Chapter 103: We need more of this steady and methodical style.
In one day, Chinese athletes won three medals, one of which was the women's singles gold medal.
Since the Grand Prix began, Chinese women's singles players have never won a gold medal in the adult category. The best result was the silver medals won by Zhang Mengyi and Yang Yiyan in a preliminary round.
Hearing the commentary from inside the venue, Xia Yuezi did some calculations. It seemed that Yang Yiyan had never won a gold medal in an A-level competition since she was promoted to the adult group, and it was only today that she achieved her first gold medal.
When her difficulty level was high, her treatment was poor, and she was also overshadowed by Yumikawa Ria, who was more mature than her in every aspect; now that her treatment has improved, the difficulty level has dropped, which can be seen as a twist of fate in another sense.
Backstage, the Cao-Lu pair, fresh off their gold medal, were chatting with the men's singles players who were still warming up, while bronze medalists Qi Ran and He Jiayun were nearby.
Xia Yuezi was organizing the equipment she had brought nearby when she ran into a coach from Heilongjiang Province. Coach Ma, who had brought Lin Ye to the competition, was also Lin Ye's skating coach.
Watching the group of children gossiping behind her, Xia Yuezi thought of the rumors she had heard before: "I heard from Coach Song that Lin Ye had a disagreement with you guys when it came to writing the program?"
Coach Ma got a headache when he heard this. He glanced behind him and said, "It's not a disagreement, it's just that that kid wants to do four quadruple jumps in his free skate. You know his other moves aren't that good. If we really listen to him, this program will be unwatchable."
Lin Ye attempted three quadruple jumps in his free skate last season, but his rating was almost never above level three, and his transitions were not up to standard. Even with his excellent physical condition, he couldn't withstand such reckless behavior.
However, when it comes to physical fitness, Xia Yuezi inevitably thinks of her son. She blinks and smiles as she shares her "parenting tips" with Coach Ma.
"Who isn't? My husband also wanted to do more quadruple jumps, and he spent the whole summer at the gym lifting weights, but I finally stopped him."
“Simai,” Coach Ma said with a hint of envy in his eyes when he mentioned him. Looking at the young woman in front of him, he said earnestly, “It was right to skip four weeks. Simai’s difficulty level wasn’t bad either, and he managed to balance all the levels. Xiao Ye, on the other hand, was desperately trying to squeeze into one hole, and there was no way to pull him back.”
During the off-season, the Heilongjiang Provincial Team conducted a large-scale physical examination on all registered athletes. Lin Ye's joints and ligaments were severely worn, especially his ligaments. If he does not receive timely intervention and repair, it will be difficult for him to make it to the next season.
But Lin Ye was very resistant. He had worked hard to improve the success rate of the 4LZ single jump and even integrated it into the program. Now, asking him to stop would be no different from giving up the jump altogether.
Xia Yuezi awkwardly touched her nose, wondering how she should explain to Coach Ma that Feng Simai wanted to replace one of the 3A jumps in the program with a quadruple jump.
He even made a bet with her: if she could get this free skate setup right this season, he would increase the difficulty next season.
Who says artistic jellyfish don't have a jumper's heart? They have one in China.
The entire venue was already overwhelmed by the impact of the medals. When the men's singles competition started, it was already 8:40 p.m., but despite the screams from the fans, not a single person felt sleepy.
The final competition will determine whether China can win any more medals, especially since Lin Ye ranked first in the short program, making them even more eager for this competition.
Feng Simai stood in the aisle, undisturbed by the atmosphere, and naturally blended into the crowd of ice hockey fans, signing autographs for them in an open space until the sixth practice session was about to begin, when the coach pulled her back.
Are you nervous?
Xia Yuezi looked at him standing on the ice rink, her eyes intentionally or unintentionally sweeping over the ice fans who were ready to cheer at any moment.
"I'm not nervous at all. I'm overjoyed to have so many people watching the game."
Feng Simai smiled, and with his Costten outfit, he had the air of a dashing young gentleman.
The entire Costume is predominantly white and light blue, with a highlighted effect. A blue rope hangs around the neck, and the sleeves are still lantern-shaped, decorated with several ropes.
His previous lantern-sleeved costencils were very popular, and Yang's mother also consulted the opinions of the fans when making the new costencils, keeping these designs.
It was just a simple ice skating stunt to leave, but from a distance it looked like something out of an ancient costume fantasy drama.
The free skate program for this performance is "By the Lake Baikal," a popular song from the Chinese music scene that has a very typical Russian style, simple yet romantic.
The only shortcoming was that it wasn't long enough for the men's singles free skate, so the choreographer added a violin piece of the same style to make the whole piece softer.
As soon as the familiar violin melody began, many Chinese audience members silently exclaimed "Wow!"
Feng Simai did not rush to glide away, but instead raised his head and looked directly at the camera, his eyes calm yet slightly melancholic.
About two seconds later, the skates underfoot began to move, and the skates glided out in a three-turn. The knuckles on the body swayed slightly, like a gust of wind blowing across Lake Baikal, creating a wave that rippled across the lake.
At the transition point between the two violin pieces, Feng Simai seized the opportunity, positioned his legs in a V-shape, and used the momentum of gliding to propel his body upwards with his hips.
This is a 4S, and it's the first time that Feng Simai has incorporated this jump into a program after mastering it.
Xia Yuezi stood on the sidelines, clapping along with the ice skating fans. She had discussed with Feng Simai whether to place the quadruple jump as the first or second jump.
Feng Simai has mastered the 4T jump very well. Even with a combination jump like 4T+3T, the success rate of training is over 70%. That's why, based on their suggestions, the choreographer placed 4T+2T as the second jump.
The second jump had a great hang time and a very smooth glide, which made it hard for skating fans who weren't familiar with the setup to tell whether it was a missed jump or a proper double jump.
Feng Simai made no mistakes. Although she skated a double quadruple in the free skate, the overall difficulty focus was still on the triple jump routine, especially the two triple A's that followed.
His footwork was precise and clear, and the camera followed his gliding motion, capturing almost no distorted expression; everything seemed so serene.
Until the second half, the piece didn't have much of a rise and fall. Normally, this kind of music would be hypnotic in the middle of the night, but Feng Simai had the ability to attract the attention of all the ice skating fans and take them to the shores of Lake Baikal with every gesture.
They sat quietly, feeling the sound of the waves lapping against the lake, accompanied by the melodious violin music, as if they were experiencing a music therapy session.
Xia Yuezi agreed to the agreement with Feng Simai because he included four jumps and a triple jump in the second half of his free skate. If he could really do it, she might consider it.
After a long, drawn-out melody, Feng Simai enters a swallow spin, his body extremely stretched out, his speed gradually increasing, the blue and white kaostani almost blending into the ice surface, the camera gradually moving upwards for an overhead shot, the blue ribbons fluttering with the spin, like ripples on the lake surface.
Xia Yuezi nodded gently from the sidelines. The most difficult part of this program is not the jumps, but how to fill this seemingly plain melody with spins and footwork. So far, Feng Simai has done it.
Lu Sheng sat in the audience, propping his head up with his hand, and muttered, "As long as Lao Feng doesn't skate on love, he'll look good skating no matter what he does."
Hearing this, Yang Yiyan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You must never say this in front of him, or he will definitely come to your room and cause trouble tonight."
Lu Sheng maintained his smile, put his finger to his lips, and gestured to his teammates who were still laughing loudly to stop talking nonsense.
After the ice floe landed 3lo, there were almost no ice chips around it. The ice floe landed very lightly, just like the tourists on the shore of Lake Baikal who were careful not to disturb the calm lake water.
The finale was a set of footwork. Feng Simai's footwork was fluid and graceful. Every turn and blade change was in sync with the rhythm. His arms were outstretched, and with a peaceful and serene expression, he brought an indescribable artistic conception to the ice.
Perhaps it was because the song itself was very popular, or perhaps it was because Feng Simai's performance was superb, but no one in the audience was willing to take their eyes off it.
The moment the music stopped, Feng Simai used the momentum to glide back to the center of the ice rink, stood with his legs crossed, shifted his weight to his left side, and then extended his left hand in an inviting gesture. His expression was calm and expressionless, like a meticulously crafted statue, with only the constantly swaying rope silently proclaiming his vitality.
Xia Yuezi finally loosened her grip on her coat, her palms sweating. Meng Xin stood to the side, her heart seemingly filled with something.
“I think we can continue to consider this style of music next season. He is different from Xiaoyan and is very suitable for skating abstract music.”
Thinking about their conversation last night, Xia Yuezi declined, saying, "Let's talk about it at the end of the season. There's still time to improve."
She walked to the entrance with her coat in her arms. Feng Simai's face was covered in sweat, and her chest was heaving, clearly still not recovered.
"With this setup, you were able to skate in the team's music section. How does it feel to be skating in competitions now?"
Feng Simai took the sports drink Meng Xin handed him and took a small sip. He said breathlessly, "I'm a bit at my limit. In the competition, I need to put more energy into performance. My legs started to tremble after the 3-lo jump, and I almost tripped."
Xia Yuezi nodded upon hearing this and suggested, "Then we should still focus on physical training. If there are no results by the second half of the season, we should stick to the same setup for next season."
One should not be greedy when doing things. Now that Feng Simai has been able to complete this configuration, even if he has reached his physical limit, there is still room to tap his potential.
To achieve a more challenging setup, he would need to spend at least six months improving his stamina so that he wouldn't lack the energy to continue training after the competition once he finishes a program.
It is precisely this steady and pragmatic approach that allows Feng Simai to maintain his stability while climbing the ranks.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
