One silver and two bronzes in the Tokyo Olympics
Xiao Ruoteng: I am my own champion
Xiao Ruoteng was born in Beijing in 1996 and has the accent of old Beijing in his speech. In the past five years, he has grown into the absolute core of the Chinese men’s gymnastics team. In the Tokyo Olympics that just ended, Xiao Ruoteng played all six events in men’s team events and succeeded in all of them. This is a rare situation in the history of Chinese gymnastics. Xiao Ruoteng and the Chinese men’s gymnastics team finally won the third place in the team event, and their performance was the same as the previous Olympic Games. In addition, Xiao Ruoteng also won the men’s individual all-around silver medal and free exercise bronze medal.
In the song “Dream as a Horse”, Xiao Ruoteng had a wonderful rap: “In fact, there is no time to think. I have to fight for every second, from practicing gymnastics at the age of 4 to living alone at school at the age of 7, regardless of the gold medal or the silver medal. It’s all my pride. If I want to do it, I will do it unexpectedly… HIP-HOP is my favorite, but it’s not my job. It’s not like a gymnastics competition. There is no right or wrong, no need to pass, just Tell you everything I want to say. If you still have a dream, please do it now and act without fear of failure. Regardless of what it brings, whether it is success or setback, whether it is sadness or happiness, stick to it. Don’t give up, don’t be afraid of yourself, you will become stronger if you have dreams illuminating you.”
The lyrics of this rap are written by Xiao Ruoteng himself. Xiao Ruoteng described himself as a fragile “vinyl record”. Only at the most important moment can he put this “vinyl record” for everyone to listen to. The Tokyo Olympics is obviously this important moment. What makes Xiao Ruoteng happy and proud is: “I did it.”
Before the Rio Olympics
Lost due to injury
Telling the story of Xiao Ruoteng starts in March 2016. Although Xiao Ruoteng was not the leader of the Chinese gymnastics team at that time, his talent has been recognized by many people. Huang Yubin, the head coach of the Chinese gymnastics team at the time, was very optimistic about Xiao Ruoteng and hoped that he could participate in the Rio Olympic Games that year.
According to the Olympic selection method of the Chinese gymnastics team, it is necessary to pass three tests in the team before the official list of participants is formed. However, in the first free exercise of the first event, Xiao Ruoteng did a landing exercise that was not very difficult. Unfortunately, When something happened, he put his hands on the ground after landing. “At that time, the coach told us that the whole gymnasium could be heard, slap, one.” Xiao Ruoteng’s mother, Zhao Xiuli, recalled to a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily. , The rest is almost broken. Think about it, how painful it is.”
At that time, the Rio Olympics was only more than three months away. How to treat injuries became the biggest worry for the coaching staff of the Chinese gymnastics team and Xiao Ruoteng. In terms of injury treatment, surgery as soon as possible is definitely the best choice, but it means So he will definitely miss the Rio Olympics. But if it is conservative treatment, no one can guarantee a three-month recovery time, so that he can reach the physical state of the game.
In the end, Xiao Ruoteng wanted to take a gamble. After full communication with the Chinese gymnastics team, medical, rehabilitation experts, and support team, they decided to treat conservatively. “In those days, he took painkilling tablets every day and he was anxious when he thought of it. It was too difficult. During that time, we would burst into tears after the video every day.” Zhao Xiuli recalled.
Xiao Ruoteng has a habit that he has kept with his family for many years. No matter how tired or late he is in training, he will make video calls with his family every day. Zhao Xiuli said that Xiao Ruoteng relied on his strong will, “and cooperated with the coaching staff and team doctors to survive through gritted teeth, but in the end his physical condition still failed to meet the requirements of the Olympic Games, so he was very regrettably lost. See These, as parents, we feel that the suffering of the child at this stage is really for nothing, and that kind of pain is unbearable for ordinary people.”
The defeat of the Rio Olympic Games was self-evident to Xiao Ruoteng. “I think this may be the biggest setback I have experienced in gymnastics these years.” Xiao Ruoteng recalled to a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily, “because this does not mean that you knew from the beginning that you couldn’t make it to the Olympics, but that you are very close. , But you still can’t go to the Olympics at the last moment. It’s a psychological blow.”
Xiao Ruoteng was extremely depressed for a few months, and he himself called that period of depression. “I just don’t want to touch gymnastics anymore in the short term. I lowered my requirements. It’s not that I want to give up gymnastics. I never thought about giving up gymnastics from the beginning to the end, because I am very sure that gymnastics is my best and best. I love something, but what I thought at the time was that if I can’t play in the Olympics, I can play in the World Championships, the National Games and so on.”
It took Xiao Ruoteng about half a year to come out of this period of depression. The help of coaches, teammates, friends, and family members naturally played a very important role. But more importantly, he found a gymnastics player again. hapiness. “This kind of happiness is a very relaxed feeling. It won’t make yourself so tight, but a relaxed state.”
Love gymnastics and high talent
But every step from the mountainside to the summit is difficult
Xiao Ruoteng, who came back again, continued to show his talent and strength in gymnastics. “I am a highly talented athlete. From childhood to big, coaches and teammates have said that I am a highly talented athlete. In short, if someone else does one exercise, it may take ten times, and I need to do two. “Xiao Ruoteng said.
Talent is always a distinctive label on Xiao Ruoteng. According to Xiao Ruoteng’s mother, Zhao Xiuli, Xiao Ruoteng was very thin when he was a child and also loved to move. “We first let him get in touch with sports, so we wanted him to eat more. A friend at Dongcheng Sports School asked Xiao Ruoteng to take a look. He liked it. The coach said Xiao Ruoteng’s comprehensive qualities are particularly suitable for gymnastics.”
“I liked gymnastics when I was very young. Every time I called out to play in the gymnastics room, these machines were like toys in my eyes.” Xiao Ruoteng recalled. In 2005, Xiao Ruoteng participated in the competition for the first time. At the Li-Ning Cup National Gymnastics Junior Championships, he won the pommel horse and parallel bars champion, second in the team.
Zhao Xiuli said: “When Xiao Ruoteng told me back from that competition, I felt that he felt that he had a sense of honor in practicing this event. Gymnastics can make him feel the best. Let him practice gymnastics and embark on it. We have been struggling with the career path for a long time. Xiao Ruoteng’s academic performance was not bad at the time. To be honest, he didn’t have to rely on being an athlete to change his destiny, but he just liked gymnastics, and we decided to develop according to the children’s favorite things. “
In this regard, Xiao Ruoteng said, “When I was a child, my parents respected my hobbies. They gave me a lot of choices and never forced me to do something. When they felt that I liked gymnastics very much, they would help me continue. Go down this path.”
Xiao Ruoteng began to show himself in various competitions. He won numerous awards in youth competitions, national competitions, and National Games. “I think practicing gymnastics is like climbing Mount Everest. It may not be difficult from the bottom of the mountain to the middle of the mountain, but if you want to climb to the top, that is, the Olympics, every step from the middle of the mountain to the top is really difficult. “Xiao Ruoteng reviewed his gymnastics experience to a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily.
Self-doubt caused by pain
Can’t continue
Like other athletes, Xiao Ruoteng’s dream is to participate in the Olympics and stand on the highest podium. Beginning in 2017, he began to reap international championships, especially the all-around champions of the World Championships that year. This is undoubtedly an important achievement in his gymnastics career, “reaching the top”. Xiao Ruoteng said: “This world championships, right My biggest motivation is that it strengthened my determination to play the Olympics again.”
But Xiao Ruoteng’s Olympic road is full of twists and turns. After the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships, his shoulder injury became serious. “After the World Championships that year, in the National Games of the year, I was no better than the all-around event. In fact, this injury has always been like this until the Tokyo Olympics.” Xiao Ruoteng told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, “The pain in the shoulder hurts me. I can’t increase the intensity of some items. I can only spend a lot of time on rehabilitation. When others can learn new movements and practice movements, I can only watch. Can practice once or twice. Just like a football player, he can never run with the ball, he can only be in the state of running training. This feeling has a great psychological impact on me.”
Everyone is training, but Xiao Ruoteng can’t do it. This situation makes him sometimes self-doubt, “Am I unable to continue? Because of a shoulder injury, I can’t practice some projects. This situation is like a vinyl record. I can practice, but I can’t do it too many times. If I use too many times, the vinyl record will be broken. Therefore, I need to release my “vinyl record” for everyone at the most important moment. listen.”
Before the individual all-around final
Took four painkillers
The most important moment Xiao Ruoteng said was the Tokyo Olympics. Before leaving for the Tokyo Olympics, Xiao Ruoteng went to the hospital for an injection to seal it. “At this moment, it’s time to smash the steel teeth and fight.”
At the Tokyo Olympics, Xiao Ruoteng was an athlete who had to play six events in the team events of the Chinese men’s gymnastics team. He fulfilled his mission and finally won the bronze medal with the whole team. In the subsequent personal all-round project, Xiao Ruoteng eagerly hopes to succeed at the top. Zhao Xiuli recalled to a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily: “On the night before the individual all-around event finals, he video with me and told me to make it difficult, but he also said that he was not very confident in his heart, and the difficulty of the action increased, and the stability was increased. It will be a risk. But this child, once he makes up his mind, he must do it.”
In the all-around six, Xiao Ruoteng ate four painkillers before the final, and increased the difficulty in the penultimate item-parallel bars. “Only when the parallel bars increase the difficulty, will there be a greater possibility to hit the gold medal.” Xiao Ruoteng Said to a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, “Because the last item is the horizontal bar, this is the strength of the opponent. So I will try my best to get more leading points before the last item.”
The final process did not develop according to Xiao Ruoteng’s plan to a certain extent. After the parallel bars were completed, he was still ranked first at the time, but he did not have many leading points. The last horizontal bar, this is a knot of Xiao Ruoteng’s heart, he had made a major mistake of dropping the bar on the horizontal bar in the World Championships before. “I told myself that I needed to pass this hurdle. If I didn’t pass it this time, I might not be able to pass it afterwards.” Xiao Ruoteng recalled afterwards.
He did it. The entire horizontal bar is clean and beautiful. Although it is not the most difficult, it is of high quality. The most important thing is to stand on the ground, as if nailed to a mat.
At the end of the action, Xiao Ruoteng raised his arms, which was a confident expression. “If the full score in this game is 10, I will give myself nine points, because I knew I had to face all kinds of difficulties before the game, but even so, I did it. I think I will show this game completely. This is enough for me. The remaining point is not because I failed to win the championship in the end, but because I have some skills to do better. I am a perfectionist.” Xiao Ruoteng told Beijing Youth Daily The reporter said.
In that game, Xiao Ruoteng didn’t signal to the referee after the action, and the final total score was deducted 0.3 points, which caused a huge controversy about the referee’s scoring. However, Xiao Ruoteng did not evade this at all. He said: “If this point is not deducted, I will not be able to surpass the championship score. In fact, after I compare the parallel bars, I know that I will not be able to win the championship with a high probability, because After the parallel bars, the scores between us did not spread. As long as the opponent played the last item normally, we could win the gold medal, which proved to be the same.”
After the final place came out, Xiao Ruoteng, who was ranked runner-up, seemed a little wet in his eyes, but he still held back no tears. During the photo session of the awards ceremony, Xiao Ruoteng said that he had a moment when he was watching the gold medal in the hands of the champion. He told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter: “At that moment, looking at the gold medal, I felt it was a very vague feeling. Although the distance is very close, it feels very far away.”
Proud of yourself
I am my own champion
So close to the gold medal, but so far away, walking off the podium, Xiao Ruoteng hugged with assistant coach Teng Haibin. Teng Haibin was also a very good gymnast in Beijing, and his gymnastics career has been ups and downs. The Chinese gymnastics team lost the most important men’s team championship at the 2004 Athens Olympics. At that time, Teng Haibin’s mistakes directly led to this tragic result. Although he won the pommel horse championship at that Olympics, the gold medal weight of this individual event was obviously equal to that of men’s. The groups cannot be peered. After that, Teng Haibin fell into a long trough. Before the 2012 London Olympics, Teng Haibin returned to the Olympic lineup again when he recovered, but he retired due to injury at the last moment, which made his gymnastics career a regrettable end. Since then, Teng Haibin has been transformed into a coach. In recent years, he has served as Xiao Ruoteng’s assistant coach and has had an important influence on Xiao Ruoteng.
Xiao Ruoteng said: “I think his influence on me is subtle, especially when I fail. When I am not training well, he is not the kind of coach who says words of encouragement or comfort to me, but a reaction. , That is, when I encounter difficulties and problems, he gives me a very calm and calm state. This state of him will make me less irritable and able to solve problems more calmly. If I am irritable No matter how irritable the person next to you is, this matter will be difficult to solve. I think it may have something to do with his character and experience. He has succeeded and failed. He can understand my psychology more and give I feel very calm and stable.”
When Xiao Ruoteng has doubts in his heart, he will also take the initiative to ask Teng Haibin, “He will tell me to learn to accept reality and see reality clearly. What I understand is that people should not think too much about what has happened. Because time will not go back, we need to look forward.”
Xiao Ruoteng won one silver medal and two bronze medals in the Tokyo Olympics. Although he failed to win the championship, he said he was very happy and proud of himself: “This experience is very important to me. It will be very profound. The land is stamped in my heart. I am actually very grateful to myself. I am happy and proud of myself. In the face of many difficulties, I feel that I have shown everything I have. I think every athlete wants to participate in the Olympics. I want to be the first place, even more so. But the Olympic Games are held every four years, and there is only one champion. In fact, in these years, I feel that I have become a lot more mature than before, and my view of the first place has also happened a lot. Change, I don’t think that if you don’t get a gold medal, it doesn’t mean you are not a champion. In my heart, I am my own champion.”
In the song “Dream as a Horse”, there is a passage of lyrics: “Don’t stop your pace, dream as a horse, live up to your youth, just move forward, the password to pass in the fog, wait and see, even if regret is interspersed with dreams, dreams Paint, live up to the flowers, just shine, no longer be alone, don’t be afraid, be a dreamer. I look at myself in the mirror, he says brave, the moment of shining arbitrarily, the evolution of youth, you and me to the future Set off, a beacon of hope, shout in my name, dream as a horse, and arrive soon tomorrow.”
Xiao Ruoteng, taking dreams as horses, rushing forward, one day, he will reach the other side of dreams.
Text/Reporter Song Xiang
Picture from Xiao Ruoteng Weibo
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