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

All preliminaries and quarter-finals went well. In the 1000m semi-finals, he and Chi Lang were not in the same group.

The two met in the inspection room, and Chi Lang leaned over and joked with him: "I haven't seen you for a month, and I found that you have grown stronger."

Gu Ran asked: "Have you grown taller?"

Chi Lang put his hand on his shoulder: "If you don't know, I suggest you look at your registration form."

The registration form will fill in the athlete's latest height and weight, and Gu Ran has grown by one centimeter compared to the first time he competed two months ago, which is equivalent to no growth.

Chi Lang, on the other hand, felt that the height gap between the two was increasing every time he saw him.

Chi Lang asked him maliciously: "You said that you are almost 14 years old, and you have not grown up yet, so you are not in a hurry."

Gu Ran cast a disdainful glance at him: "What's the hurry, I can beat you even if I don't grow up."

Chi Lang patted him on the head: "Little friend, let's talk about the finals first."

Gu Ran hooked the corner of her mouth: "Entering the finals is not just a matter of skating."

The two chatted every sentence, and the staff over there informed the first group of semi-finalists to come on stage.

Gu Ran pushed Chi Lang: "It's your turn."

During this group of competitions, Gu Ran still maintained his usual habit of standing at the door of the inspection room to watch.

It's been a month since Chi Lang has improved again. He always looks very confident in the game, skating aggressively, like a center of gravity tank, making it difficult for opponents to overtake.

But his shortcomings are also obvious. If he is too big, he will appear to be lacking in dexterity, and his reaction will be relatively slow.As long as you grasp his weak link, it is not impossible to win him.

The game of more than a minute was over soon.There was no suspense in the result. Chi Lang entered the final with the No.1 score, and the other finalist was Gu Ran's teammate.

Next came Gu Ran's group. He put on his helmet and goggles and was ready to go on stage.

In this group, in addition to him, there is a player from province L, No. 35, and two players from province R, No. 42 and No. 89 respectively.

Having played together several times, Gu Ran is already very familiar with these people.The three of them have a certain strength, which is worse than him.

This seemed to be an easy semi-final. Gu Ran grabbed the lead skate position at the first corner, and he could securely win the first place in the group and enter the final.

He thought so, and the game should have developed like this.

Shortly after departure, he came to the first corner, and Gu Ran, who was on the second track, accelerated his pedaling speed, and took the first position in front of the R provincial team member on the first track.

He had good timing and was faster than the others.

When the race came to the second lap, Gu Ran continued to accelerate. However, at the moment when entering the corner, the speed was the fastest and the arc of the body was the largest.

Gu Ran suddenly felt that someone bumped into him from the left rear, and he could slide out at a high speed of more than ten meters in a second. At the moment when the centrifugal force was the greatest when crossing a curve, even a trivial collision would bring fatal results.

Gu Ran's balance is very good, but the moment he was hit, he lost his center of gravity, and his whole body seemed to be out of control, and he flew out at a faster speed.

At that moment, Gu Ran couldn't do anything, he could only protect himself from getting hurt as much as possible.In the next second, the right shoulder slammed into the crash pad next to the track.

At the same time, another athlete was affected and fell off the track. This person was No. 35 from Province L who was on the fourth lane at the start.

The moment he fell down, Gu Ran didn't have time to care about his injury, but instinctively retracted his legs. If not, his skates might scratch No. 35's face.

He braced his arms and wanted to stand up, but the severe pain in his right shoulder made him unable to exert any strength at all, and he fell back again.

This pain caused Gu Ran to see stars in front of his eyes, his mind was buzzing, and the exclamations and screams in the stands were blurred for a moment.Can't feel anything but pain.

The race was still going on, and the two players from Province R had already entered the second lap. Gu Ran and the players from Province L were disqualified for leaving the track.

The moment they saw Gu Ran fall off the track, both Xu Qing and Director Wang tightened their hearts, for fear that he would be injured.

The game is not over yet, and they can't enter the arena. They can only wait for Gu Ran to stand up and leave the arena.

Short track speed skating is a very dangerous sport, but the more dangerous it is, the more fully prepared you are.

The crash pad itself is soft, and the athletes' helmets, goggles, and clothes and gloves are also cut-resistant, protecting their personal safety to the greatest extent.

After the No. 35 team member from Province L stood up by himself, he quickly bent down to help Gu Ran: "How are you, are you okay?"

Gu Ran waved her hand and stood up with his help.In order not to affect the competition on the field, the two people withdrew from the track as soon as possible.

No. 35 said: "Thank you just now, if it weren't for you, I might have been injured."

"It's okay, it should be." Gu Ran waved her hands, and now she still has lingering fears.In the past ten months of learning short track speed skating, he has never fallen like this.

The game on the field is over, there is no suspense, and the two players from Province R who have completed the game entered the final hand in hand.

"By the way!" Gu Ran turned her head and asked, "How did you fall?"

No. 35 recalled: "I fell at the end, and No. 42 in front blocked my sight. I didn't see the moment you fell. When I saw it, it was too late to dodge."

Gu Ran asked: "There is number 42 between me and you, and you didn't dodge it, how did he dodge it?"

No. 35 was taken aback for a moment, obviously not thinking about this question.The accident happened in an instant, everyone was gliding so fast, how could they observe so carefully.

He frowned: "He should be inside."

At this time, the coaches of the two had rushed over.Director Wang anxiously pulled Gu Ran's right arm: "How are you? Did you get hurt?"

"Hiss~" Gu Ran gasped in pain, "My right shoulder seems to be injured."

Director Wang became even more anxious: "There will be a 3000-meter relay semi-final in a while, and a 500-meter semi-final and a 2000-meter mixed relay in the afternoon. Can you persist?"

Before Gu Ran could speak, Xu Qing spoke first: "The 3000-meter relay will be on the bench. Whether or not to participate in the afternoon game will be decided after the team doctor has seen it."

Gu Ran waved her hand: "Province R made a foul, that No. 89, he bumped into me, first go to the referee to appeal."

In the short track speed skating competition, if a player commits a foul that prevents another player from completing the race, the offender will be disqualified, and the fouled player will be sent directly to the final.

Xu Qing instructed Wang Guidance: "Take him to change clothes first, then let the team doctor look at the injury, and I will go to the referee team."

After speaking, he went straight away.

Director Wang gave Gu Ran a hand: "Let's go."

Gu Ran stood there without moving: "Wait, I want to see the result of the appeal."

Director Wang had no choice but to go to the team doctor arranged by the organizing committee on the sidelines to bring an ice pack and apply it on him.

Before Xu Qing came back, Chi Lang came over first: "That No. 89 bumped into you, I saw it."

Gu Ran shook her head, with a solemn expression: "I don't know how the referee will judge."

Chi Lang said again: "That kid is a habitual offender, and he often has small movements in his hands, several times."

Gu Ran didn't speak, and kept staring in the direction of the referee's seat until Xu Qing turned around and came back.

Director Wang couldn't wait to step forward and asked, "What did the referee say, did Province R commit a foul?"

Xu Qing shook his head: "The referee said that it was a normal body swing and there was no foul."

Director Wang became angry when he heard it: "There is no foul, our team members can fly off the track, and they are the hosts, so they can bully people like this?"

His voice was quite loud. Although the speed skating hall was full of people, the people around heard it and looked at them one after another.

Xu Qing waved his hand: "Okay, let's talk when we go back."

Hearing this result, although Gu Ran was very disappointed in her heart, she didn't show anything on her face, nor did she say much.

Back in the stands, it was his teammates who cared about him, comforted him, and scolded the two team members from Province R severely.

The teammates were so heartwarming, Gu Ran also acted indifferently, smiling and chatting with everyone while watching the game.

There was the last relay race left in the morning, and Gu Ran couldn't make it, so he had to let the substitutes go first. Province J played steadily and entered the finals smoothly.

The group returned to the hotel non-stop. The team doctor immediately came to the room and asked Gu Ran to take off his shirt to check the condition of his shoulders.

The young man looks fair and clean, but there is a large bruise on his right shoulder, which looks particularly shocking.

The team doctor held his elbow for a brief movement, and then pressed on various parts of the shoulder joint. After a series of physical examinations, he came to a conclusion: "The soft tissue contusion is accompanied by a slight muscle strain, and the joint is not injured. Rub some The ointment for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis should be fine after a week of rest."

Only then did Xu Qing feel relieved: "I will abstain from the 500-meter semi-finals in the afternoon, and replace it with someone else in the relay race. Take care of yourself."

Gu Ran asked: "Abstaining will not lead to deductions of group points, but also a fine."

Guidance Wang said, "Aren't you injured? It's a special reason. There will be no points deducted or fined. Don't worry."

Gu Ran bit her lower lip: "However, the finals are the top eight in the three rounds. If I don't have any results in this round, I won't be able to participate in the finals."

"..."

Having said that, everyone felt embarrassed for him.He performed so well in the first two races, it would be a pity if he couldn't participate in the final due to this accident.

Director Wang comforted him: "There is no other way, after all, you are injured now. You are still young, come back next year."

The team doctor took out a roll of bandages: "I'll fix it for you, it will get better sooner."

No one in the room spoke. The team doctor wrapped the bandage round and round on Gu Ran's shoulder. It was tight enough to limit the range of motion of his shoulder joint, which is conducive to the recovery of the injury.

After wrapping up the bandage, Gu Ran put on his clothes, Xu Qing told him to take a good rest, and everyone was about to leave.

"Director Xu," Gu Ran suddenly stopped Xu Qing, "I want to try the 500-meter race in the afternoon."

Xu Qing turned around, but before he could speak, Gu Ran continued: "Even if I can't get the first place, at least I will have a result, plus the first two races, I will be able to rank in the top eight and get to participate in the finals qualifications."