Since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, those who challenged the marathon program have been called "true warriors." On October 26, 2021, 47 true warriors who came to the ancient city to participate in the Paralympic Special Olympics athletics competition chased after each other on the banks of the Wei River, and this unique marathon showed the world the fearless spirit of Chinese disabled athletes overcoming difficulties and persevering, compared with the able-bodied marathon runners, they added a square number in the upper right corner of the word "courage".
Plug in the "wings" and soar in the drizzle
Since the beginning of autumn, the sky of the ancient city has often drifted fine rain, and the same is true on the morning of the 26th. "When it rains, we have to put special anti-slip glue on the wheels of each wheelchair racer participating in the 'car', and the recent Tokyo Paralympic Marathon, the rain was heavier than today, and we have accumulated experience. You know, this kind of racing wheelchair worth more than 100,000 yuan is like the wings of the players, if you want to soar on the track, you must carefully take care of the 'wings'. Tian Yuchuan, coach of the national wheelchair racing team, introduced.
Fighting on rainy days is a common occurrence for Zou Lihong, a 37-year-old gold medalist in the Rio Paralympic Women's T54 Marathon, "In addition to taking care of the wheelchair, I also have to do anti-slip treatment for special gloves. After winning the gold medal in the T54 class of the Women's Special Olympics Marathon with a time of 1 hour, 43 minutes and 39 seconds, Zou Lihong introduced with a smile. However, when she took off her gloves, the two large blisters on her left hand that had long been worn out began to bleed. The reason why wheelchair racing is fast, the special hard gloves on the thumb and index finger are very critical, and the players need to use this 3D printing material or rubber material to drive the wheelchair with hard shell gloves suitable for the shape of the fingers, and the strength of the whole body is pressed on the fingers, so the hands are most vulnerable to injury. "This time I started to accelerate from the turning point, and it just so happened that the rain stopped. I am very happy to win the championship in Xi'an! Zou Lihong said that seeing so many young players grow up rapidly, it may be time for her to retire after the old injury is difficult to heal and the peak period has passed.
Tian Yajuan, a rookie of the Shanghai team who participated in the competition for the first time and won the fifth place in the T54 class, said frankly: "Sister Hong usually lives in the same dormitory as me, and whenever I am tired, tired, and want to give up, she will enlighten me, encourage me, and pass on to me the training and competition experience accumulated over the years." I know better than anyone about her love for sports, so I believe that even if Sister Hong chooses to retire, she will soon return to the training ground in another capacity, and her words and deeds are the source of motivation for our young people to challenge the wheelchair marathon project and fly high on the track! ”
Indomitable Show tenacity
The Special Olympics Athletics Marathon is divided into 8 categories: wheelchair (male/female), vision (male/female), hearing (male/female) and limb (male/female). Compared with the wheelchair group of "human chair in one, soaring and soaring", the competitions in the vision group, hearing group and limb group also showed the indomitable quality and tenacious fighting spirit of the participating warriors.
"It's past the finish line, don't run any further!" At the end of the men's T12 race in the vision group, Shaanxi's Wang Yanlong still did not slow down after crossing the finish line, until the referees and volunteers at the scene loudly reminded him that the game was over. "I'm in a particularly good state today, and I know that I'm in front of us, the strongest Gansu player in this group, satisfied, so I chased him all the way." Just when I was about to reach the finish line, I suddenly felt that he was 'gone', so I buried my head and tried to catch up, not realizing that the race was over. Although he failed to complete the overtaking, Wang Yanlong still won the silver medal with a time of 2 hours 32 minutes and 58 seconds, only 1 minute and 01 seconds slower than the champion Wang Satisfied.
The Tibetan boy of the Qinghai team, Dorje, is only 22 years old this year, but it is already the third time to participate in the Paralympic Special Olympics Hearing Group Full Marathon, and like the previous competition, Dorje let him accidentally injured in the middle of the race, and unlike the last time he chose to retire, he stubbornly ran the whole way with his injured leg. When the young man struggled to cross the finish line, the results and rankings were no longer important, and his excellent interpretation of the marathon spirit of "challenging himself and never giving up" won him flowers and applause. When people asked him to "talk" about how he felt about finishing the game, Dorje asked him to give the bouquet in his hand to the volunteers and then tell everyone in sign language - light up the dream, set sail for love.
"Shaanxi" is now shining, and the "perfect track" has appeared as promised
In this marathon, the Shaanxi runners who played at home performed well, in addition to Wang Yanlong, who won the silver medal, Li Lindong won the gold medal in the men's hearing group with a good performance of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds, and in the limb group women's T54 level competition, the wheelchair racing female general Nan Yuyu won a valuable bronze medal, in addition, the national team runner Dai Yunqiang won the fifth place in the limb group men's T54 level competition. 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, plus a fifth place, the Shaanxi Legion can be described as a fruitful harvest in this competition, and "Shaanxi" is now shining.
In fact, Zhang Yong, who won the gold medal in the men's T54 class of the limb group on behalf of the Shanghai team, was also an authentic "Lao Shaan", and after the race, the Shangluo Hanzi gave a thumbs up to the "perfect track" in his hometown, "This Special Olympics marathon was held as scheduled, which is very remarkable in itself!" What's more, the track on the banks of the Wei River is straight and flat, and the scenery along the way is beautiful, laying the foundation for us to achieve good results. ”
It is understood that in order to ensure the successful and smooth progress of the event, the Special Olympics Marathon Commission has made meticulous preparations and arrangements, not only to implement one-on-one reception for the participants, but also to set up barrier-free toilets along the track, set up a 30-meter soft isolation at the turnaround of the track, and the track has a medical station every 2.5 kilometers, and each medical station is equipped with ambulances. During the race, the staff on the track not only served their duties and dedication, but also cheered for the contestants in their spare time, which made the atmosphere at the race site particularly warm.
With the joint efforts of 47 Special Olympics "horse runners" on the banks of the WeiHe River, more than 800 staff members have also made selfless contributions on and off the field.
Text: Xi'an Newspaper All-Media Reporter Jin Peng
Pictured: Wang Jian, chief reporter of Xi'an Newspaper
Edit: Anzhi