after the finish line, the championship was "hung" on the runner-up
2024-09-03
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after passing the purple curve of the stade de france, the two athletes, one in red and one in black, one short and one tall, had already left their opponents behind. they bit their lips tightly and tried their best to make the final sprint. in the end, the athlete in red crossed the finish line with a slight advantage before almost falling.
chinese athlete shi yiting (first from right) competes on september 1. photo by xinhua news agency reporter he canling
this is a scene from the women's 200m t36 final at the paris paralympic games on july 1. chinese athlete shi yiting won the championship with a time of 27.50 seconds, beating the world record holder of the event, new zealander danielle, and breaking the paralympic record. after crossing the finish line, shi yiting lay on danielle for a long time and could not stand up.
"i was really exhausted. i couldn't take the last few steps. if the track was longer, i would have just rolled over..." after the award ceremony, shi yiting, wearing a glittering gold medal, vividly described the scene of the final sprint.
"although i was the champion in this event in both the rio and tokyo paralympics, danielle's performance has improved rapidly in the past two years. i only lost to her in may, and she has improved the world record to 27.47 seconds. before the game, i was very clear that if i want to win this event now, i must try my best to have a chance," shi yiting said frankly.
chinese athlete shi yiting (third from left) competes on september 1. photo by xinhua news agency reporter cai yang
"i knew i would be faster than her in the beginning, but i had to hold on from behind." shi yiting gestured and described, "at the end, i could clearly feel that she was catching up with me, and even a little bit ahead of me. at that time, there was only one voice in my heart: i must hold on, i must hold on, i must hold on! in fact, in the end, the purple track in front of me turned pink in my eyes. i had reached my limit. but i was very lucky and happy that i finally made it."
"i never thought about the result of 27.5 seconds. i have never achieved it, including in training, and even when my coach was timing me by hand, i have never achieved this result. so i am really grateful to my opponent for making me a better person," shi yiting said with emotion.
on september 1, chinese champion shi yiting (right) hugged runner-up danielle aitchison of new zealand after the competition. photo by xinhua news agency reporter he canling
"after i crossed the finish line, my mind went dark and i lay on danielle who was closest to me. i might have been 'hanged' for a minute. i vaguely heard her congratulating me." just as the reporter was interviewing her, danielle, who was walking by, congratulated shi yiting again.
"we are rivals on the court, but we have a very friendly relationship off the court. no matter who wins, the other one will be genuinely happy for the other," said shi yiting.
reporter: chen di, ji jiadong, shan lei
source: xinhua news agency
