My Olympic Story [gf]246e[/gf]｜I witnessed the glorious moment when Xiangxi Olympic athletes won glory for the country
2024-08-12
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Text | She Zaoyang
The Olympic arena is full of passion, and the hearts of millions of people are moved on and off the stage. Mysterious Xiangxi is the cradle of Olympic champions. As an ordinary teacher at the Xiangxi Sports School, I have witnessed four times in different ways the exciting moments when Xiangxi Olympic athletes won glory for the country.
On September 18, 2000, Yang Xia, who was trained and sent by Xiangxi State Sports School, will represent the Chinese team in the women's weightlifting competition at the 27th Sydney Olympic Games in Australia. This is a great event for the state sports school. On that day, more than 200 teachers and students of the state sports school waited in an orderly manner beside the TV in the student cafeteria early in the morning to watch the live broadcast of the Olympics on CCTV. As a head teacher of the school, I participated in this grand event. Yang Xia fought calmly in the Olympic arena, and was more determined than the last one. In the end, she lifted 125 kilograms steadily in the third clean and jerk, defeated her opponent and won the women's weightlifting 53 kilograms Olympic championship, and broke the world record in this level. The teachers and students cheered warmly, it was so wonderful, an Olympic champion came out of the mountains of Xiangxi, it was amazing!
When they saw Yang Xia standing on the highest podium in the Olympic Games with a shining gold medal hanging on her chest, the national anthem playing and the national flag rising, the teachers and students all stood up and waved their hands involuntarily to the rhythm of the national anthem. A sense of pride arose spontaneously. The Olympics with athletes from Xiangxi participating were just different.
Eight years later, on August 10, 2008, Long Qingquan, who was trained by Xiangxi Sports School, will participate in the men's weightlifting competition of the 29th Beijing Olympic Games. As a teacher at the Xiangxi Weightlifting Talent Base, I came to Beijing with my colleagues and had the honor to watch the Olympic Games on site.
In August 2008, the beautiful city of Beijing was full of Olympic elements. The Bird's Nest, the Water Cube, and the Fuwa connected China and the world. On the evening of the 10th, we passed the strict security check and entered the stadium. The huge gymnasium of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics was packed with spectators from all over the world. The men's weightlifting 56kg competition at the Beijing Olympics was very intense. Although the Chinese athlete Long Qingquan was highly favored to win the championship, the athletes from North Korea and Indonesia were also very strong. At the end of the snatch competition, Long Qingquan was only 2kg ahead of the Indonesian player and temporarily ranked first. Each of us was worried about the young player Long Qingquan, who was less than 18 years old. After the clean and jerk competition began, Long Qingquan withstood the pressure and lifted 160kg in the second attempt. In the end, Long Qingquan won the precious men's weightlifting Olympic gold medal with a snatch of 132kg, a clean and jerk of 160kg, and a total score of 292kg, breaking the world youth record for this level.
The whole audience burst into warm applause. For the second time, athletes from Xiangxi stood on the highest podium of the Olympics. Chinese audiences held high the five-star red flag, shouted Long Qingquan's name, and sang "Liuyang River" in unison. The whole stadium was boiling. My colleagues were so excited that their eyes were filled with tears. They kept waving the national flag in their hands and were reluctant to leave for a long time. The patriotism and Olympic enthusiasm of the Chinese people on the scene will be unforgettable for me.
Another eight years has passed. In 2016, Xiangxi Prefecture's weightlifters Long Qingquan and Xiang Yanmei and gymnast Shang Chunsong will all go to the 31st Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is an exciting event for Xiangxi Prefecture. When the Rio Olympic weightlifting competition was broadcast live on TV, Xiangxi Prefecture was holding the 13th State Games in Longshan County. Long Qingquan's first coach Gan Zhiyue and Xiang Yanmei's first coach Long Yuping were all referees for the weightlifting events in the State Games. Therefore, we had the opportunity to watch the live Olympic Games with the first coach of the Olympic champion in the hotel where the referees stayed. The disciples who have been trained with years of hard work have come to the Olympic Games. The mood of the gold medal coach sitting in front of the TV watching the Olympic Games at this moment is unimaginable to ordinary people, especially the Beijing Olympic champion Long Qingquan has come out of the trough. What will be his performance in the second Olympic Games after 8 years? It is worth looking forward to.
In the men's weightlifting 56kg competition, Long Qingquan had a fierce competition with the North Korean player. The scene was thrilling. Long Qingquan increased the weight to 170kg in the last clean and jerk, a weight he had never lifted before. Whether he could lift it successfully would determine the owner of the gold medal. Teacher Gan's face was extremely solemn. It was an anxious wait. In the end, Long Qingquan succeeded in the attempt and won the Olympic gold medal again with a total score of 307kg, breaking the world record in this level that had been maintained for 16 years. Long Qingquan excitedly waved his fists in the arena, and Teacher Gan could not hide his inner joy and smiled widely.
The women's weightlifting 69kg competition was also full of ups and downs. Xiang Yanmei had a thrilling scene in the snatch competition. The barbell hit her head. Coach Long, who was watching the competition, and everyone else exclaimed in unison, as if their hearts were about to jump out. When the clean and jerk competition began, when Coach Long Yuping saw Xiang Yanmei overcome the difficulties, appeared on the TV screen in high spirits, and bravely walked onto the competition stage, tears flashed in her eyes. Xiang Yanmei did not live up to the coach's expectations. She performed bravely in the following competitions and finally won the championship with a total score of 261 kg. Everyone rushed to shake hands with Coach Long to congratulate her. In the gymnastics competition of the Rio Olympics, the Chinese delegation performed outstandingly in the women's team competition. Xiangxi athlete Shang Chunsong worked together with his teammates and won a precious bronze medal after fierce competition. Xiangxi athletes are really awesome! It's really fun to watch such an Olympic Games.
The people of Xiangxi love sports and the Olympics. The integration of sports and education is in full swing. The Olympic spirit of faster, higher, stronger and more united is being passed on by the young people of Xiangxi. I firmly believe that in Xiangxi, where talents emerge in large numbers, there will be outstanding athletes who will stand on the Olympic podium again and achieve transcendence in life.
Congratulations to the author for winning the Sports Lottery Olympic cheering peripheral gift package provided by Hunan Sports Lottery.
The "My Olympic Story" essay contest is strongly supported by the Sports Lottery Management Center of the Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the unified issuance of China Sports Lottery. In the past 30 years, China Sports Lottery has raised more than 830 billion yuan in public welfare funds, which are widely used in many public welfare undertakings such as education assistance, disaster relief, Olympic glory, national fitness, the cause of the disabled, and rural and urban medical assistance funds.
