news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

"I thought he was studying Mathematical Olympiad, but he turned out to be studying for the Olympics!"

Text | Phoenix

"It broke our glasses, but his glasses didn't move at all!"

In the men's 110m hurdles preliminaries at the Paris Olympics, Chinese athlete Xu Zhuoyi ranked first in the group with a time of 13.40 seconds and advanced to the semifinals.

Wearing glasses, being gentle, scholarly, tall and thin, his appearance is in stark contrast to his wildness on the court. Netizens joked: "I thought he was doing Mathematical Olympiad, but he turned out to be doing Olympics!"

Xu Zhuoyi in the Paris Olympics. Source: Xinhua News Agency

The explosive "Glasses Brother"

Some people say that he is full of scholarly temperament, like Xu Zhimo on the track and field; some people say that he looks like Gao Qisheng in the TV series "Kuang Biao", and his ferocity in the hurdles competition is just like the ferocity of this character...

Xu Zhuoyi (left) in the Paris Olympics. Source: Xinhua News Agency

It’s actually not wrong to say that Xu Zhuoyi has the demeanor of a “nerd”.

He is a freshman of Tongji University's 2024 class. According to the admission notice he posted on social media, he will report to the university on August 18, a week after the closing of the Olympics. Another freshman of Tongji University this year who also became an athlete of the Paris Olympics is diving athlete Chen Yuxi.

Xu Zhuoyi's admission letter

He has even become popular overseas. In addition to paying attention to their own athletes' advancement in the 110-meter hurdles, Japanese netizens also discussed Xu Zhuoyi: "How can this skinny athlete wearing glasses run so fast?" "I really like this Chinese athlete wearing glasses?" "Is he wearing glasses while hurdling?" "He is so handsome, I hope his glasses don't fall off."

Japanese social media hotly discusses Xu Zhuoyi

This young man, who will be 21 in two weeks, is indeed a big shot. He is Liu Xiang's junior and his goal is to surpass the latter.

“Hurdles are fun”

Xu Zhuoyi was born in Xuyao ​​Village, Yexie Town, Songjiang District, Shanghai. He studied at Fangta Primary School in Songjiang District. After graduation, he entered Songjiang No. 7 Middle School and started systematic track and field training. Although he studied and trained there for only a little over a year, he recalled that the strong sports competitive atmosphere and sportsmanship on the No. 7 Middle School campus still nourish him.

Songjiang No.7 Middle School Campus

In 2016, at the age of 13, he entered the Shanghai Second Sports School and embarked on the path of a professional track and field athlete. "Many people think that track and field training is boring, but I don't think so. From the beginning of running to now specializing in hurdles, I think this sport is very fun." Xu Zhuoyi said. With this love and persistence, coupled with more professional and systematic training, his competition results have improved by leaps and bounds.

Afterwards, he received guidance from the "Godfather of Hurdles" Sun Haiping and became a fellow student of the sprinter Liu Xiang. In recent years, he has repeatedly achieved outstanding results in major domestic and international competitions and has become a rising star in the Chinese men's 110-meter hurdles.

Xu Zhuoyi (right) with Sun Haiping (center) and others

In the first half of 2023, he won the short jump and relay group competition in the Yangtze River Delta with a time of 13.41 seconds, and repeatedly broke his personal best in the subsequent National Track and Field Grand Prix. In July of that year, Xu Zhuoyi won the runner-up in the Asian Track and Field Championships with a time of 13.39 seconds, further proving his international competitiveness.

Xu Zhuoyi on the field in the first half of 2023

The Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023 will be both a stage for Xu Zhuoyi to show his skills and a severe test for him. Before that, Chinese athletes had already set a record of "nine consecutive Asian Games championships" in the 110-meter hurdles event. The responsibility of maintaining this record and creating a "ten consecutive championships" fell on him, who had just turned 20 at the time. Excessive pressure before the game affected Xu Zhuoyi's performance, and he eventually won the bronze medal.

After Xu Zhuoyi won the bronze medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games

"I'm sorry!" After the game, Xu Zhuo walked into the mixed interview area and the first thing he said was apology. "I feel sorry for my master and predecessors for not being able to keep China's tenth consecutive championship."

"The young man made a lofty ambition and vowed to become the best in the world." After the regretful outcome of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Xu Zhuoyi wrote these words on social media.

Heading into the Olympics

As time entered 2024, he was running faster and faster on the track. In the National Track and Field Grand Prix, he maintained a good competitive state and won the men's 110-meter hurdles championship in multiple stations.

In particular, in the final of the Chongqing Station on May 29, Xu Zhuoyi won the championship with a personal best of 13.22 seconds, and directly qualified for the Paris Olympics, becoming the first Chinese "post-00" athlete to reach the Olympic standard for the men's hurdles event. At that time, it was less than two months before the opening of the Paris Olympics, and he brought surprises to Chinese track and field.

Xu Zhuoyi's result is quite impressive, considering that the wind speed was 1.2 meters per second against the wind on the day of the race, and it was drizzling in Chongqing at night, the weather was cold and the track was slippery, which was not conducive to athletes' performance. It can be inferred that he has the ability to break 13.20 or even 13.10.

Xu Zhuoyi celebrates after winning the 2024 National Track and Field Grand Prix in Chongqing. Source: Xinhua News Agency

In the historical ranking of Chinese men's 110m hurdles, Xu Zhuoyi's time of 13.22 seconds ranked fourth, only behind Liu Xiang's 12.88 seconds, Xie Wenjun's 13.17 seconds and Shi Dongpeng's 13.19 seconds.

Just four days after qualifying for the Olympics, Xu Zhuoyi once again ran 13.22 seconds at the Intercontinental Tour in Tottori, Japan, tying his personal best and winning the championship. Running 13.22 seconds twice within a few days showed his stable competitive state and superb technical level.

"Hurdles is our traditional advantage. I lost an important gold medal last year, so I worked hard in winter training. In fact, I already thought about meeting the Olympic standards before the competition. The next step is to prepare actively and continue to improve my technique and speed." Xu Zhuoyi said.

After the Hangzhou Asian Games, Xu Zhuoyi consolidated his advantage in the latter part of the race and focused on strengthening his start, which finally made a qualitative leap in his performance. After entering the Paris Olympics, he could finally respond to himself on social media: "I will do what I say!"

The future is promising

"In recent years, both the world and Asia have seen a rapid rise in the 110-meter hurdles, so our new generation must continue to work hard to catch up with them." Xu Zhuoyi's words are true. After Liu Xiang, Shi Dongpeng and Xie Wenjun, Chinese athletes have faced strong challenges from Japanese athletes in the 110-meter hurdles.

Compared with Shunsuke Izumitani, who was born in 2000, and Rashid Muratake, who was born in 2002, Xu Zhuoyi, who was born in 2003, has a greater age advantage. In addition, Xu Zhuoyi has a height of 1.98 meters, which consumes less energy when attacking the hurdles. If his rhythm between hurdles can be closer to that of Liu Xiang, he may have greater potential for improvement in the future.

In this Olympics, Xu Zhuoyi set himself the goal of reaching the top eight and entering the final. After advancing to the semifinals, he said that Liu Xiang is his goal. "The Olympic record he set 20 years ago is still here, which is also an inspiration to me. Now my goal is to work hard to catch up with him."

Xu Zhuoyi (right) in the Paris Olympics. Source: Xinhua News Agency

20 years ago, when Liu Xiang won the gold medal in the Athens Olympics, he was 21 years old. He said at the time that he would always remember this moment of turning 21. A few days ago, Zheng Qinwen, who also won the gold medal in history, also at the age of 21, mentioned Liu Xiang's words. The young Xu Zhuoyi is also about to celebrate his 21st birthday. We are young students, in the prime of our youth; we are full of vigor and ambition, and we are ready to take action!

In the early morning of August 8, Beijing time, Xu Zhuoyi will step onto the track for the 110-meter hurdles semi-finals. No matter what the result is, youth has not failed.

Some sources: Shanghai Songjiang, Chao News

Copyright statement

All articles on Xinmin Weekly platforms may not be reproduced, published, adapted, or subjected to other copyright-related activities without formal authorization. Violators will be held accountable!