In 1988, Zou Chunlan won three gold medals in the 44 kg category of snatchlift, deadlift and total results in one fell swoop, of which the deadlift and total result also broke the world record. And Zou Chunlan also became famous and became a legend in the sports world. It's just that Zou Chunlan didn't even want to realize that this was actually the biggest highlight moment of her life. Soon, her national champion would be reduced to a bather. What's going on here? What is her current situation?
Zou Chunlan was born in 1971 in Shancheng Town, Meihekou City, Jilin Province. Because he lived in the countryside, he always had a lot of strength, and when he was in junior high school, he lifted 90 pounds when he first touched the barbell. The teacher felt that she was a good seedling, so he focused on cultivating her.
In 1985, Zou Chunlan participated in the first "Wave Cup" women's weightlifting championship in China, and she won the deadlift championship. In 1987, Zou Chunlan was sent to the Jilin Provincial First Sports Team and officially became a weightlifter.
In fact, judging from Zou Chunlan's sports career, she is still relatively lucky. After joining the provincial sports team, she only trained hard for a few months, and then participated in the national weightlifting championship under the arrangement of her coach. In the end, Zou Chunlan won the second place in the snatch and the first place in the deadlift.
After winning two medals of one gold and one silver, she became the youngest and most promising athlete in the provincial sports team, and the coach looked at her differently, often making corresponding training plans for her individually to help her gain stronger physical strength and strength.
Of course, practicing weightlifting itself is a very hard training, and Zou Chunlan's daily exercise intensity is very large. However, the gold and silver medals she won gave her great confidence, so she obeyed the words of the coach.
In 1988, Zou Chunlan once again participated in the National Weightlifting Championships and played at a very high level on the field, winning 3 gold medals in snatch, deadlift and total results with absolute superiority, of which the deadlift and total result broke the world record. Zou Chunlan has also received countless flowers and applause and has become a legend in the sports world.
In 1990, Zou Chunlan participated in the National Weightlifting Championship for the third time and won the 48 kg snatch championship again, while she also broke the national record of 48 kg and became a sports star in the public eye again.
However, due to the fierce training, Zou Chunlan's body fell into large and small injuries, so at the 7th National Games in 1993, the injury affected her normal performance and failed to achieve better results, which became the only time she failed to win a medal.
It can be said that when an athlete has a lot of injuries around her, her athletic performance will also plummet. In this case, Zou Chunlan, who has won more than 20 championships in his lifetime (from 1987 to 1993, 9 championships in 6 years, including 5 national championships; plus the national championship won in 1985, a total of 6 national championships), had to choose to retire.
Originally, according to the relevant regulations, the provincial sports team either recommended Zou Chunlan to go to school, or helped Zou Chunlan solve work problems. Of course, there is also a way, that is, the sports team is equivalent to a buyout, paying her a sum of money and then letting her fend for herself.
Because Zou Chunlan was busy training, she put down her books early after she entered the sports team. She is only a junior high school education, and it is obvious that it is not easy to think outside to make a living. Therefore, the sports team arranged For Zou Chunlan to work in the canteen and let her wait for the opportunity while working there.
Zou Chunlan worked in the canteen for 7 years. During this long time, she could only receive a meager salary, and that little salary was not enough to pay for her to run the hospital every month due to injury and illness. In desperation, Zou Chunlan could only take the 75,000 injury compensation fees compensated by the provincial sports team for a one-time compensation, leaving the place where she had lived and trained for 13 years, and began the arduous road of making a living for herself.
At first, Zou Chunlan contracted a small chicken farm. However, she did not have the skills and experience, so the chicken farm was soon out of business. Later she went to the street kebabs, but the business was very deserted. And most of her 75,000 injury allowances were spent on medical treatment. As a result, she was soon stretched thin and her life was almost out of reach.
Fortunately, Zou Chunlan is very able to endure hardships. In order to survive, she went to the construction site to move bricks and did chores for people, but these jobs were not long-term solutions. With no diploma and no special skills, it is difficult for her to find a slightly more stable job. Therefore, for a long time, she not only had a difficult life, but also was very anxious because of the delay in finding a job.
When Zou Chunlan was at her most difficult, she met a monk named Zhou Shaocheng. Zhou Shaocheng sympathized with her suffering and has always taken good care of her, and the two have established a relationship.
At that time, Zhou Shaocheng was burning a boiler for a bathhouse, and he saw that Zou Chunlan could not find a suitable job, so he told Zou Chunlan that the bathhouse was recruiting bathers, and if you wanted to come.
In this way, Zou Chunlan started a bather. Being a bather is also a hard job, and she can get a commission of 1.5 yuan for serving a person. If you want to earn a high income, you have to constantly give people a bath. One day, she was busy from morning to night, serving more than 50 customers, and she made 75 yuan.
Being a bather is not only strong, but sometimes you have to be angry when you encounter that kind of tricky guest. But no matter how hard it was, as long as she could survive, Zou Chunlan endured it.
At night, Zou Chunlan dragged her tired body home, looked at the gold medal on the table, and felt that the scene when she had won the championship was like a dream. In addition to the emotion, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
On this day, Zou Chunlan gave a female guest a bath. The female guest stared at her for half a day and suddenly asked her if she was the weightlifting champion Zou Chunlan? Although Zou Chunlan was slightly embarrassed, she still admitted it. The female guest sighed and said with some feeling that she did not expect the national weightlifting champion to rub her back.
Soon, the news that the national weightlifting champion had become a bather spread out. Some reporters also heard the wind and reported on Zou Chunlan. In this way, the people of the whole country learned of Zou Chunlan's recent situation. Thinking that the weightlifting champion who won glory for the country had become a bather, everyone was very sorry for her.
Some companies have also thrown olive branches to Zou Chunlan and wanted to arrange jobs for her. But Zou Chunlan was well aware of her abilities, so she declined invitations from those companies.
In addition, Zou Chunlan's experience also alarmed the Women's Federation and the Sports Bureau, and the two units decided to help her start a business after consultation, which not only solved her work problems, but also earned more money to improve her life through entrepreneurship.
Soon, the Women's Federation and the Sports Bureau opened a dry cleaning shop for Zou Chunlan, although Zou Chunlan did not do business and did not understand the doorway of the dry cleaning shop, she was very studious and had the guidance of relevant industry personnel, so Zou Chunlan quickly did it smoothly.
Of course, when Zou Chunlan runs a dry cleaning shop, she also pays special attention to word of mouth, and she has to personally check the clothes that others bring to dry cleaning, mark those places with stains, and then tell the laundress to wash them clean. Sometimes there was no clean clothes, and she would wash them herself.
Zou Chunlan said that others came to wash clothes, one was for her to be a weightlifting champion, and the other was also because her clothes were washed clean, so she could not be sloppy.
It is Zou Chunlan's seriousness and meticulousness that makes the reputation of the dry cleaner getting better and better, and the business is getting smoother and smoother.
In 2008, Zou Chunlan was also named an influential Figure of the Chinese Women's Era at home and abroad because of her business ethics. The following year, she was named a model of female entrepreneurship in Jilin Province.
Now Zou Chunlan has opened several dry cleaning shops, and her life is getting better and better. For the current situation, Zou Chunlan is very satisfied, and she feels that she should also help more people in need like everyone helped her in the beginning. For example, after the Wenchuan earthquake, she donated two months' income to the disaster area. He also often goes to orphan schools to donate money and materials.
Zou Chunlan also takes special care of laid-off workers, as long as she comes to her shop to find a job, she has never refused to come, in addition, she has also trained a number of disabled college students to learn laundry skills for free, so that they have mastered a skill.
For her to have today's achievements, Zou Chunlan is very happy. She said in an interview with reporters that in fact, there are many retired athletes like her back then, because they do not have a skill and no diploma, it is difficult to gain a foothold in society, and I hope that the state can pay more attention to and help those retired athletes.
Of course, retired athletes should also not wait, take the initiative to face the society, and bravely start a business. After all, no athlete can become a champion without hard training. Since the hardships of training can be eaten, why can't we temper themselves in the hardships of life and continue to be the champions of life!