2024-01-28 15:02:10
The Chinese team’s performance at the Winter Youth Olympics is inspiring – Interview with IOC members Yu Zaiqing and Li Lingwei
Xinhua News Agency, Gangneung, South Korea, January 28 (Reporters Ji Ye, Lu Rui, Wei Hua) The 4th Winter Youth Olympic Games is being held in Gangwon Province, South Korea. Yu Zaiqing and Li Lingwei, members of the International Olympic Committee and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, accepted the A reporter from Xinhua News Agency said in an interview that the results achieved by the Chinese team are inspiring and reflect the positive role of the Beijing Winter Olympics in cultivating reserve talents. The Winter Youth Olympics, a youth Olympic event, still has room for adjustment and optimization in terms of competition scale, project settings, cultural education, etc.
Talking regarding the Chinese team: The results are inspiring
The Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games is the first time since the Beijing Winter Olympics that China has organized a team to participate in an international comprehensive sports event in winter sports. Halfway through the competition, the Chinese team’s total number of medals has surpassed the previous two events; as of January 27, the Chinese team has won a total of 5 golds, 8 silvers and 3 bronzes, temporarily ranking first in the total number of medals and fourth in the gold medal list.
On January 25, Pan Baoshuo (left)/Liu Yunqi celebrated winning the championship following the speed skating mixed relay final.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoyu
Yu Zaiqing said that this Winter Youth Olympic Games has indeed achieved the goal of high-level competition. Judging from the results, the performance of each team is generally higher than the previous one. The same is true for the Chinese sports delegation. Halfway through the schedule, their results have surpassed those of the previous one. This result is inspiring.
Li Lingwei also believes that the Chinese team’s outstanding performance in this event is closely related to the successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the cultivation of winter sports talents. This achievement will also play a positive role in the development of my country’s winter sports.
Talking regarding “rabbit tactics”: embodying the characteristics of the Youth Olympic Games
In the women’s 1500m short track speed skating final, Chinese players Yang Jingru and Li Jinxu successfully used the “rabbit tactic” to win the Chinese sports delegation’s first gold medal in this event. This pair of Chinese short track speed skating “cute girls” not only confused their opponents, but also “got out of the circle” with the “rabbit tactics”. Under the cover of her teammates, Yang Jingru successfully trapped the large group and crossed the line as the “last” player in the team to win the championship. At the end of the game, the players from other teams even forgot that they had been trapped by the “rabbit” Yang Jingru, and they all finished in the last place. Two lap sprint…
On January 20, Chinese players Yang Jingru and Li Jinxu (right) competed in the women’s 1500m short track speed skating final.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Yanan
Regarding the successful application of the “rabbit tactic” this time, Li Lingwei said that this just reflects the characteristics of the Youth Olympic Games: when they first enter the Olympic stage, young athletes aged 14 to 18 years old lack experience and are inevitably nervous.
“In the Winter Youth Olympics, some who are optimistic and have high expectations may not necessarily get good results, but some who are not optimistic will achieve something.” Li Lingwei said, “For the Chinese team to successfully use the ‘rabbit tactic’ For the two of them, it is undoubtedly an accumulation of experience. And for those who failed, it will also leave very deep memories in their growth process.”
Li Lingwei is the first women’s singles player in the history of world badminton to win gold medals in the World Championships, World Cup, All England Championships and World Series Grand Prix Finals. She hopes that young athletes will learn to face failure as they grow up, because there are no born champions in competitive sports, and every champion comes out of failure. “Actually, the arena is like life. The most important thing is how to sum up experiences and lessons and face the future positively.”
On January 21, Li Jinxu (right) and Yang Jingru competed in the women’s 1,000-meter short track speed skating final.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yao Qilin
Yu Zaiqing said that the Winter Youth Olympics is the beginning of the participants’ pursuit of the Winter Olympics dream, and he hopes that their dreams will come true in the future, qualifying for the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics and winning medals.
Talking regarding the future of Youth Olympic Games: There is still room for optimization
From Singapore in 2010 to Gangwon Province, South Korea in 2024, three Summer Youth Olympic Games and four Winter Youth Olympic Games have demonstrated their unique charm and value. However, when they are unable to compete with the Olympic Games and Winter Olympics in terms of influence and commercial value, where will the Youth Olympic Games and Winter Youth Olympic Games go, and how will they be integrated into the overall reform of the Olympic movement?
In this regard, Yu Zaiqing said that because the Winter Youth Olympics is a sports event for young people, the level cannot be compared with the Winter Olympics, so the value of television broadcasting is relatively low. It is consensus that the games are free to watch, and there is no ticket revenue. Sponsoring companies do not have much interest, making it difficult to raise funds for the event and facing many difficulties. However, the current situation is not bad, and many countries or regions are still interested in bidding to host the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
On January 27, Xiao Siyu competed in the preliminaries of the women’s freestyle skiing big jump.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ming
Li Lingwei said that this event still has room for adjustment and optimization in terms of scale, project settings, culture and education. First of all, the positioning of the Youth Olympic Games and the Winter Youth Olympic Games is not the same as that of the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympics. The events are equivalent to a step for young athletes to enter the Olympic stage. Whether it is winter or summer, many Olympic champions have come from this platform. This positioning also determines that the Youth Olympic Games and Winter Youth Olympic Games must be more frugal and streamlined.
Secondly, the integration of sports, culture and education is a major feature of the event. Compared with the Summer Youth Olympic Games, this Winter Youth Olympic Games is relatively smaller in terms of the integration of sports, culture and education. In addition, the weather is cold in winter. Many cultural and educational activities are held in the Winter Youth Olympic Village this time, making it easier for athletes to experience it. At the same time, related projects are also very relevant to the future development of young people.
Third, targeting young people means that the Youth Olympic Games and the Winter Youth Olympic Games have been deeply branded with “innovation” from the beginning and are “laboratories” for new projects and new rules. At the same time, hosting the Youth Olympic Games is also a “touchstone” to test the ability to host games. Li Lingwei said that there are two views on the design of Youth Olympic Games events. One is to follow the trend of Olympic events, and the other is not to completely match the Olympic events. In her view, projects cannot be innovative for the sake of innovation.
On January 27, Chinese players Gong Changyuting (right) and Xu Bokang competed in the curling mixed pairs round-robin competition.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhu Wei
Taking the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games as an example, she said that among the nine venues for this Winter Youth Olympic Games, seven are the venues for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. “If the Winter Youth Olympics project is a brand new project that is different from the Winter Olympics, then from the perspective of venue construction, operation team and other aspects, the expenses and costs will actually increase, and it is not certain that this innovation will be used in the future. Whether it can be applied to the adult Olympics in the future, so everyone still has different views on the innovation of the Youth Olympics project setting.”
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