China News Service, Beijing, September 29th. On the 28th, the "Chinese Sports Spirit Lecture Hall" campus lecture and the "Champion Sports Class" athletes' campus activities visited the primary school affiliated to Beijing First Normal School and Beijing Huiwen Middle School. Gong Lijiao, a two-time track and field world champion and Tokyo Olympic women's shot put champion, came to the campus to share face-to-face with teachers and students the story of her 25-year struggle to stay on the field and win the Olympic gold medal in four games, and led the students in a vivid "championship physical education class."
The picture shows Gong Lijiao communicating face-to-face with teachers and students at the primary school affiliated to Beijing First Normal School. (Photo courtesy of the organizer)
The event kicked off at the Primary School Affiliated to the First Division. Gong Lijiao used a set of numbers "3, 2, 4, 1, 5" to tell the story of her participation in five Olympic Games. She told the story of how she trained with her "Fa Xiao" at the age of 11 and successfully threw the first ball - the story of "a 'caddie' replaced the 'player'", which attracted laughter from the audience.
Gong Lijiao admitted to her children that the road for athletes is not easy: at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she threw a world-best 20.43 meters before the competition and was regarded as a favorite to win the gold medal. However, she only finished fourth in the Olympics and "didn't even make it to the podium." In the next two months, she fell into a trough and repeatedly asked herself three questions: "Do I dare to continue? Can I continue? Do I still want to continue?" The answer is: "I dare! I can! I want to!" "Backing down when encountering difficulties is the greatest disrespect for dreams." Gong Lijiao said.
At Beijing Huiwen Middle School, Gong Lijiao gave a more targeted sharing based on exam preparation scenarios for senior high school students who were preparing for the college entrance examination. She talked about the suffering of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics after winning the World Championships in 2017 - the veteran athlete over 30 was plagued by injuries and once "could only sit and throw". It was the support and guarantee of the country that allowed her to grit her teeth and persevere for another year. Finally, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she won the first Olympic gold medal in track and field history in China with a time of 20.58 meters.
"It took me ten years to grow from a 'supplier' to a 'gold medalist'." She said, "Gong Lijiao's dream was not 'waited', but was 'smashed' millimeter by millimeter with sweat; your dreams are not 'thought', but 'spelled' every stroke, every question, and practice."
During the subsequent interactive session with students, Gong Lijiao was asked how senior high school students should correctly view the relationship between "competing with others" and "competing with oneself" during exam preparation. Gong Lijiao said frankly, "I also try to find a better version of myself in every competition. At first, I will also pay great attention to the performance of my opponents. When my opponents perform well, my mentality will become more tense, because I want to do better. But as I continue to grow stronger, I understand that as long as I show my best self, I can achieve satisfactory results."
The picture shows Gong Lijiao leading the students to warm up and demonstrate the classic shot put technical moves. (Photo courtesy of the organizer)
In the two activities, Gong Lijiao also transformed into a "physical education teacher", leading the students to warm up, demonstrating classic shot put technical movements, explaining throwing essentials, emphasizing the importance of stretching exercises, and guiding students one by one to imitate the exercises. During the interaction, the students got a close look at the shot put, a relatively "unpopular" event, and felt the daily training rhythm of professional athletes. They also realized through sweat the important role of sports in strengthening the body and sharpening the will.
After the event, Gong Lijiao accepted media interviews. It coincides with the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games being held. She said that she has been paying close attention to the competition and sent her sincere blessings to the Chinese Asian Games athletes who are struggling on the field: "I used to be participants, but now I am witnesses. Many young players have performed particularly well. I hope they can keep up and continue to shine for our Chinese sports."
This event was hosted by the Publicity Department of the State Sports General Administration, aiming to promote the spirit of Chinese sports to young people, and use the role model of champions to inspire students to bravely pursue their dreams and work hard. (over)
