silence, as if she had grown up overnight, and was no longer greedy and lazy. In order to live up to her grandfather's expectations, she walked firmly and steadfastly on the path she chose, and this year Wu Yanni's 100-meter hurdles broke the 14-second mark.
In the hurdles field, Liu Xiang is the brightest star in Wu Yanni's mind, "Liu Xiang has a murderous aura when he competes, as long as he stands on the field, he is the king, and that look is the kind of I must have you." The subtle influence of these people has made Wu Yanni gradually different.
Hot search physique
Rushing, makeup, high-profile remarks, "I don't need others to understand me"
2023 is the year when Wu Yanni is out of the circle. From winning silver with a time of 12.76 seconds at the Chengdu Universiade and locking in the qualification for the Paris Olympics, to the rush of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Wu Yanni has been a topic of conversation every time she appears, and the hot search dominates the screen.
Every time she stood on the 100-meter hurdles track, Wu Yanni's signature action of "pointing at the sky with her index finger" was accused of being too high-profile, and netizens said that "her outrageous movements of shaking her head, pointing to the sky and poking the ground, shrugging her shoulders and twisting her waist are suffocating", even if Wu Yanni changed her actions before the start to flying kisses and comparing love, she was still criticized by many netizens as "contrived"; In this year's Xiamen Diamond League, Wu Yanni appeared in a beautiful jumpsuit, which was particularly eye-catching, and netizens ridiculed that "the buttocks are almost uncovered, and there is no lower limit for eyeballs".
The rush incident in the women's 100-meter hurdles final at the Hangzhou Asian Games became the "breaking point" for Wu Yanni to get out of the circle. From rushing fouls to protesting against the referee, to finishing and canceling results, and public apologies after the game, five topics related to Wu Yanni rushed to the hot search, which is in stark contrast to Lin Yuwei's "silently" winning the championship. In the midst of doubts, Wu Yanni's self-media fans soared to 3.22 million.
The bigger controversy comes from Wu Yanni's unabashed remarks. "I'm just going to die, I'm sorry, if you don't like me, block me, I'll be angry with you" "I just like the way you can't get used to seeing me and can't kill me, what can I do without you, I'm still fighting for the country, right" "I really ran away, what's wrong" "I don't need others to understand me, I just need Wu Yanni to stand on the field, feel the atmosphere of the arena, the process of the game, then I think Wu Yanni has succeeded" "Liu Xiang is Liu Xiang, his halo should not be detained on anyone's head, and I am also the only me" ……
Wu Yanni's various performances were determined by netizens that she did not focus on the arena and expressed herself too publicly. In the eyes of the outside world, Wu Yanni is more like an Internet celebrity athlete than a powerful hurdler athlete.
Strength strikes back
Speaking with grades, "the more I spray, the more motivated I am"
In the face of the doubts of the whole network, Wu Yanni did not choose to be silent, but responded directly, "Athletes are competitive, but everyone's expression is different, I am such a character, which can reflect the girl's self-confidence, and my publicity is not wrong."
Regarding the signature action of "index finger pointing to the sky", Wu Yanni said bluntly: "I think my movements are very handsome and sassy, and they are also very suitable for me, this action represents the sword pointing to Paris." Her mother revealed the deeper meaning of this action: "Using your fingers on the track is just trying to keep yourself in a straight line." Pointing to the sky, he wanted grandpa to know that she was competing, to tell grandpa and let him cheer her up. ”
Regarding the tattoo on her arm, Wu Yanni explained that it was an expression of her pursuit of championship and self-confidence. Wu Yanni enjoys the feeling of focusing on herself, "I am a performative personality, I am 'people are crazy', all the focus is on me, I will perform better." Girls wearing makeup is a very normal thing, and everyone cannot be deprived of their right to love beauty. ”
Before the Hangzhou Asian Games, Wu Yanni only had the word "win" in her life dictionary, and the loss of the 2021 National Games and the 2023 Asian Games rush incident were the darkest moments of her life. She said she was afraid to watch videos of her game at one point. Mom encouraged her to accept her imperfections and accept her failures, and she began to enjoy the game itself. "The charm of competitive sports is that you are cruel, you are never the strongest, you have to keep pushing yourself. It's a painful process, but I think it's very exciting, and youth is about pushing the limits. I'm a very flamboyant, very high-profile, very dragged person, and participating in these competitions has made me more calm. ”
Now, in the face of the competition, Wu Yanni enjoys it with a "play" mentality, hoping to run well with a more relaxed attitude. In the face of doubts and ridicule, she smiled, "It is impossible for everyone to like you, there are always people who question you." I was questioned, which to a certain extent also shows their affirmation of my strength. The more they sprayed me, the happier and more motivated I became. ”
With the blessing of a strong heart and the overwhelming doubts, Wu Yanni will usher in a counterattack in 2024 and "slap the face" of the doubters with real results. Although she finished at the bottom of the two Diamond League in China, Wu Yanni saw the gap in the duel with the top hurdles in Europe and the United States, but in the Asian arena, she gradually showed her crushing strength on the field. At this year's World Indoor Championships, the Domestic Indoor Grand Prix, the Outdoor Grand Prix and the World Athletics Federation Continental Tour, Wu Yanni broke her personal best times four times (including the 60m hurdles and 100m hurdles), and broke the 13-second barrier twice in the preliminaries and finals of the Kinan Dotaka Memorial Race in Japan, especially in the final, she defeated the three Japanese hurdles masters and won the championship with a time of 12.86 seconds, which temporarily ranked first in Asia this year. So far, Wu Yanni has broken 13 seconds nine times in her sports career, second only to her predecessor Feng Yun's 14 times, and her world ranking has improved from 54th to 39th, ranking first in China.
Wu Yanni, who has a hot search physique, has attracted countless fans under the double "stimulation" of controversy and achievements, and is even known as an Internet celebrity athlete by the outside world. In this regard, Wu Yanni disagreed, "I am a strength athlete, I rely on my strength to meet the Paris Olympics, and I also rely on my strength to let everyone know that I am Wu Yanni." On the 100m hurdles course, the Sichuan girl will not stop moving forward, and now she has set her sights on breaking the national record of 12.64 seconds at the Paris Olympics, which is her best chance to make a name for herself, and a solid step towards the "first sister" of the hurdles and tearing off all the controversial labels.
Wu Yanni's small file
Age: 26 years old
Events: Women's 100m hurdles
Personal best: 12.76 seconds
Best time of the year: 12.86 seconds
World ranking: 39th
Main achievements:
Runner-up in the women's 100m hurdles at the 31st Summer Universiade
世界田联洲际巡回赛大阪站女子100米栏冠军
Champion of the women's 60m hurdles at the 2024 National Indoor Athletics Championships
Champion of the women's 100m hurdles at the 2021 National Athletics Championships
Runner-up in the women's 100m hurdles at the 14th National Games
Text | Reporter Chai Zhi
Figure | Visual China