Yan Wengang celebrates with the national flag of China after winning the
bronze medal in the men's skeleton event at Beijing 2022 in Yanqing,
Beijing, China, February 11, 2022. Nothing about what Yan Wengang has achieved
over the past few days on the 1,615-meter track of the National Sliding
Center in Yanqing is normal. Long jumpers do not sparkle at the skeleton
events; callow youngsters do not upstage their better-known, seasoned
rivals at high-level competitive tournaments; Chinese sliders do not
storm into the final and wrap up the day by reaching the Olympic podium
on their debut. However, as Yan vividly demonstrated in his four
breathtaking runs in the men's skeleton event at the Beijing Winter
Games, the 24-year-old is not an ordinary athlete. In just seven years,
he has gone from being a track and field athlete concentrating on
refining the technical skills of the long jump to stunning the world by
winning China's first-ever Olympic medal in the sliding sports. Yan Wengang of China starts his run in the men's skeleton event at Beijing 2022 in Yanqing, Beijing, China, February 11, 2022. With
maturity and poise that belied his relative inexperience, Yan beat off
fierce competitions from some of the world's finest sliders and clinched
a bronze medal with a sensational total time of 4:01.77 on Friday
night, trailing only two German titans Christopher Grotheer (4:01.01)
and Axel Jungk (4:01.67). Yan's teammate Yin Zheng also delivered an
incredible performance to finish fifth, just behind Sochi 2014 skeleton
champion Aleksandr Tretiakov. "I didn't even think I was able to
win a bronze medal. I didn't think I was this strong," beamed an
emotional Yan after the race. "Normally, in training I don't make too
many mistakes, I think I do quite well." Yan admitted that he
enjoyed a competitive advantage of being more familiar with the track
and seized the opportunity to steal a march on his rivals. "Before
the competition today, I told myself not to worry about it, the
athletes from other countries have never raced on the track at night
before, so heat 3 is when the competition really begins. When heat 4
came around, I told myself to just go for it, and just show what I've
been able to do in training," he observed. Yan Wengang during the men's skeleton event at Beijing 2022, February 11, 2022. Born in north China's Tianjin, a
municipality that neighbors Beijing, Yan has had explosive strength and
raw power since he was a child. The first sport he picked up was the
long jump, which has enabled him to develop exceptional body control and
coordination. "In 2015, China formed a national skeleton team,
and I was recommended to join the team, thus changing my main discipline
from long jump to skeleton," Yan explained. "When I first started
training, I knew absolutely nothing about skeleton. I was even scared to
play the sport because I've never been on a roller coaster, let alone
skeleton." "I was so scared the first time I raced that I ended up
being pushed down the track by my coach," said Yan, smiling. "But as I
learned more about skeleton, I gradually became less scared. And after
hundreds of training sessions, I now enjoy the feeling of sliding at top
speed." Yan remembers every injury he has sustained on the ice
track's most treacherous spots. "I had bruises all over my body because I
was not skilled enough. But the next day, I had to continue training,
and the swelling and bruises wouldn't go away all winter," said Yan. Yan finishes his four runs in the men's skeleton event at Beijing 2022, China, February 11, 2022. Hours of training on track are clearly
paying off. Despite only making his international debut in 2018, Yan
continues his steady rise. In 2018 and 2019, he had two top-10
finishes at successive Junior World Championships. In 2019, he also
became the first Chinese athlete to win a race at the Europa Cup in
Koenigssee, Germany. In 2020, he managed an impressive sixth place in
the mixed team event at the World Championships in Altenberg, Germany. However,
no one could have predicted that within two years, he'd become an
Olympic hero in his home country and steal the limelight in a sport
largely dominated by European giants. While Yan has defied his
underdog status in completing the impossible, he believed that his
breakthrough at the Winter Games could mark the beginning of a new era. "This
medal should make China confident about our future in skeleton," he
mused. "We do have the ability to be competitive. I will continue to
work hard and try to achieve more."
Unlikely hero: Yan Wengang blazes a trail for Chinese sliders at Beijing 2022
Editor:阮梓峰
Source:CGTN
Updated:2022-02-14 15:28:12
Source:CGTN
Updated:2022-02-14 15:28:12
Special
Contact
Welcome to English Channel! Any suggestion, welcome.Tel:0731-82965627
lisl@rednet.cn
zhouqian@rednet.cn