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

In the end, Director Wang also announced: "Every afternoon, add an extra hour of physical fitness class. I hope the 21-day training camp can help everyone. I wish you good results in the future. The meeting is over!"

Gu Ran returned to the dormitory. During this period of time, his three senior brothers were training. He silently went to the balcony to get a broom and mop to clean up the dormitory.

After taking out the trash, he sat down at the desk and began to think.

The half-hour warm-up this morning made him a little uncomfortable, not to mention that there was an hour of physical training in the afternoon, and the intensity would only increase.

Gu Ran dug out a set of exercises and thought while doing the exercises.

He listed all the difficulties in his mind. In the final analysis, there are two: First, the time to get up is too early.Second, physical fitness is the biggest problem he has faced so far.

But since he has come here, there is no reason for him to retreat.

He has been a roll king since he was a child. Once he decides to do something, he will do it to the end and never give up halfway.

"It's almost twelve o'clock, why didn't you go to eat?" Hearing the voice, Gu Ran looked towards the door, and it was Gao Ziyi who came back.

"I didn't pay attention to the time." Gu Ran lowered her head again and wrote the answer on the paper, "There are two big questions at the end, just go after finishing."

Gao Ziyi walked to his desk and took a look: "What are you doing?"

"Olympiad." Gu Ran didn't raise his head, "I'm in a bad mood, let's do the exercises to relieve myself."

Gao Ziyi looked at the paper and then at him: "It's the first time I heard that doing math problems can ease the mood."

Gu Ran solved the two big problems in a few minutes. Every step of the problem-solving was clear in thinking, rigorous in logic, beautifully written, and clean in paper.

"Let's go, eat." Gao Ziyi gave him a hand, "Why are you in a bad mood, tell your brother."

Gu Ran told him about the meeting in the morning: "It's nothing, I just think I'm lucky."

Gao Ziyi smiled softly: "I remember I was like this when I first came to the provincial team, just get over it."

Gu Ran felt that he looked like a person who could endure hardships, with a simple aura about him: "How did senior brother survive?"

Gao Ziyi smiled again: "Actually, the life here is not a torment for me."

Having said that, Gao Ziyi didn't go any further.Gu Ran also roughly understood what he meant, so she stopped asking further questions.

The physical fitness test is divided into four parts, flexibility quality, sensitivity quality and endurance quality, and comprehensive strength quality.

The first part of the flexibility quality includes three movements: seated forward bend, frog stretch, seated side leg press, and stand still for 30 seconds in the required standard posture.

This is not a difficult task for Gu Ran, his flexibility has always been very good, and coupled with his young age, it is very easy to complete.

The second part of agility quality also includes three movements: squatting sprint, running back and forth sideways, and agility turning.

These need to cooperate with the referee's password to test the athlete's physical response ability.Gu Ran is shorter than his peers and has a thin body. He is a typical dexterity player, and the agility test is not a big problem for him.

For the first two items, according to the standards given by the organizing committee, Gu Ran can get full marks for all of them.

The difficulty lies in the third part of endurance quality and the fourth part of comprehensive strength quality.These include running with high legs, skating posture-coordination, skating posture-split legs, squats, sit-ups, kneeling push-ups, back muscles... There are seven movements in total, each of which has a certain time requirement. A test of physical endurance and muscular strength.

In the beginning, Gu Ran was already sweating profusely after 3 minutes of running with high legs, followed by another 3 minutes of skating posture-coordination, which required maintaining the skating posture, coordinating swinging arms, retracting legs, and maintaining a stable support.It is more difficult and more energy-intensive than high leg lifts.

This already cost him half his life, let alone the next few items.In the end, I could only grit my teeth and persist, and the training clothes on my body were already soaked.

Gu Ran's family was well off since he was a child, and his parents and elders took good care of him.He was originally smart, and his studies were smooth sailing, and he had never suffered such a hardship.

Back in the dormitory, Gu Ran felt his hands and feet were weak, his body was weak, and he lay motionless on the chair.

When the other three came back and saw him like this, they came to comfort him one after another: "This is where you are. When you come to the provincial team, you will know what hell mode is."

Gao Ziyi patted his head: "Go take a shower and go to sleep, I will wake you up tomorrow morning, and I will help you clean up, you should train hard."

Gu Ran raised her head and looked at him pitifully: "Brother, why are you so kind to me?"

Gao Ziyi smiled and said, "Because the biscuits you gave are delicious."

A brother named Zheng Wenkang next to him said, "Yes, that dark chocolate is also good."

The senior brother diagonally opposite is called Wu Kaize: "Listen to me, wait for you to persevere, look back, the youth competition is like playing, the most important thing is to persist." He also clenched his fist very exaggeratedly, " Come on, boy!"

Gu Ran was encouraged mentally, but her body couldn't lift a bit of strength, so she just dragged her tired body to take a shower, went to bed, and got up at four o'clock the next morning to continue practicing.

Now they only have time to rest in the morning, they have to train in the morning and evening, and they have to practice physical fitness in the afternoon.

The team members usually seize the time to go back to catch up on sleep and take a rest.Gu Ran's entertainment methods are reading books, doing quizzes, and memorizing words.

On this day, after having breakfast, he was not in a hurry to go back to the dormitory, but returned to the speed skating gym.

The provincial team members are training, a total of 12 people, six men and women, covering all competitions including men's and women's 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, men's 5000 meters relay, women's 3000 meters relay and 2000 meters mixed relay.

Gu Ran stood on the sidelines, and what he saw gave him a new interest in the sport of short track speed skating.

Following Jiang Yan in the city team can only be regarded as an enlightenment, and the training plan and intensity are far from enough.What he sees now is a team that has achieved excellent results in the highest level of competition in the country. Some of them have been selected for the national training team, and some have been selected for the national youth team. Gao Ziyi is one of them .

The coach looks very young, with a meticulous expression, and he is concise and to the point both in giving instructions and instructing techniques, which gives people the illusion of being able to take off on a white runway.

Unknowingly, Gu Ran had watched the morning training outside the field, and didn't realize until it was over that it was time to go to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Gu Ran."

Someone was calling his name not far away, Gu Ran raised his head, and stood in front of him was a young man in his 20s, wearing a sportswear with the provincial team logo on it - he was the provincial team's coach.

Gu Ran was a little strange: "You...know me?"

The man raised his eyebrows: "Of course, I chose you."

Gu Ran stared at him for a while, then smiled and said: "I remembered, you have been to our city team."

He still remembered that this person stared at him for a long time, and Jiang Yan notified him to come to the provincial team for training within a few days.

The man smiled meaningfully: "I heard that you are the worst in the team physically."

Gu Ran: "..."

"Director Jiang has high hopes for you." The man patted him on the shoulder, turned and left.

"Gu Ran," Gao Ziyi slid to the sidelines, resting his hands on the crash pad, "What are you thinking?"

He followed Gu Ran's gaze and introduced to him with a smile: "This is our coach Xu Qing. Although he is not in charge of your training, he should take you to the competition."

Gu Ran said: "He looks... very powerful."

"Of course! He only retired from the national team last year, and returned to the provincial team as the head coach after half a year."

Gu Ran looked away: "Brother, go and change quickly, let's go have dinner together."

From that day on, Gu Ran would come over to watch the provincial team training every morning.At the beginning, I watched the excitement, slowly paying attention to their skills, and then tried to imitate them myself.

Xu Qing looked at him from a distance, and found that the kid was quite studious.The sweat-wet hair was dried and twisted into strands on the head, but he still had the energy to come to them to steal a lesson.

"Aren't you tired?" Xu Qing propped his elbows on the non-slip mat, looking at Gu Ran curiously.

"Tired," Gu Ran patted her arms and legs, "I feel like my hands and feet don't belong to me."

"Then you won't go to rest, what are you doing here?"

Gu Ran smiled, her eyebrows curved, and she was able to shorten the distance with others: "Let me learn."

Xu Qing asked him: "Then do you want to practice with them?"

"Of course!" Gu Ran's eyes lit up, "If possible."

The provincial team is not at the same level as their training team. Gu Ran felt that if he could train with Gao Ziyi and the others, his progress would be much greater than it is now.

"Of course...not." Xu Qing had a mischievous smile on his face, "Not yet."

Gu Ran's bright eyes dimmed again, and she tilted her head: "Then when will it work?"

"Look at your performance."

Gu Ran said in his heart: "When you want me, I haven't practiced yet."

After lunch, Gu Ran seized the time to go back and take a nap, and continued physical training in the afternoon.

Not only did he find it hard, but other teammates also complained, and even slacked off where the coach couldn't see.

Gu Ran only complained in his heart, but he was never lazy.At the end of every day's physical training, I persisted with my will.

When he finished the last set of kneeling push-ups, his arms softened and he slapped the whole body on the mat.

His dripping sweat formed a small puddle on the mat, and when he slapped his face down, it splashed into his eyes, sour and astringent, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.

The 21 days of training passed in the blink of an eye, and the night before he set off for Shanghai, three senior brothers taught him their experience.

Zheng Wenkang: "Don't be nervous, we all came here this way."

Wu Kaize: "If you take the top three, you will be able to participate in the elite league. The top 24 in the all-around youth group of the elite league will be able to advance to the national short track speed skating championship. The top [-] in the all-around championship will be able to participate in the national short track speed skating championship. the highest level of competition."

It sounds like a long and arduous process. Athletes need to fight one game at a time, and finally calculate their rankings and advance to higher-level events.

If not, it will have to wait until the next game cycle.

Gu Ran blinked: "Almighty? But I only practice 500 meters now."

Zheng Wenkang put his arms around his shoulders: "That won't work, children can't be biased. You have to practice quickly for 1000 meters and 1500 meters. These are points."

Gao Ziyi also said: "Professional athletes grow up from every game. Don't be afraid, you have been training for so many years, aren't you just waiting for this opportunity to play well!"

Gu Ran smiled awkwardly but politely: "But... I only practiced for seven months."

"Ah???" The three looked at him in surprise, "You are enlightened so late?"

Gu Ran waved her hand: "It was an accident. Last summer, I was ordered to take my little cousin to participate in the selection. He, a school-age child, was not selected, but I, an over-age child, was selected."

"I'll go!" Zheng Wenkang almost looked at him with admiration, "I didn't expect a genius to come to our dormitory."

Gu Ran quickly waved her hands: "You are only two years older than me, and you are much stronger than me. In front of professional athletes, I am not a genius."

Zheng Wenkang stretched out his thumb and index finger: "I entered the sports school at the age of eight and started practicing short track speed skating. This year is the eighth year."

Wu Kaize said: "I learned roller skating when I was four years old, entered a local short track speed skating club when I was seven, and was elected to the provincial team last year."

Gu Ran looked at Gao Ziyi: "Where is Senior Brother Xiao Gao?"

Gao Ziyi was a little dazed, and finally smiled calmly: "I will be later, when I was nine years old, I was selected by the first coach."

Everyone chatted around Gu Ran to share the precautions during the game. Wu Kaize said: "You have to have a good attitude and a handsome posture."

Zheng Wenkang caught off guard and pinched Gu Ran's buttocks: "Don't waste such an upturned buttocks, take up space at the start, it's hard for them to pass!"

Gao Ziyi held Gu Ran's shoulder: "I'm a little worried about your physical fitness test."

Gu Ran himself was also very worried. For the first time in his life, if he didn't pass the physical test and didn't even have the chance to play, how would he explain to Jiang Yan after he returned?

The Shanghai Station of the National Youth Short Track Speed ​​Skating U Series Competition lasts for five days. The first two days are physical fitness tests, and the last three days are official competitions.

Province J, where Gu Ran was located, was on the second day of the physical fitness test.It was only after arriving at the physical test site that Gu Ran discovered that there were actually many participating units, not only provincial teams, but also some clubs.

Athletes who complete the test first can leave, while the latter wait outside.No one knows what's going on inside, but the test results are released on the spot, and it's not difficult to guess whether they have passed or not from the athletes' reactions when they come out.

Some people came out happily, while others left weeping.The longer the wait, the less likely everyone feels that they will pass.

Finally, the man in front came out of the room with his head downcast.The referee shouted: "Next, Province J, No. 194 Gu Ran."

Gu Ran took a deep breath, and encouraged herself in her heart: "Don't be cowardly, just do it!"