2 . Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian called himself one of the biggest beneficiaries of sport exchange between China and the Western world in an interview with China News Service (CNS).

31-year-old Su made history in the Tokyo Olympics by setting the new Asian record for men’s 100mat 9.83 seconds in the semifinal and finishing sixth in the final at 9.98 seconds. There used to be the biased view that no Asian sprinter can finish 100m within 10 seconds. Su proved people wrong with his performance. “I never thought we couldn’t do it, but there have been some problems with our concept of training the whole time. Now we did it by finishing at 9.83 seconds. That’s best proof to beat such prejudice,” said Su to CNS.

Su Bingtian of China celebrates after finishing men’s 100msemifinal at 9.83 seconds in the Tokyo Olympics at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, August I, 2021./CFP

Su believes scientific training plays a key role in his success. “I realized that running as much as possible does not necessarily help you run faster. Scientific training attaches more importance to applying of technique and requires you to do it right instead of doing it a lot. In that way, athletes can save more strength in training and recover faster,” said Su.

According to Su, he did not understand some of the moves coaches asked him to do when he went to train abroad at the beginning. It took him years to realize the importance of scientific training, especially stamina allocation (耐力分配), as well as how to do it on the field. “That’s why I chose to change how I started off at the end of 2014 and acquired a new running pace,” said Su.

Su and his American coach Randy Huntington began to cooperate in 2017. Huntington made detailed analysis of Su’s condition based on “champion model” from the start before arranging specific training sessions for Su to work on. Su said that played a key role in the process of him making breakthrough.

When asked if there will be another “Su Bingtian” in the future, Su’s answer was “Yes, 100 percent.” “People in the future can definitely do what I can do. I’m looking forward to seeing if they can do it better than me. All records are to be broken,” said Su.

3 . Wang Shuang was just five when her parents divorced, dropped her at her uncle’s and left. Football, as it often is, became an escape.

At seven, she was spotted by coach Xu Yilong, who found Wang quick in her playful behavior. As the only girl in the boys’ team, Wang’s performances were impressive, earning her the nickname “Iron Girl”. And soon, she sensed the sport’s power. Football allowed her to “release herself” and realize “whatever happens, football never leaves you alone”.

However, life was never smooth sailing. The constant jibes (嘲讽) from some people, who always tried to push her down and destroy her hopes, affected her so deeply that she lost confidence. “They were saying I had no talent at all. Gradually, I felt really so,” Wang once wrote. But never did she stop playing. When she was called up at the age of 17, Wang thought, “Me? Are you sure?” When a world-famous club wanted to sign her, she was excited that an excellent coach thought she was good. It was only then that she felt confident in her abilities. “I felt recognized. Perhaps I had a bit of talent after all.”

Not any “bit of talent”; the genius is praised as China’s once-in-a-generation player.

China is a pioneer of women’s football in Asia and has won the continental championship nine times, including seven straight titles between 1986 and 1999. That was their golden age. Gradually, though, the dynasty declined (衰退). It is hoped that Wang will inspire the women’s football of the country to its former height.

Coaches are almost always hesitant to speak about individual players. But when coach Shui Qingxia was asked about Wang before the match against Vietnam, she couldn’t stop mentioning her influence on the team. Unfailingly performing on the big stage, Wang did not let her team down. When they lacked a quality ball，she delivered two high assists that finally led her team into the quarterfinal(四分之一决赛).

“Nobody knows how hard it was,” declared Wang after the match. “We overcame difficulties. We also showed our strong spiritual power. I am proud of my team. ”

5 . Chinese athletes were highlighted by a series of inspirational wins in the International Ski Federation’s World Cup circuit recently. China’s Gu Ailing, a Chinese freestyle talent, made history by becoming the first ever back-to-back freeski World Cup winner in two different events at the same venue after claiming the slopestyle title in Calgary, Canada, on Feb.15, 2020. The day before, Gu had stormed to her first Cup gold in the halfpipe competition.

Gu again thrilled the crowds on Feb.15 in the slopestyle with another impressive display of technical riding, landing a string of difficult tricks, including a massive right 900° twist with a tail grab in her second run that earned her 89.18 points to dominate the 18-strong field.

“Honestly, my mind is blown,” Gu told the FIS website after the competition. “Coming in I didn’t have any expectations. I try not to take anything for granted. Honestly, I could not have expected two wins from these events.”

“I really just came in trying to do my best and ski the way I knew I could. Skiing my best is really the best part of this, and being rewarded for it just makes it even better.”

Born to a Chinese mother and an American father in San Francisco, US, Gu, better known as Eileen in the States, completed a naturalization process last June to represent China in international competitions.

Now she has her sights set on doing her mother’s home country proud at the 2022 Beijing Games.

A talented skier who has won many national junior titles in the US, Gu became a hit last month after winning two golds and a silver — in halfpipe, Big Air and slopestyle — at her first appearance in Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland.

With Gu now on board in freeski, China’s snow sports team, which also features world-class aerial skiers and halfpipe snowboarders, is determined to challenge Western dominance on the snow in 2022.

Athletes are not only     1    ( compete), but good friends—that’s a main attraction of the Olympics. That’s    2     athletes send best wishes to their competitors, even if they have themselves lost. As competitors they compete for gold, but as friends they work together to challenge limits. The hugs received from other competitors are always remarked in the Games because the true Olympic spirit is beyond victory and national boundaries. Winning a medal is definitely important, but one needs a golden heart to cope with all the difficulties on the field and still congratulate their competitors. That’s what makes the Olympics    3     (attract).