On July 14, the Chinese Olympic delegation announced the list of participants. Among them, the marathon tour project has aroused heated discussion among netizens because there is only one participant but 5 coaches and staff. Marathon swimming, an unfamiliar Olympic sport and the only participant, has gradually attracted the attention of netizens.
Marathon swimming, also known as open water 10 km swimming race, refers to the competition held in the natural waters such as rivers, rivers, lakes, seas, etc. Runners will be affected by external factors such as waves, water temperature, weather, etc., which is a sport that has a great test of will and physical fitness. Especially for female players, finishing the game is a difficult task, not to mention striving for excellent results.
Marathon swimming started late in China, and it wasn't until the Rio 2016 Olympics cycle that the Chinese swimming team set up a marathon swimming team. At the Tokyo Olympics, Xin Xin was the only Chinese female athlete to qualify for the event. In fact, as early as the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Xin Xin stood on the final stage as China's "single seedling" player and achieved a good result of fourth place, although it missed the medal, it still achieved a historic breakthrough in China's project.
Five years later, Xin Xin, who is less than 24 years old, once again entered the Tokyo Olympics as an Olympic seedling, and this time, her goal is the difficult task of getting the five-star red flag to fly in Tokyo.
Marathon swimming is little known in China, Xin Xin introduced: "Our project is a swimming pool with open water, and few runners specifically go to practice open water projects. In my opinion, the most basic ability of this project is to reach a very high level in the swimming pool before it is possible to practice this project. ”
Previously, Xin Xin was an excellent long-distance swimmer, and at the 2013 National Games, she won the 800-meter free swimming championship and broke the Asian record for this event. But in that year, another decision by the coaches allowed Xin Xin to break into a new world.
At the 2013 National Games, there was an 8,000m event, so the coaches wanted her to give it a try. During that time, she was the first to come to the swimming pool and the last to leave. Xin Xin's head coach, Jin Hao, found that the more pressure on her and the more difficult it was for her to challenge, Xin Xin instead showed more and more strength. And it is this trait that not only surprises the coaches, but also strengthens Xin Xin's determination to turn to marathon swimming.
The first time she competed in the official competition, Xin Xin won the marathon swimming event, which became an important turn for her, and from there, Xin Xin's main event shifted from the pool to the open water. Her track has also been extended from 800 meters to 10,000 meters.
In the face of the disciples' impressive achievements, coach Jin Hao said in an interview: "She is one of the most difficult athletes I have ever brought. That's when I started to rule how to get her from the domestic arena to the international arena, or even the highest international podium. ”
In the face of the coach's decision, Xin Xin also gladly accepted, she said frankly: "Because this project to the end, especially after 8,000 meters, everyone is very tired, fighting is the quality of will, fighting who does not give up first." I feel that I have done a better job of this than other athletes. ”
In order to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games, at the end of December 2020, Xin Xin accompanied the team to conduct altitude training. Usually, the daily training volume of long-distance runners is 8 kilometers, while Xin Xin's daily training volume is as high as 15 kilometers. She completes a total of 7 kilometers of speed training every morning and at least 8 kilometers of aerobic training in the afternoon.
"This project is, when everyone else is out of the water, but I am still swimming in the water, because the distance of this project is so long, so you have a lot more training per day than others." I sometimes think that if I were an athlete practicing short distances, it would be nice to swim more than three or five kilometers a day. But sometimes I think that it is precisely because I have practiced this project that I have to persevere from beginning to end. Xin Xin said calmly when introducing his training situation.
But the unconventional amount of training makes Xin Xin tired after training every day and does not want to speak. A reporter asked Xin Xin: It is so difficult and so bitter, why do you still practice? Xin Xin responded with a smile: "It is because it is difficult, many people are not willing to practice, I have a chance." This program requires excellent talent, but talented athletes are often reluctant to practice this program, so this program has given me more opportunities. ”
After the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Xin Xin's performance continued to climb, "When he appeared on the field, especially at the end of the game, he felt that all the efforts were worth it." "The hard work has become a new driving force for Xin Xin." I don't think there's anything I shouldn't do right now, but I think I can do more for this project. ”
Behind such achievements, there are too many little-known heartaches, "The higher you go, the stronger the sense of loneliness." Because people's ideas, realms and platforms are different. So when a teammate says that they're going to take me as a teammate instead of a friend, I can feel that everyone doesn't particularly understand me, and of course, I don't care too much about that, because... Sometimes, I think a person is quite good. Although she said this, this lonely girl next door could not be understood, and she was accompanied by teddy bears large and small.
Compared with loneliness, Xin Xin said, "What I am most afraid of is that I can't move, and practicing without moving will affect my mentality and make me have self-doubt." At that moment man was broken and didn't want to talk to anyone..."
Kung Fu pays off. The National Championships in March this year were the last major military training exercises ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The first thing to do was the men's 10 km event, the coach in order to let her find the feeling of confrontation with foreign strong players, but also for her registration, Xin Xin became the only female athlete in the competition. As a result, Xin Xin ranked 11th in this competition with 140 male players. It greatly exceeded the previous coach's prediction.
Looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics, Xin Xin said, "I am now a position of a shocker. My main opponent was Anna from Brazil, who was 9 years old when she was swimming in this event. The Brazilian athlete is the most dominant in marathon swimming. She was the guardian of the gold medal in this project, and I was the one who went to the impact. “
Olympic marathon swimming medals have long been monopolized by European and American athletes, and Xin Xin will challenge all the strong opponents at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Let us wish this strong Shandong girl to fully show her strength in the Tokyo Olympic Games. When she swims in the Olympic arena, she becomes her strong backing.