Chapter 78 Jealousy: Friendship First, Competition Second—Is That Possible?
"What we are seeing now is the women's singles free skate competition in the figure skating event at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Our young skater Zhang Mengyi is in good form and is currently in fourth place. Another young skater, Yang Yiyan, will skate in second place later."
"Currently ranked first is Japanese skater Nanako Shirai, with a total score of 203.43. She completed a triple A in her free skate, making up for the score difference in the short program."
"The second-ranked player is Russian player Lyubov, and the third-ranked player is South Korean player Park Young-rye. These two players were rivals in the junior group. Unfortunately, Park Young-rye gradually faded away in the past period and only regained her form this season."
Xia Yuezi stood on the sidelines observing the six players practicing on the court. The two veterans, Claire and Cheng Enxi, were calm and composed, while the remaining young players displayed four completely different states.
Nina had just fallen on 3F and looked somewhat annoyed; Yang Yiyan had fallen on 3A and still seemed a little nervous; Mengchuan Liya was calm and collected, but upon closer inspection, one could still discern a bit of pressure; Polina was skating too tightly, her entire body not relaxed at all.
Xia Yuezi glanced at Sidorov nearby. When this meritorious coach took his students out to compete, his face was as if frozen by the Russian cold wind, and he could hardly find any extra expression. Even when his students brought back gold medals, he still had a blank expression.
But now, Xia Yuezi could tell from his tense lips that the coach was not as relaxed as he seemed.
It's likely that Lyubov's poor performance in the short program put pressure on Polina, but her consistency is the worst among the three Russian Olympic athletes.
Polina was able to skate a double triple A in the team event only because the pressure was on the male singles skaters, and other Russian skaters performed well. Among the female singles skaters competing in the team event, none could surpass her in difficulty, which allowed her to achieve her goal in a relatively relaxed environment.
In the individual competition, with the other two Russian athletes both losing, Polina's pressure had already reached its peak.
Thanks to the Russian referees, she also had to watch the performances of the previous five athletes, go on stage with the highest real-time score, and then win a gold medal for Russia.
This is truly cruel for a girl who has just been promoted to a higher level.
As her thoughts raced, the sixth training session ended. American athlete Nina stood on the field, one hand on her hip, silently preparing for her move.
Xia Yuezi leaned against the barrier: "Her condition is better than in the finals."
This refers to the athlete's mindset. Nina's upper body was still positioned very low when she touched the ice, indicating that the effects of the developmental barrier were still present.
Now, standing on the ice, Nina appears much more composed. She won the championship at the Four Continents Championships, which just ended in February. Although the absence of skaters like Yumekawa Ria was a factor, it also reflects that her mentality is gradually improving.
Nina's total score reached 208.81, making her the current number one ranked player.
Xia Yuezi took the knife sheath and coat from Yang Yiyan, glanced at her, and said, "If you want to take a gamble, don't hold back."
After Yang Yiyan's back injury flared up, the two coaches discussed with her about changing her free skate setup. The girl surprised everyone by saying she would trade a 3A+2T for a 3LO, refusing to lower the program's base score no matter what.
Yang Yiyan paused for a second, then hugged both coaches one by one: "Received, I guarantee to complete the mission."
Lu Ying is currently providing live commentary in China: "Now taking the stage is our player Yang Yiyan, who has just been promoted to a higher group this season and is also a very young player."
Another commentator continued, "Although young, Yang Yiyan is a former World Junior Championships and Junior Grand Prix Final champion. She finished fourth in this season's Grand Prix Final, achieving the best result for a Chinese female singles skater in the Final. In the recently concluded team event, she scored an impressive 142.18 points in the women's singles free skate."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ying frowned slightly, glanced at the young female commentator, and continued, "As a rising star in the adult group, Yang Yiyan has shown surprising strength. Through her performance, we can see that she is gradually accumulating competition experience and trying to adapt to the rhythm of adult group competitions. We also hope that she can let go of the burden in this competition and fully enjoy this moment."
After hearing Lu Ying's words, the female commentator belatedly realized that what she had just said was somewhat inappropriate.
Although what she just said was true, in an event like the Olympics, exaggerating the performance of one's own athletes too much can easily lead to criticism if the athletes don't perform well.
However, she didn't have time to apologize. In the broadcast, Yang Yiyan squatted down, looked in the direction of the coaching team, laughed, and then breathed a sigh of relief before preparing to start her performance.
Xia Yuezi stood in the aisle and shook her head helplessly after seeing her smile.
Yang Yiyan's meaning is quite clear - since the coach said I can give it my all, then I will create a storm on the Olympic stage that will be named after me.
From the very beginning, Yang Yiyan was able to capture the attention of all ice skating fans.
As the person who has seen her perform the most, Xia Yuezi clearly sensed that in this program, in addition to Yang Yiyan's original passionate emotions, there was also her desire and ambition for the podium.
Her blunt words were transformed into expansive gestures, every movement conveying her deep envy. She envied the noble nationalities of the European and American athletes, she envied the exceptional talent of the top athletes, and she even envied why fate was so unfair to her.
Many people think that the use of the "eight-character eyebrow" has become a "shortcut" for athletes to convey emotions, but Yang Yiyan's "eight-character eyebrow" does not have this feeling at all. Even though her face is still very young, you can feel a sense of despair through her eyes, as if the next second, this girl from the East will cry on the ice rink.
After 2A, the violin music paused for a second before moving on to the next movement.
Everyone present saw that the athlete looked up at the Olympic rings on the ceiling, a slight smile playing on his lips, sweeping away all his previous bad mood.
Then, she stretched one hand forward, leaned her head against it, and slid a short distance on one foot in a "resting on the desk" posture. As if she had regained her energy, she began a series of smooth steps.
Jealousy is a negative emotion, but it is also a normal human emotion. Once this emotion is released, it should no longer affect our good mood; it should be eliminated from our world.
Xia Yuezi understood it, Meng Xin understood it, and the other ice hockey fans understood it too.
"Every time she performs her program, I gain a new understanding of it."
Xia Yuezi glanced at Meng Xin and said, "A classic program can withstand the scrutiny of everyone. Similarly, a piece of music that can be chosen by many athletes in figure skating can also be interpreted in many different ways."
"Xiao Yan is easygoing. Even if she doesn't win the gold medal, she can just cry and be fine. She would never fall out with other athletes over a gold medal. So, jealousy comes and goes quickly. This kind of performance is quite in line with her personality."
In sports competitions, not all athletes are as harmonious as they appear on the surface. In the youth group, people are more open and their emotions and thoughts are written all over their faces. They fight tooth and nail for a gold medal, and they may not be able to shake hands and make peace when they grow up.
Xia Yuezi experienced some very dirty things in the junior group. Before going on stage at the World Junior Championships, her skate laces were maliciously cut. In the end, other skaters who had finished their competitions passed by and lent her their skate laces, which helped her get through this crisis.
However, Xia Yuezi's mindset had already been affected, and she fell quite badly during her free skate. Not to mention, after checking the surveillance footage, she discovered that the culprit was a friend she had made in the junior group, and she broke down so much that she rushed into her dressing room and questioned her about why she did it.
Xia Yuezi couldn't quite remember what happened in between, or even the contestant's answer. The only thing she remembered was the question Li Tan asked her when he comforted her later.
"You've trained so hard for so many years, is it really just for the sake of friendship first and competition second?"
Yes, the athletes standing on the international stage are all top performers who have trained hard for many years and gone through layers of selection. They are all aiming for the podium.
If this athlete has truly lost his fighting spirit, he won't be far from retiring.
The saying "friendship first, competition second" probably only exists in school sports meets or friendly matches. Once you step outside that boundary and add the words "selection" or "elimination," it is destined to be cruel.
Applause erupted from all directions, pulling Xia Yuezi out of her reverie. She looked at the girl kneeling on the ice, smiled, and also freed herself from her unbearable state.
She was very fortunate that none of her students encountered this situation, and they were still able to maintain this friendship with athletes from other countries without being constantly consumed by jealousy and becoming athletes despised in the skating community.
The first thing Yang Yiyan did upon returning from skating was to hug her two coaches tightly.
As they closed the distance, her panting reached their ears, and they could faintly hear her low sobs. Xia Yuezi gently hugged her back and patted her back silently.
The waiting time for the scores was even longer than for the short program. Yang Yiyan sat in the middle of the waiting area wiping her sweat. There was water handed to her by her coach on the table. She frequently looked towards the judges' table.
The screen finally responded after she picked up the thermos for the third time.
Technical score 77.86, program component score 66.89, free skate score 144.75, total score 214.76.
The three people in the waiting area all applauded. Even if they were angry inside, at least their expressions were impeccable.
Xia Yuezi knew that the referee had to suppress the scores of the earlier contestants in order to protect the contestants who came later.
With no European competitors following, this result is most likely the result of a collaboration between Russian and American teams.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
