Chapter 22 Finals JGPF
This year's Grand Prix Final is being held in France. The Chinese Skating Association has compiled a list of accompanying athletes to purchase tickets together, and the athletes will have five days to prepare upon arrival at their destination.
The list is dominated by athletes from the Beijing team, and Li Tan, as the head coach of the Beijing team, was assigned by the Skating Association to lead the team for this overseas competition.
As soon as Yang Yiyan got off the plane, she leaned against her coach and dozed off. Xia Yuezi felt a backward force every few steps.
She turned her head to look at the little girl who was sleeping under the open sky, wishing she could sleep until the day before the competition, and reached out to pinch the flesh on her face.
"Wake up, go back to the hotel and sleep."
Xia Yuezi had taken her to competitions quite a few times, and she knew very well that the girl's current condition was not airsickness, but rather jet lag.
Yang Yiyan isn't the type of person who's good at adjusting to time zones. She can only force herself not to sleep on the plane, then sleep soundly in the hotel, and when she wakes up, she's able to adjust to the foreign time zone.
Li Tan couldn't stand it any longer, so he took the suitcase from Yang Yiyan and said, "Leave the luggage here, let's get the child on the bus first."
Xia Yuezi practically carried Yang Yiyan to the hotel. The young girl, who had gained weight after muscle gain, was noticeably heavier, and her body, which had been away from systematic training, was clearly struggling. As soon as they entered the room, Xia Yuezi immediately put her on the bed, panting and supporting her lower back.
The moment Yang Yiyan touched the bed, she unlocked a new mode, automatically crawling towards the pillow. Watching the little girl still smacking her lips, Coach Xia chuckled, tucked her in, smoothed her hair, and then quietly withdrew.
The Chinese athletes were among the first to arrive, and there weren't many people in the corridor. After packing her luggage in her room, Xia Yuezi wasn't sleepy yet, so she sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the competition schedule to look at it.
The finals were held together for both youth and adult groups, with the youth group leading the way and the adult group closing the show.
China fielded a total of five pairs of athletes: Yang Yiyan and Lin Ye from the youth group, and a pair of doubles athletes; and Zhang Mengyi and a pair of veteran doubles athletes who were on the verge of retirement from the adult group.
Both veterans are over thirty years old and have participated in three Winter Olympics. They originally wanted to retire after winning the gold medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, but the pair who could take over were still in the junior division, so the two leading athletes had to continue carrying the torch and wait for the younger athletes to grow up.
Xia Yuezi turned to the page for the junior women's singles. The order of appearance in the short program is based on the scores obtained by the contestants from the two events, from lowest to highest. If the scores are the same, the highest ranking in a single event will be compared.
Yang Yiyan had 26 points, but she couldn't compete with the other athletes who had one gold and one bronze medal, so she ended up going second.
The other five players are also familiar faces, including some who have played against Yang Yiyan. They all quickly secured a place on the podium in the women's singles event in the near future.
When Yang Yiyan was woken up by the coach, most of the teams had already arrived, and the restaurant was full of white people from different countries.
Zhang Meng sat by the door and waved to the two of them. Seeing that she was alone, Xia Yuezi pulled the little girl, who was not fully awake yet, towards her.
She was wearing sportswear, with a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead. There was a salad and a half-empty bottle of mineral water on the table, clearly indicating that she had just returned from a morning run.
The white food was already unappetizing, and the meager amount of green vegetables in front of Zhang Mengyi was even more nauseating. Yet, Zhang Mengyi finished the salad with a nonchalant expression and a glass of mineral water.
Yang Yiyan glanced at the plate in front of her. Besides salad, there were boiled eggs and a few fruits. It wasn't particularly delicious, but it was enough to make her feel half full.
Looking at her junior sister who didn't need to drink water to stave off hunger, Zhang Mengyi felt envious. But if she ate like Yang Yiyan, she definitely wouldn't be able to keep up with the high-difficulty jumps.
"You guys take your time eating, I'm going to train now."
Xia Yuezi stared at the knuckles of Zhang Mengyi's wrist as she cleared the dishes, silently put down her coffee, and turned her head to touch Yang Yiyan's head.
Yang Yiyan turned around and looked at her coach with a puzzled expression. She still had half a boiled egg in her mouth and secretly pushed the plate a few centimeters away with her forearm.
Coach Xia, who had caught her making a move, twitched his temples and muttered, "Eat up, I won't fight you for it."
The first day of the Grand Prix Final featured ice dance, women's singles, and men's singles competitions for the junior groups. In addition to ice skating fans, there were also athletes from various countries competing in the senior groups in the stands.
For example, Russia's current number one athlete, Davell, was frowning, while America's number one athlete, Albert, put his arm around his shoulder and comforted him with a smile: "Don't have too high expectations for young people. Not completing a move in six practice sessions doesn't mean you can't do it in the competition. Look at our country's athlete, he hasn't even completed a full week of 3A."
The two were referring to Russian athlete Andrei and American athlete Kevin, who were practicing on the field.
Davil spoke in his familiar Russian-accented English: "That's true, but the condition of practice six will more or less affect the main competition."
The sixth practice session is not only a warm-up, but also the last chance for athletes to confirm their physical condition. If an athlete keeps falling during the sixth practice session, the probability of a clean jump in the main competition will not be high, and it will also affect their mood. However, it is not impossible for top athletes to quickly adjust their condition and dominate in the main competition.
What's more, their competition is in France, and French ice is another major curse in the skating world. Every time there's a competition in France, you can always see the familiar fireworks display.
This is mainly due to the fact that the ice in France is particularly prone to melting. Cameras can easily spot puddles of water whenever they pan across the ice. Many athletes deliberately avoid France when choosing their venues, except during the Olympic season.
Every Olympic women's singles champion has chosen the French Open during the Olympic season. This uncanny phenomenon has been maintained for seven Olympic Games since 1998, up until the time of Xia Yuezi.
Albert was completely unaffected by the trilled "r" sound and continued to chat and laugh with Davey. When the camera panned across them, the American star even blew a kiss.
Xia Yuezi was stretching with Yang Yiyan backstage when she turned her head and saw Li Tan walking over. His expression was very calm, revealing neither joy nor sorrow.
He stood aside and described the men's singles performance to Xia Yuezi: "The men's singles were all amazing. Fujiwara Yoshino scored 70 points and still managed a small lead."
Xia Yuezi raised an eyebrow; the fall must have been quite severe.
Kevin was the first to go on the ice and immediately lost his combination jump. The two skaters who followed him also made mistakes. Andrei and Lin Ye both fell and missed their triple A. In comparison, Fujiwara Yoshino, who only had one touch-up and a combination jump with a triple turn, actually had fewer mistakes.
Not long after, staff members came to remind them that the women's singles match was about to begin.
Zhang Meng sat leaning against the stands, holding a national flag in her hand. Next to her was a pair of young pairs skaters. Lin Ye, who had just finished his competition, also changed his clothes and rushed over.
Like the men's singles, this match was a clash between China and Japan against Europe and America.
Yang Yiyan checked her gliding route on the ice and did a few triple jumps in a slightly open area.
As the host country's athlete, Alisa could hear cheers from the nearby figure skating fans with every jump she landed. She waved and caught a glimpse of her senior in the stands.
Anthony has been the top French player since his junior days, winning numerous medals and consistently ranking in the top ten in the world. It can be said that he has become a flag bearer for French men's singles.
If there's any downside, it's probably that the number one player is already twenty years old, and the French Ice Hockey Federation hasn't yet cultivated a successor.
However, Anthony himself seems to take it all in stride and doesn't seem anxious about the results, perfectly embodying the meaning of enjoying skating.
The first to appear was Russian athlete Sofia, who barely made it into the competition with a score of one silver and one bronze.
Xia Yuezi leaned against the partition, holding Yang Yiyan's coat in her hands, and accompanied her as she warmed up to keep her thigh muscles relaxed.
Generally speaking, there will only be one fireworks display for both the men's and women's singles events. Since the men's singles event has already had its fireworks display, there shouldn't be as many surprises for the women's singles event.
Sofia is not a Super C or a member of a major group, but her skating is among the best in Russia and her performance is very consistent. Because of this, she has managed to reach position three in Russia this season, and her program component scores in international competitions have also improved.
Every country has limited resources. The top male and female players always receive the best treatment, while the treatment of other players is determined first by their nationality and then gradually decreases according to their domestic ranking.
After the performance, Xia Yuezi looked up at the big screen.
Technical score: 36.12; Program content score: 29.49; Total score: 65.61.
The judges will default to lowering the score for the first player to go on stage, so as not to give too high a score and leave the subsequent players with too little room to maneuver.
Even so, Xia Yuezi was envious of the score of the third sister of the Russian ice rink. While pushing Yang Yiyan towards the ice, she gritted her teeth and said, "Xiaoyan, skate well when you get on the ice. We can't lose in terms of morale."
Yang Yiyan turned around and smiled brightly: "Don't worry, Coach."
The number of spectators at the finals venue was the largest of all the competitions Yang Yiyan had participated in, but she showed no panic or fear whatsoever.
She pounded her thigh muscles, her expression gradually calming down. As the music of "Moonlight Sonata" began, the entire audience followed her to a tranquil forest and lake.
Yang Yiyan pressed her left foot outward and seized the opportunity to immediately place her ice tip. After her 3LZ (3rd floor) was sufficiently refined, she changed her first jump in the short program in order to achieve a higher score.
The lights reflected off the ice rink, making the rhinestones on the skirts even more dazzling, and the skirts swayed as the skaters glided.
Liu Bofu, who had just moved up to the adult group, sat in the stands, watching her with great interest. This girl had excellent dance skills, both soft and powerful.
Then Yang Yiyan bent her upper body down, spread her arms wide, and quickly connected with 2A when she stood up.
Lin Ye knew how to do a 3A jump, and he could tell that Yang Yiyan, who hadn't even charged up her 2A, still had energy left to spare.
As the music entered its second half, Yang Yiyan's footwork became more varied, and Xia Yuezi nodded slightly, counting the rhythm and calculating the next move.
Yang Yiyan gradually slowed down her skating. She glanced back, calculated the distance to the board, and then took off with an inside edge, pulling her waist up again the moment she landed.
This is a 3F+3lo set.
With a single jump of 3LZ, this combination jump is the highest difficulty jump Yang Yiyan can pull off.
Li Tan excitedly slapped the barrier twice, his breathing becoming rapid.
At the end of the program, Yang Yiyan lifted her free leg and lowered her upper body again until her head was level with her skate. The entire audience gasped when they saw this spin.
Lyubov couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so soft!"
Yang Yiyan tilted her head back, pulled her free leg over her head, and spun her ice skate around a point. The speed gradually increased, and even at high speed, her face visibly turned red.
She stood on the ice, looking up at the lights overhead. The stands erupted in applause, and the Chinese team members stood by the railing waving their national flag.
Even though the scores haven't been released yet, they know very well that this will be one of the most spectacular performances of Yang Yiyan's career.
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