The Paper's reporter Ma Zuoyu and Pu Yaolei are from Tokyo
Cheng nina competed in the heptathlon competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
When Zheng Ninali made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, all the efforts and achievements she left behind in this venue also confirmed the new "together" added to the Olympic slogan.
On the evening of the 5th, the women's heptathlon competition of the Tokyo Olympic Games ended, and the 22-year-old Zheng Ninali scored 6318 points after completing all the events, although it finally ranked 10th, there is still a long way to go from the podium, but Zheng Ninali has written a new history for Chinese athletics.
As the granddaughter of legendary high jumper Zheng Fengrong, Zheng Ninali has been excited to return and represent China. She is also looking forward to winning gold and silver for China in future competitions.
"The score at the Olympics this time is OK, but I still feel a little uncomfortable in my heart, because there are several events that are not better." In an interview with the media after the game, Zheng Ninali admitted that she has experienced injuries and lows in the past three years, but going to the Olympics without a coach still gives her more expectations for the future.
"I know I have a lot of room to grow upwards."
There were four words on Zheng Ninali's legs— dedication.
I almost didn't want to do athletics anymore
For Zheng Ninali, her first trip to the Olympic Games has left a lot of eye-catching achievements and memories.
In the women's heptathlon 100m hurdles on August 4, Zheng Nina ran 13.27 seconds and set a new personal best (pb) as soon as she made her debut, scoring 1084 points.
In the following high jump competition, Zheng Ninali challenged 1.83 three times without success, ranking 11th with a score of 1.80 meters, scoring 978 points.
In the two competitions on the evening of the 4th, Zheng Ninali threw a score of 13 meters 55 in the shot put competition, ranking 13th; in the 200 meters, she ran 24.56 seconds, ranking 16th, with 928 points.
After the four competitions on the 4th, Zheng Ninali temporarily ranked tenth with a total score of 3754 points.
In the four events on the 5th, Zheng Ninali jumped 6 meters 12 in the long jump, ranking second in the group, with 887 points, while in the javelin competition, she threw 42 meters 60 and scored 717 points.
Zheng Ninali herself said that she was very dissatisfied with the results of the benchmark gun, "I cried after this project." ”
However, with her ideal performance in the last 800 meters, Zheng Ninali still got a total score of 6318 points, ranking tenth, "Finally, I used 800 meters to fight a good result, so it's OK." ”
Zheng Ninali participated in the Tianjin National Games.
Although she failed to complete the goal set before the competition to "hope to compete for a brand in the heptathlon of the Tokyo Olympic Games", Zheng Nina's ability to appear at the Tokyo Olympic Games has proved her hard work and dedication.
"In fact, three years ago, I changed coaches once, suffered a lot of injuries, practiced very badly, and my physical strength could not go up. So I want to see if I can train myself this year, adjust my body, and come back again. ”
Zheng Ninali revealed after the game that most of the time in the past, she trained herself, and only sought the help of domestic coaches in individual events, "During that time, I was very uncomfortable, and there were many injuries, so I almost didn't want to do athletics." ”
It is precisely because of that experience that Zheng Ninali can only stand on the field of the Tokyo Olympics through points. For the competitive Nina Cheng, this is not the way she wants it, "so I wasn't too excited when I first arrived in Tokyo." It wasn't until three days before the race, when I was going to race, that I got a little bit of a spirit. ”
Zheng Fengrong (middle).
Continuing Grandma's wish, "But I'm nothing better than good"
When Zheng Ninali represented China, it attracted a lot of people's attention – not only because she was the first naturalized athlete in Chinese athletics, but also because she was the granddaughter of Zheng Fengrong, the first generation of athletics stars trained in New China.
In 1957, Zheng Fengrong broke the women's high jump world record with a score of 1.77 meters, becoming the first female athlete in China to break the world record. Her husband, Duan Qiyan, was the men's high jump champion at the inaugural National Games in 1959.
"I feel like my grandmother is that kind of person, she's never afraid of getting tired. She always told me that she trained very fiercely, and she could train for almost 330 days a year for 365 days. ”
According to domestic media reports, in April 2021, after Zheng Ninali could represent the Chinese team, the topic around her could not avoid Zheng Fengrong, "so every time I feel tired during the game, I think about how my grandmother trained and competed at that time." ”
Zheng Ninali participated in the domestic invitational tournament.
However, during the storm of the Tokyo Olympics, Ms. Zheng rarely contacted her grandmother. Even if the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics was confirmed at that time, Zheng Ninali did not say this to Zheng Fengrong too much.
"I didn't talk to them too much at the time, they had believed I could get into the Olympics, so they didn't put too much pressure on me."
Zheng Ninali told her experience in the past period after the game, and after she arrived in Tokyo, she did not share much with her grandmother about the situation in the Olympic Village, "During the Olympic Games, I did not contact my family, so I did not want to say too much." ”
However, Zheng Fengrong, who has been training with Zheng Nina li all the way, knows her granddaughter too well, and when Zheng Nina Li finished the javelin in Tokyo, Zheng Fengrong said, "Zheng Nina Li is definitely not satisfied, and she must cry." ”
Fortunately, the mistake on the javelin did not drag down Zheng Ninali's performance too much, and she eventually stabilized in the tenth place.
And this debut for Zheng Ninali, there is also a special meaning, that is, "to continue Grandma's wishes." But as Zheng Ninali said, "After this competition, I want to say sorry to my family, there is no better." But I hope to continue the pride of the family. ”
She reinforces China's heptathlon competitiveness
Competitive sports are cruel after all, and Zheng Ninali's tenth place is still a long way from the Olympic podium. However, Zheng Ninali is growing rapidly.
"I've wanted to see how far I can practice for the last two years, and now that I've found a coach, I feel like I can practice better next year."
In fact, Zheng Ninali showed enough talent very early on, and was affirmed by the outside world.
Born in Canada in November 1998, After entering the American University League, Zheng Ninali began to focus on women's heptathlon, ranking first in the women's heptathlon u20 world, and won the second place in the 2018 Commonwealth Games for Canada.
In that match, Jenny Cheng only lost to Britain's all-around Johnson Thompson, who scored 6255 points, who was the world champion.
This is also why, when Zheng Ninali won the runner-up in the high jump as soon as she appeared in the domestic arena, many track and field enthusiasts on social networks already regarded it as "Gu Ailing of Chinese athletics".
According to foreign media reports, when Zheng Ninali chose to naturalize in China, the Canadian delegation originally hoped to keep this highly potential athletics newcomer, and Gilbert, the head coach of the Canadian athletics team, said in an interview that Zheng Ninali is likely to win the Olympic championship in the future.
"Obviously, we see her as a rising star in the heptathlon, but she's very determined."
Zheng Nina Li in the shot put event.
"My granddaughter Nina is very sensible and independent, and she trains very hard." More than two years ago, in an interview with Beijing Youth Daily, speaking of his grandchildren, Zheng Fengrong was very proud, "Without the spirit of perseverance, it is difficult to imagine the success today." ”
Zheng Ninali is also proud of Zheng Fengrong, and her grandmother is her driving force and pride.
"Since I was a child, my grandparents have let me and my brother play outside, which is considered training, but we don't know. As a child, I didn't know she broke the world record. Growing up, I understood, wanted to surpass my grandmother, but now I know how hard it is to record the world. ”
Of course, there is still a long way to go before Breaking the world record, but in terms of Zheng Ninali's current ability, her joining does make up for the shortcomings of the Chinese women's heptathlon and enhance China's Asian competitiveness in this project.
According to official data, Zheng Ninali scored 6021 points in the women's heptathlon in 2017, while the championship results of the National Games in those years did not reach 6000 points, and the 2017 National Athletics Championships championship was 5137 points.
At the Spain Challenge, which ended in June this year, she scored 6,358 points, setting a new national record for the women's heptathlon.
Although this result is still a short distance from the Asian record of 6942 points, the 22-year-old Zheng Ninali has pushed China's heptathlon to a new height.
On Zheng Ninali's legs, the text "dedication" four Chinese characters, this is actually a sentence that grandma Zheng Fengrong asked her from childhood, and because of this, Zheng Ninali put the four words written by her grandmother herself on her body and used them to spur her.
"Next I will protect my body and then focus on preparing for next year's Asian Games." Zheng Ninali hopes to practice the heptathlon with "dedication" in this way.
"I grew up in Canada, but Chinese brought me up, so this time back home, I hope to help China get better and better in the heptathlon."
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas
Proofreader: Yan Zhang