On the Olympic stage, she illuminated the world with the light of six medals, and became the athlete with the most medals in a single Olympic Games of the Chinese sports delegation - Zhang Yufei. This well-deserved bright star in the swimming world has not only written her own legend in the blue waves, but also won the love and admiration of countless people with her tenacity and innovative spirit. Today, we had the pleasure of meeting Zhang Yufei to learn more about her extraordinary journey on and off the Circle, and how she joined hands with OMEGA to interpret the profound meaning of "Pursuing Breakthroughs and Daring to Innovate".
Q: Yu Fei won six medals in this Olympic Games, becoming the most decorated Chinese athlete. Which medal do you think has the most special meaning for you?
Zhang Yufei: I think the six medals this time are very special, and each one has a different meaning. I might have chosen the most special medal in previous competitions, but this time I couldn't make a choice.
Q: Can you share your feelings when you won a certain medal, which time was more impressive?
Zhang Yufei: The first medal came from the 100m butterfly, which is the one I hope for the most, and the one I desire the most. However, because of his performance and physical condition, he only won a bronze medal, and his performance fell behind a little bit in the things he expected most. The second medal came in the women's 4×100m freestyle relay, which is the best result of the Chinese women's team in the last 20 years, so I think it is also extraordinary. The third is the 200m butterfly, which is the event I fear the most. Everyone thought I was going to be the defending champion, but I know how I'm going to be in the 200m butterfly, so I think it's good to win a bronze medal. The fourth is the mixed relay. The mixed relay has always been regarded as the team's most promising relay event before the competition. After losing the gold medal in the 100 butterfly, I also felt that I had to fight hard for this event. But the result of this project is the most psychologically harmful to me, and it is also the most regrettable. With just 0.12 seconds to go, the four of us were able to win the gold medal. The 50-meter freestyle is the most relieving and refreshing event. The last one was the women's 4×100m medley relay, which I think we have the most potential for. Although we have only won a bronze medal in the women's mixed at the moment, I think we will improve again in the next round, and we can even look at the gold medal.
Q: Can you describe the image of Omega in three simple words? Also, as an OMEGA Celebrity Ambassador, what do you think the sportsmanship and the OMEGA brand spirit have in common?
Zhang Yufei: The pursuit of breakthroughs, the courage to innovate, and the uneasy status quo are all common points.
Q: As an Omega Celebrity Ambassador, what do you see as a fit for the brand? What attracts you to each other's collaboration?
Zhang Yufei: I like the Omega brand very much, and I don't think there are many swimmers who don't know about the Omega brand. We've been racing since we were 10 or 12 years old, and we have the OMEGA logo on the touchpad, which is actually a reflection of OMEGA's precise timekeeping, so it's a privilege to be able to work with each other. At the same time, we athletes have been pushing the boundaries of training for more than a decade, pushing the limits and creating their best results, which I think is also very much in line with OMEGA's pioneering spirit of pushing the limits of precision.
Q: You mentioned that Omega has partnered with the Olympic Games 31 times, are there any memorable stories you can share with us during your participation in these Olympic Games?
Yufei Zhang: In addition to OMEGA's timing equipment on the field, my story is also related to OMEGA watches. My fan's name is UFO, and Omega happens to have a De Fly series, so I caught my eye on them at first sight. So when I was choosing a watch at the Paris Olympics, my first choice was the De Ville series. When I got on the pitch at the end, everyone saw me wearing a Speedmaster because the name Speedmaster was pretty domineering. De Fly is very beautiful, but I think you have to have a very powerful, domineering side on the court. So it's a great honor for this Speedmaster to witness every record and medal I have.
Q: As a swimmer, every second counts on the field, which is in line with OMEGA's ethos of "every second counts" on timekeeping equipment. May I ask Yufei, how do you usually find the best form before the game to relieve the tension? Can you reveal your exclusive secret?
Zhang Yufei: In order to relieve my nervousness, I listen to different songs according to my current state and mood. But the confidence of the competition still mainly comes from every meter and every second of our usual training. In normal training, for example, the coach gave me a 50 seconds, but if I swam for 50.5 seconds, he would argue with me and even punish me for a lap. I think it's the same philosophy as Omega's watchmaking, which is to be precise in the thousandths of a second, the ten-thousandths of a second.
Q: Omega is constantly pushing the boundaries of new technologies, so how do you overcome them and challenge yourself when faced with difficulties or setbacks in your usual training?
Zhang Yufei: Actually, I'm a very evasive person, but I think the best way to face setbacks is to face them head-on. In the moment when you face the setback, you will feel very difficult, but after that, you will feel that you are amazing in overcoming the difficulties. Watchmakers like Omega are also constantly facing difficulties, constantly breaking through technology and innovating products, which is also remarkable.
Q: You often share your life on social media, and you also mentioned that you would like to take a break after the Olympics and return to campus life to experience a different pace of life. How do you manage your time? Do you have any tips on managing your time 24 hours a day or your own time?
Yufei Zhang: Before the Paris Olympics, I spent 80% of my time training, and only 20% of my daily routine could do things that were not related to swimming. After the Paris Olympics, I hope to be able to allocate more time, say 50% of my time, to extra life. But I think everything needs to be focused on getting it done in order to stay productive. Just like our watches, we also need to focus on technical polishing and research, so as to present the effect better.
Q: What else do you like to do outside of your training routine?
Zhang Yufei: I'll compare the heat for three minutes. I have a lot of interests, but recently I have become obsessed with billiards and I especially want to try horseback riding.
Q: In addition to being a world champion in swimming, what other role would you like to experience in the future?
Zhang Yufei: I want to be a psychology teacher, but it's probably impossible.
Q: You mentioned that you missed out on the gold medal by 0.12 seconds, including the direct difference between 50 seconds and 50.5 seconds in training. How do you understand the concept of time? Do you sometimes feel that defeat is very cruel, and when you win, you will feel that time brings you a lot of beauty? When did you start to have a specific idea of time?
Zhang Yufei: Since I was a child, my concept of time was cultivated by swimming. Now out of the pool, you can feel how long it is in 40 seconds or a minute. Swimmers will not be more than two or three seconds off. Maybe because we train every day, it's clear how long it takes to swim 100 meters, 50 meters. Even after we often train for 50 meters, the coach will ask us to guess how many seconds we have swam in, and if the error is more than 0.3 seconds, the coach will ask us to replay. So our sense of time is trained every day.
Q: Is the current perceptual error within 0.5 seconds?
Zhang Yufei: 50 meters should be under 0.5 seconds. But 400 meters takes about 4 minutes, and if it's 0.5 seconds, I'm comparable to Omega, haha.
Yufei Zhang: Before the Paris Olympics, I spent 80% of my time training, and only 20% of my daily routine could do things that were not related to swimming. After the Paris Olympics, I hope to be able to allocate more time, say 50% of my time, to extra life. But I think everything needs to be focused on getting it done in order to stay productive. Just like our watches, we also need to focus on technical polishing and research, so as to present the effect better.
Q: I noticed that the watch that Yu Fei is wearing today is the one she wore to receive the medal at the Paris Olympics? Do you have any experience during this time?
Yufei Zhang: Yes, the Speedmaster is really easy to use. Its appearance is very attractive to girls at first glance. I saw that it came in black and white, but I chose the green dial for the very simple reason that it was beautiful and had a diamond glow of bling bling. In the later stages, I also compared other watches and found that the Speedmaster was very accurate. It has taken the excellence and performance of its watches to the extreme, and I am sure they are constantly improving and evolving towards perfection.
Q: As the athlete with the largest number of medals won by the Chinese sports delegation in a single Olympic Games, what advice do you have for those who are just starting out?
Zhang Yufei: I suggest that they must persevere and be brave. Some young athletes don't achieve results in a year or two, and they are anxious about whether they are fit to be athletes and whether they are going back to school. I think everyone has their own areas of expertise, their flowering period may be in these two years, and yours may be in 5 or 8 years. So as long as you stick to it, you will definitely find where you shine.
Q: Have you faced many challenges or opportunities in your career, do you have any personal experiences that you can share with them?
Zhang Yufei: I think my experience is more by perseverance, and I didn't give up when I was at a low point, but I went through the trough again and again, and crossed the mountains again and again, so I can build my own countless highlight moments. I thought it was a peak in the last Tokyo session, and I thought I might not be able to surpass Tokyo this time, but in fact, I was once again standing on top of another mountain.
Q: What motivates you not to give up and keep going?
Zhang Yufei: Self-confidence. I think whether it's an athlete, an ordinary person or a brand, first of all, they need to have confidence in themselves and believe that they can create better results and unique products.
Q: You were in your menstrual period and had a fever during the Paris Olympics, how did you cheer yourself up during that time?
Zhang Yufei: Actually, I really wanted to give up before the race, and the 200m butterfly was ready to give up. But the coach persuaded me to compete, and he said that the audience also wanted to see me swim the 200m butterfly again, so I should say goodbye to the 200m butterfly. It was this sentence that touched me, and I tried my best to take this 200m butterfly as a gift to me and everyone. Fortunately, the final result was satisfactory.
Q: Looking back on her sports career over the years, what do you think you have gained and grown the most?
Zhang Yufei: A change in mentality. Before I was in Tokyo, I was like a kid, I did whatever my coach said, and although I got good results, I was more like an athlete who didn't grow up. After Tokyo, I gradually learned to think about what I lacked and what I still lacked, and I continued to improve towards perfection. Of course, I still have a lot to fall short of.
Q: What prompted you to start thinking about your changes?
Zhang Yufei: I don't think there is a big change, but it has changed gradually in the course of each day since Tokyo. Life may be like this, and our training results cannot suddenly break through one day, they are all accumulated day by day, and then suddenly one day we find ourselves out of the cocoon and become a butterfly.
Q: You just said that the way you decompress is by listening to music, so what is the one you listen to most often?
Zhang Yufei: If I had woken up relatively calmly today, I would have listened to "Croatia Rhapsody" and other bloody music. If I'm nervous today, I'll listen to soothing music like "Kikujiro's Summer". If I'm happier today, I want to listen to "Departure to Happiness", and as soon as I hear it, I feel like I'm going on a trip.
With the deepening of the interview, we learned the secret of Zhang Yufei's success from a young swimming rookie to today's medal harvester, and a deeper understanding of "pursuing breakthroughs and daring to innovate" is her constant belief in her life journey. Just as the OMEGA Speedmaster she wears, accurately recording every second of struggle and glory, Zhang Yufei is also witnessed by OMEGA, constantly surpassing herself and creating one remarkable achievement after another. future