Proving Himself on the Clay Court: Wu Jiafeng’s Journey to Asian Games Glory

2023-08-21 09:45:00

[Tilu Interview]Wu Jiafeng, who has been sticking to the clay court for more than ten years, has survived the silence brought regarding by injuries for six years, and has also reached his 30th year. The Hong Kong “flying men” around him changed one by one. Among them, Chen Yile, who was hailed as a supernova, was only 16 years old and once ran out of the world’s No. 1 U18. For two generations who embraced the dream of “Sub-10”, Yu Jiafeng witnessed the rise of the newcomer, and at the same time pushed him to run a 100-meter race that he had no regrets before handing over the baton to his successor. Hangzhou held in September Is the Asian Games his best chance to prove himself?

Due to your privacy preferences, this content is not available.

To view this content, please update your settings here.

Wu Jiafeng was inRun 10.28 seconds in the 100m final of the Hong Kong Athletics Seriestying the Hong Kong record made by Xu Zhihao in 2010, is not so much the accumulation of daily training, but moreDetermination built from unwillingness and frustration, plus fearless obsession to defeat the demons brought regarding by injuries. In the ten years from 2011 to 2021, he first ran into the London Olympics, and then set a personal best time (PB) twice. However, most of the time in the middle was troubled by a slight tear of the Achilles tendon. He tried a multi-pronged approach, including injecting high-concentration platelet serum (PRP), taking traditional Chinese medicine, and physical therapy. He spent nearly 6 years before the age of 30. to deal with the wounded.

Around 10 years ago, the relay team teammates around him also changed several generations. Chen Yile, who is only 16 years old, has been hailed as a supernova in the sprint world and a “future special”. Since he was 9 years old, he has practiced running with Ho Kwan-lung, a member of the “Golden Generation” of the Hong Kong Relay Team. He became the focus of attention as soon as he turned 16 at the beginning of the year when he played in the local open group. In February, he represented Hongli College in the Hong Kong-Kowloon District D3 Middle School Inter-School Athletics Competition with a record of 10.63 seconds in the school circle and U18 Hong Kong. In the following two months, he broke the PB once more and once more to 10.40 seconds, becoming the world’s No. 1 boy U18 and with The U20 Hong Kong record is only 0.12 seconds away. It was only when Jiafeng was 19 years old that he achieved this time. Selected for the 4×100m relay Hong Kong team, and participated in the international competition with a group of Hong Kong team brothers.

I must run within 10 seconds.

Historically, less than 200 100-meter runners have completed “Sub-10”, and Asians are even less than 20% of them. For the time being, only Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye have achieved this achievement in China. Looking at the shy Yile in front of him, it is difficult to appreciate the indescribable drive in his heart, but there is a sense of confidence in his tone: “I enjoy the pressure caused by the nervousness before the game. Before the local game Just because I was nervous, it helped me to run PB. Now that I have more experience, I want to feel more nervous. I still have a lot of time in the future, so I must run within 10 seconds, preferably in the next year. Qing is challenged by a group of strong opponents.”

Although there was a small gap in three years, Yile, who first reported to the Hong Kong relay team, quickly integrated into the atmosphere, chatting and laughing with all the Hong Kong team brothers, “In the beginning, sometimes I didn’t know what to say to everyone, because everyone I didn’t sit in the real Hong Kong team, but following we went to Australia and Guangzhou to compete together, we had more topics to talk regarding when we lived together. We liked to discuss food and video games, just like friends. I learned from them that we must be serious in practice, But at the same time, you have to relax and face everything.” The title of Hong Kong’s “Flying Man” may soon fall on Chen Yile’s shoulders. He knows that wearing a battle suit with bauhinia stamped on it represents a unique belief and meaning , “You can’t run slowly while wearing this shirt.” But how to keep the purest original intention in the face of real pressure is something we will all wait and see in the future.

Once upon a time, Wu Jiafeng also hoped that he would become the first Hong Kong general to complete the 100-meter “Sub-10”, but injuries made him drift away from his dream.Last year, I practiced with China’s “flying man” Su BingtianAfter understanding the other party’s training methods and mentality, he felt that the distance between him and his dream was a little closer, and he gradually recognized his new goal. The key point is to keep the fire in your heart when going through everything. The result is only a time. Even if I run to 9 seconds, I will definitely be surpassed by others in the future. The most important thing is to gain and enjoy the process, which cannot be taken away by others Yes. I still want to be the first Hong Konger to run 10.1 seconds, and secondly pass what I have accumulated over the years to the relay team, and all the dedicated sprinters.”

As the big brother of the relay team, Ka Fung deeply feels the responsibility to make the team members more united and take on the role of boosting morale. Just because everyone has the same belief, even if Jiafeng doesn’t say much, the team will do their part, whether in individual or relay races, they will fight with the mentality of doing their best. “Our relationship is very simple, because each other is very clear regarding the goal. Consistent, one of the factors may be that we have run a good time before, so that the younger generations have a kind of desire to catch up with the predecessors or break the Hong Kong record, so we will do all the details.” But the scars formed by the injuries It is not only engraved on the legs, but also burned in the heart. Jiafeng still has reservations regarding sharing this part: “Maybe I seldom share my feelings when I am injured with my young teammates. It is always negative emotions. They may only know that I have been injured. Injury, and knowing the state is a bit different from before. Since practicing with Su Bingtian, I have used the mentality of learning to run once more to train, and it may take another 1 to 2 years to develop.”

At the beginning of this year, Jiafeng also recuperated for 3 months due to a ruptured hamstring tendon. He lacked most of the pre-season training, and last month’s Asian Championships relay was his first competition following his comeback. Even in the face of the baptism of new injuries and old afflictions, Jiafeng has not yet retreated from the line of fire. Before handing over the baton to the next generation, what he pursues is to run a race with no regrets as a curtain call: “As long as there is a race that I am satisfied with, that state, that feeling, I am enough. It may not necessarily be time. But as long as you run out of that feeling, your results will not be bad.” For this last dance, there is nothing more practical than pushing the opponent beyond the limit on the field. “I hope I can run this game with Jiafeng. Race, and then watch him run 10 seconds 1.”

Photo and text: Li Zizheng

This article was sponsored by “Sportsroad“Originally published on “[Support the Hong Kong team side by side]Wu Jiafeng and Chen Yile: Inheriting the name of Hong Kong’s “flying man” “Sub-10” fantasies of two generations of motorcyclists

1692636089
#Support #Hong #Kong #team #side #sideWu #Jiafeng #Chen #Yile #Inheriting #Hong #Kongs #flying #man #Sub10 #fantasies #generations #motorcyclists

Leave a Replay