National Freestyle Ski Aerial Team Athlete Xu Mengtao – 20 Years of Hard Work to Realize the Winter Olympics (Our New Era)
People’s Daily News Recalling the days and nights of fighting for the Beijing Winter Olympics, Xu Mengtao still has passion in her heart. In the freestyle skiing women’s aerial skills final of the Winter Olympics, Xu Mengtao won the championship with a perfect jump. This gold medal has been fought for by Chinese athletes for 24 years. At the award ceremony, Xu Mengtao burst into tears. She said: “Winning a gold medal for the motherland is a mission and an honor!”
In the 16 years of chasing dreams and the four Winter Olympics, Xu Mengtao has experienced large and small injuries and countless setbacks. However, winning glory for the country and making contributions to the country have always been the most powerful driving force in her heart, and it is also the original intention of every Chinese athlete to forge ahead and fight for it.
Aim high and aim for the Winter Olympics gold medal
Since being selected for the national team, Xu Mengtao has aimed at the Winter Olympics. She won the sixth place in the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, and after that, she won the silver medal in the Sochi Winter Olympics and only ranked ninth in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
For a period of time after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Xu Mengtao did not dare to watch pictures related to the Winter Olympics, but she couldn’t help but review her training and competition throughout the Winter Olympics cycle. She found that she still has a lot of room for improvement in terms of thinking, physical fitness and time adjustment. “I realized that I still can’t let go and can’t do without this project.” For the dream in her heart, Xu Mengtao chose to return to the arena, and set off again with love and heavy responsibility.
In the women’s freestyle skiing aerial skills competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, every competitor was eager to win and challenged the difficulty and completion of the action. And the more intense the competition, the more calm Xu Mengtao became. In the last jump of the final, she took out the most difficult move of the game, which was three weeks of air tossing and three weeks of twisting, and landed steadily. She said: “I didn’t think about anything in the last jump, just focus on technology and be the best version of myself.”
Show the highest difficulty with perfect play, the champion deserves it. Countless hard training and countless sweat have settled down at that moment, “Effort will not be in vain, it will help you at the most critical time.” Xu Mengtao achieved for the Chinese freestyle skiing aerial skills women’s team. The breakthrough of the “zero” gold medal in the Winter Olympics has also achieved the “Grand Slam” of the individual championship.
From Xu Nannan winning the first medal at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, to Han Xiaopeng winning the first men’s gold medal at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, to Xu Mengtao and Qi Guangpu bravely surpassing and creating new glory at the Beijing Winter Olympics… …The Chinese freestyle skiing aerial skills team worked hard, showing the style of Chinese athletes in the new era, and also vividly expressing the spirit of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is open-minded, confident and open, facing difficulties, pursuing excellence, and creating a better future.
To face the difficulties, overcome the injuries and work hard to move forward
Freestyle skiing aerials is a challenging sport. During the competition, the contestants slid down from the landslide at high speed, jumped into the air, and landed after completing multiple flips on the horizontal and vertical axes. The game is thrilling and enjoyable to watch, but if you are a little careless, you will also encounter injuries.
At the 13th National Winter Games in 2016, Xu Mengtao ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left leg and removed nearly 70% of the lateral meniscus of her left knee. After the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, she underwent another operation, and 60% of the meniscus on the inner side of her left knee was removed. The clearly visible scars on her legs are also a record of her rising from setbacks.
Facing the challenge of injury, Xu Mengtao carried on under heavy load, “I didn’t want to give up, because I was unwilling.” After each operation, Xu Mengtao took a long time to recover and resume training. She started from scratch again and again and returned to the pinnacle of competition through unremitting efforts.
In the summer, during the pool training at the Qinhuangdao Training Base of the General Administration of Sports of the People’s Republic of China, Xu Mengtao jumped from the high platform to the pool hundreds of times. She said: “Every day is a race against time and against myself.”
Life can have several fights, and the hard work is worth it. How can plum blossoms be fragrant without going through the bone-chilling cold? In the process of facing the challenge, Xu Mengtao realized the charm of competitive sports. “Sports is also the epitome of life,” she said. “No matter what level and state you are in, you need to keep exploring, summarizing, and improving. Every step forward and achievement is the best reward for your efforts. You gain experience, and then you overcome difficulties and continue to make breakthroughs.”
Pursue excellence, dedicate youth and strength to the motherland and the people
In the 2020-2021 season, the Chinese freestyle skiing aerial skills team did not participate in international competitions due to the epidemic. Before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Xu Mengtao and his teammates returned to the international arena and won the championship trophies again and again, proclaiming that this excellent team will continue to maintain a high level. FIS commented that Xu Mengtao was “a leader in promoting the success of the Chinese Freestyle Ski Aerial Team”.
Standing on the Winter Olympics for the fourth time, young competitors continue to emerge. Can Xu Mengtao, 31, still stand on the podium? Faced with such doubts, she smiled and said, “Why not?” In the 2021-2022 season, Xu Mengtao will be with the team in the World Cup. Although she worked hard from zero points, she won two World Cup individual championships with her strength, and the number of individual gold medals reached 27, setting a new record.
The fourth time to compete in the Winter Olympics requires persistent and dedicated efforts, and it is inseparable from a scientific and rigorous training plan. In the Beijing Winter Olympics cycle, in addition to polishing technical movements, Xu Mengtao paid special attention to the improvement of physical fitness, and physical training such as running became a “required course”. When the summer is hottest, Xu Mengtao often runs laps on the playground alone. She can’t count how many meters she ran or how much she sweated, but she was far ahead in the team’s physical competition.
Good physical reserves make Xu Mengtao more confident when standing on the field, and she is more calm when challenging difficult moves. “No matter how old you are, what achievements you have achieved, and getting off the podium, everything starts from scratch. The more you practice, the more you will get. Only when you are strong enough can you be strong enough.” Xu Mengtao said.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Xu Mengtao burst into tears when the shining gold medal hung on her chest. Thousands of words can’t be said, how many tastes are in my heart. In her 20-year career in ice and snow sports, pursuit of excellence has always been Xu Mengtao’s goal. She said: “I will continue to create a wonderful life in the struggle, and dedicate my youth and strength to the motherland and the people.”
“People’s Daily” (page 07, April 26, 2022)