On the evening of August 8, 2008, in Beijing, the opening ceremony of the 29th Summer Olympic Games was held at the National Stadium. /Visual China
From the past, the present and the future, the Olympic Games should be such a beautiful thing.
Some people joke that the biggest memory point left for future generations in this ups and downs of the Tokyo Olympic Games may be that there is no memory point itself.
Postponed for one year, the shadow of the epidemic has always hung over the Olympic Games, and the absence of spectators, the huge losses left for Japan, and the epidemic prevention measures for athletes from all over the world have always been hot topics about the Tokyo Olympic Games. For last night's opening ceremony, many spectators were also disappointed, thinking that it was not as amazing as the "Eight Minutes in Tokyo" preview at the closing ceremony of the London Olympic Games five years ago.
For the quadrennial Olympic Games, the enthusiasm of audiences around the world seems to have fallen into a trough. We have chosen to look back on some of the Olympic moments of the past, hoping to evoke the touching experiences you have had. In today's turbulent, divisive and restless world, we still need the Olympic Games, the vast cohesion it contains, and the common memory it has given generations to generation.
As The father of the modern Olympics, Coubertin, said: "Sport is peace, and participation is more important than winning." "From the past, the present to the future, the Olympics should be such a beautiful thing.
01
1984: The third world champion of the Chinese women's volleyball team
In Los Angeles, 1984, the Chinese women's volleyball team defeated the American team in the final and stood on the top of the world for the third time. From the previous third volleyball World Cup seven wins, won the first world championship in the three major balls, to the subsequent 1986 World Championship, the Chinese women's volleyball team set a famous record of five consecutive championships, in that era when television was not yet popular, infected countless Chinese.
At the end of the 1970s, Lang Ping had just joined the team and lost to the Japanese women's volleyball team at its peak, and some fans wrote to her, calling her "the Beijing No. 4 of the incomplete instrument", which made the young Lang Ping ashamed and indignant. And throughout the eighties that followed, "Iron Hammer" and her teammates made the word "women's volleyball" a high-spirited totem of the Chinese people.
02
1984: Handshake across the strait
At 282.5 kg, Chen Weiqiang won the Los Angeles Olympics weightlifting championship in the 60 kg category, and the Dongguan boy, who had been plagued by injuries, unexpectedly won the fifth gold medal in China's Olympic history.
A more moving scene occurred after winning the championship, when Cai Wenyi from Taiwan won the bronze medal in the same project, and when the award was presented, he took the initiative to extend his hand to Chen Weiqiang, who also naturally reached out to respond, and the two hands were tightly held together.
Chen Weiqiang shook hands with Cai Wenyi.
"When awarding the award, the idea is very simple, I think it is all Chinese, I am very happy on the same podium, shaking hands is one to express congratulations, and the other is also a kind of etiquette." But when I came down, I still thought, what if the coach criticizes, but I also hold it, and criticize it. In an interview with Sports Weekly many years later, Chen Weiqiang recalled his state of mind at that time.
Of course, Chen Weiqiang was not criticized, and "athletes on both sides of the strait shook hands on the Olympic podium" became the special feature of news reports at the time, and also became an unforgettable memory of all Chinese sons and daughters.
03
1984: A tough leap
When every Summer Olympics ends and most of the spectators' eyes leave the stadium, it's also a time when another group of people start to fight.
After the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the Seventh Summer Paralympic Games were held simultaneously in Stoke Mandeville, England, and New York, USA. This is also the first Paralympic Games in which China participated, and a delegation of 24 athletes with disabilities participated in the three major sports of athletics, swimming and table tennis.
In the B2 long jump in New York, Ping Yali jumped hard and jumped 4.28 meters to win China's first Paralympic gold medal – the 23-year-old Beijing girl, who was diagnosed with congenital cataracts at a very young age, embarked on the path of sports while studying at a blind school.
At this Paralympic Games, the Chinese athletes who participated for the first time won 2 gold, 13 silver and 9 bronze, and another gold medal was won by Zhao Jihong, a 16-year-old girl, who also broke the world record.
04
1988: Chinese table tennis is coming
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, table tennis was the new face on the Olympic scene: this year, table tennis became a new Olympic event, and the tennis event that had been interrupted for decades was restored.
Prior to this, The Chinese table tennis project has accumulated considerable strength, in the 1959 World Table Tennis Championships, Rong Guotuan won the first world championship of Chinese table tennis, and was also the first world champion of Chinese sports, and shouted out the famous slogan of "life can have several beats".
The first time table tennis entered the Olympic Games, Chinese players also lived up to expectations, winning two gold, two silver and one bronze in a single event, opening the Olympic era of "national ball".
05
1988: The global hit "Hand in Hand"
In 1988, the Olympic Games came to Asia for the second time. At the opening ceremony of the Seoul Olympic Games, the theme song "Hand In Hand" sung by 18,000 actors on the spot pushed the atmosphere of the opening ceremony to the peak.
"Hand in Hand" was written by American lyricist Tom Whitelock, composed by Italian composer Giorgio Moroder, sung by The Korean group Koreana, and promoted by the multinational record company Polygram, which greatly explains the connotation of the word "fusion". With its touching lyrics and intimate melody, this song quickly swept the world.
In today's parlance, "Hand in Hand" was the "blockbuster divine comedy" of that era, and the popularity was even praised by the International Olympic Committee - samaranch, then president of the International Olympic Committee, considered it the most successful Olympic theme song, and even considered it a permanent anthem.
Compared with the Los Angeles Olympics, with the popularity of television sets, the Chinese audience watching the Seoul Olympics has increased several times more than before. Through television, the touching lyrics and intimate melody of "Hand in Hand" have made countless Chinese more aware of the symbol of peace conveyed by the Olympic Games.
The theme song of the Olympic Games has also become the most widely circulated and well-known Olympic theme song in China after the theme song of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, "Welcome to Beijing".
06
1992: The burning ceremony of the holy flame in one arrow
The ceremony of lighting the flame varies from Olympic Games to Olympic Games, but the ignition ceremony at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games was undoubtedly one of the most amazing ceremonies in the world.
Source: YouTube Olympic Channel
During the lighting of the Olympic flame, Antonio Rebollo, a 37-year-old Barcelona archery medalist at the 1984 and 1988 Paralympic Games, completed a feat. Suffering from polio, he slowly stood up from his wheelchair, took the torch on the torch with an arrow, and shot the flame out with a bow and arrow 70 meters from the main torch platform, accompanied by a graceful arc, and the Olympic flame of the 21-meter-high torch platform was lit. It is said that in order to prevent mistakes during the performance, he practiced this movement no less than 2,000 times.
07
1992: The Great African Unity in Barcelona
In the Olympic Games, there is no distinction between skin color.
In the women's 10,000m race at the Mozusi Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Derartu Tulu, a 20-year-old Ethiopian girl, followed closely behind the white South African meyer who ran ahead. On the last lap, Tulu began to accelerate and, 30 meters from the finish line, overtook Meyer to cross the finish line first.
It was the first Olympic Games in South Africa to participate in after the abolition of apartheid. After the race, Tulu and Meyer held hands and ran to greet the audience, symbolizing the great unity of African races.
In Ethiopia at that time, men ruled society, and women's status was not high. Tulu said that when she first started practicing long-distance running, she had to run in a long skirt. After Tulu became the first African female athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Olympics, she became the pride of African women.
08
1996: Hong Kong, China women's windsurfer Li Lishan wins the championship
In Hong Kong, which is born by the sea and thrives on the sea, windsurfing is the most prestigious. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Hong Kong' Li Lishan won the gold medal in the women's windsurfing competition, becoming Hong Kong's first and only Olympic gold medal, and the first gold medal won by Chinese in this event.
After Li Lishan won the championship, it caused a sensation in Hong Kong, and learning to surf became a popular sports activity in Hong Kong at that time.
Later, at the Paralympic Games, Hong Kong athletes Zhang Yaoxiang and Zhao Zhongfu won two gold medals. After winning three gold medals in a year, the then Hong Kong Metro Corporation reached an agreement with the Hong Kong Association and The Olympic Committee to name a subway station under construction as the "Olympic Station" on December 16 of that year, and the platform was decorated with pictures of various sports competitions to encourage Hong Kong athletes to achieve better results.
09
2000: The Inter-Korean Communists raise the Korean Peninsula flag and enter the venue
The last Olympic Games of the 20th century, the biggest focus was on the opening ceremony.
Under the attention of 110,000 spectators and the world, the athletes of the two Koreas wore uniform black suits and white pants for the first time, and the representatives of the athletes of the two countries - North Korean men's judo coach Park Chung-chol and South Korean women's basketball player Jeong Yin-soon - jointly raised the "Korean Peninsula Flag", and the background music replaced the national anthem of the two countries with the folk song "Arirang".
This is not the first time that the two Koreas have raised the Korean Peninsula flag to participate in international competitions. In 1991, at the 41st World Table Tennis Championships held in Chiba, Japan, athletes from the two Koreas formed a joint team to raise the "Korean Peninsula Flag" for the first time, and finally won the women's team championship.
After that, the two Koreas jointly raised the Korean Peninsula flag at several international stadiums. Most recently, at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, delegations from the two Koreas, dressed in white blazers, walked into the opening ceremony venue, culminating in cheers.
The feelings of the same people should not be separated by military dividing lines. We say that sport is great because it is the most powerful instrument of peace for the removal of all barriers and isolation.
10
2004: "Chinese Flying Man" Liu Xiang
Phoenix Network once reported on the impact of Liu Xiang: "The moment Liu Xiang jumped on the podium wearing the national flag is the most beautiful memory of the people. ”
Indeed, for countless Chinese, August 28, 2004 at 2:40 a.m. Beijing time, the Olympic Stadium in Athens, is a day worth remembering.
China's Liu Xiang broke the world record in the men's 110m hurdles final to win the gold medal in 12.91 seconds.
Liu Xiang in that era became an idol in the minds of many post-90s generations. The mathematician carefully cut out Liu Xiang's news picture from the newspaper and pasted it on his desk, staring at Liu Xiang in the TV screen without turning his eyes. His deeds were written into textbooks, and he was the "star" in the minds of the young people of that era; more precisely, the "national hero" of that era.
Even if some people feel sorry for Liu Xiang's retirement from the competition due to injury in 2008, even "incomprehensible", in the minds of more people, Liu Xiang is a great sports participant and a great cultural communicator: he let the world understand that more sports miracles are created by more Chinese.
11
2008: Opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games
Wenchuan earthquake small hero Lin Hao
Entered with Yao Ming, the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation
The most touching picture of China in 2008 was the most cute height difference in the Olympic entrance ceremony.
When the Chinese delegation entered, Yao Ming walked at the front of the line, and that moment made the audience excited. The little boy waving the five-star red flag next to Yao Ming, the little hero Lin Hao, who bravely saved people in the Wenchuan earthquake, appeared with clearly visible scars and became the youngest "flag bearer" in the history of the Olympic Games. The giant and the little dot appeared at the front of the line at the same time, which made countless Chinese in and in front of the TV set excited and moved.
Image source: Visual China
Thirteen years later, when we look back at this tear-jerking scene, we find out how many hot searches we owe to the Beijing Olympics.
12
2008: Beyond the embrace of war
On the opening day of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Russia and Georgia fought each other over South Ossetia, a move that ran counter to the spirit of the armistice that had been followed during the Games.
But in the Olympic arena, the friendship between the athletes of the two countries was not divided by war.
On August 10, 2008, in the women's 10m air pistol final, Russia's Natalia Pajelina and Georgian veteran Nino Salukvadze won silver and bronze medals respectively. At the award ceremony after the competition, Salukwadze and Pajelina shook hands with each other. Then, she simply walked over to Pajelina and kissed Pajelina on the cheek, and the two embraced each other to greet the audience.
Source: AP
In a later interview with reporters, the two said that "sports have nothing to do with politics" and did not want others to involve them in political issues. "We all live in the 21st century, a rational century, and there should be no such conflicts at all, and politicians should resolve those issues by peaceful means."
13
2012/2016: A romantic run spanning four years
At the 2012 London Olympics, Qin Kai was overtaken by Russian athletes in the final jump of the men's 3m board, missing the gold medal. He wept bitterly by the plunge pool. At this time, He Zi came over and embraced Qin Kai at the most painful moment, which became a classic scene of that year.
Four years later, at the Rio Olympics, at the podium of the women's diving 3-meter board competition, He Zi once again won the silver medal in this event. After the award ceremony, Qin Kai, an Olympic champion who has been in love with He Zi for 6 years and has just announced his retirement, entered the stadium with gifts. Under the witness of the entire audience, Qin Kai knelt on one knee, took out the prepared diamond ring, and proposed to He Zi.
This sudden scene caught He Zi off guard. Subsequently, Surrounded by the live camera and the audience, He Zi agreed to Qin Kai's marriage proposal and put the ring on her hand. The audience also cheered and blessed the couple.
Four years ago, Qin Kai regretted losing gold, and He Zi sent a big hug outside the field to warm the frustrated Qin Kai; and four years later, Qin Kai warmly returned to his girlfriend by proposing marriage.
14
2016: Fu Yuanhui's "Power of the Flood"
Swimmer Fu Yuanhui was not on the list of Chinese swimming teams for the Tokyo Olympics released in July.
Although they did not have the opportunity to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, the magic answer in an interview five years ago made many viewers who did not pay attention to sports events know the naïve and lively female backstroke swimmer who broke the national record.
"58 seconds 95? yes? Am I swimming so fast? I am satisfied!! ”
"No reservations, I have—I have—used the power of the flood!"
Every frame of the interview was cut off by netizens one by one and became a meme that was popular at that time.
Her frankness has also spread around the world with the live camera of the Olympic Games, and even foreigners are willing to hold her in their hands. "The American Olympic athletes are praised enough, but we have left a special position for China's Fu Yuanhui in our hearts." American fashion blog The Cut wrote that Fu Yuanhui "has become America's most beloved Olympian."
15
2016: "Gymnastics Grandma" Chusovykina
Greetings to the audience after completing the preliminary round for the women's balance beam event
At the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games, the sharp-eyed spectators found uzbekistan's flag bearer, the world-known "gymnastics grandmother" - Chusovkina. At the Rio Olympics five years ago, the moment she greeted the audience after completing the preliminary round of the women's balance beam event touched the world.
In 2002, Chusovykina's only son, Arish, was diagnosed with leukemia. After that, Chusovkina had to compete in gymnastics for a long time. In order to cure her son's leukemia, she moved her family to Cologne, Germany, and won a silver medal for Germany at the Beijing Olympic Games, exchanging her achievements for a prize money for her son's treatment.
From 1992 to 2021, for eight consecutive Olympic Games, Chusovkina has not missed a single time. Although she didn't get a good result every time, she said: "I love gymnastics. I'm proud of what I've accomplished in this sport and I want to thank everyone who has participated in the sport. ”
Now his son has recovered and is studying at university in Italy. The strong mother said in an interview with reporters that the Tokyo Olympics will be her farewell battle. "When I retire, I will spend time with my son."
16
2016: Fiji, a small country with a population of 900,000
Won the first Olympic gold medal in history
Rugby has always been considered an exclusive sport in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. But at the 2016 Rio Olympics, that inertia was shattered by Fiji, a small country of just over 900,000 people.
In the rugby sevens final of the day, Fiji won the gold medal in the event by a 43:7 margin. It was the first Olympic medal in Fiji's history and the first Olympic gold medal to change history.
On the day of the final, almost all Fijians stood in front of the TV set to witness this historic moment. After the team's victory, the whole country waved the Fijian flag and shouted "Fiji" to enjoy the glory and unparalleled joy. After winning the championship, the President of Fiji announced that August 22 of that year would be designated as a national holiday, so that the people of the country could share this moment of honor.
Fiji's rugby is very developed, especially in the seven-a-side rugby event, Fiji is a "strong team". But compared to strong rugby teams such as Australia and New Zealand, Fiji's rugby team is not made up of professional players – some are officers, some are prison guards, some are hotel waiters, some are sugar cane farmers, and even unemployed homeless people who can't find jobs.
Before that, it was difficult for fijian rugby teams to have too many breakthroughs at the competitive level, and coupled with difficulties in team management, it was difficult to establish a foothold in international competitions. It wasn't until The arrival of British coach Ben Lane that things changed dramatically.
In order to commemorate this national celebration, the Fiji government announced the issuance of 2 million 7 yuan banknotes to remember this historical event in the form of the national currency.
17
2021: A different kind of first gold
Because of the schedule, whether it is the first gold medal in the history of the Chinese Olympic Games or the first gold of each Olympic Games, it is basically in the shooting event, and this year is no exception.
In the just-concluded shooting women's 10m air rifle competition, China's Yang Qian played calmly and shot the first gold of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. This young girl born in 2000, is still a student at Tsinghua University, and a careful audience found in the broadcast footage that the post-00s athlete kept a beautiful nail art, and on the podium, she also put her hands on the top of her head and made a heart-to-heart movement to everyone. More and more people are willing to accept such an athlete "persona": first a young man with a personality, and then an athlete with a heavy responsibility.
Compared with their predecessors, this generation of athletes has maintained a more free personality and a more relaxed mentality on and off the field, and countless Chinese people in front of the screen have maintained an increasingly peaceful attitude towards sports and the Olympic Games.
Looking back on the past Olympic history, this calmness comes from self-confidence, which is not only the confidence of athletes, but also the confidence of the national mentality. Confidence from the inside out can help everyone on and off the field to better enjoy the charm of sports.
1. The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, forever God! Visual Chronicles. 2021-7-23
2.13 years later, it turns out that we owe so many hot searches for the Beijing Olympic Games. Nanfang Daily. 2021-7-22
3. Qin Kai He Zi| I am willing to say I love you in front of the whole world. Beijing News. 2019-2-14
4. Fiji has launched a new version of the banknote, with a face value of 7 yuan. Wait a minute... $7 note?? This is New Zealand. 2017-4-26
5. He was ostracized by the British and left in anger. 3 years later, he swept everything with this team of prison guards and farmers! British stuff. 2016-8-1
6. The Russian athletes passionately embrace the Olympic Games to let the war go away. China Youth Daily. 2008-8-11
✎ Author | Lianghao Cao Jili
✎ Proofreading | Sunny
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