Chapter 47 Is Salt Lake City even a place for humans to live?
After the Four Continents Tour concluded, Xia Yuezi and Meng Xin did not receive criticism for failing to complete the mission. Instead, they were encouraged by Li Tan, who told them to prepare for the World Youth Championships and the World Championships and not to put too much pressure on the children.
Whether it was due to Xia Yuezi's psychological influence or not, she felt that Li Tan looked much more tired than before, with puffy eyes, thinning hair, and a more aged appearance.
The blame that didn't fall on them was probably all borne by Li Tan.
In addition, the skating association leaders' anger at their thwarted plans was also reflected in the more frequent meetings.
Every day when Xia Yuezi gets back to her dorm, the first thing she does is shut the door and start cursing. She holds meetings every day saying that she wants to be fair, work hard, and learn from the world's leading figure skating nations, but when she looks back, there's zero actual progress. It's all just empty talk.
Meng Xin lay on the bed scrolling through her phone, looking completely indifferent: "Relax, we can just sit back and act like leaders, that's how we got through our athletic days."
Xia Yuezi collapsed onto the bed, exhausted, her voice filled with resentment: "When I was an athlete, I could at least avoid it, and the leaders wouldn't make things too difficult for me. Now, I don't even dare to use my phone during meetings, for fear of being called out by the leader at any moment."
"By the way, shouldn't we start discussing the selection criteria for the Olympic training team?" Xia Yuezi's head drooped at the edge of the bed, her long hair scattered on the floor, as she looked up at Meng Xin.
Meng Xin thought for a moment: "Based on past experience, after the World Championships, the head coaches of each province will be called together for a meeting to discuss the quotas, and then the documents will be issued around June."
Xia Yuezi turned over, stared at the ceiling, sighed, and remained silent for a long time, lost in thought.
Before the World Championships, in order to better prepare for the World Championships, none of the athletes who went to the World Junior Championships this year were on the World Championships roster.
Apart from Yang Yiyan, the Chinese team heading to the World Youth Championships this year consists of a group of new faces, including many familiar faces to Xia Yuezi.
Meng Xin stayed in the country to train Feng Simai's physical fitness, aiming to help him maintain two quadruple jumps in the free skate.
The children mingled together, chatting enthusiastically all the way, until their instructors pulled them back to sleep after the plane had settled into a stable flight.
Their competition this time is being held in Salt Lake City, USA, a well-known venue for winter sports events.
It is famous not because it has hosted many ice and snow events, but because it is a city at a high altitude.
Xia Yuezi had competed here once before, and she experienced altitude sickness on her first day at the hotel. As soon as she finished the match, she took an oxygen tank and started inhaling. Therefore, her impression of this place was no less than that of the gastroenteritis incident in South Korea.
Besides figure skating, short track speed skating, speed skating, and other sports have also hosted many competitions in Salt Lake City.
Some athletes have complained to the International Skating Union about the venue, and even Americans themselves can't stand it.
However, because many athletes in winter sports have broken records here, and it was once the host city of the Winter Olympics and the high-altitude training base for the US national team, the International Skating Union (ISU) defied public opinion and, in its blatant disregard for its own people, held numerous competitions in Salt Lake City.
Therefore, whenever I went out, I saw people wearing national team uniforms on the street, and almost all of them had an oxygen cylinder in their hands.
After competing for more than a year, Yang Yiyan's ability to adjust to time zone changes has gradually improved, and she has not experienced dizziness or vomiting. However, the other children are not so lucky, and they all look listless.
Xia Yuezi stood behind the barrier, watching Yang Yiyan perform choral music on the ice.
Her form wasn't great; her success rate with 3A was only 50%. However, she still had a solid foundation in the three-week routine. Many female singles players in the same routine as her fell during their three-three-jump attempts.
Ms. Chishima walked over to her and complained, "This awful place is no place for humans to live. Last night, several children from our country had insomnia."
Xia Yuezi smiled wryly: "We're not much better off."
Even after the ice show, the two coaches remained in touch. Compared to their relationships with coaches from other countries, the two Asian coaches clearly had more in common.
"I heard that the American team didn't get the upper hand this time either. This morning, during the duet performance, the male partner had to leave the stage due to lack of oxygen," Ms. Chishima said in a low voice.
The Japanese delegation's accommodations were on the floor below the US delegation's, so they could hear things more clearly.
It's not just pairs skating...
Xia Yuezi raised her head and looked straight ahead. A blonde, blue-eyed girl fell on the ice again. Her highest difficulty jump was 3F+3T, and her success rate was not high.
The United States is experiencing a shortage of talent in the youth category, and the athletes sent this year are not particularly strong; it's a case of choosing the best among the worst.
After the music ended, Yang Yiyan returned to her coach's side, grabbed the oxygen cylinder placed on the barrier, and began to inhale, leaning her body against the barrier for support.
Xia Yuezi had been paying close attention to the situation on the ice rink and noticed that Yang Yiyan, apart from her face being a little pale, did not show any obvious abnormal reactions.
She placed Yang Yiyan's free hand on her shoulder, and using the momentum, slowly moved to the ice rink exit, helping her to sit down and rest on a long bench.
Are you dizzy?
Yang Yiyan shook her head, put the oxygen cylinder aside, and her complexion improved somewhat.
Xia Yuezi took out a tissue from her bag and said softly, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself in tomorrow's match. As you can see, the environment here is a big challenge for everyone. Staying calm is the most important thing."
Yang Yiyan leaned against the wall and responded, then said nothing more.
The women's singles short program was held as scheduled the following afternoon.
Xia Yuezi stood in the aisle, her expression never wavering.
Yang Yiyan's world ranking in the youth group placed her in the last group. The good news was that she was drawn fourth in the pre-match draw, but the bad news was that she was scheduled to play after Polina.
This also means that regardless of Polina's performance, Yang Yiyan will most likely be outshone. Having finally gotten rid of the formidable Mengchuan Aya, the European and American referees can no longer tolerate losing their badges.
"Coach, I'm having trouble breathing." Yang Yiyan clutched the hem of her team uniform, her face looking rather pale.
Xia Yuezi handed her the oxygen cylinder, reached out to feel her pulse, and tapped her shoulder rhythmically to help her regulate her breathing.
Altitude sickness affected the physical condition of every athlete present, and the frequency of accidents was very high. It seemed that Polina moved the combination jump to the first half of the course to prevent this from happening.
Her setup was 3LZ+3T, 3F, 2A, but the program content score was not affected after cleaning, and the short program score still reached 63.87 points.
The moment Polina finished her performance, Yang Yiyan put down her oxygen tank, took a deep breath, and rushed onto the ice rink to warm up.
After receiving oxygen, her condition gradually improved.
After careful consideration, Yang Yiyan also prioritized the combination jump. She pushed her blade outwards and jumped ahead of time to the music. The blade made a crisp sound on the ice. Without hesitation after landing, she followed up with a 3lo, blending in with the cymbal sound.
Xia Yuezi stared intently at the girl on the field, calculating her next move. Her makeup concealed the paleness on Yang Yiyan's face, but it couldn't hide the determination in her eyes.
The F jump is a required jump for this World Junior Championships and is Yang Yiyan's second most proficient jump.
Xia Yuezi was extremely glad that she had chosen the music from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which contained many very important musical moments that could stimulate Yang Yiyan's nerves and performance awareness.
Her hands gripped the edge of the barrier tightly, and every nerve in her body tensed up with Yang Yiyan's movements.
Yang Yiyan's rotation posture was not as good as last time. Although there was no displacement, her shoulders did not remain parallel after the change of movement, resulting in insufficient rotations. This difficulty change will not be counted in the grade assessment.
Altitude sickness was gradually taking a toll on her energy, but it did not affect her overall performance in the program.
After the music ended, Yang Yiyan knelt on the ice, panting heavily, and it took her a long time to get up and bow to the audience around her to express her gratitude.
Xia Yuezi stood at the entrance, quickly handed her an oxygen cylinder, draped a coat over her, and helped her to the waiting area.
The master and apprentice sat quietly in their chairs, with only the sound of the next skater's blade gliding across the ice and the noise from the audience above.
Fans watching the competition from outside the screen felt sorry for their favorite skaters as they leaned on their coaches for oxygen, while secretly cursing the International Skating Union for insisting on holding the competition in such a run-down place.
But looking at the American player's scoreboard and her post-match condition that had been pushed to the top of the forum, I swallowed back some of the nationalistic sentiments I was about to utter.
At least in this matter, the International Skating Union treated everyone equally, with each athlete being treated as if they were "starving three meals a day".
Yang Yiyan felt better, put down the oxygen tank and slowly sat up. At the same time, her score appeared on the screen.
Technical score: 36.66; Program content score: 27.07; Total score: 63.68.
Ice hockey fans: ...You're too quick to speak! I've never seen performance scores drop so much.
When the screenshot of the waiting partition appeared on the forum, it was followed by more than a dozen layers of question marks. Especially after seeing Yang Yiyan's tired appearance and reluctance to speak, many words of criticism against the referee also followed.
Xia Yuezi helped Yang Yiyan backstage. After each event, the team doctor would be backstage to check on each athlete's physical condition.
"Her blood oxygen levels have returned to normal, so let her go back and rest."
Xia Yuezi nodded and sat beside her, waiting for her to fully recover before returning to the hotel after receiving the small medal.
Before Yang Yiyan went to bed, Xia Yuezi made her a cup of hot milk. After making sure she was sound asleep, she returned to her own room and dialed a number.
The other end seemed to have been waiting for her; the call was answered within seconds: "Is Xiaoyan's altitude sickness severe? Is she experiencing any vomiting or insomnia?"
"Don't worry, she's fine. She just fell asleep. If you're still concerned, I'll send you a video later."
Xia Yuezi spoke gently and slowly, her voice carrying warmth, silently soothing Yang's mother's anxiety.
The person on the other end of the phone visibly relaxed: "That's good, that live stream was terrifying..."
Xia Yuezi understood the parent's feelings and could only try her best to comfort her: "The team doctor has already examined her... We can keep in touch... It's already amazing that she can persevere in this environment..."
After hanging up the phone, she rubbed her temples, walked to the window, drew back the curtains, and looked down at the night view of Salt Lake City.
The lights in the distance dotted the night like stars, and the outlines of the buildings in the distance were clearly visible, gleaming in the moonlight.
Xia Yuezi leaned against the window and stared blankly for a while, finding a moment of peace in her heart.
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