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

However, the moment the athlete rushed out of the starting line, the referee's whistle sounded at the same time—someone made a false start, and this person was Brandon in the third lane.

When the players circled back to the starting line, Gu Ran glanced sideways at Chen Yuze, who was also looking at him and winked at him.

Because, this is what Gu Ran expected in advance.

Gu Ran has compared him to two World Cups, and has a certain understanding of his characteristics and personality.

Brandon is quite an athlete with personality, egotistical and competitive, not willing to admit defeat.

He is in the third lane, and he must start the 500-meter race.

Of course, this is not difficult to guess. Even the commentators in the studio and the audience in the stands can imagine it after watching two more games of this athlete.

But the subsequent game made everyone unexpected.

The game restarted. This time, no one dared to make a false start, and everyone was very cautious.

Gu Ran's reaction was quick, and she rushed out as soon as she heard the starting gun.But Zhao Zhishuo, who was beside him, also reacted quickly, and the two of them rushed out almost at the same time.

Zhao Zhishuo has an advantage on the track, and the more he gets to the corner, the more obvious this advantage becomes.

What Gu Ran compared with him was the sprint from the start to the first corner.Although the other party was about 12 years younger than him, Gu Ran did not show any weakness in terms of explosive power.

The two of them, one on the outside and the other on the inside, almost ran forward side by side.Seeing that Zhao Zhishuo was about to enter the corner first, the others could only fall behind him.

The competition was so intense from the very beginning, and the audience's emotions were immediately mobilized.

The gap between the two was so small that everyone thought that Gu Ran would take two extra steps and try to overtake Zhao Zhishuo from the outer circle at the moment of entering the bend.

However, the following scene surprised both the commentator in the studio and the audience in the stands.Gu Ran did not compete with Zhao Zhishuo for the first place.He backed off a bit and dropped to second place.

Everyone thought it was unbelievable. This is a 500-meter race. If you give up at this time, the lap speed is getting faster and faster. It will be difficult to overtake in the next race.

This move is really too reckless, he is the kind of player who is about to fight when he has a chance, and he is absolutely impossible to back down.

In the past, Gu Ran rarely got other races in the finals, and rarely failed to win the first place at the start.

Therefore, everyone was a little bit emotional when they saw this scene. After all, he was getting old and had been away from the game for nearly three years.

Before everyone's emotion was over, another unexpected scene appeared on the field.

At the moment when he exited the corner, Gu Ran, who had just fallen to the second place, raised his feet several times and overtook him from the inside in the blink of an eye.

This time the breakthrough was very sudden, not to mention the audience on the scene and in front of the TV, even Zhao Zhishuo did not expect it.

When he saw Gu Ran retreating to the second place, he was still thinking in his heart, if he didn't dare to grab this, he would have no chance later on. Older people really don't have much passion.That's all, why compete with him for the championship?

It took less than a second for him to feel complacent, and Gu Ran passed him from the other side without warning. The decisiveness and speed were shocking.

When seeing this scene, Cheng Sen was also surprised: "He didn't want to be willing to follow behind at all."

Xu Qing said with a smile: "He wants to change the route to surpass."

"The Koreans were not mentally prepared at all, and they didn't even think of going to get stuck in his route."

Cheng Sen shook his head: "This is the loss of inexperience."

Now Gu Ran is leading the skater. His speed is fast, but not that fast.From the perspective of Zhao Zhishuo and Brandon behind him, as long as we work harder, we will have the opportunity to surpass.

Zhao Zhishuo has been staring at Gu Ran, every time he passes a corner, he has an idea.

However, his old opponent, Blanco, has been entangled with him all the time. He needs to devote a lot of energy to deal with Blanco, and he has no chance to surpass Gu Ran.

As a result, the two fought fiercely in the back and began to consume each other. Gu Ran, who was leading the slide in the front, just had to keep his own line and not give them any chance.

Chen Yuze ranked fourth. The two people in front of him kept colliding, causing both sides to slow down to varying degrees. This was the best time for him to find a chance to surpass.

But Chen Yuze didn't move, because before the game, Gu Ran whispered in his ear that he must calm down, wait for the opportunity, and don't rush forward, because there will be accidents on the field.

How did he know that there would be an accident before the game started? Could it be that he planned to foul?

However, in Gu Ran's entire career, the number of times he was fouled can be counted on one hand.

His own strength is there, and he can easily gain the lead. If he fouls, others will foul him, and he has little chance to foul others.

Chen Yuze was a little hesitant. There was still the last lap left in the race. If he didn't make it now, he would have no chance to win a medal later.

When he was hesitating, an accident happened.

At the penultimate corner, Brandon was almost parallel to Zhao Zhishuo, but Zhao Zhishuo, who was in the inner lane, fell down.The distance between them was too close, and Brandon was also brought down on the ice and flew off the track due to inertia.

Gu Ran didn't care what happened behind him, he just finished the race at his own pace, the moment he crossed the finish line, the audience cheered for him, Cheng Sen and Xu Qing were also very excited, after all, the Chinese team won The men's 500-meter gold medal at the World Championships has to be traced back to before Gu Ran retired.

However, Gu Ran, who had just finished, was very calm.That is, at the moment when he crossed the finish line, he clenched his fists, waved to the audience in the stands who shouted his name loudly, then slid to the coach's bench, and high-fived the two coaches with a very calm smile on his face.

Chen Yuze never expected that he didn't do anything, but at the last moment of the race, he crossed the finish line second!

As soon as the competition was over, Chen Yuze rushed to Gu Ran, and said impatiently, "I wanted to go up just a second before they fell down."

Gu Ran took off the goggles and helmet: "If you go up, you will fall out with them."

Chen Yuze asked him: "Do you know why I didn't go up?"

Gu Ran bent over to put on the skates: "Because I reminded you."

Chen Yuze said, "Because I trust you."

Gu Ran walked out of the ice rink: "You make me breakfast for a month first."

"I'll make breakfast for you in the future, and I'll send you to your room." Chen Yuze followed him all the time, "Brother, you just won the world championship, so you don't look excited at all."

Gu Ran turned around and smiled at him: "It's too much, there's nothing to be excited about."

"..."

Until Gu Ran stood on the podium, she didn't feel very excited.But when the national flag was raised and the national anthem was played, there was still some emotion.The reason why he can stand here today is for this moment, but it is not enough. His goal is next year's Winter Olympics.

The strength of the opponent is very strong, and it is also growing little by little.He was able to win this time with his rich experience, and no one knows what the situation will be next time.

Looking at Chen Yuze beside him, Gu Ran realized that in his return, in addition to doing his best to allow the Chinese team to continue the glory of previous years in the Winter Olympics, more importantly, let these young children quickly When he grows up, he has the strength to compete with geniuses like Zhao Zhishuo and Brandon.

So, when walking down from the podium, Gu Ran grabbed Chen Yuze's shoulders and whispered in his ear: "Although there are many variables in the arena, you must not rely on luck alone if you want to win the championship. You must have the ability to crush your opponent." Only with strong strength can we have the confidence to stand on the highest podium."

Chen Yuze bit his lower lip: "I know."

Gu Ran patted his head: "Practice hard."

The two walked through the mixed interview area and were stopped by reporters for interviews.

The reporter's microphone was mainly aimed at Gu Ran, and the questions they asked were closely related to his comeback.After all, the attention of the World Cup is not high, and there are few interviews after the game.

The World Championships are different. There are live broadcasts in China. The reporter must seize this opportunity to ask all the questions: "It has been three years since you retired, and you will be on the World Championships three years later. How does it feel different from before? "

Gu Ran shrugged noncommittally: "It seems that there is no difference."

The reporter also said: "In the past one or two years, many very strong players have emerged in the international arena, such as Zhao Zhishuo and Brandon who competed with you today. What do you think of them?"

Gu Ran said lightly: "It's not bad, the strength of the two is not bad."

The reporter asked: "Who do you think is stronger?"

"It's not as strong as me." Gu Ran thought in his heart, but put his arms around Chen Yuze's shoulder: "I think my little brother is stronger, after all, he won the silver medal."

He didn't finish the second half of the sentence, after all, the two of them didn't get anything.

Chen Yuze was a little embarrassed to be praised by him in front of the reporter and the ice fans in front of the camera.At this time, the reporter passed the microphone to him and asked, "Chen Yuze participated in the World Championships for the first time, and he won a silver medal. Share with us your current feelings."

The moment he handed over the microphone, Chen Yuze became even more nervous.With hands behind their backs, ten fingers tangle together: "Feel..."

Gu Ran shook his hand from behind, and Chen Yuze calmed down: "I didn't have too many thoughts before the game. On the court, I resolutely implemented the tactics arranged by the coach. I didn't expect that at the last critical moment, the opponent had an accident. It can be considered luck, and we need to work harder in the future.”

Gu Ran felt that what he said was very good, and when she was about to withdraw her hand, she was grabbed by him.

The reporter asked Chen Yuze a few more questions, but he couldn't get around a few young and famous players from other countries, and compared them.

No one likes to be compared with others all the time. Chen Yuze was obviously very unwilling to answer this question, so he said perfunctorily: "Everyone has their own characteristics."

After speaking, Chen Yuze was about to leave, the reporter hurriedly congratulated the two of them again, and watched them leave.

It wasn't until he walked far away that Gu Ran smiled and said, "Can we let go now?"

Only then did Chen Yuze realize that he had been holding Gu Ran's hand, he quickly let go of it, and pinched the clothes twice: "I'm so nervous, my palms are full of sweat."

Gu Ran smiled and said, "Have you never been interviewed? So nervous."

Chen Yuze curled his lips: "I'm nervous not because of the interview, but because I'm being interviewed with my idol."

Gu Ran slapped him on the back of the head: "Stop flattering."

Chen Yuze suddenly leaned over to Gu Ran's ear and whispered, "Brother, did you slow down on purpose on the fourth lap?"

The fourth lap happened to be when Zhao Zhishuo and Brandon fell down, and the referee did not give any penalty in the end.Because Zhao Zhishuo's fall was because he kicked the marker block when entering the corner, and Brandon was affected by him and fell off the track.

The slow-motion playback showed that at that moment, Zhao Zhishuo wanted to squeeze up from the inner lane to overtake Gu Ran, but he failed to overtake. Instead, his rhythm was disrupted, and the ice skate kicked the next marker.

Gu Ran corrected him: "In the game, blocking or interfering with the opponent by slowing down will be punished as a foul. I just controlled my speed reasonably at the corner, and he didn't grasp the position and timing of overtaking."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes..." Chen Yuze had an expression of "whatever you say is right".

Gu Ran pointed to herself: "40 seconds 312, isn't my speed worthy of winning a gold medal? Look at your own results."

Chen Yuze said: "40 in 607 seconds is not too bad."

Gu Ran sneered: "I can't even make it to the finals of the Winter Olympics."

"..."

Gu Ran did not participate in the 1500-meter race, but this did not prevent him from standing behind the coach's bench and cheering for Lin Jiaxi the whole time.Seeing his teammates working hard in the last few laps, one by one surpassing them to the first place, Gu Ran couldn't help standing up.

In the end, Lin Jiaxi overwhelmed his old rival Zheng Minyu to cross the finish line first, and Gu Ran even ran to the crash pad, ahead of Cheng Sen and Xu Qing, and was the first to hug Lin Jiaxi and celebrate with him.

His movement was not small, and the two coaches were pushed aside by him arbitrarily.Cheng Sen and Xu Qing looked at each other, but they didn't know who was the head coach.

Gu Ran felt that Lin Jiaxi was the most difficult one.Over the years, Gu Ran has won all the gold medals by himself.His teammates are willing to be green leaves beside him, dutifully implementing the tactics arranged by the coach.

Although Gu Ran has stated in public more than once that all the Olympic gold medals he has won are not just his own. The efforts of his coaches and teammates are indispensable. Without their efforts, there will be no achievements of his own.They are all competing for honor for the Chinese team, and everyone deserves respect.

However, he also understood that Lin Jiaxi decided to hold on to another Winter Olympics because he wanted to work harder, to see if he could realize his dream of a gold medal in a personal event after Gu Ran retired.

But after he learned of Gu Ran's comeback, he didn't show any displeasure. He was one of the few people who didn't object and supported Gu Ran's comeback very much.

The friendship between them has been from adolescence to thirty years old, so pure that it does not contain any impurities.

Gu Ran believed that even if they entered the 1500m final at the same time in the Winter Olympics, Lin Jiaxi would still give him the most favorable protection behind him.

In the same way, Gu Ran is also willing to stand behind him against thousands of troops and escort him in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a champion.

Thinking of this, under the gaze of thousands of spectators, Gu Ran held Lin Jiaxi's head and kissed him on the forehead, but it was actually the helmet.

Lin Jiaxi immediately took off the helmet, smiled at him and said, "Kiss again!"

Gu Ran didn't expect that he could still make such a request, and was about to satisfy him, but was grabbed by the back of the neck and pulled aside.Cheng Sen raised an eyebrow at Lin Jiaxi: "I'll do it."

"..."