Photo ①: On July 9, Chinese weightlifting team player Hou Zhihui (front) trained under the guidance of women’s team coach Wang Guoxin.
Photo by Yuan Xueqing (People’s Vision)
Photo ②: On August 11, Tang Qianjing of the Chinese gymnastics team competes on the balance beam at the National Gymnastics Team Championships.
Photo by our reporter Tao Xiangan
Photo ③: Chinese break dancer Liu Qingyi in the competition.
Photo courtesy of China Sports Dance Federation
Figure ④: Hydrofoil board players in the Hangzhou Asian Games Sailing Project Trial and National Hydrofoil and Kiteboard Championships.
Photo by Meng Zhongde (People’s Vision)
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The Paris Olympics will be held in the summer of 2024, and the countdown to its second anniversary has now entered. This summer, the International Olympic Committee has successively released information on changes in the design, competition system, and rules of the Paris Olympics, including the qualification allocation plan for wrestling, the skateboarding qualification ranking system, the table tennis qualification system, and the swimming qualification selection system. In the meantime, the first Olympic points competition of breakdance, a newly added item of the Paris Olympics, was completed, and the world championships of basic sports such as swimming and track and field were held one after another. For Chinese sports, the new Olympic cycle will not only bring new challenges brought by changes, but also new issues such as developing emerging sports and strengthening talent reserves. This edition will launch the column “Looking forward to the new Olympic cycle”, focusing on the preparations of the national teams in various sports and responding to readers’ concerns.
The number of participating seats is reduced, the program level is adjusted, and the weightlifting team——
Strengthen intra-team competition training and pay close attention to details
In the weightlifting hall of the Training Bureau of the General Administration of Sports of the People’s Republic of China, a huge screen is placed in the middle of the training hall, showing the heart rate of the players, and the coach will adjust the training intensity accordingly. Entering the Paris Olympic cycle, the training of the Chinese weightlifting team is more technological.
In the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the weightlifting event will usher in a major adjustment. The number of gold medals will be reduced to 5 for men and 5 for women. Each team will send a maximum of 3 athletes each for men and women to participate, and each level is limited to 1 athlete. At the Tokyo Olympics, each team has a maximum of 8 players, 4 men and 4 women. The Chinese team finally achieved the best results in history with 7 golds and 1 silver.
What brings a greater test to the Chinese weightlifting team is also the adjustment of the project level. The men’s event at the Paris Olympics has five levels, namely 61kg, 73kg, 89kg, 102kg and over 102kg, while the women’s event has five levels: 49kg, 59kg, 71kg Kilogram, 81kg and over 81kg. Chen Lijun, Lv Xiaojun, Liao Qiuyun and Wang Zhouyu will all miss the Paris Olympics. At the same time, athletes will no longer obtain Olympic qualifications based on the accumulated points of multiple qualifying matches, but select a match with the highest total score for ranking. A series of changes intensified the competition within the Chinese weightlifting team, and also brought a lot of challenges to the team’s preparations.
“Only three people can participate in the five levels, which makes the men’s team more challenging to prepare for the competition. We are still far from the world‘s top level in two major levels, so we must focus on the first three levels.” China Yu Jie, head coach of the men’s weightlifting team, said, “Since this year’s training camp, we have cultivated talents at all levels, tapped the potential of old athletes, and improved the capabilities of young athletes.”
The 38-year-old Olympic champion Lu Xiaojun has returned to the national team, but the men’s 81kg category he won at the Tokyo Olympics has been canceled. Many young athletes who performed well in last year’s national competition entered the team. Liao Guifang, a 21-year-old teenager, was selected for the national team for the first time. Her competition event was changed from 76kg to 71kg. In the team trials in July, she even surpassed the 71kg snatch and the total score in two world records.
“The reduction in the number of entries has put forward higher requirements for us. We must work harder and pay close attention to details.” Wang Guoxin, the head coach of the Chinese women’s weightlifting team, said, “In response to the adjustment of the project level, we must first adapt to the rules and determine the competition level of the players.”
(Reporter Li Shuo of this newspaper)
Team competition system, equipment height, competition duration changes, gymnastics team——
Adjust competition strategy to improve competition ability
Since July, the National Youth Gymnastics Championships, the National Gymnastics Championships, and the National Youth Gymnastics U Series Championships have been held successively. Gymnasts from all over the world and different age groups have tested their training results on the stage of the national competition and adapted to the Olympic Games. New rules for gymnastics.
After entering the Paris Olympic cycle, the International Gymnastics Federation adjusted the competition system. The Paris Olympics will adopt the team qualification “543” and the final “533” competition system, which was used in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. According to Ye Zhennan, deputy director of the Gymnastics Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, “543” means that each team has 5 people to sign up, 4 people to play in each event, and the 3 best scores are included in the total score of the qualifying round; “533” means that each 5 people in the team sign up, 3 people in each event, and the 3 best scores will be included in the total score of the final.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the gymnastics competition adopts the “4+2” mode, that is, 4 people participate in the team competition, and there are 2 individual places for individual events and all-around. “This is the most beneficial for our individual athletes. The Chinese gymnastics team won 3 golds, 3 silvers and 2 bronzes at the Tokyo Olympics. Among them, Liu Yang, You Hao, and Guan Chenchen won 2 golds and 1 silver.” Ye Zhennan said that after the reform of the new cycle competition system, there will no longer be individual quotas, and the team’s overall strategy must be adjusted.
Compared with the “433” competition system used in the gymnastics team finals of the Tokyo Olympic Games, the “533” competition system of the Paris Olympic cycle is more test of the coach’s lineup selection and matching. “It is necessary to ensure the versatility of the players, but also to give full play to the advantages of the players in the single event, to achieve the best configuration, and to enhance the overall competitiveness of the team.” Ye Zhennan said.
In addition to the changes in the competition system, the height of the equipment and the length of the competition have also been adjusted. For example, the women’s uneven bars event will be increased by 5 cm, and the men’s floor exercise competition time will be increased from 70 seconds to 75 seconds. Under the new rules, some difficult moves will be dropped or merged, and the judges will be more strict in the quality of completion. In Ye Zhennan’s view, each team faces the same test, and if they adapt to the new rules faster, they can take the initiative in the competition. .”
The Chinese gymnastics team has been actively researching and learning new rules since the winter training last year, researching difficulty and innovative movements according to the characteristics and potential of athletes. In June this year, the Asian Gymnastics Championships was held in Doha, Qatar. The Chinese team won 8 golds, 3 silvers and 5 bronzes. This is the first competition for the Chinese team after the implementation of the new rules in the Paris Olympics cycle. It tested the team’s understanding of the new rules and the players’ ability to compete. The Chinese team has since conducted targeted training on movement arrangements and players’ physical reserves.
(Reporter Tao Xiangan of this newspaper)
Seize the opportunity to enter the Olympics, consolidate the talent pool, the breakdance team——
Going to the international arena and looking forward to the Olympic debut
In early August, at an international breakdance competition held in Slovakia, 16-year-old Chinese teenager Liu Qingyi completed a set of difficult and innovative moves with high quality and won the women’s championship.
In recent years, the Chinese breakdance movement has developed rapidly and made significant progress. An important reason is that breakdancing in 2020 has been identified as the official competition event of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which is a milestone in the development of the project. Yu Zaiqing, a member of the International Olympic Committee, said: “Break dancing, as a type of street dance, is deeply loved by young people. The technical movements are difficult and innovative. These characteristics have created conditions for break dancing to enter the Olympic Games.”
Su Jie, vice-chairman of the Asian Dance Sports Federation and secretary-general of the China Dance Sports Federation, introduced that in the 1980s, breakdancing once swept the country. The project has ushered in new opportunities for development, and the number of related competitions and training institutions has grown rapidly. In addition, the China Street Dance League sponsored by the China Sports Dance Federation has also promoted the popularization and development of the sport.
In order to further improve the ability and level of Chinese breakdancers and fully prepare for the Paris Olympics, the China Dance Sports Federation actively selects outstanding players to go abroad for training and competitions while introducing world-renowned coaches. In July, the national breakdance training and competition team went to Europe to start a half-year training and competition.
The growth of Liu Qingyi also reflects the continuous improvement of the level of breakdance in China. Liu Qingyi began to practice breakdancing at the age of 10, and has a strong ability in technical aspects such as rhythm, expressiveness and difficulty. In 2021, after she was selected into the national training team, her training was more scientific and systematic: she won the gold medal in the women’s breakdance group at the 14th National Games, and she also performed well in the subsequent World Championships and World Games, and her results were ranked respectively. Ranked ninth and fourth in the women’s group.
According to Su Jie, the Chinese breakdance movement has a certain talent pool. In terms of female players, in addition to Liu Qingyi, Rui Yingqi, the runner-up of the National Games, also performed well in the international arena. Male athlete Shang Xiaoyu first represented the Chinese team in the Buenos Aires Youth Olympics breakdance event in 2018 and entered the quarterfinals, and has also performed well in international competitions in the past two years.
In preparation for the Paris Olympics, the Chinese breakdance training team will recruit talents from the whole society. “China’s breakdancing is still catching up. The outstanding performance of Liu Qingyi and other athletes has given us full confidence in the preparations for the next Olympic Games.” Su Jie said.
(Reporter Wang Liang of this newspaper)
Half of the minor items have been adjusted, challenges and opportunities coexist, the sailing and windsurfing team——
Aim for the target and prepare well
Marseille, France in August, the sea is windy and rough. After two hours of physical training, Zhou Yuanguo, the coach of the Chinese sailing and windsurfing team, brought his team members to the wharf to assemble equipment for training. This is the venue for the 2024 Paris Olympic sailing competition. Zhou Yuanguo is also here for the first time. He said: “Compared with other venues, the wind direction, temperature and swells in this sea area change more.”
In the team, Zhou Yuanguo is in charge of the windsurfing group, and the team members Lu Yunxiu and Bi Kun won 1 gold and 1 bronze in the windsurfing RS:X level of the Tokyo Olympics. Today, the windsurfing group is facing major changes. Of the 10 competition events in the Paris Olympic Sailing Competition, 5 have been adjusted compared with the Tokyo Olympics. The windsurfing, which is the dominant event of the Chinese team, is replaced by hydrofoil.
The windsurfing board “runs” against the sea surface, and the hydrofoil board becomes “flying” when it rises to the sea. The increase in speed makes the game more enjoyable to watch, and the requirements for the player’s control ability are also higher. Players have to change their habits and adapt to the new shape.
From the winter training in Haikou to the summer training in Qinhuangdao, the whole team explored the performance of the new board step by step, improved the technical links, and improved the speed capability and high-speed stability. “After switching to hydrofoil boards, players are required to be stronger, and weight gain has become a new topic of concern for everyone.” Bi Kun said.
In Zhou Yuanguo’s view, although the project adjustment has an impact on the team’s preparations, the main content of the training has not changed, such as linear speed, physical reserve, psychological stability, etc., still must follow the established goals and plans, go all out to be yourself.
After the summer training, the Chinese sailing and windsurfing team went to France, Canada and other places for adaptive training, and then transferred to Italy, Greece and other places to participate in international events such as the World Championships. “This external training and competition is mainly to understand the overall competition pattern and test the technical and tactical level of the players.” said Zhang Xiguang, the leader of the Chinese sailing and windsurfing team.
After the adjustment of Olympic events, the change of competition time and the increase of daily competition rounds put forward higher requirements for athletes’ ability to mobilize their bodies in a short period of time, to run at a high speed, and to recover quickly. After more than two months of summer training, the current players’ physical fitness and skills have improved significantly.
Also training in Marseille, there is also the hydrofoil kiteboard group, which is a new project for the Paris Olympics. In 2018, the National Hydrofoil Kiteboard Training Team was established to attract outstanding talents from social clubs and carry out systematic training. Now, these young players are beginning to emerge. At this year’s World Youth Championship in Italy, 16-year-old Huang Qibin won the second place in the men’s hydrofoil kiteboard.
Zhang Xiaodong, chairman of the China Sailing and Windsurfing Association, said: “Now that the preparations for the Olympic Games have set sail, the time is tight and the task is heavy. We must not only have a sense of crisis, but also strengthen our confidence, fix our goals, and make full preparations against time.” (Reporter Zheng Yi. )
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责编：刘希尧 ]