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visually impaired athletes in the men's long jump t11 final at the paris paralympic gamesdi dongdongwith a score of 6.85 meters,he broke the world record and successfully defended his title after winning the tokyo paralympic games.

there was one detail that impressed the netizens.“come, come, come…”the command was actually the coach's instruction to the blind athletes. everyone was amazed at di dongdong's wonderful performance and was even more impressed by the tacit cooperation between him and his coach wang lin.

after di dongdong returned to china,coach wang linaccepted the main stationface to facecolumn exclusive interview. what kind of tacit understanding should be cultivated between di dongdong and wang lin? how does di dongdong overcome the fear of not being able to see every time he jumps? what are his plans for the future?

he broke the world record by shouting "come come come"

behind the scenes, you can’t do without these “eyes”

the t11 level that di dongdong participated in is the highest level of visual impairment.the athlete is totally blind or nearly blind.

lian jiagengis in the teampacesetterhis task was to help di dongdong get in the right direction before he started running. "i led him to the track, facing the coach, and asked him to stretch out his left foot. i asked him to find the concave part of the inside of my foot, and then i grabbed his hands and helped him get in the right direction."

"come, come, come..." during the competition, coach wang lin stood in front of the take-off pedal and gave voice guidance. by listening to the sound and determining the position, di dongdong started running forward, and wang lin had to choose the most appropriate time to quickly move aside.

di dongdong believed that since the coach did not call for a stop, his direction was completely straight.“the tacit understanding is that i believe in him!”

the tacit understanding between di dongdong and wang lin began 11 years ago. in 2013, di dongdong was selected to join the liaoning province disabled sports training center and began sprint training. since then, wang lin has served as di dongdong's pacesetter.

on the field, the pacesetter and the visually impaired athleteconnected by traction rope, guiding the direction of visually impaired athletes and maintaining speed and rhythm,known as the "eyes" of visually impaired athletes.

later, under wang lin's guidance, di dongdong won several sprint championships in domestic and international competitions. in 2017, di dongdong began to practice long jump, and wang lin became his coach and guide.

for di dongdong, the key to the transition from running to jumping is to overcome the psychological barrier: "when running, there is a guide accompanying me; when jumping, i run alone on the track and can only judge the direction by sound."

every time he jumped, the blind di dongdong felt fear: "i didn't know if there would be a pit or some obstacles blocking me when i stepped on it. i ran off the track and one of my feet stepped on the outside of the sand pit when i landed. it was very painful..."

as a coach, wang lin once wore a blindfold to experience firsthand the fear that long jump brought to di dongdong.i tried running in the middle four lanes of a 100-meter track, and it felt like my feet would never touch the ground.

long jump includes a series of actions including starting, accelerating, jumping, aerial posture, landing, etc., which are easy for normal people, but for visually impaired athletes, each one is a daunting challenge.

wang lin:i can't remember how long it took him to learn the long jump movements. for example, after he learned the jump and became familiar with it, he would teach the next movement, and he would practice it slowly, and he might also teach other movements in between. this process took at least five years.

"with him, i have regained my sight.

every time i compete, i risk my life and that’s it!”

in addition to the regular actions,listen to the sound to determine the locationit is an ability that visually impaired athletes must have in the long jump competition. in order to find a more suitable method, wang lin and di dongdong conducted a long exploration.

at first, the two of them were clapping to give guidance, but the clapping rhythm was slow, and di dongdong felt that the intervals between clapping were a bit long, which might lead to deviation. in order to speed up the rhythm, they changed to shouting later.

during training and competitions, wang lin shouted to di dongdong over and over again, "come, come, come..." wang lin said that the word "come" was not specific, he just felt that this word was the loudest he could utter, and it could also give him a rhythm. he also tried the word "ah", but the word "ah" could not connect, and there was no such rhythm.

di dongdong said: "the coach is my pair of eyes.with him in front of me, i have regained my sight.you can run forward bravely and then jump. "

however, even if the right sound guidance method is found, the problem of deviation is inevitable. in the 2018 asian para games, di dongdong jumped out of the sand pit because of deviation.

if you jump out of the pit, you might sprain your ankle at best, or even injure your spine and coccyx at worst, with disastrous consequences. wang lin said, "if i jump out of the way, it might be the last time i jump in my life."

but before every competition, di dongdong would tell wang lin:"it's all about risking your life."

"every breakthrough,it's a proof of myself.

this process is more joyful than winning a medal!"

in august 2021, in the men's long jump t11 final of the tokyo paralympic games, di dongdong won the gold medal with a score of 6.47 meters.

in october 2023, di dongdong broke the asian record and won the championship at the 4th asian para games in hangzhou.

at this year's paris paralympic games, di dongdong won the championship again.

at the closing ceremony of the paris paralympic games, di dongdong and swimmer jiang yuyan served as flag bearers, representing the chinese paralympic delegation.

eye disease and accidents caused di dongdong to lose his sight, but running and jumping helped him break through the darkness and broke the limits of human beings, showing people the charm of sports and the beauty of life.

di dongdong said,every breakthrough is a proof of myself.

di dongdong also has another side outside the stadium. wang lin said that although di dongdong is blind, he is not inferior and his inner world is also very rich."dongdong sings very well and likes listening to music. he has a rich entertainment life and has never complained."

although we can’t see the road, we can’t stop moving forward. di dongdong said:“sports make me more confident.i want to continue long jump in the future.overcome fear, break through yourself, prove yourself,because this process is more joyful than winning a medal!"