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

Just in case, before departure, Cheng Sen asked that Dr. Lin to go to the skating hall with them as a team doctor.

Dr. Lin is very easy-going and has no airs at all. Hearing Cheng Sen's request, he smiled and said it was his honor, and readily took the work badge and team uniform.

Gu Ran sized him up from top to bottom, and said thoughtfully, "I'm curious about one thing."

"what's up?"

Gu Ran smiled and said, "I'd take the liberty to ask, how old are you?"

Dr. Lin has a pair of particularly clean and clear eyes, and he smiles very gently: "Much older than you."

"But you look like you're in your early twenties."

"You look about the same."

"..."

Gu Ran is very aware of his physical condition. Before going to the game, he still wanted to save a little energy and save it for the finals.

However, the opponent did not intend to give him this little chance to be lazy.Starting from the quarter-finals, the other five people are gritting their teeth and trying their best to fight for the promotion spot. Even if Gu Ran falls to the last place, he can't be too far behind, otherwise, in the last lap or two, he will not be able to catch up. return.

His opponents were all ranked in the World Championships or Intercontinental Championships. In the Olympic Games, there are only three promotion places for each group, and whoever will be spoiled.

In the semi-finals, Gu Ran was in the first group. At the beginning, he slid behind. In the last lap and a half, he passed to second place, and entered the finals smoothly.

Lin Jiaxi and young player Tian Mao are in another group. This group is obviously stronger and the sprint stage is more intense. Only Lin Jiaxi entered the final, and Tian Mao was overtaken by a Canadian player at the last moment. He only took No.4 and missed the final.

Gu Ran returned to the stands, and just as soon as she sat down, she hammered her calf twice. This action caught Dr. Lin's attention.

The other party sat beside him and asked, "Are you uncomfortable?"

Gu Ran nodded: "Weak and weak."

Dr. Lin squatted down, held his leg to bend passively, and rotated at a special angle to expose the deep muscles for inspection: "The previous muscle fatigue has not fully recovered, and after the two rounds of competition just now, the deep muscles have some stiff."

He asked Gu Ran to lie on the yoga mat and began to massage him.His massage technique is very different from other team doctors. He does not focus on massaging the large area behind the calf, but specifically selects some deep small muscle groups for relaxation through changes in the angle of the knee joint and calf.

Other team doctors and rehabilitators stood aside to learn from others, but they didn't understand much after watching it for several days.

While working, Dr. Lin explained generously to them: "The key to rapid muscle relaxation is the starting point of muscle fibers, just like twisting a towel. As long as the muscle at the starting point is loosened, the whole muscle will naturally be relaxed."

Gu Ran joked: "I'm going to participate in the finals soon, and you still have to teach in a leisurely way."

Dr. Lin slapped him on the leg: "I share my experience with a few colleagues, so that they can serve you better in the future."

Gu Ran gave him a thumbs up: "The great doctor is sincere."

Dr. Lin was surprised and said, "That's right, I also know that great doctors are sincere."

Gu Ran smiled and said, "I've been studying for a few years."

"Teacher Gu is humble."

The team doctor learned experience from them, and immediately tried it on Lin Jiaxi, and it really worked just as Doctor Lin said, and the effect was very good.

After relaxing the muscles, Gu Ran stood up and felt it: "It's really relieved a lot, but I still feel a little sore."

Dr. Lin raised his eyebrows: "Of course! I am medicine, not metaphysics, and it will be cured after a few touches."

Gu Ran patted him on the shoulder: "You are medicine that is infinitely close to metaphysics."

He turned his head to look at Lin Jiaxi again: "How do you feel?"

Lin Jiaxi said: "I feel pretty good, I'm in a good state today."

"That's good, it's up to you for a while."

Lin Jiaxi nodded: "Don't worry, don't worry, I will protect you after I say it."

Gu Ran just patted his head and smiled, without saying anything.

After a while, the broadcast informed the athletes to go to the inspection area.The two walked down the stands together, Gu Ran kept on Lin Jiaxi's shoulders, felt the muscles under his hands tense from time to time, and pinched twice gently: "You are also a veteran who has experienced many battles, why are you still like that? nervous?"

Lin Jiaxi smiled and said: "If nothing else happens, this should be the last Olympic individual event in my career."

"I hope to show the best performance and have the best result."

Gu Ran asked him: "What do you think is the best result?"

Lin Jiaxi poked her head over and rubbed against his head: "Of course I stand on the podium with you."

Gu Ran pressed his other ear, making the two heads close together: "No problem, it will be fine!"

Over the years, in the 1500-meter event, there has never been an athlete who performed as phenomenally as Zhao Zhishuo in the 1000-meter race.In the World Cup World Championships in recent years, at least ten athletes have won the championship, including players from South Korea, Canada, Italy, the United States, Hungary and other countries, and of course Lin Jiaxi.

For a long time, Cheng Sen and Xu Qing did not sign up for too many events in order to protect Gu Ran. In the past four World Cup competitions, they only signed up for the 1500m twice, and won a championship and a third place. .

Judging from the current results and Gu Ran's physical condition, the coaches and team doctors of other national teams guessed correctly. This is indeed the best time for them to grab a gold medal from Gu Ran.

After all, Gu Ran is 31 years old, and Lin Jiaxi is one year older than him, so two veterans may not be able to have one plus one greater than two on the court.

The start of 1500 meters is not that important, athletes react relatively slowly, and few people rush to run.

Passing the first corner smoothly, Lin Jiaxi was in second place, Gu Ran was in sixth place, and the lead skater in front was a Canadian skater.

Behind Gu Ran is an Italian player. This buddy is impatient. After skating behind Gu Ran for half a lap, he can't wait to start speeding up. He first passed Gu Ran from the outer circle, and then successively surpassed the Hungarian and South Korean players in front of him. The contestant and the American contestant came directly to the third place.After that, he maintained this position and kept skating.

He has a very clear positioning of his strength, he only wants to stand on the podium, so he will not rush to the first place, which consumes too much energy.

However, there is not only one person who has this kind of thinking. The Hungarian and American players also think the same way. The Korean player who was surpassed by him is aiming at winning the championship. Of course, he will not be satisfied with ranking fourth.

Therefore, in the next two or three laps, several of them competed fiercely, frequently staged overtaking and anti-overtaking, a corner, several people were eager to try, and the scene was very crowded and chaotic.

Gu Ran was left alone at the end. Based on his experience, at this time, it is enough to keep his pace, and there is no need to squeeze with them.

As the sport of short track speed skating has developed to the present, athletes' personal abilities are getting stronger and stronger, but their skills are somewhat stagnant. Everyone is relying on strong physical fitness to rush, and they don't study skills such as overtaking and positioning.Even if they overtake, they simply and rudely overtake from the outer circle when the speed of the single lap is not so fast. European and American athletes did not study the more challenging inner way in the early years.

The younger generation of athletes not only skating 1000 meters as 500 meters, but the start-up stage of 1500 meters is also getting earlier and earlier. Just halfway through the race, the athletes all increase their lap speed, and the remaining 700 meters rely on anaerobic ability .

The South Korean player surpassed the Italian player and is trying to surpass Lim Jiaxi.

Gu Ran could see clearly from the back. Lin Jiaxi was under a lot of pressure in these two corners, not only to counter the Korean players behind him, but also to pay attention to the Canadian players in front. The amount of information collected on both sides was very high Big, there can be no mistakes.

When the race came to the eighth lap, Gu Ran couldn't wait any longer. He had to surpass the previous players and go behind Lin Jiaxi to share some of the pressure for him.

So, when he was about to enter the next corner, Gu Ran, who was in the last place, started to speed up first and cut into the outer lane.

With his hands behind his back and his body leaning forward at a large angle, he huddled together to reduce wind resistance as much as possible, and his fast and steady pedaling allowed his speed to increase visibly to the naked eye. It only took a curve distance to surpass him continuously. Four people arrived behind Lin Jiaxi.

The South Korean player has been focusing on Lin Jiaxi, trying to overtake him at this corner, but Lin Jiaxi's line is very well guarded, and there is no room for him to overtake him.

However, just when he was annoyed at losing this opportunity, a figure flashed out from the side, and it happened to be stuck in the moment when he exited the curve, squeezing in between him and Lin Jiaxi.

This made the South Korean player stand behind in one breath and almost pissed himself off.He happened to be 24 years old this year. Four years ago, he participated in the Winter Olympics. At the age of 20, let alone defeating Gu Ran, he didn't even touch his back.

In the past four years, he thought that he was the number one in the South Korean national team in the 1500-meter event. However, Zheng Minyu refused to retire for a long time, so he could only be asked by the head coach to assist the opponent.Every game must be guaranteed to give priority to this senior to compete for the championship.

Last year, Zheng Minyu committed suicide and had to attack Gu Ran. Not only did Gu Ran get injured, but Zheng Minyu himself was also suspended by the International Skating Union.

If neither of them can participate in the Winter Olympics, then his chance has come.

God failed, Gu Ran's injury recovered quickly and well, and he appeared in the World Cup in the new season, just like a normal person.

The Korean player was about to give up. Who knew that in the 1000-meter race, Gu Ran fought too hard to defeat Zhao Zhishuo, resulting in serious physical overdraft and muscle fatigue. Today's physical condition is particularly poor.

In fact, it is not difficult to see in today's game that he did not dare to charge too hard and has been trying to allocate his physical energy reasonably.

As soon as the finals came up, he was left alone at the end. The Korean players let down their vigilance and did not expect him to rush up at this time.

The South Korean player quickly adjusted his mentality. There were five and a half laps left in the race. Gu Ran just overtook him all the way from behind, which consumed a lot of energy. He still has a chance.

He was right. Gu Ran took advantage of a curve to pass from the bottom one to the top three. It seemed light and elegant when kicking off the ice, but it was actually very exhausting.

But he had to do this, only in this way could he cooperate better with Lin Jiaxi in the following games.

When he came behind Lin Jiaxi, he lightly patted Lin Jiaxi's hand behind his back, meaning: "You can watch the Canadian players in front at ease, and I'm behind."

However, at this moment, Lin Jiaxi misunderstood what he meant, and thought he was reminding himself that he had surpassed and was ready to continue surpassing to the first place at any time.

In the next two laps, Lin Jiaxi was trying to narrow the distance with the Canadian player, looking for an opportunity to overtake.Gu Ran's attention was on the Korean player behind him, judging his movements, sealing his route, and not giving him any chance to surpass.

For two consecutive corners, the Korean player has already started to speed up, but Gu Ranka's position and ability to tighten the line are stronger than Lin Jiaxi's. No matter how fast he is, he can't complete the overtaking. On the contrary, he has consumed a lot of physical energy. The gap was thrown away in an instant.

Such a gap requires him to catch up with at least two laps of non-stop acceleration. It will not pose a threat to Gu Ran and Lin Jiaxi for the time being, so the two can focus on surpassing the Canadian players in front.

In the two laps with the Korean players just now, Gu Ran also had to keep increasing his speed at every corner to ensure his speed, and his physical energy was also consumed very quickly.

When he was about to enter the corner, Lin Jiaxi beckoned to him, telling Gu Ran to overtake him quickly, the two exchanged positions, Gu Ran went to the front to find opportunities for the Canadian team members, and prepared for the final sprint, while he stuck other opponents behind position, to protect him as much as possible.

Gu Ran glanced at the Canadian skater in front of him. This skater is very physically fit. He has led most of the race and can still maintain a fast lap speed. It is obvious that he is aiming for the championship.

The Korean players behind him did not give up and quickly caught up.Gu Ran weighed the physical reserve and physical condition of herself and Lin Jiaxi in a very short period of time, and quickly made a decision.

He pushed Lin Jiaxi lightly, and shouted at him: "I'll drag it for you, hurry up!"

It is not the time to give in to each other on the field. Although this is an individual event, their helmets and jumpsuits are printed with national flags, and there are three words "China Team" in front of their names. In any case, they want to Put the honor of the motherland first.

Lin Jiaxi didn't struggle. The push Gu Ran pushed him wasn't even called a push. He just patted his butt lightly, but he felt great strength and courage. He no longer worried about being overtaken by the opponent behind him, but Put all your energy on surpassing the players in front.

"Gu Ran has lost his physical strength so early." Chi Lang is too familiar with him, and he can see his current condition at a glance, "It seems that his condition has not fully recovered."

The host also said: "Indeed, when the camera zooms in, you can see his legs shaking."

After Gu Ran passed from behind, she maintained a very fast lap speed every lap, and the soreness of the leg muscles was overwhelming, even worse than two days ago.

Two days ago, he focused all his attention on the race itself, completely ignoring the pain in his body. The 1500-meter race took longer, and the later in the race, the feeling of muscle weakness became more amplified, and his legs seemed to be as heavy as gold. , Every time you lift your legs and step on the ice, you need to mobilize the will of your whole body.His teeth were biting his lower lip, trying to numb the pain coming from his legs with another kind of pain.

However, there was a Korean player behind him who refused to give up, who kept trying to overtake him, and even collided with him intentionally or unintentionally—he saw that Gu Ran was exhausted, and wanted to force him to slow down in this way.

Gu Ran didn't want to have any contact with him, it would only speed up the loss of her physical strength.

No matter what, Gu Ran wanted to stop him, she would rather be harassed by him than let him surpass herself to harass Lin Jiaxi.

Soon the race entered the No.12 lap, and Gu Ran's physical fitness further declined, but Lin Jiaxi hadn't been able to overtake the Canadian player. The two of them had to go together, one left and one right, putting pressure on each other, in order to find a chance to complete the final overtake.

Thinking this way, the two of them have already started to take action.

Cheng Sen originally watched the game with his hands folded in front of his chest, but at this moment, he couldn't help standing up straight.

Chi Lang shouted in the studio: "Come here! Whether you can win the championship depends on this surpassing!"

Originally, Gu Ran wanted to go to the heretics, but Lin Jiaxi changed lanes before him. Gu Ran didn't hesitate, and took another step to Lin Jiaxi's position just now.

There was a curve ahead, and the two started to speed up at the same time, one from the left and the other from the right, and rushed towards the Canadian team.

The two of them have had a tacit understanding for more than ten years, and they don't even need to make eye contact. As long as the other party makes any movement, the other will know how to act.

Although the Canadian player has good physical fitness, he didn't take a breath from the beginning to the end of the slide, but his technical level was still a bit far away, especially in this situation where he didn't even show his ability to defend one of them. The time was surpassed by two people inside and outside.

"Beautiful!" Chi Lang was so excited that he slapped the table in the studio, "It was a wonderful cooperation, and there is only one lap left in the race!"