After successfully completing the Paris Olympic journey, the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau Training Center continues to "benchmark the world's best"
2024-08-18
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A far greater number of participants than in previous years, more young athletes standing on the top stage of world sports events, and multiple events creating the best results in history... At the just-concluded 2024 Paris Olympics, 20 athletes from the Training Center of Jiangsu Sports Bureau used their actions and performances to help the Training Center of Jiangsu Sports Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the Training Center) to strengthen its confidence in "benchmarking against the world's best" during the critical period of preparations for the 15th National Games, adding new energy and motivation to the overall development goal of "Double First-Class" of "cultivating first-class competitive talents and building first-class training bases".
Creating the "best in history", more than just 1 silver and 1 bronze on the podium
The athletes from the training center brought back one silver and one bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Looking at the number of medals alone, their performance may not be very impressive. However, if you take a closer look at these two medals from track and field events and team ball games, it is not difficult to find that the "gold content" behind these achievements is exciting enough.
Before the Paris Olympics, China had won medals in the women's hammer throw for four consecutive Olympics. At the Paris Olympics, veteran Wang Zheng, the former leader of China's hammer throw, unexpectedly stopped in the finals. Zhao Jie, a young athlete born in the 2000s who made her debut at the Olympics, took over the "baton" and inherited China's tradition in this event with excellent performance. She also won a precious Olympic bronze medal, achieving a "zero breakthrough" in Jiangsu track and field events Olympic medals.
Jiangsu girl Zhao Jie won the bronze medal in the women's hammer throw at the Paris Olympics, creating the best record for Jiangsu in the Olympic track and field events.
In the hockey arena, where the competition was equally fierce or even more brutal, the Chinese women's hockey team, led by Jiangsu athletes Zhang Ying and Fan Yunxia, defeated world-class teams such as Australia and Belgium, which were ranked in the top four in the world, and made it to the final despite not being favored before the game. Although they lost to the defending champion Netherlands team on penalties in the end, returning to the Olympic finals after 16 years has allowed this Chinese women's hockey team to tie the best Olympic record with the silver medal they fought for, and also won the respect of the world.
In addition to medals, the "Olympic breakthrough journey" of more athletes from the training center has not stopped.
The Chinese women's rugby team, which made its debut at the Olympics three years ago and won the seventh place, the best record in history, was not favored by the outside world after being placed in the "death group" at the Paris Olympics. However, Yan Meiling, Chen Keyi, Dou Xinrong, Hu Yu, Ma Xiaodan, and Wang Wanyu from Jiangsu Province, together with other teammates, relied on the team's efforts and hard work to win the sixth place in the Olympics, once again breaking the team's best record in the Olympics, despite being chased by a number of world-class teams.
"As long as the final whistle has not been blown on the field, we will not give up any opportunity. I am very happy that we have become our own champions." After the game, Wang Wanyu's words not only represented the voice of the Chinese women's rugby players, but also expressed the thoughts of all the athletes in the training center - they will never give up on the field, and will only use their all-out performance to pursue a better self.
Returning to the Olympic Games, the veterans gained more than just results
At the Paris Olympics, a total of 20 athletes from the training center were selected for the Chinese sports delegation (with another P-card athlete participating in the national team as a substitute), covering five major events including track and field, basketball, volleyball, rugby, and hockey, accounting for nearly 50% of the number of Jiangsu athletes selected, far exceeding the record of 11 athletes selected in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Among them, there are many veterans who have been famous for a long time and are returning to the Olympic Games in Paris. For example, Gong Xiangyu and Zhang Changning, who once joined hands with the Chinese women's volleyball team to reach the top of the Olympics in Rio, and Wang Jianan, a famous long jumper who also made her Olympic debut in Rio; Yan Meiling, Chen Keyi, and Wang Wanyu, who led the Chinese women's rugby to create new history from Tokyo to Paris, and Zhang Ying, a member of the women's hockey team, who returned to the top with her teammates in Paris with the regrets of Tokyo, are all like this.
Jiangsu girls Fan Yunxia (left) and Zhang Ying (right) helped the Chinese women's team win the Olympic silver medal again after 16 years.
Looking at the performance of the veterans in the training center at the Paris Olympics, they showed a more stable and mature mentality for the game, and gained a new understanding and experience of playing for the country in the Olympics. Zhang Changning said, "I am fortunate to be participating in the Olympics for the third time. As a veteran player, my mentality is more mature." Wang Jianan also said frankly that the Olympics made him deeply appreciate the charm of competitive sports. "At the same time, the team's unity and cooperation, and the scientific support of the team have also helped me to challenge my own limits and pursue extreme performance. Thank you very much for your efforts and support."
In fact, having gone through at least two Olympic Games, these veterans who have followed the national team in battles for many years not only continued to go all out to strive for good results in the Paris Olympics, but they also proved with their words and deeds that over the 15th National Games cycle, the team building and development under the "Double First-Class" goal of the training center has been the solid backing for all athletes to grow quickly and face challenges.
"It is an extremely proud thing to represent the country in the Olympic Games, to show our elegance on the world stage, and to win glory for the motherland." Yan Meiling said that during the Olympics, the mutual encouragement among teammates and the careful guidance of the coaching team made the team an inseparable whole. "We faced difficulties together and shared the joy of victory together. This team spirit made us more fearless on the field. I believe that no matter what the future holds, this team spirit will be my strongest support."
Supporting "half of the country", more young people are aiming for higher dreams
Before the Paris Olympics, the training center had the largest number of participants in an Olympic Games, 11 in the Rio Olympics. In the Paris Olympics, the training center not only broke this record, but also among the 20-person list with an average age of 24.35 years old, 13 of them were participating in the Olympics for the first time.
Among these "Olympic rookies" there are not only hammer thrower Wang Qi, who made a splash at the 14th National Games, high jumper Wang Zhen, rising hurdler Liu Junqian, and sprinter Chen Jinfeng, but also women's basketball player Luo Xinqi and women's volleyball player Wu Mengjie, who were still competing in the youth group of the National Games three years ago, as well as Olympic rugby rookies Dou Xinrong, Hu Yu, Ma Xiaodan, and women's curling player Fan Yunxia, who have grown rapidly under the guidance of their team predecessors.
Dou Xinrong, Yan Meiling, Hu Yu, and coaches Lu Zhuan, Chen Keyi, Wang Wanyu, and Ma Xiaodan (from left to right) from Jiangsu Rugby helped Chinese rugby team to set a new Olympic record.
Perhaps for these newcomers who made their debut at the Olympics, the Paris Olympics was not perfect and left some regrets, so Wu Mengjie said, "Believe in yourself, as long as you have a dream, no matter how hard it is, you will overcome it." But in fact, the experience of the Paris Olympics also allowed these young people to see the appearance of the "world's top" up close and set new goals.
"This is my first time to participate in the Olympics after my injury. This Olympics means a lot to me." Like the "older Olympic rookie" Diao Linyu of the women's volleyball team, the Paris Olympics is also the first Olympic journey for 25-year-old Shi Yuhao. After missing five years of his golden career due to injury, this former "long jump genius" finally relied on his own efforts to step into the Olympic arena he had long dreamed of, from the National Games to the Asian Games. "In the words of the Internet, 'the wind from Shanghai has blown to Paris'. I have used more than six years to tell everyone that I will not be easily defeated by injuries."
Another person who hopes to realize her full talent in the Olympics is Zhao Jie, a new female hammer thrower who won a bronze medal in her first Olympic appearance. "I am very excited and happy that I won a bronze medal for my country in this Olympics." Zhao Jie is full of confidence in the future after ending her first Olympic journey with a bronze medal. "But this is a new starting point. In the future, I will continue to work hard, constantly surpass myself, and strive to stand on the highest podium."
Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Huang Xiyin
Proofread by Xu Heng
