Wang Guanhong overcomes back injury to win men's 200m butterfly gold medal at Nagoya Asian Games

Wang Guanhong. (Photo taken by reporter Fang Bin)

[Reporter Lu Yangxuan/Exclusive Interview] "Taiwan Butterfly King" Wang Guanhong won the men's 200-meter butterfly gold medal at the Nagoya Asian Games. He suddenly suffered an injury before the game. Looking back on this episode, he said that he was the least nervous person in the team. "Just face the problem when it comes. There is no use being nervous."

Wang Guanhong's first event in this year's Asian Games was originally scheduled to be the men's 400 mixed relay preliminaries, but he did not compete that day. Later, news of a waist injury came out. He revealed that when he got up that day, he found that his waist could not move very well. When he arrived at the venue, after warming up, "I found that I couldn't swim when I got in the water."

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Wang Guanhong said that after reporting the problem to the coach, he first solved the problem of the roster. "Then I rested first. The team headquarters also sent a doctor to deal with it urgently. After a day of rest, I competed in the 100 butterfly. After discussing with the coach, I felt that it was better to experience the high-intensity competition."

Wang Guanhong revealed that despite the sudden injury, his mentality is still quite stable. "Maybe because of his experience, he is not too overwhelmed. I believe that my body and team can cope with this temporary problem. Of course, the people around me must be very nervous. After all, the reports came out right away. My relatives and friends are also very nervous about the back injury and suspension, but they will not disturb me. I don't put too much pressure on myself. I will solve the problem anyway. The team, including the coach and the physical therapist, are very nervous, but I told myself to calm down."

Wang Guanhong said frankly that he didn’t feel much pain on the day of the 200-meter butterfly competition because he focused on preparing for the competition. “I just eat breakfast, do exercises, warm-up, and image training as usual. In fact, when I have something to do, there won’t be much pain.”

Wang Guanhong said that after swimming the 200-meter butterfly preliminaries, he had a feeling that he would perform well in the finals. "I couldn't sleep well in the afternoon because I was so excited. I was very nervous and looking forward to it. The coach also encouraged me: 'Swim on your own, don't be affected by other people, and seize the opportunity.' I didn't think too much about it at the moment of the competition. After entering the water, I found that the conditions were good."

Wang Guanhong maintained the lead all the way in the final this time. After firmly accepting the gold medal, he raised his arms excitedly and showed a bright smile. When asked about his mood at that time a week later, he said, "Of course I was excited at the moment, but it seemed not as exciting as the last time. After all, looking back, I was seventh in the first Asian Games and second in the second. My mood in the second was that I always knew that I had a chance to stand on the podium. The last time I hit the wall, I was really excited."

"The most different mentality of this year's competition is that the goal this time has always been to be first and to stand at the top of the podium," Wang Guanhong said. This time he was quite confident from training to competition. "So at the moment I was more excited than moved. I felt that I finally did it, and my family was there to witness it."