Paris Summer | Veterans and newcomers, they have no regrets in Paris
2024-08-13
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
On August 8, Beijing time, after breaking the best Olympic result in the preliminaries, the Chinese team Liu Hao/Ji Bowen won the gold medal in the men's double kayak 500m event at the Paris Olympics with a time of 1:39.48. For them, who have only been paired together for two years, they not only broke through themselves in Paris, but also represented a big step forward for Chinese rowing.
After only two years of pairing, the post-2000s have injected vitality into the veterans
As the "big brother" of Chinese men's rowing, the Paris Olympics is Liu Hao's second Olympic journey.
At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Liu Hao, who was in great form at the time, missed out on Olympic gold medals twice: He and his partner Zheng Pengfei won the silver medal in the men's 1000m double canoe, which was the first time the Chinese canoeing team won an Olympic medal in 13 years; and he won the runner-up in the men's 1000m single canoe, which was also the first Olympic medal for Chinese men's single canoe. But the two Olympic silver medals have always been a regret in Liu Hao's heart.
In order to prepare for the Paris Olympics, Liu Hao formed a new partner with Ji Bowen, who is 9 years younger than him, in 2022. When talking about his first impression of Ji Bowen, Liu Hao once said, "He is young and row fast." Ji Bowen sincerely admires Liu Hao, "Brother Hao is the big brother in the rowing world. We met when we competed in Qiandao Lake in 2019. I thought I was very fast, but I was far behind. I took Brother Hao as a role model to learn from and moved towards this goal."
Since the Paris Olympics changed the 1000m to 500m, Liu Hao and Ji Bowen, who are good at long distances, needed to adapt to the rhythm of the competition. So during the winter training, the two of them did more strength training to improve their physical fitness and physical fitness. Every item in the strength class was a competition. Liu Hao recalled: "I didn't feel particularly uncomfortable. When I got to the gym, everyone was very excited. We competed every day and had a battle in every event."
The hard training finally paid off. At the 2023 Canoeing World Championships, Liu Hao and Ji Bowen, who had only been partners for a year, won second place, which not only secured their place in the Paris Olympics, but also greatly increased their confidence in competing in the Paris Olympics.
"Through our early performances, technical feel and tacit understanding, we are full of confidence in the Paris Olympics. (Previous results) affirm our training, our hard work and our dedication. (We) will definitely have a breakthrough in the Olympics." Liu Hao said this before setting off for the Paris Olympics.
From breaking records to winning gold medals, they won't stop
In the men's double kayak 500m preliminary round held on August 6, 13 pairs from 13 countries were divided into two groups to compete. The Chinese pair Liu Hao/Ji Bowen were placed in the second group of the preliminary round.
In the competition, the individual neutral pair took the lead in breaking the Olympic best of 1:38.96 set by Chinese star Meng Guanliang/Yang Wenjun 20 years ago with a time of 1:38.65. In this situation, Liu Hao/Ji Bowen, who were slightly behind at the start of the second group, quickly caught up with the leading Spanish pair by quickly adjusting the rhythm of the competition, and overtook them in the last 200 meters with their physical sprint advantage. In the end, they crossed the finish line first with a time of 1:37.40, winning the first place in the group and breaking the Olympic best again.
Coming to the final, Liu Hao/Ji Bowen did not give any other opponents any chance to beat them. From the start to the second half of the sprint, they always kept their own rhythm, showed their best condition, and finally took the heavy medal.
It is worth mentioning that in addition to winning the gold medal in the double canoe, Liu Hao and Ji Bowen also advanced to the semifinals in the men's single canoe 1000m race on August 7. On August 9, Beijing time, the two will continue to strive for Olympic results in this event.
Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Huang Xiyin
Proofread by Sheng Yuanyuan
