Deng Yawen "took off" in Paris: When I was in the air, I saw the sky was so blue
2024-08-07
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
Narrated by: Deng Yawen
Written by: Cover News trainee reporter Li Qinhua and reporter Chen Ganlu
Deng Yawen's journey in freestyle BMX seems to be a refreshing story of a talented athlete overcoming all obstacles in many ways.
In 2017, when she was only 12 years old, she was spotted by a cross-border selection coach and had her first experience with BMX. In 2018, she was selected for the national team and became one of the first members of the Chinese freestyle BMX team. In 2019, she won her first national championship, winning the women's freestyle BMX B championship at the Second Youth Games.
In 2024, in the women's freestyle BMX park final at the Paris Olympics, she defeated international stars to win the gold medal, marking China's "zero breakthrough" in the Olympics in this event.
Deng Yawen at the award ceremony on July 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yibo
But her story is more like a road of hard work from scratch. BMX originated in California in the 1970s. It combines people and bikes to achieve difficult flips and maneuvers, which is very entertaining. It has always been the "traditional territory" of European and American athletes. The Chinese team did not build a team from scratch until 2017. When BMX was selected for the first time in the Olympic Games in 2020, the Chinese team did not even qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Deng Yawen was constantly injured, "sometimes she would fall 10 times in 10 minutes."But she kept getting back on her feet, and even went abroad to compete two months after her right shoulder bone graft surgery, until she stood on the championship podium at the Paris Olympics on July 31 this year.
The bright-eyed girl said, "From the day I started training with the team, I knew I was here for the Olympics. I wanted to be in that gold medal position."
The following is Deng Yawen’s self-narration.
Don't be afraid of coming back empty-handed
When flying in the air, time seems to stop for me. I will count five numbers in my mind, one, two, three, four, five, and then land with the car.
When I competed in the Paris Olympics, I hadn't trained outdoors for several months. When I was in the air, I didn't think about anything, no gold medal, no competition, only the next move.
Deng Yawen competes in the competition on July 31. On the same day, in the final of the women's freestyle BMX park event at the Paris Olympics, Chinese athlete Deng Yawen won the championship. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yibo
The BMX show only lasts for sixty seconds. We have to show as many skills as possible, use our best moves, and temporarily readjust and design the moves according to our own situation. This requires a lot of calculations and free play.
The finals were arranged in the order of the qualifying rounds, and the later the players appeared, the stronger they were. I was the second to last to appear, and the last one to appear was the American player Hannah Roberts. Hannah was the runner-up of the Tokyo Olympics. She has practiced for many years and is very stable in terms of technology. It can be said that she is the benchmark of this event. When she won the world championship in 2018, I had just started practicing BMX.But when we compete on the same stage, she is no longer my idol, but my competitor.
This order of appearance is the best plan for me. Although it means that I have to watch all the performances of the players in front of me, it can also let Hannah see my performance and put some pressure on her. My mentality is very stable. I am not an Olympic champion before. I went to Paris empty-handed, and I am not afraid of returning empty-handed. If the people in front of me fall, it will not have a big impact on me. My chance of winning lies here, a more stable mentality and a little bit of luck.
In the second round, I did not hold back at all. I increased the difficulty of the first round and did the "Dragon Tail Swinging Two Rounds". The final score was 92.60 points. In fact, I was very afraid to do this action. When I participated in the training for the 2021 National Games, I fell straight down from a height of one floor, broke my shoulder and broke my waist. So in normal training, I only dared to do this action once a day.
But I knew that I needed to use this difficult move to support myself in achieving higher results, so I did not hesitate at the time.
When the results revealed that I was the champion, I cried.
Hannah made a mistake, but after the game, she pushed her coach aside, ran over to hug me, and praised me for a good job. I think that's what sportsmanship is like. Everyone knows how hard everyone works. No matter who gets the card, we all congratulate them wholeheartedly. I admire Hannah because she deserves it.
I remember the first day in the Olympic Village, I went to the fitness room for training. There was a small screen right in front of the practice table, which showed pictures of athletes and coaches hugging each other on the field in every session.I said to myself at that time: This moment really made me feel the arrival of the Olympics and made me more determined that I just wanted that position.
I conquered my fear
In fact, for a long time, I was most afraid of the starting action of jumping down from a high surface. In fact, it is the simplest and most basic action. The foreign coach Daniel asked me, you are already a pro, why are you still afraid? But I am afraid.
I first joined the national team in 2018, and the coach later said that the reason he chose me was because I had a light in my eyes.In fact, the coach also crossed over from other sports to become a coach. He doesn’t know how to judge what are the characteristics of a BMX athlete. He can only follow his feelings.
We watched videos together and learned how to use other people's strength and movements. We even spent our own money to go to Beijing to buy a set of props that others had used.He learned how to be a BMX coach, and we learned how to be a BMX athlete.Even now, we still sit down and watch videos to see how to exert force. Now the kids are learning from our training experience, and they are improving faster.
We would film every training session, especially the failures, because we had to study how we fell. Now my phone album is full of my various falls, falling from the high platform of the crater, sliding down the ridge, and falling from the quarter pipe. The worst fall was like jumping off a building, with the car on top and me on the bottom, my face was full of tears, and I lost my memory for a long time. When I went back, I even forgot which floor I lived on.
Falling and getting injured are very normal. All athletes know that our biggest enemies are ourselves and injuries.
In May this year in Shanghai, during the official training session the day before the Olympic Qualifying Series, I threw myself on TV for the first time.At that time, an Australian player entered the venue illegally, and I was knocked down, just like meeting love around the corner, and hit my waist which had an old injury. I lay on the ground for a long time, and finally stood up with all my strength, and still won the third place in that game.
Deng Yawen in training on May 28. On that day, the Chinese freestyle BMX national training team trained in Changli County, Hebei Province, preparing for the Paris Olympics. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Li Duo)
At that time, I was behind in the score and was actually ready to miss the Olympics. From the 2023 World Championships to the subsequent Olympic qualifiers, it was a very difficult time. I lost my sight. I was under a lot of pressure and anxiety, and my hair fell out in clumps. The coach knew that I was unwilling to communicate with people when I was under pressure, so he brought my cat Didi over. Didi's name was given by the foreign coach, and it means "kitten" in Spanish.
Later, I took two injections, flew to Budapest, finished the competition, and finally got a ticket to Paris. Sibei didn't go in the end, and she said that she hoped I could bring her glory to the Olympics, and I wanted to go for her.
On the bus before the Paris Olympic Games final, I wrote myself a message: There is less than a day left to the final victory or defeat, I cannot describe my current mood, my dream, the goal that seemed out of reach before, is now so close to me.I have a strong team and country, and many people who support me. I can do it. I definitely can do it. I don't want to lose again, and I don't want to be second again. I want to win the championship while doing my best. I really want it.
I jumped off the starting point on my bike.
When I won, I thought God was still blessing me. The dark time of the World Championships finally came back to me in another way, and I overcame it.
