The Paper's reporter Ma Zuoyu and Pu Yaolei are from Tokyo
When the Second-Placed American Sanders made a mistake in the final shot, Gong Lijiao behind her raised her arms and released the emotions that had been suppressed for the past 5 years or more.
After 21 years of shot put career, 7 World Championships and 4 Olympic Games, Gong Lijiao was finally able to stand on the highest podium of the Olympic Games, in her own words, "I have waited too long for this moment, and I made up for my previous regrets in Tokyo." I stood on the top podium and all the persistence was worth it. ”
Gong Lijiao was draped in the national flag.
Indeed, the significance and value of this gold medal has long surpassed the victory itself – it is the first gold medal in the history of the Chinese Olympic Games, and it is a milestone breakthrough for Gong Lijiao and even for Chinese throwing.
Gong Lijiao used the "ruling grade" achievements to prove to the world that there is a kind of "Chinese power", called Gong Lijiao.
Gong Lijiao's dream came true.
She stared at me, and I stared at her
When Typhoon Bernite crossed Tokyo, extreme heat became almost the only adjective the city's people could use for the weather.
On August 1, the women's shot put final of the Tokyo Olympic Games, at about 10:30 a.m. local time, the temperature on the field was as high as 31 degrees, a moderate of 66%, and the "outdoor somatosensory temperature" given by the local meteorological agency was 37 degrees.
"It was so hot, my sweat kept flowing and I felt like I was collapsing." For Gong Lijiao, the heat in Tokyo may be a bigger challenge than her opponents at the Olympics.
During the competition, many players covered their heads with wet towels poured with water to cool down. And the second American player Ramsey to throw 20 meters this season is also in the heat, the first three shots all made mistakes, saying goodbye in advance.
However, the humid and hot playing environment did not affect Gong Lijiao's play.
Gong Lijiao knelt down to celebrate.
In the final, the first shot in the throwing area, Gong Lijiao successfully threw a result of 19 meters 95, in fact, from the results after the game, Gong Lijiao had already firmly grasped the gold medal in his hand.
"Actually, I didn't feel stable after the first shot, and I was still a little nervous, because the American player's rotation (throwing) was really inaccurate." In the mixed interview area after the game, Gong Lijiao, who was sweating profusely and breathlessly, also mischievously imitated the actions of the American player Sanders, which caused the reporters to laugh.
But in fact, in the process of the final, Gong Lijiao was not so relaxed. The American player also threw a score of 19 meters 65 in the first shot, directly approaching Gong Lijiao. Not only that, Sanders's half green and half purple "Mandarin Duck Short Inch", coupled with the skull pattern mask worn in the game, will really bring a lot of pressure to the opponents around him.
"I did notice her because she kept staring at me, and the way she stared at me was very different." When a reporter after the game asked whether Gong Lijiao was disturbed by Sanders' shape and a series of "ritualistic" throwing pre-throwing movements, Gong Lijiao quipped, "She has been staring at me, and then I have stared at her, and as soon as she stares at me, I will stare at her, and I absolutely cannot lose." ”
Gong Lijiao shocked the United States adversaries.
As Gong Lijiao said, she did not lose, whether in momentum or achievements.
In the process of the first four shots, Coach Cong Yuzhen, who was sitting in the coach's viewing area, repeatedly reminded Gong Lijiao of his rhythm and shooting moves. For never breaking through 20 meters, Cong Yuzhen is not very satisfied, "She can still shoot better, and now the results are average." ”
And when Gong Lijiao threw the shot high into the air in the fifth shot, Cong Yuzhen, who was clutching the mobile phone tightly in her hand, whispered two words, "It's done!" ”
Indeed, when the shot put drew a wonderful parabola and smashed on the lawn, the Chinese delegation watching the game cheered - 20 meters 53, Gong Lijiao has refreshed his best.
"After the fifth shot, I felt solid."
Gong Lijiao threw his personal best.
The cruelty behind it is known only to oneself
If you put aside the process, from the final result, Gong Lijiao's game is indeed "crushing" all opponents.
In fact, this whole season, Gong Lijiao is a kind of "dominant" existence in the world women's shot put project.
On June 19 this year, in Shangyu, Zhejiang, Gong Lijiao threw 20 meters 31; subsequently, at the National Athletics Championships in Chongqing on June 27, Gong Lijiao threw 20 meters 18, 20 meters 30 and 20 meters 39 consecutively; and on July 16, before the departure, Gong Lijiao threw 20 meters 31 in the team test of Beijing Sports University.
More than 5 times in two months, he has thrown more than 20 meters, which is an impressive record that Gong Lijiao has not had in the past 11 seasons.
"We just came for the gold medal, we must take it down." After the game, Cong Yuzhen, Gong Lijiao's current head coach, also confessed to the surging news reporter, "I just let her treat this as an ordinary game." ”
Coach Cong Yuzhen's words seem to be easy to say, but if there is no extreme strength and extraordinary psychological quality, how can it be done?
Gong Lijiao thanked the coach.
Perhaps for most spectators who only pay attention to shot put every Olympics, Gong Lijiao's victory is just an expected "routine operation" - after all, Gong Lijiao has won the women's shot put gold medal at the World Championships in Athletics for two consecutive years, and won the "Diamond Award" of the World Athletics Federation Diamond League for three consecutive years.
In addition, she is also the first female shot put player to shoot 20 meters this season, and the only woman to throw more than 20 meters multiple times.
And Gong Lijiao always grinned in the media camera, "This is my peak period", "no injuries, the Tokyo Olympic gold medal has already won half", "the Olympic gold medal is hanging in front of me, I can get it with one hand", and also created an image that can easily win the championship.
But the cruelty of competitive sports and all the sweat and dedication behind the success, only Gong Lijiao and her coach Cong Yuzhen know.
Although the Beijing Olympics and the London Olympics won medals, they did not stand on the podium, and the "Waterloo" of the Rio Olympics need not be repeated, and the tokyo Olympics postponed for a year hit the 32-year-old Gong Lijiao, in her own words, "feel the sky falling".
"At that time, the nerves became sensitive, and they were in good condition, and they could break through 20 meters, but after the postponement was announced, the whole person had problems, including injuries, and they all came out, and they felt that they could not accept it."
Fortunately, under the guidance of the psychologist invited by the team and The self-adjustment of Gong Lijiao, Gong Lijiao came over. She also revealed after the game that during that time, the song she listened to the most was Liang Jingru's "Courage".
"It's so torturous, 5 years for athletes, especially at my age... This moment really has been too long to wait. In the mixed mining district calendar, Gong Lijiao smiled and laughed, and she cried, and this is also her true feelings.
"We shot put is also through hard work, it is also thrown out of the ball, like everyone else, we are also very boring, after countless times and millions of times of this kind of throwing, to stand on this desired result."
"I definitely want to stick with it, in case I win it again."
Gong Lijiao's emotions are completely understandable.
4 times to impact the Olympic gold medal, Gong Lijiao finally won the silver and bronze medals in the first three times, but because of the opponent's doping problem, he never really stood on the podium, and really enjoyed the flowers, applause and cheers.
"I've thought about this picture countless times, and today I can finally really feel it." Gong Lijiao revealed after the game that although the story of "10 seconds to clock out of work" in the qualifiers has been rumored on social networks, she still has difficulty fully controlling her pre-match emotions, and she only slept for four or five hours the night before the game.
"I didn't sleep well all night, I kept thinking about the game at night, and then I thought about the championship, and I kept thinking about how far the technology was in my head, and it was always in my head."
She longs for victory and is also eager to play against the world's highest-level shot put players, including her "old rival" Valerie Adams.
In an interview just before, Gong Lijiao also said, "I am looking forward to competing with Adams, because many people say that every time I win the World Championship because she did not come, she gave it to me." So I want to be able to play with her, to catch up with her, which is called strength crushing. ”
This time, Gong Lijiao did what he said.
Adams threw six times and succeeded four times, the best of which was 19 meters 62, which was not as good as Gong Lijiao's first throw.
However, when Adams completed the last shot, Gong Lijiao still sent applause for the first time, which included affirmation, blessing, and a kind of pity before the strong.
Adams, 36, who has become a mother, has missed many duels with Gong Lijiao because of pregnancy and childbirth, and now stands on the stage of the Tokyo Olympic Games with the title of "Mother Athlete", and she still uses a bronze medal to prove that she is one of the best female shot put players in the world.
"Because I can only play in China during the epidemic, I am still particularly eager to compete with these international opponents, including Adams, because this is the only way for me to prove our Chinese strength and prove the status of Chinese women's shot put in the world."
At the post-match press conference, Gong Lijiao was also asked about her views on Adams, and Gong Lijiao, in addition to sending praise and affirmation, did not forget to joke to herself, "I also hope to have my own children soon." ”
Just after Gong Lijiao said this sentence, the reporter at the press conference scene laughed again, but Gong Lijiao's sentence actually has a literal meaning - the 32-year-old veteran, after the Tokyo Olympic Games, may face more different stages and different identities in life.
However, Gong Lijiao, like Adams, did not want to serve the old. "I've definitely thought about [the next Olympics], in case it wins." During the conversation, Gong Lijiao himself smiled.
"Because I don't have any injuries now, I still hope to continue practicing, and if the motherland needs me, I will definitely insist."
Gong Lijiao's persistence is a love, her love for the shot put, but also her love for this arena - at the moment when the dream is realized, Gong Lijiao said frankly, "It is worth it, the world is worth it." ”
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas
Proofreader: Ding Xiao