“Paris is a very old city, and we are very young”
2024-08-14
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This article is transferred from [CCTV.com];
People first realized that the post-2000s had become the "protagonists" of the Olympics probably from their online names.
Once the various strange Weibo IDs were exposed, the athletes of the Chinese shooting team were given titles such as "A Tiao Sister", "Gan Fan Brother", "Rose Brother", "Ren Bu Liang Sister", "Ka Pi Bala Brother", and they also contributed humorous copy such as "Sheng Lihao@Win the gold medal just by eating".
But online is just the beginning.
Offline, these young players created countless famous scenes, which made people sigh:These young people are just different.
01
Young people are naturally wild
Unlike the mature and steady acceptance speeches that we are used to, the younger generation of athletes were all "crazy" in front of the camera.
Before the start, Quan Hongchan pinched two fingers and confidently declared: "Little Paris, we have it in hand"; Zheng Qinwen defeated the world's number one head-on and declared in front of the camera: "Queen Wen, I deserve the title"; when the old teammates were still modestly saying "not completely satisfied" after winning the championship, Pan Zhanle said bluntly: "The championship is ours, and others should be dissatisfied"...
"I am the champion and I am proud of myself", they certainly have the capital to be "crazy":
At the age of 17, Huang Yuting participated in the Olympics for the first time and won the first gold medal for China with her teammate Sheng Lihao;
The 17-year-old Quan Hongchan is now a two-time Olympic champion and the "unbeaten queen" certified by the World Swimming Federation. Her "fairy combination" and "peak showdown" with her teammate Chen Yuxi have repeatedly amazed the audience;
At the age of 18, Deng Yawen made her debut at the Olympics and helped China win the first gold medal in the history of freestyle BMX with her dominance, bringing this niche sport into people's attention.
The 19-year-old Sheng Lihao won the mixed doubles championship and then broke the Olympic record with a total score of 252.2 in the 10-meter air rifle individual event, adding another gold medal for the Chinese delegation.
Pan Zhanle, who just turned 20, increased the maximum speed of human beings in water by 0.4 seconds in the men's 100-meter freestyle final, winning the championship with a one-body advantage over his opponent, shocking the world.
The 21-year-old Long Daoyi and the 22-year-old Wang Zongyuan won the gold medal in the men's double 3-meter springboard event with their "perfect synchronization" of the final difficult moves, continuing the glory of the "Dream Team";
The 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen created China's best performance in the Olympic Games since Li Na in the women's singles tennis event;
23-year-old Luo Shifang won the women's 59kg weightlifting championship and broke three Olympic records in one night;
23-year-old Sun Yingsha and 24-year-old Wang Chuqin lived up to expectations and won the table tennis mixed doubles championship;
The 24-year-old Xie Yu won the gold medal in the men's 10-meter air pistol event as a dark horse. People praised him: "No one was optimistic about you, but you are the most competitive."
What is even more unique is thatConfidence is not just for champions.
The 16-year-old "Mary Kitten" Zhang Yihan performed a cheerful and vigorous free exercise, which made the audience beat the rhythm for her spontaneously; the 20-year-old "Flying Man with Glasses" Xu Zhuoyi rushed forward on the 110-meter hurdles track. Under his seemingly thin and gentle appearance, he was determined to "be the best in the world"...
In the women's gymnastics team final at the Paris Olympics, the Chinese team consisting of Luo Huan, Ou Yushan, Qiu Qiyuan, Zhang Yihan and Zhou Yaqin won sixth place (IC photo)
Xu Zhuoyi participated in the men's 110m hurdles preliminaries at the Paris Olympics and advanced to the semifinals (IC photo)
In the context of traditional culture, Chinese people are supposed to be gentle, modest, cautious and introverted, but this batch of Chinese post-00s players have broken the "stereotype" of the outside world in one fell swoop.They have ambition written on their faces and confidence integrated into their bones and blood. They win with openness and lose with grace.
The emerging new generation of Olympic athletes have injected a vibrant youthful spirit into the world.
02
“Super relaxing feeling”
After winning the championship, 22-year-old Chang Yani and her teammate Chen Yiwen gave each other a "princess hug" at the award ceremony, which surprised the foreign contestants next to them; Zhang Yihan applauded her idol and opponent Biles throughout the whole process; 11-year-old Zheng Haohao came to the Olympics to compete and chase stars right after graduating from elementary school...
This sense of relaxation also spread to the competition. The "big-hearted" Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting were always "calm" before and after winning the championship; Pan Zhanle said frankly before the game,"If you can win (a medal), you'll win. If you can't, you'll go to the next one.""Don't expect too much, give me less pressure", which is jokingly called "not able to waste any energy internally".
The pressure and cruelty of the competition are often dissipated in this kind of open-mindedness.
As the youngest Chinese player, Zheng Haohao is not worried about the ranking in the competition. "I just need to keep working hard and wait for the next session." The badminton men's doubles team Liang Weikang and Wang Chang, who were ranked 444th in the world, made it to the Olympic finals with a smile on their faces. Facing the silver medal, they said:"Leave the next term's affairs to the next term, and don't think about what's happening two hours or eight kilometers away."；
In the men's doubles gold medal match of the Paris Olympics badminton, Liang Weiheng/Wang Chang won the runner-up (IC photo)
"Bronze medalist" Zhang Yufei responded with a smile during an interview:The bronze medalist has the highest sense of happiness among the top three.The lowest level of happiness is the silver medal.
From their smiles, you can truly feel the happiness and sunshine that comes from the heart.
Paris Olympics women's 50m freestyle final: Zhang Yufei won the bronze medal (IC photo)
The audience cheered not only for the gold medals, but also for every athlete who won silver, bronze and even no medals.After two-time Olympic champion Shi Zhiyong missed out on a medal due to injury, at four in the morning, netizens from IPs across the country flocked to the comment section of his social account to leave messages of consolation, and the heartwarming comments were endless.
Shi Zhiyong participated in the men's 73kg weightlifting final at the Paris Olympics (IC photo)
Athletes at the Olympics are also becoming purer.As 13-year-old skateboarder Zhu Yuanling“I was having fun when the Olympics came.”; Liu Qingyi, the "number one" breakdancer in China, said:"Forget everything" "Enjoy the music, enjoy the stage"Yang Siqi, who came from the mountains, smiled bright red in the water even though she fell off her surfboard.“Anyway, I’m just very happy”。
Yang Siqi was eliminated from the top 16 of the Olympic women's surfing competition (IC photo)
They are winning glory for their country and enjoying the game.
Optimistic, tenacious, free and easy, straightforward, and not self-defeating... In this anxious era, the Olympic "post-00s" have warmed and soothed countless tired hearts with their excellent mental state.
03
A generation that sees the world with equal eyes
Over the past century, the faces of Chinese athletes at the Olympics have changed several times.
In 1932, Liu Changchun represented China in the first Olympic Games, declaring, "How can we forget our motherland and serve as slaves for a puppet country?" In 1984, Xu Haifeng won the first Olympic gold medal for China, writing, "I have finally completed the task entrusted to me by the Party and the People." In 2008, at the Beijing Olympic Games, we sang together, "One World, One Dream"...
Today, the post-2000s in the Olympic arena look similar but different from the past.
As athletes, they are still eager to win and fight for the country. Just like Pan Zhanle, who doesn't like pressure, felt the "hope of everyone in the country" before entering the water, and rushed forward with all his might; after several days of fighting, the exhausted Zheng Qinwen was still willing to "play another three-hour game for the country."
The difference is,They have their own modern temperament.
Just as Pan Zhanle said "I have reached my potential" when he broke the record; Zheng Qinwen confidently accepted the title of "Queen" after winning the championship; Quan Hongchan enthusiastically gave Gu Ailing a baby, overcoming the so-called barriers of family background and growing environment, only top athletes can appreciate each other...
In the new generation of athletes, people can see a stable core that is neither humble nor overbearing, neither arrogant nor impetuous, and they can also see a common language for communicating with the world.Born in a developing and progressive China, they are more confident and self-satisfied than any other generation. With an innate sense of "deservingness", they look at the world calmly and level-headedly.
This is also a unique mark of the times for the Paris Olympics. As Hemingway wrote in A Moveable Feast:Paris is a very old city, and we are very young.”
