Not only champions deserve applause
2024-08-19
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Pursuing faster, higher, and stronger is the goal of all professional athletes. But in the Olympic Games, only a few people can stand on the highest podium. This is the cruelty of competitive sports, but also its unique charm. However, regardless of whether they win a gold medal or not, everyone who tries their best on the field deserves applause and cheers.
Image source: Screenshot of the Paris Olympic Committee website.
Fighting alone, the brave are fearless
As a sport long dominated by European and American athletes, road cycling is not the strong point of the Chinese sports delegation. In this competition, the only participant of the Chinese team, Lv Xianjing, rode on the 273-kilometer track for 6 hours, 39 minutes and 27 seconds, and finally crossed the finish line in 68th place.
Lv Xianjing first became involved in mountain biking, and later moved on to road cycling. After competing in various competitions, his competitive level continued to improve, and he eventually made it to the Olympic stage.
Lv Xianjing, wearing a red uniform, successfully completed the race, creating the best result for Chinese men's road cycling since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Although there is still a long way to go before the podium, the bright "Chinese red" has shown the world the future possibilities of Chinese road cycling.
Data map: Ikee Rikako at the Tokyo Olympics. Image source: Visual China
Overcoming the disease and standing on the field is victory
Coubertin once said: "What is important at the Olympics is not victory, but participation." For Japanese swimming star Rikako Ikee, who emerged out of nowhere at the Jakarta Asian Games, it is already a miracle that she can appear in the swimming pool at the Paris Olympics.
Four years ago, 18-year-old Ikee Rikako was diagnosed with leukemia. Just when the outside world thought her career was coming to an end, she defeated the disease and returned to the court without hesitation, and made a promise: "I told myself that I must go to Paris."
In March this year, Ikee Rikako qualified for the Paris Olympics through domestic trials. This was her third Olympic journey, but unfortunately, she failed to take home a medal.
However, even though she is suffering from illness, Ikee Rikako will not be tripped by a failure. She has already set her sights on Los Angeles four years later: "For me, it is meaningless if I don't win. I hope I can win back in four years."
File photo: The picture shows Chen Yuxi entering the venue.
A brave heart is always worth gold
Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan once again staged a "battle of gods" for the audience in the women's 10-meter diving competition at the Paris Olympics. The two athletes won the gold and silver medals with a huge lead, and Chen Yuxi finally finished second with a slight disadvantage.
In fact, this is a competition without losers. The two girls are of similar age and were both known as "genius girls" when they first debuted. During the Paris Olympic cycle, the women's single 10-meter platform became a show for Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi. The healthy competition between them is also a well-known story.
Having failed to win an individual gold medal in two Olympic Games, one netizen said: "No one can remember the second place, unless she is Chen Yuxi." In fact, Chen Yuxi has never been the "eternal runner-up". In international competitions such as the World Championships and the World Cup, she has repeatedly defeated Quan Hongchan and stood on the highest podium.
In competitive sports, there will always be winners and losers. But Chen Yuxi's brave heart will always be gold.
Image source: Paris Olympic Committee website.
One-armed golfer shines in Paris
In the women's table tennis team competition, Brazilian player Bruna Alexander is definitely one of the most eye-catching players: she has only one arm, but she stands opposite healthy Olympic athletes.
She put the small white ball on the racket with one hand, then threw it up neatly and swung the racket to hit it. Bruna had practiced this common serve countless times.
Born in 1995, Bruna lost her right arm in an accident when she was a few months old. At the age of 7, she started playing table tennis and was selected for the national team at the age of 11. Bruna quickly showed her talent, stood out in national competitions, and got the opportunity to participate in the Paralympics. Bruna won medals in both the Rio and Tokyo Paralympics.
As his competitive level continues to improve, Bruna has a bigger goal - to compete in the Olympics. In the 2024 Busan World Table Tennis Championships, Bruna helped the Brazilian team fight back and beat the Luxembourg team led by Ni Xialian.
Her outstanding performance was recognized by the Brazilian Table Tennis Association. When she learned that she had qualified for the Paris Olympics, she said: "I have realized one of my biggest dreams."
Although Bruna and her teammates were eliminated by the South Korean team in the team competition, her story made the Olympic spirit more concrete.
Data map: The picture shows Xiao Ruoteng, a Chinese player, in the pommel horse competition. Photo by Sheng Jiapeng, a reporter from China News Service
Fight to the extreme and the silver medal is also a victory
Veteran Xiao Ruoteng finally brought back two medals from Paris, one silver and one bronze. After the men's team gymnastics final, the scene of him shedding tears on the field moved countless spectators.
He played with a shoulder injury and a closed bandage, and he said before the game that he was determined and confident to win the men's team gold medal. After successfully completing the action, Xiao Ruoteng's arm was already broken and bleeding. But things did not go as planned, and the Chinese men's gymnastics team finished second with a slight difference of 0.532 points. Xiao Ruoteng's dream of becoming an Olympic champion was shattered again. The 28-year-old said that this is most likely his last Olympic journey.
From the individual all-around finals at the Tokyo Olympics to the team finals at the Paris Olympics, Xiao Ruoteng missed the gold medal twice. However, in the Olympic world, the gold medal is not the only criterion for measuring whether an athlete is great.
There is no shortage of tragic heroes in competitive sports, but Xiao Ruoteng also shone brightly in the process of pursuing his dreams and breaking through himself.
