Xu Haifeng: At that time, I didn't know that it was the first Olympic gold medal in our entire country

Raise a gun, aim, fire...

In Los Angeles in the summer of 1984, Chinese shooter Xu Haifeng shot a gold medal at the Olympic arena, marking an important milestone in The history of Chinese sports. The modern Olympic Games, which has gone through nearly a century-long history, has finally ushered in the moment when Chinese to ascend to the championship podium.

Samaranch, then president of the International Olympic Committee, told Xu Haifeng at the time of the award: "Today is a great day in the history of Chinese sports, and I am honored to personally award this gold medal to Chinese athletes. ”

Years go by, and this precious history has been repeatedly praised by generations of sports people.

Infographic Then IOC President Samaranch (right) presents Xu Haifeng with an award / Source: Xinhua News Agency

Xu Haifeng, who is now retired, still remembers the Olympic Games nearly 40 years ago. He thought at the time that the Olympic champion was not much different from the champions of other world competitions. It was his third time competing abroad, the first two Asian Championships and Olympic test matches, and he won the championship. "The national flag has also been raised and the national anthem has been played, so this feeling is more familiar."

Xu Haifeng recalled that he was a "newborn calf" at that time and "never saw the strength of a tiger", he was the last athlete to finish the game, when the referee told him to go to collect the award, he knew that he had won the championship.

"Although I knew that the shooting was the first day and it was played in the morning, the first gold medal in our event, I didn't know it was the first Olympic gold medal in our entire country." He said.

After the game, he gradually felt that the gold medal was not so simple. The celebration of the overseas Chinese in Los Angeles and the warm welcome after returning home all flattered him. He heard from his friends in the media that the newspapers that carried the news of his victory were sold out, and he suddenly felt that "his scalp was numb."

This Olympic gold medal was not easy to come by. At that time, the training conditions in China were relatively difficult, and Xu Haifeng did not receive professional shooting training for a long time. For that period of time, he said: "At that time, China was still in the early days of reform and opening up, relatively poor, I came from Anhui, it was even poorer, at that time the entire provincial team only had two imported guns, who went to the competition who could use, bullets were also, imported bullets were relatively scarce, everyone had a ration." ”

The provincial team's training ground did not have heating in winter, and the shooting project had to expose his hands for a long time, so Xu Haifeng suffered from frostbite. Later, he was selected for the national team and came to Beijing with food stamps, food expenses and his own guns. Although Beijing is colder, the training conditions have improved, and in winter, the training ground will have a large stove to ensure the temperature of the venue, so that he is no longer suffering from frostbite.

Xu Haifeng, who participated in the Olympic Games for the first time, liked to go to the supermarket after training and competition, "At that time, I had 30 US dollars in my pocket, and I couldn't buy anything. Xu Haifeng recalled.

After becoming an Olympic star, Xu Haifeng understood more pressure, and whether he could continue to maintain his form after winning the gold medal became the focus of people's attention.

The national championships after returning from the Los Angeles Olympics were the most stressful race of his shooting career. Shortly after returning from the United States, he re-entered training, practiced steadily for several months, and finally had two more rings than the Olympic results. After that, Xu Haifeng completely gained a foothold in the shooting circle.

After the Olympic Games, Xu Haifeng was an athlete for another ten years. After retiring from the army, he also had many outstanding achievements as a coach: 1996 Olympic champion Li Xianghong and 2000 Olympic champion Tao Luna were his disciples, and at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, he led the team to fight for 4 gold medals in one fell swoop as the head coach of the shooting team.

As an athlete, Xu Haifeng bluntly said that he was lucky. "It's so good to be an athlete, the state has built such a good platform for you, you just have to play your normal level, and then the country gives you honors and awards, so I always say to myself that you have to work hard." 」 He said.

Xu Haifeng said that the new generation of athletes most need to inherit the spirit of patriotism. "The spirit of winning glory for the country is useful in competitive sports, because competitive sports need to challenge the limits, and if there is no spiritual support, it is easy to not stick to it." The current training conditions and the level of scientific training are much better than in the past, so if the current athletes have the spirit of the past athletes, the results should be very fast. ”

After retirement, Xu Haifeng is still busy, and he said that he will tell his story to more people and pass on the spirit of sportsmanship.

(Original title: Xu Haifeng's one shot is determined)

Source: Beijing Daily | Reporter Lin Deren Zhao Jiantong (Xinhua News Agency)

Process Editor: u023