[Short track speed skating] From academic master to Winter Olympic champion

Before the start of the World Cup, the leaders also held an expedition ceremony for the short track speed skating pair, requiring all coaching staff members and athletes to participate.

The host read out the names of the athletes one by one, and the photos and resumes of the athletes were displayed on the big screen one by one. Everyone solemnly swore to the national flag: "Carry forward the spirit of sports, abide by the rules of the competition, obey the referee, respect the opponent, unite and cooperate, execute orders, and live up to the national flag." Mission, if you dare to fight, you will win!"【1】

When the leaders were interviewed by the media, they made it clear: "The goal of the Chinese team in this World Cup is to get all the qualifications for the Winter Olympics."

This is not talking about it within the team, but blowing it out in front of reporters. The players naturally have to go all out.

Fortunately, as the host of the Winter Olympics, the Chinese team automatically gets a place to participate in the relay race, and can also get a place to participate in other events. The team members only need to fight for the remaining two places in each event.

This season's World Cup is a qualifying event for the Winter Olympics, so the competition is extremely fierce.Judging from the final results of various competitions in the first race, it has improved compared with previous years.

The schedule of this season is very tight. After the first race, there is almost no rest. The next day, the whole team will fly to the second race.

After the first two races, there was more than 20 days of rest, and then the next two races began.Until December 12rd, all four races are over.

On December 12, the International Skating Federation announced the points ranking and world ranking of the three events of short track speed skating, figure skating and speed skating.

按照国际滑联的规则，每个国家或地区最多可派出男女各5名选手参加冬奥会，如果未获得接力参赛资格，最多为男女各3人。冬奥资格赛男、女500米、1000米总积分前32名可以获得冬奥资格，男、女1500米总积分前36名可以获得冬奥资格。男、女接力总积分前8名可以进入到冬奥会。在刚刚结束的四站世界杯的比赛中，各单项取最好的三站成绩进入积分排名。参赛选手必须在明年7月1日之前年满16周岁。

The Chinese team got their wish, not only got the quota of five men and women's teams, but also got the Olympic qualifications for all individual events.

Gu Ran ranked first in the total points of 500 meters and 1000 meters, and ranked first in the world, so his helmet number in the ISU has been No. 1 since the year before last.

He will continue to take this helmet number to participate in the next Olympic Games.

After finishing the four World Cup competitions and successfully completing the tasks assigned by the leaders of the Winter Management Center, the next step is to concentrate on preparing for the Winter Olympics.

But for other athletes, they have to worry about another thing-the team selection for Winter Olympics qualification.

Because Gu Ran ranked first in the total personal points, the 500m and 1000m individual points, and the world rankings, half of the qualifications for the men's team were won by him alone.

He does not need to participate in the team trials and can directly qualify for the Olympic Games.

At this time, he can still spare a few days a week to go back to school.After class.Go back to the training base, train during the day and review at night.

A total of three points matches were held in the team. The rules were extremely complicated and there were many conditions for deducting points. After the first points match, many players had zero points or even deducted negative points.

That's right, this person is Chi Lang.

Chi Dali wrote "You're kidding me" all over his face, and looked at the leaders in surprise: "That... I seemed to be the first to cross the finish line just now."

Cheng Sen said: "But you didn't meet the standard, you didn't have points, but you were deducted points for fouls."

Chi Lang scratched his short hair: "I still haven't figured out what it means to reach the standard."

Lin Jiaxi poked his head out from the side: "Actually, I didn't figure it out either."

Gao Ziyi silently raised his hand: "Me too..."

Meng Yuqiao just raised her eyebrows, meaning the same as above.

Gu Ran picked up the rules and read them out: "According to the performances of players from various countries in this World Cup, the characteristics of tough skating, strong leading ability, and good physical fitness..." After reading this, Gu Ran stopped and added, " The strong ability to lead skates should refer to me.”

He continued to read: "In order to improve the ability of leading skating and adapt to the rhythm of the Olympics, match points will be set in each event. Athletes have points."

Gu Ran revealed the rules to everyone: "You can see for yourself the specific score requirements of the match points."

"By the way, points will be deducted if there is a foul." He glanced at Chi Lang, "So your points are negative."

Chi Lang: "..."

He began to sigh again: "According to this request, I don't think I can participate in the Winter Olympics."

Gu Ran patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I will help you."

Chi Lang leaned on his shoulder: "Good brother!"

Gu Ran patted his head: "Help you pack your luggage."

"..."

Chi Lang wanted to cry but had no tears: "Gu Xiaoran, just be yourself."

Gu Ran shook the A4 paper in his hand, and slapped it on his face: "What's so difficult about it, you can see for yourself, is it so difficult?"

Lin Jiaxi was particularly supportive: "It's not difficult, it's not difficult, let's work hard together!"

Gao Ziyi also said: "We just didn't understand the rules, pay attention next time!"

Meng Yuqiao reminded them: "The next time is on the 31st, there are still 10 days left."

Although Gu Ran said that he wanted to help Chi Lang pack his luggage, he was actually the one who cared most about whether his teammates could pass the qualifying round.

This time, the men's and women's teams each had 7 people participating, 7 of the 4 were selected, and [-] people were eliminated.Of course, Gu Ran hopes that the one who will go to the Winter Olympics with him in the end will be their teammates who have fought together countless times.

Chi Lang, Gao Ziyi, Meng Yuqiao, Lin Jiaxi, Liu Fei... Among the five people, there will always be one who loses the election. No matter who that person is, he feels uncomfortable.

He also asked Xu Qing in private: "What if no one meets the requirements after three points races?"

Xu Qing pointed to Cheng Sen: "Recommended by the head coach."

"..."

As soon as these words came out, the big stone in Gu Ran's heart immediately fell to the ground.

However, when he was training every day, he still kept a close eye on the other people, especially Chi Lang, who gave him orders, and wished he could take a small leather whip and chase him every day to urge him to train.

The situation in the second points competition was much better. At least some teammates achieved the standard and got points.

Gu Ran never expected that Chi Lang would be the first person for the time being.This kid has really worked hard under Gu Ran's coercion and temptation recently.

After entering January, the atmosphere of the Winter Olympics has begun in the country. Winter Olympics elements can be seen everywhere on the street. Even the mascot has moved into the training base, a chubby giant panda.

It stands in the small square in the middle of the training base every day, staring at the training time cards of the training team members, and staring at those who are not serious.

There have been various reports on the Internet about the preparations for the Winter Olympics, introducing projects, athletes, venues, and the Olympic Village.

As the most representative member of the short track speed skating team, Gu Ran has many fans and a lot of topics, so he is naturally the target of media coverage.

However, in addition to the dynamics posted by the system on his birthday, the latest content on his Weibo dates back to March of the previous year.

Fans waited eagerly in the comment area: "Is the training base not connected to the Internet?"

"Let's pool money to set up a traffic package for the child."

"If I remember correctly, Xiaoran studied computers. I'm so worried that he is addicted to typing codes, and his hairline is receding."

"..."

The fans couldn't bear it, and quickly found the pictures of the World Cup not long ago: "I took off the helmet, and the hairline is healthy. Don't worry, everyone, Xiaoran's face value is online, and the longer the better."

When the national team's last Olympic qualifying match, Gu Ran was taking the final exam at school.

After the last subject, he went to the dormitory to tidy up and prepare to go home to see his parents.

As soon as he walked out of the dormitory door, he almost bumped into someone outside.Taking a closer look, it was Wei Yuening.

The other party seemed to be relieved, and adjusted his glasses pretending to be calm: "Fortunately, you haven't left yet."

Gu Ran asked suspiciously, "What do you want me to do?"

Wei Yuening said: "The counselor said, I will have a meeting in the classroom later."

"now?"

Wei Yuening nodded: "Yes."

Gu Ran asked again: "Do you know what it is?"

Wei Yuening shrugged: "If you go there, you'll know."

The two came to the teaching building, and it was time for a holiday after the exam, but there were still students coming in and out of the building.Even if it is winter vacation, some students still need to stay to do experiments, write papers, and help their tutors.

The two went upstairs to the door of a classroom.The door was closed, Gu Ran thought the class meeting had already started, they were late.Carefully pushing the door open a gap, the curtains were drawn in broad daylight, not a single ray of light could come in, it was pitch black.

"???"

Gu Ran turned her head and looked at Wei Yuening suspiciously: "What class meeting is this?"

Wei Yuening pushed him inside: "Go in first and then we'll talk."

Gu Ran took two steps in, and suddenly saw something flashing in the front row.He immediately realized that it was a person wearing glasses, and the light reflected from his lenses.

Gu Ran immediately turned her head, the curtain behind her lit up, and a short animation began to play.

A little man fell from the sky and landed on the snow-white ice. He was wearing a helmet, a one-piece suit, and stepped on skates. His eyes were big and bright, and there was a small dimple on his face.

The little man turned around and leaned forward, with his hands behind his back, his upturned buttocks were particularly conspicuous, Gu Ran actually heard a little laughter from behind.

The little man started from the school gate and slid past the landmark buildings of many cities, from Beijing to Shanghai, from Seoul to Nagoya, Montreal to Salt Lake City... Finally, the little man returned to Beijing and set foot on the white runway of the Winter Olympics.

The gold medal is shining very close to the little man, as if he can get it as soon as he reaches out.

When the animated short film finished playing, the lights in the classroom were turned on at the same time, and the whole class was sitting below, and the counselor was standing on the other side of the podium and shouting at him: "This is specially made for you by the students. I think that ass is the most vivid."

There was a roar of laughter below, Gu Ran bit her lower lip, wishing she could rush out the door.

The counselor walked up to him: "The holiday is coming soon, and you have to go back to prepare for the Winter Olympics. After discussing with everyone, we decided to send you out in this way."

The students gave him eight words in unison: "Heaven rewards hard work, the toad palace wins the laurels!"

Gu Ran stood on the podium and bowed deeply to his classmates: "Thank you everyone!"

Gu Ran and Wei Yuening walked out of the teaching building together: "So, the meetings are all fake, you just want to trick me here."

Wei Yuening shrugged: "They said that we have the closest relationship, so this glorious and arduous task can only be entrusted to me."

Gu Ran remembered that when he celebrated his birthday last year, Chi Lang tried every means to hold him back, and finally tricked him into the cafeteria.

"Alas..." He sighed helplessly.

Wei Yuening frowned: "Are you unhappy?"

"How come?" Gu Ran laughed, "I just think that I'm a fool."

Wei Yuening nodded: "Yes."

"..."

Gu Ran asked him: "When will you go home?"

"In two days, come back after the Spring Festival."

Gu Ran smiled and said, "With all this hard work, you've given yourself a job?"

Wei Yuening shook his head: "I have snatched tickets to the Winter Olympics, so I can't waste them."

Gu Ran asked: "What game?"

Wei Yuening said: "The first two competition days of short track speed skating."

Gu Ran patted him on the shoulder: "It's lucky that I can still get a ticket."

Wei Yuening asked him: "So, classmates, can we..."

Gu Ran smirked and said, "You can write a code yourself..."

"I don't want to be invited to tea by the police uncle."

When Gu Ran returned to the training base, the first thing he did was to run to Xu Qing's room. Not surprisingly, Cheng Sen was also there, and the two were discussing the upcoming training.

Gu Ran asked, "Has the final contestant been chosen?"

Xu Qing nodded: "Come out."

Gu Ran walked to the desk: "I want to see it."

Xu Qing handed him a piece of A4 paper folded in half: "It's all on it, you can see for yourself."

Gu Ran took the paper and took a deep breath.It feels a bit like opening a blind box, and my fingers are trembling.

Cheng Sen glanced at him out of the corner of his eye: "Don't be so nervous, there must be your name."

Xu Qing was buried in writing something: "He is definitely not nervous for himself."

Cheng Sen knowingly asked, "Who is that for?"

Xu Qing said, "That's a bit much, like Xiao Gao..."

Gu Ran was too lazy to listen to the two of them, so she took the list and walked to the window.

He unfolded the A4 paper in his hand, skipped the long paragraph in front and looked directly at the form behind.

Men's 500m competitors: Gu Ran, Meng Yuqiao, Chi Lang.

Men's 1000m competitors: Gu Ran, Chi Lang, Gao Ziyi.

Men's 1500m competitors: Gu Ran, Gao Ziyi, Lin Jiaxi.

At the end there was a row of substitute players' names, including Liu Fei.

Seeing his name, Gu Ran had mixed feelings in his heart. He was happy for the other teammates and felt sorry for Liu Fei.

In fact, he knew that in the 1000-meter event, Gao Ziyi's performance may not be better than Liu Fei's, but the Winter Olympics can only have 5 players, so he can't go.

Gu Ran quickly looked at the roster of the women's team again, and it was exactly as he thought. The names of Liang Kexin, Yang Shanshan and Luo Mengyao were all in it.

"Finished?" Xu Qing called him, "Tell me, did it meet your expectations."

Gu Ran bit her lower lip and nodded, without speaking.

"Little brat," Cheng Sen waved at him, "Come here!"

Gu Ran walked up to the two coaches.Cheng Sen looked at him from the bottom up: "Where were you at the Winter Olympics four years ago?"

Gu Ran said, "At home."

"Did you watch the game at that time?"

Gu Ran nodded: "Of course."

Cheng Sen asked again: "Tell me about the athletes and games that impressed you the most."

Gu Ran showed a disdainful smile: "The most impressive thing is of course Huang Zaixian, and his foul."

"He has been like this since his debut, and he has been rampant in the short track speed skating arena for seven or eight years." Cheng Sen glanced at the person sitting opposite him, "Although Director Xu and I don't want to mention what happened back then, but I still want to say that Director Xu’s retirement has something to do with him.”

Gu Ran also looked at Xu Qing: "I know, we talked about this before, and I also said that I will make up for all your regrets."

Xu Qing put down the pen in his hand: "No need." He tugged Gu Ran's arm, and pulled him to him, "Let my regrets be left in the past, the important thing is that you have no regrets on the field .”

Cheng Sen said: "The Winter Olympics is not a World Cup with six events a year, nor is it an annual World Championships. The Winter Olympics only comes once every four years. How many athletes have waited for four years and worked hard for four years. "

"No. [-] in the world does not mean that you will win the championship. Anything can happen on the field. Some people know that they can't get a medal, and he won't let you get it. This is short track speed skating, which is always full of controversy and controversy. Unknown, you have to be on high alert at all times."

Gu Ran nodded: "I remember."

Xu Qing sighed: "If I remember correctly, short track speed skating has not won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics for 20 years. Just in the last competition, the South Korean team won all the gold medals in men's events."

Gu Ran said: "Don't worry, they won't get a single gold medal this year."

Xu Qing suddenly slapped him on the buttocks, and said with a smile: "Silly boy, he has grown into an adult."

Gu Ran raised her eyebrows: "They are all adults."

Xu Qing gestured at his chest again: "When I first saw you, you were only this tall."

"That's right," Gu Ran put her hands on the back of his chair casually, "and took me to have my bone age measured, worried that I might not grow taller."

Xu Qing pointed at Cheng Sen: "It's his request that you find him."

Gu Ran looked at Cheng Sen again: "Director Cheng, do you think I'm tall enough now?"

Cheng Sen nodded sharply: "Enough is enough, don't grow taller."

Gu Ran and the others have finished training during the day, and there is still training at night. They called the team members to the conference room, and someone specially trained them on how to accept interviews after winning the award.The acceptance speech has already been written, and everyone needs to memorize it and take the test.

Within two days, Gu Ran received another glorious and arduous task—to participate in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.

Hearing the news, Gu Ran couldn't believe it: "Me?"

Yu Jie nodded: "That's right, it's you."

"But……"

Yu Jie raised her eyebrows: "But what is it? This is such an honor that no one else can ask for it."

Gu Ran said: "That's right, there are so many outstanding seniors in other projects, why didn't they be chosen, but me?"

Yu Jie counted for him with her fingers: "You are young and energetic, and your image and temperament meet the requirements. You are currently the most representative athlete of the new generation of Winter Olympics, and you have excellent results in the competition."

Speaking of this, Yu Jie suddenly leaned into his ear and smiled: "The key point is that you are still a top student, and you are studying in a prestigious school. The leader thinks that you have set a very good example for young people and has very positive energy, so I decided to Let you go."

Gu Ran smiled and said, "That's not impossible, but I don't have this experience."

Yu Jie waved her hand: "It doesn't matter, you don't need experience, someone will train you."

Gu Ran nodded: "That's fine, I'll try."

Yu Jie glared at him: "You think I'm asking for your opinion, but I'm here to inform you."

"Yes, I will definitely complete the task successfully!"

That night, Xu Mei called Gu Ran, cared about his health, and asked about his training: "The Winter Olympics are getting closer, are you nervous?"

Gu Ran said, "It's okay."

Xu Mei smiled and said, "I'm already nervous."

"There's nothing to be nervous about. You just need to have your phone ready, and when the time comes, you'll be able to show off your son in Moments."

Speaking of this, he thought of another thing: "Oh, by the way, I still have a material for you to post on Moments, do you want to listen to it?"