The Paper's trainee reporter Hu Jie intern Jin Ye
Xu Jiayu.
Without Sun Yang in the Chinese swimming world, Xu Jiayu became the man who carried the Chinese men's swimming flag.
From the original small crying bag, buried in Sun Yang's chest and crying silently, saying that he wanted to become a "shoulder handle", to grinding five years to step into the Olympic Games again, Xu Jiayu did not eat less bitterly.
Even if he was in poor physical condition before the race, Xu Jiayu still finished fifth in the men's 100m backstroke on the morning of the 27th - the time was 52.51 seconds, which was his best time this season.
Xu Jiayu in the game.
"The stomach is a very emotional organ"
Stomach ulcers, vomiting on the spot, wheelchair pushing away... Xu Jiayu has a lot of hard work, just look at his appearance after the semi-finals.
Approaching the mixed mining area, Xu Jiayu's face was miserable, he stood in front of the Chinese media, adjusted his breathing, and then said: "I will fight." ”
"We've been going on for five years, and it's for this moment that each of us is sticking to it. I will fight for my best with my current physical condition. However, I really don't want to experience that extremely painful feeling anymore. ”
Gastrointestinal problems have plagued Xu Jiayu more than once - in the 2019 World Championships, Xu Jiayu could not eat during the competition, which more or less affected the state. Although it won the championship in the end, it was more thrilling to win.
At this year's domestic swimming championship, he also gave up the single competition because of gastrointestinal discomfort, and only focused on relay.
If the 7-year-old knew that his stomach would experience so much pain after that, he might stay away from the freezer at home, "When I was a child, when I was 7 or 8 years old, I ate 7 popsicles a day, and then my stomach was broken, and now I have become an old stomach disease." ”
Xu Jiayu compared his heart to the camera.
Xu Jiayu, who wanted to carry the Chinese swimming men's team on his shoulders, had to fight every shot. This kind of pressure also seems to be transferred to the stomach, "the stomach is a very emotional organ, especially we are all under high pressure." ”
Pressure affects the stomach, the stomach affects the grades, and the grades bring pressure again, so the cycle repeats, Xu Jiayu is also very passive.
The preliminaries are 52.70 seconds and the semi-finals are 52.94 seconds, which is far from the 52.43 seconds he won at the 2019 World Championships, and five years ago in Rio, Xu Jiayu won the silver medal in the men's 100m backstroke, which was 52.31 seconds.
As the silver medalist in the 100m backstroke at the Rio Olympics and the 100m backstroke champion at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, Xu Jiayu could have occupied a place in the "Battle of the Gods" in the 100m backstroke.
The ideal is full, but the reality is very bone - after the 2019 World Championships, Xu Jiayu fell into a "state of confusion", not only did not go up to the next level, but there was a trend of "free fall".
The 52.70 seconds in the preliminaries is already Xu Jiayu's best time this year. When it comes to the state, Xu Jiayu does not hide, "This is the best result of the physical condition swimming out now, I have not improved my grades for four years." ”
Xu Jiayu has been in general physical condition recently.
To "carry the handle" with Sun Yang
When it comes to competing for gold and silver, Xu Jiayu's expression is very subtle, "The Olympic Games are just a grand game, but everyone is eager to win. ”
The next words may be his voice, "A little difficult, to overcome the difficulties, to fight for the gold medal." Everyone fights like this whenever they have the chance. ”
This is Xu Jiayu's third Olympic trip, and 26 years old is the golden age for swimmers.
At the London Olympics, Xu Jiayu was only 17 years old at the time, and had just been awarded the title of swimming athlete the year before, and he did not reach the final of the 200-meter backstroke as a fledgling.
In the Rio Olympic Games, Xu Jiayu competed with the titles of national champion and Asian champion, and his technology and strength were first-class. In the men's 100m backstroke final, Xu Jiayu won the silver medal in 52.31 seconds, and the difference between him and the champion was only 0.34 seconds, which was negligible.
Although he did not win the gold, Xu Jiayu achieved a "breakthrough of zero" in the Chinese men's backstroke Olympic medal.
Sun Yang hugged Xu Jiayu.
In the men's 100m backstroke at the 2017 Swimming World Championships, Xu Jiayu won the first world championships backstroke gold medal for Chinese men with a time of 52.44 seconds.
"Brother Yang, I will carry the handle with you in the future, and you are no longer fighting alone..." Xu Jiayu cried uncontrollably at that time.
And his mentor Xu Guoyi also told the surging news reporter, "He has been relatively weak since he was a child, and he is a relatively introverted child." ”
Nowadays, sun Yang's figure is missing in the lane, and Xu Jiayu has to force himself to become the person who carries the Chinese men's swimming flag.
Xu Jiayu and the late mentor Xu Guoyi.
For the sake of the teacher, choose to fight
Xu Jiayu also had a reason why he had to work hard.
In 2020, his mentor Xu Guoyi died of illness, and the coach who walked through 12 years with the "turtle" has long been Xu Jiayu's "Xu Father".
Xu Guoyi's sudden death dealt a blow to Xu Jiayu, who was already dependent on him. In Xu Guoyi's heart, there has always been a long-cherished wish, he said in an interview: "The 2018 Asian Games, the 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the Olympic Games are the most important, symbolizing the highest honor, (among the disciples) there is still a lack of an Olympic men's gold medal, the Tokyo Olympics must be decisive." ”
Therefore, Xu Jiayu wrote in a Weibo tribute to his mentor: "Xu Dao is good to go, wait for the summer, take the gold medal home to see you!" ”
For this purpose, the "turtle" is trained more fiercely than others. A few years ago, his brother Lu Zhiwu talked about Xu Jiayu and gave the evaluation: "If others pay 100% of their efforts in training, they will take out 120% of their energy." During the daily sprint of 6 or 7 kilometers during the plateau training, Xu Jiayu fought to the limit from time to time, and even often spat out bile."
Without personal experience, it is difficult to appreciate the hardships of athletes' daily training. The 100-meter backstroke lane ended in less than a minute, but Xu Jiayu's daily training averaged 14,000 meters in the water every day, and this did not include various physical fitness and strength training on land.
Enjoying the process of hard work, Xu Jiayu should be proud of himself.
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas