Chapter 50: The Battle for Olympic Spots Begins at the World Championships
After the World Junior Championships, Xia Yuezi immediately joined Meng Xin in preparing for the World Championships.
Before the start of preparations, a selection competition was held in China, but ice skating fans familiar with the situation in the country knew very well that this competition was just a show of face.
China has a few World Championship slots this year, and there are currently several healthy athletes in the country who are able to compete in the World Championships.
Yang Yiyan couldn't find any reason to go out and play, so her mother forced her back to obediently prepare for the high school entrance exam. Feng Simai, a student from the previous year's exam, kindly provided his previously compiled notes, which earned him a pair of eye rolls from Yang Yiyan.
Incidentally, after Xia Yuezi told Yang's mother about what happened on the bus, Yang Yiyan's internet time was naturally restricted, which angered the little badger so much that she ignored the coach for several days.
At the Beijing Provincial Team Training Center, two coaches stood beside the fitness equipment, notebooks in their hands, recording Feng Simai's recent weight and body fat percentage.
Meng Xin has been strengthening his physical training so that he can stabilize two quadruple jumps in the free skate and put as many combination jumps as possible in the second half of the skate.
The barbell struck the rack with a loud clanging sound. Feng Simai slumped onto the bench, his training clothes soaked with sweat and clinging to his body, his chest heaving violently.
"Body fat percentage is 14.3%, which is a significant decrease compared to last month," Meng Xin said quietly to Xia Yuezi, holding up her notebook.
"Muscle endurance has improved, but you should also reduce the number of quadruple jumps and be careful of knee wear and tear."
Xia Yuezi glanced at it, not forgetting the issues pointed out in the routine physical examination report from two days ago.
Last week, the list of participants for the World Championships was officially released. The higher-ups held a meeting to discuss the Olympic quotas, and also called all the participating athletes to the meeting, with details down to each event.
China's winter sports strength is simply incomparable to that of summer sports, but the higher authorities always set a few targets for each Olympic Games. For example, short track speed skating has always been one of my country's main gold medal contenders, and the short track team faces the greatest pressure during the Olympic season.
Originally, this matter didn't have much to do with figure skating. Most of the attendees who were a bit older and familiar with the routine didn't take the leaders' words to heart. At worst, like the Four Continents Championships, if they didn't complete the task, there was nothing they could do. At most, they would get a scolding and have some of their bonuses deducted.
However, with the gold medal won in pairs figure skating at the last Winter Olympics and the decent performance in singles figure skating this season, the authorities allocated more money to figure skating training for the Winter Olympics in order to improve the results of figure skating. They even added a few more reporters to the team accompanying them for this World Championships and secured broadcasts of the World Championships on CCTV and other platforms.
With this resource on display, not to mention the other coaches and athletes, even Xia Yuezi felt a lot more pressure, especially the two young men's singles players who had just been promoted to the senior group.
The last time figure skating appeared on CCTV was at the 2012 World Junior Championships, and that was a rebroadcast. This time, however, it was broadcast live nationwide, and they inadvertently embarrassed themselves in front of the entire nation.
Late March, Ottawa, Canada.
The Chinese delegation, each with their own concerns, checked into the hotel arranged by the organizers.
Xia Yuezi hesitated, glancing at the room opposite her. Yu Qian waved to her with her room key, and there were two large suitcases next to her. She was traveling with the Heilongjiang Provincial Team and was sharing a room with a physiotherapist invited by the leaders.
At the airport, she asked Yu Qian how her hand was recovering. Yu Qian didn't stand on ceremony and placed her hands in front of her with her usual smile, but this smile lacked some of the previous distance: "If I wasn't fully recovered, I wouldn't be going back to work."
Xia Yuezi carefully examined the items and only put them back after confirming there were no problems. The other members of the delegation, knowing their relationship, sat some distance away so as not to disturb their reminiscing.
They had already discussed some things last time, so although they were still somewhat distant when they met this time, they had made great progress.
Yu Qian also said that she would treat Xia Yuezi as a friend whom her daughter had never mentioned to her, and this was her bottom line in this matter.
The following afternoon, the men's singles event began with pre-match music.
The order of the performances was based on the competition groupings. Feng Simai was in the third to last group. Coincidentally, Fujiwara Yoshino and Kevin were in the same group as him, while Lin Ye and Andrei were in the group after him.
There aren't many strong players in this group. Most people's highest difficulty level is 3A or 3A+2T, and even 3T is rare.
Xia Yuezi twisted her neck and stood listlessly to the side, but her eyes were fixed on Fujiwara Yoshino.
He did a 4T on the ice, followed by a 4S. It looked more stable than the Four Continents, and even his thighs looked thicker.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will include quadruple jumps in both his short program and free skate, working with another Japanese skater to secure as many Olympic spots as possible.
Feng Simai was not to be outdone, and he landed two consecutive 4T jumps on the ice. His training this month has yielded excellent results, at least improving the stability of his quadruple jumps.
Several photographers stood in the audience, snapping photos of the contestants.
Soon after, another group of skaters came over to join in the fun. Feng Simai wiped the sweat from his head with a towel, took off his skates, and sat down to the side without leaving.
The team leader from Heilongjiang Province was Song Qiao. He stood next to Xia Yuezi, his gaze sweeping over the skaters on the ice rink.
Andrei and Lin Ye skated onto the ice one after the other, their expressions calm and focused. In addition to these two young skaters, there were also Sainimu and Karl in this group of skaters.
Andrei skated in an arc, then touched the ice with his left foot and landed with a 4T, showing that he had put in a lot of hard work.
Song Qiao said in a low voice, "It seems that the competition for this spot will be very fierce."
Xia Yuezi laughed and said, "What are you talking about? When has the competition for Olympic spots not been fierce?"
To be honest, Andrei's quadruple jump wasn't that great. The toe kick was very powerful, and it sent up noticeable ice shards all around him. This kind of jump isn't favored by the judges, but as long as he can complete it, GOE probably won't be bad either.
Just then, another thunderous sound rang out on the ice rink. Xia Yuezi looked up and saw Lin Ye jump down and glide out in a three-turn maneuver.
Song Qiao explained, "This kid has been practicing 4S ever since he came back from the finals, but his success rate isn't high."
Like Feng Simai, Lin Ye is a point jumper. He is not good at edge jumps, and his weight is not enough to learn the speed-based method, so he can only work hard to improve his strength.
This is probably one of the effects of veteran players retiring due to injury.
"It doesn't seem like the weight gain is going very well," Xia Yuezi said.
Hearing this, Song Qiao gave a wry smile: "There's nothing we can do about it; Lin Ye's body fat just can't be reduced."
It has been three months since the finals ended, and Lin Ye's body fat has dropped by 1%. If it weren't for the medical report showing that he could lose even more, the coaches would have thought that the kid was already solid.
Xia Yuezi smiled awkwardly, exchanged a glance with Meng Xin, and neither of them dared to mention that their child had lost 0.4% in a month.
At 10 p.m. Beijing time, many ice hockey fans turned on their TVs and switched to the sports channel. On the screen, six boys were doing their sixth training session, accompanied by the voice of the commentator.
"...Our young athlete Feng Simai will compete in this group. This is his first time participating in the World Championships. Before this, he had already won a silver medal in China and was the runner-up in last season's World Junior Championships. His best result in the short program is currently..."
Most of the ice hockey fans are young girls. When their parents saw this, they sat down and joked, "Why did you suddenly become interested in sports?"
If you know your child better, you don't even need to glance at the TV to know what's on.
The girls, beaming with excitement, excitedly explained to their parents, "This is the World Figure Skating Championships, which is crucial for qualifying for next year's Winter Olympics. The one in the black costencil is our country's athlete."
At Feng Simai's home, Feng's mother even pulled the child's father along to watch, holding the doll her son had brought back from the ice rink in her arms, rubbing her hands incessantly.
On the screen, Feng Simai slid to the barrier, checked that his shoelaces were tied properly, and was ready to go on the court at any time.
Xia Yuezi stood behind him and patted his shoulder: "Just bring out the same level of performance you usually put in during training. After all, our goal this time isn't the podium."
Feng Simai gave an "OK" sign to his back, looked at the nearby judges' table, listened to the English announcement, took a deep breath, and skated onto the ice rink.
"next figure skater representing People's Republic of China Simai Feng."
The camera gave him a close-up; his youthful face showed a hint of nervousness, but even more so, determination.
As the music started, Feng Simai slowly backed away, gradually building up her emotions through hand gestures.
The two coaches stood on the sidelines, their eyes fixed on the figure on the ice. The success or failure of the opening 4T would determine the tone of the entire program and would also affect the pressure on Lin Ye, who would be on the ice later.
After a short run-up, Feng Simai lifted his left foot without hesitation, clasped his hands together to tighten his body, and rotated smoothly and beautifully in the air. The moment he landed, the skates made a loud bang on the ice.
"It's done!" Meng Xin shouted, raising her arm in celebration.
Mother Feng hugged the doll tightly, glancing at the upper left corner of the screen, where the score had jumped to 10.3.
Mr. Thomas, the technical expert, nodded in satisfaction, gave no indication, and continued to watch his next move.
This referee, known for his discerning eye, knows the importance of this World Championship, and his strictness will only be greater than ever before.
After completing the quadruple jump, Feng Simai seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and her subsequent footwork and spins were more fluid, with her movements becoming more expansive and dynamic.
Even a casual pan of the camera reveals the pain and despair hidden in his eyes; he is like a fish out of water, every movement filled with struggle.
Next up is a 3A.
The height of this 3A jump is almost the same as that of a quadruple jump, and there is even room to extend the arc backward upon landing.
Feng Simai seemed to be celebrating ahead of time. He glided out with a rock 'n' roll gait, staring intently at the audience in front of him, his eyes filled with joy and emotion.
Xia Yuezi relaxed her stiff shoulders slightly and suddenly realized that Meng Xin had already wrapped her arm around hers without her noticing.
However, she didn't dwell on it and focused her attention on the next set of jumps that was about to begin—as long as she didn't make a mistake in this set of jumps, Feng Simai's task would be half completed.
3LZ's first jump was clean and crisp, and his second jump was equally impressive. The two jumps were completed in one go, and the Chinese delegation in the stands and behind the barriers had already stood up to celebrate.
The speed of the last set of spins increased, and when Feng Simai finished his performance, his chest rose and fell slightly, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
The two coaches behind the barrier had already hugged each other and were giving a thumbs-up to the people on the ice.
Lin Ye stood at the backstage entrance, his smile equally bright, with a hint of relaxation.
"You little rascal, well done."
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