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

In addition to the two individual events, Gu Ran also participated in two relay races.

In this 2000-meter mixed relay, Gu Ran teamed up with Gao Ziyi, Liang Kexin, and Zhao Ting.

Their lineup, no matter how you look at it, should be a championship lineup.At least Gu Ran, Gao Ziyi and Liang Kexin are all individual champions.

But this is just an appearance. In fact, the relay race is not just about the individual strength of the players, but about the handling of each handover.

Before the elite league, Gu Ran felt that they didn't do a good job in this aspect. Every time the baton was handed over, it felt like a mess. There was a chance to surpass H province, but it was because the baton was handed over.

In the mixed relay, the number and order of laps to be skated by everyone is fixed, and everyone takes over the baton together, and there is no rhythm problem.What can work hard is the moment when the baton is handed over, the moment when the person is pushed out, to complete the transcendence and occupy the place.

When he resumed training after the year, Xu Qing re-determined the candidates for the mixed relay—take Zheng Wenkang and Wu Kaize, and let Gu Ran and Gao Ziyi take it.During the training, focus on handing over the baton, especially the transition between men and women.

In the past, it was because Gu Ran was the lightest, so he was asked to skate the third pole. Zhao Ting didn't have to push him so hard.But with the continuous improvement of Gu Ran's personal ability, it would be a pity to put him in the last place.Only by letting him skate the fourth pole can his personal ability be reflected in the final sprint.

Zhao Ting also joked because of this: "Oh, I just wanted to push my junior brother, and now I have been replaced."

Gu Ran pulled Gao Ziyi to show her: "My senior brother is tall and thin, not heavy. His buttocks are also very raised, and it feels good to the touch. Feel it."

Zhao Ting slapped him on the back: "Senior sister, don't you have one?" With this slap, he pushed Gu Ran far away, and quickly chased after him, "Isn't that little junior brother so cute, does senior sister care about you?"

Gu Ran hid behind Gao Ziyi: "No one is as rare as you, no matter how cute the little junior is, you will beat him to death."

Whenever he fights with others, he will definitely hide behind Gao Ziyi.Because he knew that Gao Ziyi would definitely protect him.

Sure enough, Gao Ziyi hurriedly stopped Zhao Ting: "Okay, okay, you two stop fighting, and Director Xu will see you fighting on the ice later, and you will be punished again."

It was too late for him to say this, Xu Qing had already heard it.Let the four of them practice the baton a hundred times together on the spot.

Liang Kexin at the side felt very wronged, she didn't do anything, just watched the excitement, why should she be punished together.

The four of them agreed that with their skating ability, there is hope for this gold medal. No matter how good Province H is, after the training every day, they would spare some time to practice handing over the baton.

Being able to practice to this level proves that they are a group of extremely talented children, coupled with hard work, practice makes perfect.Within two days, after being able to pass the baton smoothly with eyes closed, the four of them got together and began to study how to observe the opponent's situation while completing the baton handover.

Every time they discussed, Xu Qing stood aside and listened. When the kids asked him for his opinion, he would only say a few words, and let them make their own decisions at other times.

Now, standing on the field of the National Short Track Speed ​​Skating Championships, it is time to test their training results in the past few months.

Before going on the field, Gu Ran was still discussing with Gao Ziyi to take over the baton, what route to maintain if leading, and how to catch up if falling behind.

Liang Kexin patted the two of them on the shoulder: "Let's go, it's time for us to play."

Zhao Ting took a deep breath: "What's the matter with being a little nervous all of a sudden?"

Because this is a tactic they have formulated for themselves, they are full of confidence, and they are waiting to test the results on the field.

Gao Ziyi said: "It doesn't matter, this time it won't work and there will be a national championship."

Gu Ran stretched out her hand and motioned for the brothers and sisters to put their hands up: "Just do your best, come on!"

Province J ranked second in the semi-finals, and the final was in the second track, with Province H on the left and Province R on the right, two old rivals.

According to the regulations of the organizing committee, from this year onwards, teams can be formed across units in the relay event, but no team has taken the initiative to send invitations to other teams, and now it is still its own team members, so the people encountered on the field are still Those old opponents.

The first player in J Province is Liang Kexin. He is the champion of women's 500 meters in this national championship. He is 17 years old this year and has practiced short track speed skating for 12 years. He was fourth in women's 500 meters in the World Youth Championship last year.

The champion of the H provincial skating next to her is the women's 1000m champion named Yang Shanshan, who is also 17 years old. The two have been in competition since they participated in the youth competition.

Since Province H's overall strength is stronger than that of Province J, although the two are evenly divided in the individual events, Yang Shanshan always dominates Kexin in the relay events.

The starting gun fired, and the four girls started at the same time. Yang Shanshan took the lead in the race and took the first place.

Liang Kexin naturally refused to accept it, and followed her closely, trying to surpass her, but couldn't find a good opportunity.

There are only two and a half laps in the race, and it will soon be time to hand over the baton.

When Zhao Ting was pushed out by Liang Kexin, she was almost parallel to Province H's second stick. The two slid side by side, but the next corner was a bend. Zhao Ting didn't dare to squeeze too hard, so she could only give in for the time being.

This is also what they discussed before the game. Try to overtake when the baton is handed over. If it doesn't work, follow the opponent closely and wait for the next opportunity.

The third player in Province H is Chi Lang, this kid is tall and strong, but the girl who is second in Province H is a petite player, it is really hard to push him.

It was at this time that Province J finally seized the opportunity.

Chi Lang hardly borrowed any strength during the baton handover, and had to rely on himself to speed up the pedaling rhythm to get up to speed. It was at this time that Gao Ziyi passed him.

Gao Ziyi is a 1500-meter long-distance skater. Endurance and back-end power are his strengths, and explosiveness is just his weakness.

How can Chi Dali bear it? Relying on brute force, he insisted on passing back at the last corner of the handover.

However, his superiority was not obvious. When it was time for the next pass, Gu Ran used the handover to grab Liu Fei's position and entered the next corner first.

Liu Fei is now slightly behind him in skating speed, Gu Ran guards his route very well and does not give him any chance to overtake.

Provinces R and L have already distanced themselves from them, and it is almost impossible to catch up.

Gu Ran maintained the advantage until the handover. They have practiced for two full months in this session, and they have developed muscle memory. When Liang Kexin was pushed out by Gu Ran, she was already in front of Yang Shanshan. Gu Ran pushed this to let her The speed increased again, and Yang Shanshan wanted to surpass her, but the chance was impossible.

In the next second round, each player only skated for two laps. Zhao Ting and Gao Ziyi were a little weaker in terms of skating speed, but they were able to keep their own routes and ensure that they would not be overtaken by Province H.

No matter how hard Chi Lang tried his best, he couldn't surpass Gao Ziyi, so he could only narrow the distance as much as possible.

For the last handover, Liang Kexin and Zhao Ting, who had finished the competition, were both excited and nervous. They clasped their hands together, and their eyes followed Gu Ran's figure.

The junior brother's speed was so fast, not only did Liu Fei not have a chance to catch up, but he kept opening the distance between the two of them.

At the last corner, Liang Kexin almost couldn't help shouting out, but Gu Ran was calmer than them, she put on a pair of goggles and crossed the finish line easily.

"Wow, we won!!!" After the game, the two girls shouted excitedly and hugged each other tightly.

Gao Ziyi stood beside them, with a gentle smile on his face, his eyes following Gu Ran.

Gu Ran took a lap around the ice rink, and after slowly slowing down, he slid to the side of his teammates from behind, hugged Gao Ziyi's shoulders from behind, and hung up the whole body.

No need to look, Gao Ziyi knew it was him, and silently withstood his weight without dodging.

Gu Ran asked him: "Brother, are you unhappy that we won the championship?"

Gao Ziyi smiled and said, "Of course I'm happy."

"Then why are you so calm?"

Gao Ziyi led him to follow behind the two girls, and slowly slid towards the exit: "I knew we would win the first round when I handed over the baton to you."

Gu Ran took off the goggles, and when she smiled, her eyes turned into crescent moons, and the two dimples on her face were extremely sweet: "Really?"

"Really." Gao Ziyi handed him the skate holster, "Your performance is so reassuring."

Hearing this, Gu Ran was so proud that she wished she could throw herself on his senior brother's back.He is an only child, and he never knew what it was like to have older brothers and sisters.

Ever since he came to the provincial team, Gao Ziyi has treated him as well as his younger brother.Helping him sharpen his skates, waking him up, cooking for him, taking care of him in every possible way, always protecting him in front of others, he felt that Gao Ziyi was just like his elder brother.

Liang Kexin turned her head and saw him leaning on Gao Ziyi's shoulder, and couldn't help laughing at him: "Little brother, why are you so clingy?"

Gu Ran said, "I'm tired."

He is indeed very tired. He has to participate in all four competitions today.Except that the women's team can take a break during the competition, there is almost no rest time. After a while, they have to participate in the 3000-meter points race, followed by the men's 5000-meter relay race.

When they arrived at the coach command area, Gu Ran was still leaning on Gao Ziyi.Xu Qing glanced at him with a half-smile, and suddenly said: "Go up first, the team doctor is waiting for you."

Gu Ran immediately regained her energy, and quickly stood up straight: "Well... Actually, I'm not that tired."

Xu Qing couldn't help but slapped him lightly on the back of the head, and scolded with a smile: "Little brat, go!"

When he was in the stands, he happened to bump into Chi Lang again. Gu Ran stretched out three fingers and shook them in front of his eyes.

Chi Lang frowned: "Respect three times?"

"Bah!" Gu Ran glared at him, "I said I won three gold medals."

Chi Lang snorted and said, "Shall I set off a firecracker for you to celebrate?"

Gu Ran nodded: "Okay, let it go."

Chi Lang took out his mobile phone and clicked on Siri: "Set off a firecracker for him."

Siri's mechanical voice came word by word: "Beep beep beep beep bobo...beep...beng...beng!beng!!!"

The other members of the two teams stood aside laughing to death, and many people in the stands were looking towards them.The eight people who were fighting for life and death in the arena just now can still stand together talking and laughing after they come down, the relationship is too good.

If their two provincial teams form a team to participate in the relay race in the next national championship, who else can skate?

After returning to the team, Gu Ran still could not escape the fate of being pulled up by the team doctor for muscle relaxation.When the two walked back, Gu Ran made a request: "Let's find a corner with few people."

The team doctor asked, "What's wrong?"

Gu Ran said awkwardly: "I'm afraid that someone will disturb you."

The team doctor understood what he meant in seconds, and immediately said with a smile: "You are afraid that Director Xu will come up again."

Gu Ran didn't speak, it was a tacit agreement.When Xu Qing was mentioned, the last time he relaxed his muscles, he immediately thought of the punch that the other party punched on his leg. Before he started massaging, his leg started to hurt.

The team doctor still complied with his request and found a corner with relatively few people for him to lie on his stomach.

Gu Ran suddenly remembered something, so she asked, "Director Xu's waist injury, will it be better if you do more massage?"

The team doctor said: "It may help, but his injuries are very complicated. Lumbar fractures, dislocations, and lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse. Fortunately, the spinal cord was not injured, otherwise he would be paraplegic. It is considered very good to be able to recover to the current state."

No one in Gu Ran's family studied medicine, and his medical knowledge was limited, but even if he didn't understand anything, just hearing the words "paraplegic", he could imagine how serious the injury was.

The team doctor used the word "fortunately". In other words, Xu Qing was almost unlucky, and might end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Although Mr. Xu is usually a very bad person, he will punish them every now and then, and he always conducts surprise inspections, confiscating everyone's electronic products while smiling amiably.

But, imagine Xu Qing's miserable state in a wheelchair, he really couldn't bear it.

So, he asked the team doctor: "Then, can his condition be cured?"

"He has already undergone surgery since he was injured, and has been bedridden for several months. Now as long as he is not too tired, his normal life will not be affected."

Gu Ran asked again: "What about after that?"

"As he grows older, there must be hidden dangers. It depends on how he takes care of himself."

"Then... is there any way to make his old injury better?"

The team doctor thought about it: "Just doing acupuncture, massage, physical therapy, etc., there is no good way."

When the two of you are chatting, the muscle relaxation has already been done.The team doctor finally patted Gu Ran's leg and signaled him to get up: "You still care about your Director Xu."

Gu Ran chuckled: "That's necessary. Our Director Xu has a bad waist at a young age, so it will delay finding a wife."

"You don't need to worry about this." A voice suddenly came from the side. Gu Ran's first reaction was Xu Qing, but she immediately realized that it was not Xu Qing's voice, but it was a little familiar. When she turned her head and looked, it was Xu Qing. Cheng Sen.

The man was half sitting and half leaning on the backrest of the last row of seats, with his two long legs crossed, and he didn't know how long he stood there.

Gu Ran smiled a little embarrassedly, and greeted the other party obediently: "Director Cheng, long time no see."

This person is Cheng Sen. He just arrived last night. He wanted to ask Xu Qing to find out about Gu Ran's recent situation, but Xu Qing was very busy, so the two of them didn't see each other.

He watched Gu Ran's 1000 meters and mixed relay just now, went to the bathroom, and saw Gu Ran relaxing here when he came back.So, he stood aside and listened with interest for a long time as he inquired about Xu Qing's injury.

Cheng Sen smiled and said, "I haven't seen you in a few months, your progress is a bit beyond my imagination."

"Thank you, Guidance Cheng."

Cheng Sen looked a few years older than Xu Qing, and he was more serious.Gu Ran didn't know him well, so not only did she not dare to be presumptuous in front of him, she was even a little cautious.

Cheng Sen also saw his restraint, and suddenly said, "I will convey your concern for Director Xu, so don't worry."

"Ah???" Gu Ran didn't expect these words, how could anyone go to make a small report with the person after listening to the wall.He quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no... Our Director Xu is thin-skinned, and he will be embarrassed, so we don't need to let him know about it."

Cheng Sen changed the subject: "It's fine if you don't tell him, but you have to agree to one condition."

Gu Ran was even more confused. The coach of the national youth team suddenly appeared in front of him and asked him about conditions? ? ?

Where is this all?

He suddenly remembered that Chi Lang once said that Xu Qing and Cheng Sen used to be brothers in the Provincial Team of J, and they were selected into the national team one after the other, and their relationship has always been very good.

Gu Ran can see that, in fact, the two people have a little similar personality - they look very reliable on the surface, but are they bad in their hearts?

Gu Ran asked cautiously, "Wh...what are the conditions?"

"I can't tell you now." Cheng Sen showed a mysterious smile, "You will know when the time comes."

Gu Ran: "..."