As the first international event after the Paris Olympics, the Shanghai Station of the Swimming World Cup ended at the Oriental Sports Center on the evening of the 20th. The Chinese swimming team, which sent the Olympic team, handed over 6 golds, 11 silvers and 7 bronzes in the three-day competition, ranking second in the gold medal list of this event.
For the Chinese swimmers who have not been training in the recovery system for a short time, compared with the competition results, it is more important to test the state and anchor the goal through high-level competitions. Standing at the beginning of a new Olympic cycle, the question that every athlete must face is what kind of state and mentality they should use to meet new challenges.
Come back strong and hit higher goals
In the 100m and 50m breaststroke finals one after another, she won the championship with a new Asian record, and Tang Qianting, a young girl from Shanghai, shined "where dreams begin". Ten years ago, she took a major step in her swimming career by competing in city-wide competitions here. Now that he has returned to this pool, he has grown into a "submarine" of the world's top players, and he is even more determined to "create his own world record".
"The first thing about this competition is to calm down and show your true level. My family and friends came to support me, and everyone was very welcoming, which means a lot to me. In this venue, I also found the familiar feeling of the past. In both competitions, Tang Qianting, who was in excellent form, was difficult to find opponents. While she was satisfied with her performance, she also expressed a hint of regret: "Although I set a new Asian record, I still failed to break the world record. When I go back, I will continue to strengthen my speed, and now I am on my way to the goal of the world record. ”
With the regret of rubbing shoulders with the individual champion in the Paris Olympics, Tang Qianting, who had made a slight adjustment, returned full of blood and set off confidently towards Los Angeles four years later. Qin Haiyang, who has also experienced twists and turns, also made a strong return in the World Cup, which once created brilliance, with two golds and one silver, and two Asian records.
"My goal is to set a record and hopefully I can break it in the next two races." After winning the gold medals in the 100m and 50m breaststroke, Qin Haiyang said that his goal is to continue to strive for breakthroughs in performance, "After winning the gold medal in the Paris Olympics, my schedule is quite busy and intense, so I don't have much time to adjust. Hopefully, I can be in better shape and have time to relax after all the games this year. ”
Adjust the pace and charge up for your next breakthrough
Although they failed to reach the top podium, several other star players in the Chinese team have also gained something in the opening battle of this new cycle. For them, checking the state, finding problems, and adjusting the pace are all about accumulating energy for the next breakthrough.
As the leader of the new generation of Chinese swimming, "Flying Fish" Pan Zhanle is naturally the darling of this competition. However, he had high hopes and failed to win the 100m freestyle championship and short course world record, and the 200m freestyle even missed the final. "This competition has only recovered seventy or eighty percent, and the real systematic training is only a week or two, so any results are expected." Not shying away from the result of the defeat, Pan Zhanle looked for the gap from the game, "Failure is not terrible, what is terrible is that you don't have the courage to start over." The Chinese players are not bad in the swim, but they are not as good as the foreign players in the details of turning and starting. Participating in such competitions allows you to exercise yourself more and keep improving and improving. ”
Zhang Yufei, who has only been back in training for ten days, won two silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle and 50-meter butterfly. In her opinion, her results do not have much reference value, "just to test how much the current level is different from the peak". As a veteran of three Olympic Games, the 26-year-old is no longer in a hurry to put pressure on himself: "I have participated in a lot of activities after the Paris Olympics, which has made my life more complete. For your current self, you can't just bury your head in hard work, but also find a training method that suits your age. ”
In Zhang Yufei's plan, the development of "technical stream" players is the direction of his next stage of efforts. "There are still four years left in the Olympics, so there's no need to rush so much. I've always been a bit rougher, and then I can polish the technical moves a little bit more finely. She has made it clear that she wants to compete in Los Angeles 2028 and wants to prepare for a new round of hard work at the pace she is most comfortable with. It is precisely because of this that Zhang Yufei, who originally planned to compete in the 100-meter butterfly on the last day of competition, finally chose to retire protectively.
Wang Shun and Xu Jiayu, who are older than Zhang Yufei, also chose to "test the waters" for the first winter training of the new cycle in this competition. Wang Shun, who temporarily decided to compete in the main event, broke the Asian record in the 100m medley final. The "soft-shelled turtle" that only signed up for the 50-meter backstroke also won a silver medal. "You can't rush to 'squeeze yourself dry', you have to keep yourself in training and competition in the fullest condition." Xu Jiayu, who is still in the adjustment period, said frankly, "As a veteran who still wants to continue to compete, I need to make reasonable use of every game to adjust my state." I haven't trained systematically for a long time, and being able to return with this result is a good encouragement for my next training plan and training state. ”
Text: Reporter of this newspaper / Gu Miao
Photo: Reporter of this newspaper / Chen Long Visual China
Editor: Chen Haixiang