Source: People's Daily News
The 100-day countdown to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics begins. On this special day, we listen to the story behind the first Olympic gold, carry forward the spirit of sportsmanship, and welcome a new chapter in ice and snow.
Among the more than 1.4 million items in the collection of the National Museum of China is an Olympic gold medal with a diameter of 6 centimeters. It is this gold medal that witnessed the breakthrough of "zero" in China's Olympic history and opened the brilliant road to China's Olympic Games.
The gold medal also leads to an untold Olympic story.
Olympic gold medal. Courtesy of the National Museum of China
In 1984, China's Xu Haifeng fired a historic shot in Los Angeles, achieving a breakthrough of "zero" for China's Olympic gold medals. At that time, China sent a large-scale delegation to participate in the Olympic Games for the first time after returning to the International Olympic Committee. On July 29, the first day of the competition, the men's self-gun 60-round slow-fire competition was fiercely held, 56 outstanding players from 38 countries competed on the same stage, and a Chinese player calmly and calmly shot a historic shot - pop! 9 rings! In the end, he won the championship with a total of 566 rings. Since then, Chinese has opened the road to the Olympic take-off, and the name of this athlete has been permanently recorded in history, he is Xu Haifeng.
According to Xu Haifeng's recollection, such a small episode occurred at the scene. "At that time, two Chinese players entered the top three, but the organizing committee only prepared a five-star red flag, so the organizing committee urgently sent a helicopter to transport the five-star red flag to the shooting field, and the award ceremony was postponed for more than half an hour."
Accompanied by the majestic "March of the Volunteer Army", the bright five-star red flag was raised. Samaranch, then president of the International Olympic Committee, put the gold medal on Xu Haifeng's chest and said excitedly: "This is a great day in the history of Chinese sports, and I am honored to personally award this gold medal to Chinese athletes." ”
At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Xu Haifeng received the prize after winning the men's self-gun event (file photo). Image source: Xinhua News Agency
This gold medal is of great significance. It not only represents the impressive achievements of Chinese athletes, but also shows the world the outstanding style of the sons and daughters of China who are firmly confident and tenacious in their struggle. After returning to China, Xu Haifeng donated it to the Museum of the Chinese Revolution (now the National Museum of China), so that more people can witness the sonorous steps of China's Olympic journey.
"This gold medal originally belonged to the country, the country gave us such a good stage, if there is no national training, we will not be able to win the Olympic championship and get the gold medal." Xu Haifeng recalled that the decision he had made at that time was still very firm.
Twenty years after Winning an Olympic gold medal for the first time in Chinese history, at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Du Li represented the Chinese team in the women's 10-meter air rifle shooting competition, winning the first gold medal and setting a new Olympic record. That year, Dooley was 22 years old.
On August 14, 2004, China's Du Li won the gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games and stood on the podium (file photo). Image source: Xinhua News Agency
After Xu Haifeng, Du Li and others, Yang Qian became the seventh shooter to win the first gold medal for the Chinese delegation. On July 24 this year, Yang Qian won the gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with a score of 251.8 rings, the first gold medal for the Chinese team to win the Tokyo Olympic Games.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Yang Qian won the first gold medal for the Chinese team. Courtesy of respondents
Xu Haifeng expressed congratulations on the social platform for the first time. "I was very happy at the time, which was an encouragement and affirmation for me. Xu Haifeng's predecessor won the first gold medal in the history of the Chinese delegation, which boosted the morale of the whole country, enhanced self-confidence, and paved the way for our next sports road. Yang Qian said.
Yang Qian was interviewed by People's Daily News. Photo by Wang Shaoshao
"After Yang Qian won the women's 10m air rifle final, we cheered collectively and were proud of our team members for winning the gold. Off the field, senior Xu Haifeng is also paying attention to our dynamics at all times. Whether Chinese athletes are active in duty or retired, they will always be concerned about Chinese sports. Just this year, Du Li participated in the Tokyo Olympics as the coach of the Chinese shooting team, which is her fifth olympic appearance.
From 1984 to 2021, in the 37 years, China has more medals, set more records, and has risen to become a sports power and is moving towards a sports power. Generation after generation of Olympic athletes, with the sportsmanship of never accepting defeat, trained hard and fought bravely, sweat and tears intertwined on their faces, blood and love surged in their hearts, and they wrote one legend after another with strength and character.