On August 19, on the 11th day of his return to Beijing from Tokyo, Wu Zhiqiang was interviewed by a reporter from Hubei Daily. Although he had just finished his Olympic journey, he did not relax himself, "In order to maintain my physical fitness during the quarantine period, I ran on the mini treadmill in the room every day and cooperated with strength training. ”
In the men's 100m relay final at the Tokyo Olympics, Wu Zhiqiang was the last baton for the Chinese team to shoulder the heavy responsibility of sprinting. He became the first Hubei athleticsman to stand on the Olympic final track and finished fourth with a national record, and Su Bingtian praised him after the game. In the past five years, he has changed from the first baton of the Chinese men's relay team to the last baton, which can be called a strength bearer. As the first person in hubei sprint olympics, what kind of tempering has Wu Zhiqiang experienced?
When I was in middle school, I dreamed of participating in the Olympic Games
Wu Zhiqiang, a Mongolian, grew up chasing sheep and horses in the steppe, running freely, and breaking the school's record of 100 meters for men who had been sealed for many years when he was in middle school. At the time, his dream was to compete in the Olympics. In 2011, Wu Zhiqiang was admitted to Beijing Sport University under Zhou Wei, who had set a national record for men's 100 meters, and entered the Hubei team in the same year.
After that, Wu Zhiqiang continued to refresh his personal best - running 10.24 seconds in 2017, and formed the Chinese men's 100-meter relay team with Su Bingtian, Xie Zhenye and Zhang Peimeng to play the first baton; in the 2019 season, he opened 10.20 seconds three times and raised the best time to 10.17 seconds, becoming the third active Chinese player to open 10.20 seconds after Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye.
"Su Bingtian is my role model!"
Sprinting to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics was the toughest day of his athletic career.
In March 2020, Wu Zhiqiang returned to China after finishing his external training, joined Su Bingtian's training group, and experienced unprecedented devil training in winter training. He said that the tiredness is difficult to describe in words, and the only thing that can be said is that after practicing every day, his legs are so sore that he wants to cut them off, but even if he practices until he vomits, he will continue to run. "I threw up because I ate late for breakfast, and if I ate and digested early, I would only vomit." Wu Zhiqiang, who is accustomed to finding reasons from himself, said with a smile, and he immediately said, "The eldest brother (Su Bingtian) is a role model, he is insisting, I have no reason to give up." ”
We have had a tough 2020 and are getting closer and closer to the Olympics. Wu Zhiqiang, who has been training in Shenzhen, is not accustomed to the humid and hot weather in the south, coupled with greater pressure, he suffers from insomnia, which affects the training effect and competition results. However, Wu Zhiqiang, who did not accept defeat, overcame many difficulties with the help of coaches, team doctors and teammates.
On June 11 this year, Wu Zhiqiang ran 10.23 seconds in the National Athletics Championships and Tokyo Olympic Trials, setting a season best. He issued a military order: "Believe me, I will slowly get back to my state, and I will definitely be able to open for another 10 seconds and 20 seconds." Half a month later, he delivered on his promise to set a new personal best in 10.11 seconds at the National Athletics Championships and qualified for the 100m event at the Tokyo Olympics.
"Future Goal 10.05"
He Lusheng, director of the Athletics Center of our province, introduced that the 100 meters is the highlight of the athletics field and is regarded as the jewel in the crown, and Wu Zhiqiang stepped on the Olympic 100 meters field and achieved a breakthrough of zero in the history of Hubei athletics. At the Tokyo Olympics, he lived up to expectations and won the fourth place in the men's 100-meter relay with his teammates, equaling the best result of the Chinese team in the Olympic Games.
Back on the evening of August 3, at the New National Stadium in Tokyo, Wu Zhiqiang took the baton from Su Bingtian's hand and rushed to the finish line with all his strength, leaving the Jamaican team, the former master of the king, behind. When he was 16 years old, Wu Zhiqiang shouted out loud words when he first saw Lao Yi and Su Bingtian, I want to fight with two big brothers, I will definitely win. Now, he has taken over the baton from Su Bingtian's hands and fought side by side with Big Brother, in a sense, realizing the words he once said.
For the future, the 27-year-old Wu Zhiqiang still has something to look forward to: "Solve the acceleration of 30 meters before the start and improve his personal best to 10.05 seconds." And receiving the podium in Paris three years later was also buried in his heart.
(Hubei Daily full media reporter Ma Mingyu)