From Tokyo to Paris, Liu Yang won the gold medal in the men's gymnastics rings event. Photo/Xinhua News Agency
On the evening of August 4, in the men's rings final of the Paris Olympic Games, Tokyo Olympic champion Liu Yang successfully defended his title with 15.300 points and won the first gold medal in Paris for the Chinese gymnastics team. Zou Jingyuan added another silver medal with 15.233 points.
Men's rings are the traditional advantage of the Chinese gymnastics team, and three athletes have won gold in the Olympic Games four times, the first two are Li Ning and Chen Yibing, and Liu Yang became the first athlete of the Chinese team to defend the Olympic gold medal in rings.
antecedent
"Double insurance" played, Liu Yang's goal was to defend the title
On July 27, the first competition day after the opening of the Paris Olympic Games, Zou Jingyuan and Liu Yang won the top two in the men's rings of the men's team qualifying round and successfully advanced to the finals.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Liu Yang was the champion of the rings event. He maintained his good form during the Paris Olympic cycle, winning the gold medal in rings at the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships. Liu Yang once said that when he arrived in Paris, he hoped to achieve the goal of winning for a second consecutive year. In the early morning of July 30, in the men's team final, Liu Yang only took one ring, and he lived up to expectations and scored 15.500.
As one of the backbones of the men's team, Zou Jingyuan is also expected to be high. At the last Olympics, he won gold in parallel bars, but rings are also his forte. At the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships, he successfully unlocked a new move in the rings preliminaries, and was named after his surname "ZOU" by the International Gymnastics Federation.
With Liu Yang and Zou Jingyuan's "double insurance", the Chinese gymnastics team has become the biggest favorite to compete for gold in rings. In the end, the two young men won gold and silver, giving the gymnastics team the first shot in the individual competition.
In addition to the rings, Zou Jingyuan will also compete for gold in the subsequent parallel bars competition. Photo/Xinhua News Agency
sentiment
The group loses and accumulates energy, and Zou Jingyuan's headphones are "lost and regained"
In the first few competition days, the results of the Chinese gymnastics men's team did not meet the expectations of the outside world. Especially in the men's team final, after entering the final round with a large advantage, Su Weide made two bar mistakes in the horizontal bar, and the Chinese team finally lost to Japan and won a silver medal. After the game, Xiao Ruoteng, Zou Jingyuan and other veteran players shed tears.
In the post-match interview, Liu Yang repeatedly expressed regret. Zou Jingyuan also bluntly said that he was too eager for this gold medal, "I think let's digest it first, I haven't come out yet, and I feel uncomfortable that I have to wait for another 4 years." After a few days of adjustment, Liu Yang and Zou Jingyuan have recovered a lot physically and emotionally. Turning grief into strength, Liu Yang and Zou Jingyuan showed their energy in the rings final.
During the preparation period, the teammates around them also provided them with help and support as much as they could. During the competition in Paris, Zou Jingyuan, who was accustomed to listening to music before the game to relax, lost his headphones, which gave him a headache. Xiao Ruoteng, the vice captain who ended the game early, took advantage of his free time before returning to China to buy new headphones for Zou Jingyuan's "errands". The intimate Xiao Ruoteng also deliberately chose the co-branded model, "I guess he will like it, it's still golden." ”
From the team competition to the individual competition, Liu Yang has repeatedly won high scores in the strong rings. Photo/Xinhua News Agency
Hook sink
The gymnastics team's three "ringing kings", Liu Yang defended his title to create history
Looking back at the performance of the Chinese gymnastics team in recent Olympic Games, in the 2016 Rio Olympics, the team only won two bronze medals. After the blow, in Tokyo in 2021, the Chinese team won gold in the rings, parallel bars and balance beam, and won the battle for the name with 3 golds, 3 silvers and 2 bronzes. Among them, two gold medals came from Liu Yang and Zou Jingyuan.
From the perspective of the rings, from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics to the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese gymnastics team won a total of 3 championships, and the 3 gold medalists were Li Ning, Chen Yibing and Liu Yang. In Paris, Liu Yang successfully defended his title and made new history.
The rings are one of the traditional advantages of the Chinese men's team, and they are also one of the important gold medals in this year's Paris Olympics. Before the ring finals, the Chinese men's team won two silvers and one bronze in this Olympic Games. As the mainstay of the team, the two veterans used their performances to set an example, and also boosted the morale of the gymnastics team.
According to the schedule, on August 5, the Chinese men's team will also participate in the competition for two gold medals, namely men's parallel bars and horizontal bars. Zou Jingyuan will compete in the parallel bars final as the defending champion, Su Weide also entered the horizontal bar final with the seventh qualifying round, and captain Zhang Boheng will go on to win both games, expecting the boys to continue to surprise the Chinese people.
Beijing News reporter Zhao Xue
Edited by Wang Chunqiu
Proofread by Lucy