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

From the first event on this ice rink, the first group of preliminaries, it is obvious that the weight of the Winter Olympics in the minds of every athlete is completely different from that of the World Championships and the World Cup.

Almost every group is sprinting, almost every group has someone fall, and almost every group has a penalty... No one reserves their strength at this time. From the preliminaries, everyone is skating as a final. First of all, make sure that you can enter The next round was extremely fierce.

In the 1000-meter preliminaries, Gu Ran's strength is there after all, and it is very difficult for the next three players to keep up with his rhythm, let alone surpass him.Gu Ran entered the next round with the first place in the group.

The other two groups, Chi Lang and Gao Ziyi also successfully entered the next round.

In the quarter-finals, Gao Ziyi's group consisted of a Russian player, a Dutch player and a Canadian player.It took two rematches before the start was successful. In the end, the Dutch and Canadian players entered the next round. Gao Ziyi ranked third in the group and was eliminated unfortunately.

It is not difficult to see that Gao Ziyi has tried his best, but he was already slower than other players at the start, and it was not easy for him to surpass the third place in the end.

Gu Ran was standing in the aisle, and when she saw Senior Brother Xiao Gao coming out of the ice rink, she went up and gave him a hug.

Gao Ziyi shook his head helplessly: "I'm sorry."

Gu Ran touched the back of his head: "You have behaved very well, so you don't need to say sorry."

"I originally wanted to fight for the semi-finals, so I could at least give you some protection, but..." Having said that, Gao Ziyi shook his head again.

Gu Ran persuaded him softly in his ear: "Don't think about it, the game is over anyway, look forward, don't affect the next game."

Gao Ziyi nodded: "Okay."

Gu Ran let go of him: "Go and rest."

"Xiao Ran!" The two had separated, but Gao Ziyi suddenly pulled Gu Ran back, "Come on!"

Gu Ran thumped her chest with her fist, which meant to reassure him.

In the quarter-finals of the 1000m, Gu Ran was in the same group as a player from Hong Kong, China.

They have also played together in the World Cup before. This player is of average level, and he almost never sees him after he belongs to the semi-finals. The world ranking is also below 25 all the year round.

Generally speaking, they are not on the same level as Gu Ran, and they do not pose any threat to him.

It's just that every time we meet in a game, everyone will say hello.

Gu Ran has observed his skating style, and just like Lin Jiaxi, he can tell at a glance that he has been training in Europe and America all year round.

The skating style of European and American athletes is very tough, mainly pushing the ice vigorously, and the range of leaning forward and retracting the legs is not large.Asian athletes are slender, and they want to roll themselves into a ball when skating to reduce air resistance.

Before going on stage, in the tunnel, the Hong Kong contestants reached out to greet Gu Ran, and said cheers to Gu Ran in Mandarin with a Cantonese accent.

Gu Ran shook hands with him: "Come on!"

In addition to Gu Ran and Hong Kong players, this group also has a Kazakh player and a German player.

Before starting the run, Gu Ran thought about keeping her skates in order to save herself some energy.

However, the strength gap between the other three people was too great compared to him.He stepped up to the leading position decisively. Even if the other skaters followed him, there was no possibility of overtaking him in the end.

There was an accident when the race slid to the eighth lap. The contestants from Hong Kong, China and Kazakhstan collided and both fell off the track.

When Gu Ran finished the game, the Hong Kong team members were still lying on the ground. The person who had just high-fived him and cheered each other was lying on the ice at this moment, curled up in a ball, covering his ankles with his hands, and was later carried out by a stretcher off the field.

Seeing this scene made Gu Ran feel a little heavy. Although he was not in the same team, Shan was also a compatriot.I can only pray for him silently in my heart, hoping that he will be safe.

In the end, the penalty result came out, the Kazakhstan player fouled, and the Hong Kong player was sentenced to the next round.

In the aisle, the Hong Kong players almost burst into tears when they saw the result.I kept repeating excitedly that I had entered the semi-finals, but the team doctor's face was very solemn.

In the end, the semi-final roster came out. Gu Ran was in the first group, Chi Lang was in the second group, and the Hong Kong player retired due to injury.

When Gu Ran walked to the coach's bench, he threw his head back three times, Cheng Sen held his face and forced his head back: "Don't be influenced by others, let the team doctor relax and prepare for the next game. "

In the semifinals, Gu Ran was not in the same group as Chi Lang, but was in the same group as Yin Canyu.In addition to them, this group also has an Italian player and a Dutch player.

In the Olympic arena, everyone is very cautious. Even if it is the semi-finals, everyone's mood is as important as the finals.

Before playing, Xu Qing had already determined the tactics with him, to occupy the position first, and then overtake when there is a chance, after all, the final pass is also very important.Judging from the strength of the two groups of semi-finalists, their group is stronger and the other group is more average.

If Gu Ran can get the first place in this group, it shouldn't be a big problem to be in the first round of the final shoot.

He didn't want to lead the skate, and Yin Canyu didn't want to lead the skate, but the Italian skater was at the front.

Gu Ran was ranked second, occupying the most favorable position, and Yin Canyu was behind him, so he was not in a hurry.

The Italian player's name is Sebastian, and they often play together, and their strength is not weak. After all, he is the champion of the European Championship.

Now the abacus in everyone's mind is crackling.

If Sebastian wants to enter the final, he has to guard his position and route, and not give the two behind him a chance to overtake.

If Yin Canyu wants to enter the final, he must surpass at least one person.But the person in front of him is Gu Ran, how can Gu Ran surpass so easily?

Gu Ran's idea is relatively simple, no matter whether he overtakes and takes first place in the end or fails to complete the pass and only takes second place, he can enter the final anyway.

He can even reach a tacit understanding with Sebastian, and kill the Korean behind in the semifinals first.

It is not difficult to achieve such a tacit understanding, as long as the two of them keep standing and don't give Yin Canyu a chance to surpass.

However, on the eighth lap of the race, Sebastian himself made a mistake-he didn't control the timing of the start-up when he exited the corner, and the route was not closed properly. Leave enough space in front of the dye.

Opportunities lie ahead, and there are less than two laps left in the race.It is impossible for Gu Ran to miss this opportunity to surpass.

With a little extra two knives under his feet, he completed the surpass from the inside.From the audience's point of view, the movements are light and smooth, which is very pleasing to the eye.

This is a beautiful transcendence completed by the Chinese player on the field. As the host, the audience must applaud and cheer for his performance.

In the last lap, Gu Ran's lap time reached 8 seconds. At this speed, it is difficult for other players to surpass.

At the last corner, Sebastian was still in second place, and Yin Canyu was third. At the last moment of crossing the line, the latter caught up from the outer circle and crossed the finish line almost at the same time as the Italian.

After the competition, Gu Ran was more concerned about the results of the next two than he was about his own.

There were no penalties in this game, and the results came out quickly.In the end, Yin Canyu came from behind and beat Sebastian by a knife-point distance to enter the final.

After a brief clearing of the ice on the field, the second group is about to start. In this group, there are two Korean players Hwang Jae-hyun and Jung Min-woo, as well as an American player Miller-Brown, a German player and Chi Lang.

Gu Ran didn't leave in a hurry, and stood in the aisle to watch the match.

Gu Ran was thrilled to watch this race. Chi Lang failed to grab a good seat when he started, so he could only follow the penultimate runner.

There were two Koreans and Americans in front, and Chi Lang couldn't find a chance after skating five or six laps.

The further back, Gu Ran could see his anxiety from his skating.I couldn't help shouting in my heart: "Chi Dali, go to the outer circle, what are you waiting for?"

Chi Lang seemed to have heard the cry in his heart, and he cut to the outside lane, and started to overtake when entering the curve.

But at this moment, the American player Miller Brown, who was in third place, also cut to the outside lane and overtook him.

The two of them, together with Zheng Minyu in front, just huddled together.

Chi Lang was really fierce, the three of them slid in a mess, and he actually tried his best to push forward from the gap between the two of them.

He is a tall man with strong skills, and he can't do this kind of meticulous work.

The result can be imagined, Zheng Minyu wanted to get stuck in his position, but the two collided and both flew out of the track.The Americans cleverly hid on the other side, away from them, and successfully bypassed them.

Gu Ran knew the result without looking at it, and Chi Lang would definitely be punished for a foul.

But he also expressed his understanding. Given the situation at the time, there might be a chance of survival if he went up and fought hard. If he didn't fight hard, he would definitely be eliminated.

Gu Ran thought, if it were her, he would go up too, even if it was a foul!

In the end, when the results came out, just as Gu Ran expected, there was no result after Chi Lang's name, but a capital "PEN", and the penalty was based on dangerous surpassing.

And Zheng Minyu was sentenced to the final.

"I..." When Chi Lang walked up to Gu Ran, he showed a smirk at him, just said "I" and there was no more to say.

He sighed deeply again, not knowing what to say.

Gu Ran knew that Chi Dali looked like a tough guy, but his eye sockets were actually shallow, and he was about to shed tears every now and then.

Gu Ran hugged him by the shoulders, and brought him towards her: "What are you?"

Chi Lang put his forehead on his shoulder: "I'm sorry..."

These three words again made Gu Ran feel an indescribable feeling in his heart: "What are you sorry for?"

Chi Lang said in a low voice: "This time, I will let you face the Sanming Korean team alone."

Gu Ran patted his head: "We'll talk about it when we go back."

From the expressions of Xu Qing and Cheng Sen, it was not difficult to see that this result was not what they wanted.

They imagined that Chi Lang and Gu Ran would enter the finals together, try to give Gu Ran some protection, and let him go for the gold medal.

But now the result is that only one of the three players has entered the final.As Chi Lang said, Gu Ran will face three Korean players in the final.

Before the start of the game, the envisioned first gold medal of the Chinese delegation has now turned into a hell mode start.

Two years ago, in Vienna, in the men's 500-meter final, Gu Ran, Chi Lang, and Meng Yuqiao won the first, second and third places in a coordinated manner.

Fortunately, in the men's 1000m final in the Olympic Games, the story repeated itself, but the actor's identity was switched.

No matter how heartless Chi Lang was, he failed to enter the finals in the Olympic Games for the first time. He looked very depressed and kept his head down to hold back tears.

Gu Ran sat beside him, with her palms on his back, and kept moving back and forth: "Okay, okay, don't cry, if you cry again, I'll take a picture of it and post it on Weibo."

Chi Lang shook his head: "I didn't cry."

Cheng Sen walked up to the two of them and sighed deeply: "Okay, don't think about it, it's over, it's useless to think about it."

Xu Qing also came over: "This is the Olympic Games, very cruel."

Gu Ran smiled and said: "Don't be so sad, the result is not too bad, at least I entered the final, right?"

Xu Qing nodded: "It makes sense, let's hurry up and discuss how to play in the finals?"

Cheng Sen asked Gu Ran: "What do you think?"

Gu Ran glanced at the list of finals, Huang Zaixian, Yin Canyu, Zheng Minyu, he smiled desperately: "How about I wait for them to fight among themselves and fall out together?"

Cheng Sen took another deep breath, and slapped him on the head: "When is it, you're still talking to me."

Gu Ran thought for a while: "Then I'll take the lead, so that they can't catch up with me."

Xu Qing said: "They take turns coming up to exhaust you to death, or that classmate Xiao Zheng will sacrifice himself and fall out with you."

Gu Ran shrugged: "This is difficult."

"I'll be the headline on the front page tomorrow morning. I've already thought about the headlines: Men's Short Track Speed ​​Skating 1000m, Gu Ran loses the gold medal in an upset, and the South Korean team takes the top three."

Just thinking about this title makes Gu Ran get goosebumps all over his body. If he really hits the mark with his crow's mouth, he will be drowned in the spittle of netizens tomorrow.

Cheng Sen looked at him: "Actually, it's not all bad news, I think one thing is particularly good."

Gu Ran was curious: "What?"

Cheng Sen bent his fingers and tapped him on the head: "You have a very good attitude."

Gu Ran said: "It's already like this, no matter how bad your mentality is, you can only obediently admit your cowardice after playing."

Xu Qing took out the tablet computer: "Okay, stop joking, hurry up."

Gu Ran was sitting on the yoga mat, listening to Xu Qing discuss tactics with him, the team doctor was helping him with a massage, and the equipment technician took the time to adjust the skates for him.

At this time, the DJ at the scene played a song that Gu Ran liked very much, so he sang along casually: "Love you came from the wilderness, and if you don't borrow anyone's light in your life, you will build your city-state on top of the ruins ..." ["The Lonely Brave" - ​​Eason Chan]

Xu Qing raised his head from the tablet computer to look at him: "Singing is very good, don't sing now."

Gu Ran took his hand: "I remember everything you said."

The men's 1000m final is the last match of the day, first in group B and then in group A.

From the end of the semi-finals to the final of Group A, there was a break of more than half an hour.

The two coaches have already explained what should be explained.Xu Qing patted Gu Ran on the shoulder: "Don't think about anything, just use your full strength, no matter what the result is, it's a good job."

Gu Ran nodded, and then high-fived her teammates one by one.Meng Yuqiao scratched his chin, Lin Jiaxi gave him a hug, Chi Lang was about to cry again... Finally, Gao Ziyi gently touched his head: "Xiaoran, we will always stand behind you."

Gu Ran was overwhelmed with emotion in his heart, but nodded calmly on his face, hugged his helmet, and walked forward alone.

Everyone turned their heads to send him to the other side of the aisle at the same time, just like the song "The Lonely Brave" he sang just now.

After walking for a while, Gu Ran suddenly heard someone calling his name. He turned his head and saw Xu Mei and Gu Changfeng waving at him: "Son, come on, you are the best!"

Gu Ran blinked and made a heartfelt gesture to them.

The audience next to him suddenly cheered, shouting his name and asking him to cheer.

At this time, Gu Ran seemed to feel a familiar gaze, turned his head slightly, and saw his classmate.

Wei Yuening turned the phone screen to face him, and a line of oversized blue fonts rolled across the white background: "No regrets!!!"

Gu Ran felt that the last three exclamation marks were the essence, but he couldn't imagine what it would be like for Wei Yuening to speak in such a tone.

The announcer introduced the athletes one by one to enter the arena. The moment Gu Ran took off the knife cover and put it on the crash pad, and slid into the ice rink, he had a strong premonition that today's game would not be so easy.

Five athletes stood in front of the starting line one by one, and Gu Ran was in the first lane.Before the referee fired the starting gun, Miller Brown rushed out first.

The others stood still, watching him make a half-circle and return to the starting line.

His expression looked very relaxed, just now it was intentional, a tactical preemption.Anyway, he has no hope of winning the championship, so let's make a quick run first, and then you don't want to do it again.

Gu Ran only had one word to describe him in his mind, but he felt that he was also scolded by this word.

However, at the second start, everyone still fought hard, and the corner exploded directly. Gu Ran watched them bump into each other and bump into you in order to stand up. Finally, several people fell off the track together. And that Miller Brown.

Gu Ran couldn't bear it anymore, so she complained in her heart: "Americans are just messing around with shit."

"..."

The players were all recalled and the game restarted once again.

In the stands, Xu Mei was tortured so much that she covered her chest with her hands. He was even more nervous than Gu Ran on the field. He closed his eyes tightly and didn't dare to watch the next game: "No, I think my heart is about to jump out. gone."

Gu Changfeng took her hand and held it in his palm: "It's okay, trust Xiaoran!"

This is the first final of the Olympic short track speed skating competition. The starting gun was fired twice, and the competition has not yet started.

Not only Xu Mei, but other audience members clenched their fists nervously.

Of course, it’s not just the spectators. On the sidelines, the coaching staff of China, the United States, South Korea, and the three countries stood on the sidelines, all staring at the game on the field.

The starting gun sounded again, and the five players rushed out at the same time.

As soon as Gu Ran came up, he didn't deliberately control his speed, nor did he think about occupying a position. He just rushed to lead the slide, so he tried his best during the sprint stage.

However, Yin Canyu and Huang Zaixian beside him obviously had the same idea as him.

At the first corner, the three of them were still together, and Gu Ran felt his arm was touched, which made him unable to continue to accelerate.

He glanced to the side, it was Yin Canyu, who had been sliding on the outside of him, stuck in his position.

On the other side, Huang Zaixian had already slid in front of Gu Ran by constantly adding knives.

Gu Ran could see that the two rivals who once fell off the track hand in hand actually reconciled. It seemed that now they were going to join forces to deal with him.

There are people in front and people outside, Gu Ran can't do anything but follow along, stand in his position, and don't give Yin Canyu any chance.

However, he did not expect that the cooperation between the two had just begun.

Immediately afterwards, Huang Zaixian in front of him slowed down a little, blocking Gu Ran's position. Yin Canyu picked up speed on the outer circle, rushed up in two or three steps, and directly surpassed Huang Zaixian and began to lead the slide.

Gu Ran had nothing to do, so she could only fall to the third place.

The two people were in front, one inside and one outside, forming a good angle, blocking Gu Ran's route of surpassing.

Gu Ran couldn't help applauding them in her heart, it's a beautiful job, it's really beautiful.

The two kept sliding at this pace, and kindly left him No.3, giving him a chance to stand on the podium with them.

However, another Korean athlete obviously didn't think so.The two eldest brothers both stood up, and he also had ideas, so why couldn't he stand up?

Behind Gu Ran, Zheng Minyu was also chasing after him, from time to time he would come up from heretics to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

Gu Ran is not in a hurry to overtake the two people in front of her now, she must first stabilize her rhythm, guard the route, and prevent Zheng Minyu from overtaking.

When passing a bend, Zheng Minyu came up again, and the distance was already so close that Gu Ran felt that he could bump into him without swinging his arms.

Still ignoring him, Gu Ran put his right hand behind his back and cut him with a knife. He immediately picked up his speed and forced Zheng Minyu back.

After skating for five laps like this, Gu Ran felt that she had consumed more energy than Yin Canyu, who was leading the skater in front.

But now he couldn't wait any longer, he didn't need to start taking action.

With four laps left in the race, he kept sliding down, and the two in front kept pressing him to death.

He had to find a way to break up the cooperation of the two people in front of him first.