Oriental Network Longitudinal News Reporter Bian Yinghao
Yesterday (July 17), Beijing time, the Chinese sports delegation announced that women's volleyball player Zhu Ting and taekwondo athlete Zhao Shuai served as the standard-bearers of the Chinese sports delegation at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
What are the unique charms and influences of "Double Flag Bearers" Zhu Ting and Zhao Shuai? What are the characteristics of the previous standard-bearers in the history of the Chinese Olympic Games? What are the distinctive flag bearers in the history of various countries? Oriental Network Longitudinal News Reporter takes stock for you.
"Ting" stands tall, "handsome" heroic
In order to reflect gender equality at the Tokyo Olympics, the IOC for the first time required each participating country or region to send a male and female flag bearer to participate in the opening ceremony.
Under this unprecedented regulation, Zhu Ting and Zhao Shuai's "double flag bearers" also created many records in the history of the Chinese Olympic Games.
Women's volleyball national player Zhu Ting became the first female standard-bearer in the history of The Chinese Summer Olympics. Since returning to the Summer Olympics in 1984, the flag bearers of the Chinese Summer Olympics delegation have been men without exception. Zhu Ting will also be compared to Yang Yang, the flag bearer of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, and Zhou Yang, the flag bearer of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming the female standard-bearer recorded in the annals of China's Olympic history.
In fact, even without the special regulations of the Olympic Committee, Zhu Ting is also the standard-bearer of the "Chinese Legion" in this Olympic Games. The world's premier volleyball attacker, the absolute "altitude" of 1 meter 98, the "golden signboard" of the four words of the Chinese women's volleyball team, the identity of the defending olympic champion, Zhu Ting even has the title of the 2019 National March 8th Red Flag Bearer, which makes Zhu Ting's election almost suspenseful.
For the flag bearer Zhu Ting, people have reason to have more expectations. Just before Zhu Ting, the best result of the standard-bearers of the Previous Chinese Delegation in the Olympic Games was only 8th. Whether the "Ting Team" with great achievements can break this fate and whether the Chinese women's volleyball team can achieve good results is also worthy of attention.
And Zhao Shuai, another flag bearer of the Chinese delegation, who has outstanding "appearance", also has a tall figure of 1 meter 88. However, because his "predecessors" are mostly men's basketball players, Zhao Shuai has become the shortest flag bearer in the history of the Chinese Olympic Games.
But it's clear that an athlete's achievement is never measured by height. Although the height is not as good as the predecessors, Zhao Shuai's "starlight" will not be dimmed. As the defending champion of the Olympic Taekwondo Men's 58 kg Class, Zhao Shuai successfully achieved the "zero breakthrough" of the Olympic gold medal in the Chinese men's taekwondo event, and is the current leader of Chinese taekwondo.
It is worth mentioning that before the Olympic Games, Zhao Shuai had already served as the standard-bearer of the Chinese delegation to the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Re-elected as the standard-bearer of the Summer Olympic Games, Zhao Shuai is also well-deserved.
In addition, before the announcement of the list of flag bearers, another defending Olympic champion, "National Ball" male table tennis captain Ma Long, was also a highly called male flag bearer candidate. However, although the "Dragon Team" also has a "good image and good temperament", due to the height limitation, his appearance of entering side by side with Zhu Ting, who is as high as 1 meter 98, is slightly inferior to Zhao Shuai.
More importantly, men's table tennis has a related competition the day after the opening ceremony. The Chinese delegation mentioned in its official statement that the selection of the flag bearer comprehensively considered the "schedule arrangement". Perhaps, a big reason for not choosing Malone was precisely because of the consideration of preparation.
Previous Chinese flag bearers: achievements and temperament fly together, and the appearance is one color
In 1984, China returned to the Summer Olympics. At that Los Angeles Olympic Games, Wang Libin, a 21-year-old men's basketball national player with a height of 2 meters 01, served as the flag bearer, and he became the first flag bearer in the history of the New China Olympic Games. At that time, the fledgling Wang Libin had been named the best center in Asia. And he is also known as the "first handsome guy of the men's basketball team".
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation was Song Tao, the national player of the men's basketball team. Interestingly, after Song Tao learned of his election, Xu Yinsheng, then deputy head of the Chinese delegation, reminded him that "protecting the flag for the country" must pay attention to the image. Song Tao went to buy contact lenses and straightened his hair.
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, another men's basketball player, Song Ligang, served as the standard-bearer of the Chinese delegation. Song Ligang, who excels in bouncing, was previously a high jumper. He has twice represented the Chinese men's basketball team in the Olympic Games. The Olympic flag bearer has also twice covered the "hat" of David Robinson, a famous american men's basketball player, at the Olympic Games.
The standard-bearer of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics was the famous "God of War" Liu Yudong. Liu Yudong, who was born in the "Bayi Team", had an outstanding image, and his tough guy temperament made him the best candidate for the standard-bearer at that time. Liu Yudong also lived up to expectations, with excellent performance, he led the men's basketball team "Golden Generation" to enter the Olympic Final Eight for the first time in history.
Yao Ming, a well-deserved figure in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team, served as the standard-bearer of the Chinese delegation at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He is also another player who has served as the standard-bearer for two consecutive terms after Liu Yudong. Yao Ming once ridiculed himself, "When I was a child, I didn't become a flag raiser, and I didn't expect to realize my dream in the Olympics." ”
It is worth mentioning that at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as the "host", Yao Ming, the highest standard-bearer in the history of the Olympic Games, held high the five-star red flag and walked in the front of the team with Lin Hao, the "little hero of the earthquake", which became a classic picture that will forever be recorded in history.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Yi Jianlian carried the banner of the Chinese delegation. Different from the past, Yi Jianlian has a lot of "competitors" around him, whether it is badminton "King" Lin Dan or tennis "first sister" Li Na are quite powerful. But Yi Jianlian finally stood out and continued the tradition of the men's basketball team.
Four years later, at the Rio Olympics, fencer Thunder finally broke the "monopoly" of the men's basketball team. The leader of the Chinese men's foil, with his historic championship record and his height of 1 meter 93, which is not inferior to that of the men's basketball player, eventually became the first non-men's basketball standard-bearer in the history of the Chinese Olympic Games.
Take stock of these iconic standard-bearers in Olympic history
As an important image "window" of a country, the Olympic flag bearer has always been the focus of global attention. In addition to outstanding achievements and outstanding images, many Olympic flag bearers have the characteristics of "difficult to get out of their right".
The most personal: "shirtless" indigenous flag bearers
At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Pitta Tauffatofa appeared at the opening ceremony as the flag bearer of the Tonga team. At the appearance ceremony, Pita was shirtless and coated with coconut oil, and the lower body wore a traditional Tongan dance dress, a toned muscle group and indigenous costumes, which amazed the world.
What's even more interesting is that Pitta is an all-round athlete, not only a taekwondo player at the Summer Olympics, but even qualified for the Winter Olympics cross-country skiing competition. The "male model" athlete of this Pacific island country is a rare winter and summer "double repair" athlete in the history of the Olympic Games.
At this Tokyo Olympics, Pita has been selected again, and we seem to have reason to look forward to whether he can bring another kind of excitement to the world as a standard-bearer.
The most legendary: the Olympic standard-bearer who represented the "Three Kingdoms"
It is a supreme honor to have served as the standard-bearer of the Olympic Games three times, but it is difficult to have a second person who has represented different "countries" three times.
Russia's "first wrestling man" Karelin, whose sports career has won three Olympic gold medals, and has appeared on the Olympic stage three times as a standard-bearer. The identity of these three standard-bearers represents the Countries of the Soviet Union, the CIS and Russia.
Known as the "Siberian Bear", Karelin was born with a weight of 13 and a half pounds, with an impressive skeleton and outstanding strength, and in his brilliant career, he played only 2 of the 889 games in all competitions. The first defeat was at a young age, losing to a cross-level teammate. The second defeat was due to a change in the rules, and the 0.1 point difference was lost to the American players.
Most Friendship: North-South Korea Joint Flag Bearer
At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, North Korean judo coach Park Chung-chul and South Korean women's basketball player Jeong Yin-soon held the "Korean Peninsula Flag" as co-flag bearers. This scene became the most classic scene in the history of the Olympic Games. The two flag bearers officially set a precedent for the joint admission of inter-Korean sports delegations at the opening and closing ceremonies of major international games.
Under the attention of 110,000 spectators and the world, athletes from the two Koreas entered the arena wearing uniform black suits and white pants. The "United Flag Bearer" also fully interpreted the Olympic spirit of "one world, one dream" to the world.
Hottest and least popular: athletics standard-bearers and football standard-bearers
Basketball players have become popular candidates for flag bearers with conditions such as their natural height advantage. But in addition, many countries around the world also have unique "preferences".
Track and field athletes are among the hottest standard-bearer candidates for recent Olympic Games. For example, at the rio Olympics, 58 of the 207 Olympic flag bearers came from athletics. Athletics, known as the "mother of sports", has unique advantages in terms of speed, strength and its unique competitiveness.
Tennis is known in the West as the "sport of gentlemen", and tennis players with good physique and good looks have become regulars of Olympic standard-bearers in various countries. Although the absolute number may not be as good as athletics and swimming, including Sharapova, Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and other famous tennis players, in terms of international influence, they are not inferior to other sports.
In addition, in recent years, projects such as swimming and judo have also been "highly productive" for flag bearers. But football, as the "king of sport", rarely contributes to the Olympic standard-bearers. The world's most famous football kingdoms, such as Brazil, prefer volleyball and judo players. In 2008, football star Messi participated in the Beijing Olympics, but the Argentine Olympic standard-bearer that year was basketball star Ginobili.