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

On the third competition day of short track speed skating, there are women's 1000m qualifying rounds and women's 3000m relay: semi-finals.Finally, there are men's 1500m semi-finals and finals.

For Gu Ran, the 1500m is the one of the three individual events in which he failed to win me the most.

Of course, this uncertainty is that compared with the 1000m and 500m, compared with most of the players participating in the competition, he still has very terrifying strength.

Although many reporters asked about Gu Ran's target, they were all fooled by his ambiguity.

But this does not mean that he has no goals in mind, on the contrary, he has always been a person with clear goals and plans.

Before the competition, he had already thought about it. He must win the two relay races and the 500-meter gold medal. He can also fight for the 1000-meter. The gold medal belongs to the Chinese team.

When entering the venue, someone called Gu Ran's name from behind.He looked back and saw that it was a volunteer lady.

Gu Ran smiled at the other party: "Is there something wrong?"

The volunteer was a little embarrassed, and pointed to the athlete's ID card hanging around his neck: "I want to exchange badges with you."

Various small badges are pinned to the lanyard of the ID card, which can be exchanged between athletes, staff and volunteers.

Gu Ran generously agreed: "Which one do you want, I'll give it to you."

The volunteer pointed to one with the five-ring logo, and Gu Ran immediately took it off and handed it over: "You have a good eye, this is a limited edition."

At this time, another person walked by and said to him in English: "I also want to exchange with you."

The accent sounded obedient, and Gu Ran frowned involuntarily.Looking up, as expected, it was Cui Zhien from the Korean team.

Gu Ran nodded: "Change, which one do you want?"

Cui Zhien first took one from his lanyard and handed it over: "This is for you."

Gu Ran took it over and saw that it was a badge of a mascot, which was very rare and everyone wanted to change it.

Cui Zhien casually pointed to his chest: "I want this."

Gu Ran looked down, and she picked the most common one: "Are you sure?"

Cui Zhien nodded: "Sure."

Gu Ran took off the badge and handed it to her.Cui Zhien took the badge and put it directly into the pocket of the tracksuit, said thank you, turned and left.

"..."

Gu Ran looked in the direction she left, and saw Zheng Minyu again, his 1500-meter opponent tonight.

Gu Ran felt that he was staring at her, like a wolf that had been starving for several days on the grassland, finally staring at its prey, as if it wanted to peel him alive and swallow him.

I don't know if it was because the child was starving because he didn't go to the restaurant for two days, or if Miss Cui came here to ask him to change the badge in name, but she was actually playing aggressive games with Xiao Zheng.

Cui Zhien sat in the corner of the South Korean team, took out the badge from his pocket, fiddled with it for a long time, and then carefully pinned it to the lanyard.

Gu Ran withdrew her gaze, it seemed that he was thinking too much, the girl was pure and just wanted to change her badge with him.

As a result, as soon as he returned to the team, Liang Kexin saw the mascot badge and took it away without saying a word. In exchange, he gave Gu Ran a limited edition back.

In the women's 1000m qualifying competition, all three Chinese players entered the next round, and the women's 3000m relay semi-finals, the Chinese team also successfully entered the final.

Cheng Sen and Xu Qing were very satisfied with the two games, both of which met their pre-match expectations.

Next is today's most important men's 1500m race.

Gu Ran and Lin Jiaxi were in the first group, Gao Ziyi was in the second group.

Because there were many penalties in the quarter-finals, there were 8 athletes in their group, and everyone was fairly orderly at the beginning of the game.But just after halfway through the competition, some athletes started to speed up impatiently and overtook them.

Although this is an endurance game, the endurance of athletes is also limited.Including Gao Ziyi, Lin Jiaxi, and Yin Canyu, whose muscles have excellent acid resistance, in a 1500-meter race, the number of times they can surpass is limited, and one time is less.The physical energy was exhausted in the early stage, and at the end of the sprint, I couldn't even lift my legs.

Therefore, they attach great importance to positioning in the game, try to save energy, and complete the overtaking at the last moment.

But there are some athletes who do not have this ability, so they want to start faster and occupy a good position earlier. In the end, even if they are not physically fit, they grit their teeth and fight with willpower, and they may enter the finals.

There were too many participants and the track was too chaotic. In order to avoid collision with them, Gu Ran didn't rush to squeeze forward. She kept her hands behind her back and skating leisurely behind.

At first, that Zheng Minyu also followed behind him.He planned to wait for Gu Ran to go up before he went up. This would be relatively safe, and at the same time reduce air resistance and save more energy.

However, the race had already reached the seventh lap, and Gu Ran was still strolling behind, not intending to rush forward.

Zheng Minyu began to panic a little.He is not very old, he is participating in the Winter Olympics for the first time and has little experience.

What if the person in front finally raises the lap speed and he can't overtake it?What if everyone huddles together and people keep falling over?

There is also his teammate Jin Xuzhe in front of him, who is in third place. What if he makes it to the final and he doesn't make it?

When he entered the eighth lap, he couldn't wait any longer, he had to take action immediately, speed up and overtake immediately, and occupy an ideal position.In this way, he will not be so flustered in his heart, and feel that he has enough confidence to enter the final.

Gu Ran now has two completely different painting styles from other players. Others are passionate about surpassing and anti-surpassing, controlling and anti-controlling.

He is an old man walking in the park, bending over with his hands behind his back, touching his helmet and adjusting his goggles from time to time, looking very leisurely.

When that Zheng Minyu swished past him, he couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth, showing a somewhat contemptuous smile, and cursed "stupid" in his heart.

Seeing this scene, Cheng Sen couldn't help snorting: "The number 11 of the Korean team really picked a good time."

Xu Qing put his hands on the crash pad and leaned forward to watch the game on the field: "The field of the Winter Olympics is still too tense."

Cheng Sen said: "In the first few laps, when the overall speed was still relatively slow, he didn't go overtaking, but walked behind Gu Ran instead."

"If you wait until the last lap and a half, others have already competed for several rounds, and their physical energy is exhausted. At this time, you don't need to consume too much energy to go beyond."

"It's good for him. He chose this time, the most chaotic and crowded time, when everyone is desperately trying to get a seat forward."

In the end, Cheng Sen made a conclusion: "Han Zheng Minyu has talent, but he is short of brain."

Xu Qing smiled and said, "You think everyone is as clever as Gu Ran."

Speaking of this, Cheng Sen couldn't help but think of the red envelopes he had sent to Gu Ran for his father for so many years, and it hurt a little.

While the two of them were talking, some athletes fell off the track, not just one, but all of them.

The race was on lap No. 11, Gu Ran was at the end, and he could clearly see everything that happened in front of him.

At that time, Lin Jiaxi was in second place, and Sebastian from the Italian team was in first place.

Zheng Minyu couldn't pass the one in front, so he wanted to get stuck in front of Lin Jiaxi.

But Lin Jiaxi refused to let him, so he insisted on squeezing in, and a very dangerous cross cut directly brought Lin Jiaxi down.

Before they left the corner, they were all crowded together, very close to each other.Lin Jiaxi fell, and Jin Xuzhe did not react, and fell out.

Zheng Minyu's balance was not bad, but he staggered and stopped.

In the 12th lap of the race, there are only six players left in the game, and the rest of the body energy has been almost exhausted.

At this time, Gu Ran started to speed up from the last place, and surpassed all the way from outsiders to the first place.During the whole process, he kept his hands behind his back and looked ahead, as if no other opponents existed.

In the last lap, he even separated several positions from the second place Zheng Minyu, and he even looked back at the final sprint stage.

Not looking at Zheng Minyu's position, but looking at Lin Jiaxi.

This group, which was overtaken from start to finish, had a lot of body collisions and two athletes fell.The referee immediately walked to the computer, ready to watch the replay.

After finishing the race, Gu Ran immediately slid to the place where Lin Jiaxi fell down just now. The latter was sitting with his back against the crash pad, and that Jin Xuzhe was also lying on the side.

Gu Ran's heart "thumped", a little panicked, Lin Jiaxi must not be injured.

"Jiaxi, Jiaxi," Gu Ran touched his shoulder lightly, "how are you, where did you fall?"

The scene of them falling was playing back on the big screen. Gu Ran looked up and saw that Lin Jiaxi hit his head on the crash pad when he fell off the track.

Although he was wearing a helmet, the speed was too fast, and the impact still made him a little confused.

The South Korean team member lay on the ground for a while, and then slowly got up, and it seemed that there was nothing serious.

The assistant referee also came over and asked about their condition, whether they needed a team doctor and a stretcher to enter the field.

Lin Jiaxi waved her hand and said softly, "No, thank you."

Gu Ran stayed with him for a while, during which time she kept asking him: "Are you dizzy?"

"Do you want to throw up?"

After getting a negative answer, he was relieved that there should be no concussion.

On the other side, the two coaches saw Lin Jiaxi fall and took a long time to stand up, they were very anxious for fear that he would be injured.

That Zheng Minyu had been standing on the other side of the field, with his hands on his hips, although he tried his best to cover up, it was not difficult to see that the expression on his face was very anxious.

Even if his teammates fell, he didn't step forward to care.

Lin Jiaxi slowly came over, Gu Ran helped him to stand up, and led him to slide towards the exit.

At this time, the results were displayed on the big screen. Gu Ran's team was first, followed by Italian and Canadian players.

Zheng Minyu's name appeared at the end, there was no result, only a "PEN", while Jin Xuzhe and Lin Jiaxi were directly sentenced to the final.

In this way, five people in their group entered the finals.If there are penalties in the next group, the number of finalists will be as many as nine.

When he walked to the exit, Gu Ran put on the skates for himself and went out, then bent down to help Lin Jiaxi put them on, the two of them walked out of the ice rink, and went to the waiting area to pick up personal belongings. From the beginning to the end, he held Lin Jiaxi's hand, I'm afraid that something will happen to him.

After returning home, the team doctor immediately performed a physical examination on Lin Jiaxi, and confirmed that he was not injured anywhere else, only a bump on the head, and the two coaches next to him were relieved.

Gu Ran sat aside and patted her chest: "I'm scared to death."

He personally sent the injured Hong Kong athlete to the car yesterday morning, and he still regretted that he had entered the semi-finals but had to forfeit the game due to injury.He didn't want Lin Jiaxi to encounter the same thing.

Seeing Gu Ran let out a sigh of relief, Lin Jiaxi was very moved.He tugged at his arm: "Don't worry, I'm fine, I can still participate in the finals later."

Gu Ran glanced at him: "Don't talk, just rest for a while."

He took another bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it and handed it over: "Come, drink some water."

At this time, there is no game on the field, and the staff is replenishing the ice.

In the stands behind, the audience's eyes were all focused on their own athletes.

Seeing that Gu Ran was twisting the bottle cap for Lin Jiaxi and peeling bananas for him, they were all stunned: "Ahhhhhh, it turns out that Xiaoran is also so gentle at times."

"He and Lin Jiaxi had a very good relationship when they were not teammates."

"I remember that the media broke the news before that Gu Ran was the one who made Lin Jiaxi a naturalized Chinese athlete."

"..."

Next, the second group of semi-finals will be played on the field, and Gao Ziyi will play soon.

There are also seven athletes participating in this group, and the field still looks a bit crowded.

The game officially started, and the situation of their group was no better than that of the first group.On the contrary, apart from Yin Canyu and Gao Ziyi, the others are closer in strength.These athletes with similar strengths will compete more fiercely for promotion places.

Yin Canyu and Gao Ziyi were not in a hurry, skating all the way behind, no matter what happened ahead, they would not easily plan their rhythm.

Yin Canyu is a veteran who has participated in three Winter Olympics and has a lot of experience.Gao Ziyi has always been calm, and it is difficult for others to lead the rhythm.There is almost no suspense between the two of them entering the final.

There was also a penalty in this group, with a Dutch player sent to the final.

Just as Gu Ran predicted before the match, there were indeed nine-life contestants in the final.

Three Chinese athletes, two South Korean athletes, one each from Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United States.

When Gao Ziyi returned to the team, Xu Qing took the time to call the three of them together to discuss the upcoming finals.

Before the game, the thinking of the coaching staff was that at least two players could enter the finals, and now three of them have overfulfilled the task.

Xu Qing said: "The 1500m is the event that most tests teamwork. The three of you are on the field, representing the Chinese team. Our goal is to win this gold medal."

The 1500 meters requires teamwork with a very clear division of labor. This, they have discussed many times in previous tactical training.

Including the situation where three people enter the finals at the same time, they are also prepared.

After going on the field, follow the plan made in advance, and if there is any unexpected unexpected situation, then respond immediately.

Gu Ran's personal strength lies there. Compared with Gao Ziyi and Lin Jiaxi, the coaching staff believes that Gu Ran has more strength to compete for this gold medal.

Therefore, in this game, he still took on the important task of winning the gold medal for the Chinese team.

Now they have one more finalists than South Korea, which is good news, but not absolute.

The game is not until the last moment, and no one will ever guess the final result.

The 1500-meter race is a great physical test for the players.It is impossible to enter the final immediately after the semi-finals, and there will be a long rest in the middle.

Gu Ran, Lin Jiaxi, and Gao Ziyi got together and seized the time to discuss some details of the competition.

Gu Ran said: "There are many accidents in the game. If I get interrupted, I will not be in a good position and I will have no chance to compete for the championship. Don't worry about me, just go up if you can."

Gao Ziyi put his hands on the shoulders of Gu Ran and Lin Jiaxi, still smiling softly: "Although I have said this sentence many times before, but today, I still want to say it again, and I will do my best to protect you."

Lin Jiaxi also said: "Don't worry, I will always remember my responsibilities and implement the coach's tactics to the end."

Gu Ran hesitated to speak, and finally said: "I always feel that we should keep it a little more slippery."

Lin Jiaxi tilted her head: "What do you mean?"

Gu Ran said: "From the three-day competition, it is not difficult to see that everyone is skating very aggressively. The 1000 meters are skating for 500 meters, and the 1500 meters are also very early. They start to speed up just after the middle."

"There are 9 people in the final, the runway will be very crowded, and the game will be very chaotic. We can't guess what tactics other people will adopt."

"So, we don't have to be so active in skating. When they go overtaking and occupy positions, we seek stability and stabilize the rhythm."

He thought for a while and then said: "Falling is inevitable, and there is even a possibility of a rematch."

Gao Ziyi and Lin Jiaxi naturally understood that his rematch didn't mean that he fell down at the first corner and started again.Instead, something happened in the middle of the game, and the referee recalled the players to start the game again.

It's unlikely, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.Gu Ran chose to speak out her concerns in order to prepare her teammates.

This is a 1500-meter race that requires a lot of stamina.If there is a rematch midway, then it is challenging the physical limit of the athletes.

At this time, the ice pouring on the field has ended, and the game is about to start.

The three stood up, but Gu Ran was still a little worried, and turned around to ask Lin Jiaxi, "How do you feel now?"

Lin Jiaxi shook her head: "It's all right."

Gu Ran confirmed again and again: "Are you all right?"

"Really!" Lin Jiaxi pushed him forward, "It's really fine!"

"That's good!"

When the three of them walked along the aisle to the inspection area on the other side, the audience in the stands waved to them along the way: "Gu Ran, Gao Ziyi, Lin Jiaxi, come on!"

"The Chinese team must win!"

Applause and cheering followed them all the way, and the feeling of playing in front of their compatriots at home was really inspiring.

The live broadcast will introduce the athletes one by one according to their pass times.

When the three were in the inspection area, Gu Ran put his arms around Gao Ziyi and Lin Jiaxi's necks, and the three of them leaned their heads together.Gu Ran said: "I hope we can stand on the podium together."

Gao Ziyi looked into his eyes, and answered "Yes" firmly.

Hearing that they stood on the podium together, Lin Jiaxi's blood suddenly boiled up: "Okay, let's stand on the podium together!"

"come on!"

The three entered the ice rink together in order.

A total of nine athletes stood on the seven-meter-wide track, and the distance between the two athletes was less than one meter.

Fortunately, this is not 500 meters, and there is no need to compete for the reaction time at the start, otherwise there is no need to go to the first corner, and someone will fall.

Even so, there was still someone who started the run, and it was an American player on the outside lane.

When the referee's whistle sounded, Gu Ran didn't even move, and his skates didn't cross the starting line.

So the athlete was called back again and started again.

The number of participants is a bit too much, just a second start can delay a lot of time.

However, at the first corner, everyone was very friendly, there was no violent collision, or someone fell down, and the race was restarted.

Gu Ran was in the second lane, right in the middle of the nine athletes after the start, Gao Ziyi was in the second place, Lin Jiaxi was behind him, and the two Korean players were one in front and one behind.

Since Gu Ran led the Chinese team to comeback and win the gold medal in the 2000-meter mixed relay the day before yesterday, the number of viewers watching the short-track speed skating competition in the live broadcast room of the sports channel has exceeded 6000 million.

The comment area kept scrolling and swiping: "You can always trust China's short track speed skating."

"You can always trust Gu Ran."

"I hope that the Chinese team will win another gold medal in today's 1500-meter competition!"

"Team China, come on!"

Seeing the position after the start, the guest commentator also specifically mentioned Gu Ran's name: "If you have paid attention to the short track speed skating competition before, you will find an interesting phenomenon."

"In the past, Gu Ran has been skating short distances. At that time, he was a typical fast skater. He started very well, and he was faster than others with the naked eye."

"Later, he started to run 1500 meters, and he kept this habit for a long time. But long-distance runners generally start relatively slowly, so he is the one who stands out every time."

The narrator interjected: "But from today's two games, it's not hard to see that he has gotten rid of this habit."

"That's right! Careful spectators should have noticed that his 1000 meters and 1500 meters started at two speeds."

Gu Ran's prediction was not wrong, even before the middle of the competition, the players had already started to overtake frequently.

First, the Italian skater slid to the first place, then the Canadian skater rushed up, then the American skater, the Dutch skater...

Because the four of them are fighting alone, without the help of their teammates, they can only put all their eggs in one basket to fight for a good position, and then guard their own position, and finally have a good result.

However, within two laps, Korean player Kim Xuzhe also went up, which made the already chaotic race even more chaotic.

Gao Ziyi didn't fight with them. When someone came up, he slowed down a little and let them do it.

However, the five people in front had already started to overtake and reverse overtake, and when they reached the corner, everyone crowded together.

Finally, on the seventh lap of the race, an accident happened.