Chapter 255

Four years have passed, and the top players who can jump into the last group of free skating have changed slightly from four years ago. Among the six, only Su Zhe, Amami Tsubasa, and Garcia are still old rivals from four years ago. Among the two brothers Tsukawa, Yuto Tsukawa did not perform well in the short program this time and ranked 8th overall, while Yuto Tsukawa suffered a recurrence of his old injury during the grand prix in the 2021-2022 season and gave up the subsequent series of competitions.

Ice fans originally thought that Yuto Tsukawa would be able to make a comeback at the Winter Olympics, but his injury was more complicated than originally expected, and he ultimately failed to make it to the B City Winter Olympics.

Until before the game, Yuto Tsukawa still looked unwilling when he contacted Su Zhe privately - he failed to catch up with Su Zhe's final farewell match before retirement, nor did he catch up with his last Winter Olympics.

In addition to Su Zhe and the other three "veterans" from the last Winter Olympics, there are three new faces in the last group this time, namely Chen En from the Chinese figure skating national team, Russian rookie Oleg and Canadian rising star Liam.

At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago, ice fans around the world truly realized for the first time at such a grand event that the era of crazy quadruple jumps had arrived.

In the free skating performance in Pyeongchang, Amami Tsubasa shocked everyone by performing 5 quadruple jumps. Besides him, the athletes in the last group, including Yuto Tsugawa who failed to make it to the last group at that time, also included 4 quadruple jumps and other different jump combinations in the difficulty arrangement of their programs.

Not only male singles players, but even female singles players, those talented figure skaters from Russia, have already added quadruple jumps to the difficulty of their competitions. The women's singles competition, which used to be dominated by triple jumps, has become increasingly difficult in recent years.

Under such circumstances, people clearly realize that in future competitions, if they want to truly join the ranks of top figure skaters, then in addition to footwork, rotations and various solid basic skills, it is imperative to master the types of quadruple jumps and be able to increase the types and difficulty of jumps in the same program.

However, in addition to this, due to the existence of an athlete like Su Zhe who has a unique talent in performance, many countries have attached greater importance to courses related to the athletes' artistic expression, and have made more efforts in figure skating choreography, artistic expression, etc., which has spawned a number of classic figure skating programs in recent years.

The overall improvement in both artistic and competitive difficulty is a joyful thing for figure skating enthusiasts around the world.

Just like on the ice right now, during the six-minute warm-up exercise, these six top athletes on the ice are bringing carefully polished works to the Winter Olympics.

Tsubasa Amami still has the title of "the careless ruler on ice", but since he changed a choreographer who can have a more precise grasp of his style, the master choreographer simply took Tsubasa Amami's "indifference" and "ruthlessness" as his characteristics, and choreographed a series of classic programs for him such as "Heartless Love", "Ice and Snow Front", and "Ninja".

Including his new free skating song "Emperor" this season, it is also a masterpiece from this master choreographer. While emphasizing the ruthless side of the emperor, it also allows Amami Tsubasa to use his powerful skills and technical control to show his shocking side as the king of ice.

As one of the few players who can be compared with Su Zhe in recent years, Amami Tsubasa's strength and his will and belief to constantly adjust himself and keep moving forward are the fundamental reasons why he has always stood at the top for many years.

Although Garcia has grown from a teenager to a young man today, his gift of physical flexibility remains unique. Over the years, he has been one of the few players who insists on adding the Bellman Spin to the men's singles spin.

Although his slender and feminine youthful image and the soft style he prefers in his music selection are not completely unique, he is the one who can best express this style.

Chen En was chosen by Cui Yi because of his unique talent in jumping. Today, Chen En is only 21 years old, but he has already mastered 5 types of quadruple jumps and can even jump 4 quadruple jumps in the same competition. Although he does not have a very sharp talent in artistic expression, he can also perform relatively well in some repertoires full of youthful vigor.

Including the newly rising Oleg and Liam, it can be said that none of the athletes who can appear in the last group of the men's singles free skating in the Winter Olympics figure skating can be underestimated.

In the live broadcast room, Lin Ya and Wang Yuhan had already entered a very nervous state at this time.

"Okay, you can see that the last group of six contestants have all gone on the ice, and they are now practicing for six minutes."

At this moment, Su Zhe was skating silently on the ice alone. The surrounding noise and the cheers of the audience had disappeared from his ears. What remained in his mind was the smooth and exquisite playing music of "Barchus Etudes".

Accompanied by the melody in his mind, Su Zhe silently spun and jumped on the ice, transforming into black and white light and shadows.

The short 6-minute practice session ended in front of the audience, as Su Zhe immersed himself in the practice of the notes in his mind. The audience in the audience gave enthusiastic applause to the contestants as they left the stage.

The athletes' exit means that the final battle of this Winter Olympics is about to begin. Every audience member on the scene is looking forward to the athletes' next appearance.

In the lottery after the short program, Su Zhe was drawn to be the third to appear. This is an appearance order that is nothing special. The only special thing is that the fourth place after him is Amami Tsubasa.

According to the final score of the short program on February 12 and the strength of all the contestants, when Amami Tsubasa finished her program, the final champion should have been determined. --

Everyone is looking forward to Su Zhe and Tian Haiyi's early appearance, but they don't want to see them too early. This duel will be the last duel between the two of them. Once they think of this, the audience's mentality becomes conflicted.

Regardless of what the audience thinks, the last group of matches are proceeding one by one according to the established order.

Perhaps it is because this is the Winter Olympics, a grand event held every four years. At this point in the competition, the inexperienced athletes are more or less nervous.

Especially Ogle, who was the first to appear, repeatedly encountered the situation of his floating foot touching the ice prematurely in the 3a jump landing. In the 4lz3t jump, the first landing was unstable and he almost couldn't complete the connection with the second jump.

Liam, who came on stage after Ogle, had a problem with his rotation speed dropping during the spin, and his skating speed was not ideal, but Liam's skating was very smooth and easy, and he was ranked among the top three among all the players.

Garcia was the third to perform. He is now a veteran and no longer as young and nervous as he was in the past. He was able to complete his entire program smoothly and easily. Whether it was his teardrop-shaped Bellman or the graceful spin, his performance that combined the softness of women's singles with the power of men's singles, the audience gave him warm applause.

As he finished his performance and left the stage, the fourth player to appear, Su Zhe, was already waiting on the sidelines. As Garcia left the stage and went to his seats, Su Zhe high-fived him and went onto the ice for his final pre-match practice.

In the free skating program "Parges Etude", Su Zhe's performance costume was all black with white abstract musical notes dotted on the upper body. The entire cuffs were covered with gloves, and his fingers and palms were also wrapped in black. However, his left hand was different. There was a gradient color on the left arm, which faded to the fingertips, and a white glove was already wrapped around his palm.

When Su Zhe and Garcia took over the stage, the atmosphere among the audience became heated again. They waved flags in their hands, cheered loudly for Su Zhe, and looked forward to his performance in the next few minutes.

After a short warm-up exercise, Su Zhe once again came to the barrier at the edge of the ice rink, where Cui Yi was standing. This time, Cui Yi was still the same as usual, holding Su Zhe's sports jacket, holding his water cup, wearing the pass badge of the coach of the Chinese figure skating team on his chest, and looking at Su Zhe quietly.

When Su Zhe came to the edge of the backstop and looked at Cui Yi, Cui Yi smiled and sighed: "This is the last time I will look at you from this position."

"Come on, I'm waiting for your good grades here."

Hearing this, Su Zhe was stunned at first, then his eyes became slightly hot. He took a deep breath, then smiled and nodded at Cui Yi.

"Don't worry, coach. I will do my best."

After taking another look at Cui Yi, Su Zhe held the backboard with his hands, turned his head and looked at the audience seats around him, seeing the audience's expectant eyes. Then, he saw Shao Xingchen in the Chinese player seat, who had even taken off his hat and sunglasses because he had completely made his relationship with him public.

After a moment, Su Zhe nodded solemnly to Cui Yi again, then turned and skated to the center of the ice.

The judges in the judges' booth were all looking at this amazing skater from China who has brought endless impact to the world of figure skating in recent years. This was his last battle.

Anderson was sitting in his seat, looking at Su Zhe. He still remembered that when Su Zhe made his first appearance in the international arena, the China Cup, he was one of the referees. Because this was a player they had never seen before, they chose to give him a stricter score in the end.

However, the players who appeared one after another were enough to prove that this first Chinese player actually possessed top-notch strength, enough to suppress most of the people present.

It was an enforcement process that left a deep impression on Anderson. Even now, many years later, when he was enforcing the law at the Winter Olympics and saw this legendary genius from China, he could still recall every detail of that incident.

What a talented child!

Anderson quietly looked at the young man standing quietly in the center of the court, and then sighed in his heart - let him see what kind of performance this genius can bring in his last farewell match!

When everything is ready, the piano sound of "Barchus's Etudes" quietly rang out!

This etude does not have a clear story theme, but it does have emotions that it is supposed to express. These emotions do not serve the musical theme, but rather serve to increase the difficulty of the etude for the pianist.

From the moment the passionate and short "Barchus Etude" begins, this etude, which is known for its devilish difficulty, has already begun its chapter.

As everyone knows, although this song has no theme, its opening melody is cheerful and full of rhythm. It sounds simple and smooth, making people have no idea how terrifying the difficulty of playing it is.

--

When the music started, everyone saw Su Zhe jumping and gliding on the ice like a jumping note, just like this rhythmic measure of music. With every beat of the music and every movement of his cheerful rhythm, you can feel as if you can see the notes forming before your eyes, and even turning into a real person, dancing with great joy on the ice.

What happened?!

All the audience who watched the premiere of Su Zhe's "Barchus Etudes" for the first time couldn't help but let out a low cry after a brief moment of confusion.

They didn't think about how Su Zhe could fully convey his artistic expression and talent in this exercise that lacked a theme and emotion. --

What they didn't expect was that Su Zhe and his coaching team were so crazy that they had the guts to come up with the idea of ​​turning Su Zhe into a musical note after choosing a song of such terrifying difficulty and intensity.

Yes, Su Zhe’s performance in this piece does not need to elaborate on any emotions, stories, or themes. In this piece, he is the music itself. He is the incarnation of this super-technical etude "Barches Etude" which is known for its devilish difficulty!

This is an idea that is both too brilliant and too fantastic.

Everyone knows that figure skaters need to be in sync with the music during their performances and perfectly connect to the beat of the music. Good timing with the music is also one of the key points in scoring.

But no one has ever thought that there are such crazy people who do not choose music to express the emotions, but simply transform themselves into notes and appear on the ice as the music itself.

What does this mean?

This means that he must hit all the beats perfectly without any mistakes. Harmony is no longer just "important" but has become the "lifeline".

After all, since you are the music itself, since you are the notes themselves, then who has ever seen a piece of music that is fragmented and cannot be played correctly be considered excellent?

No matter how beautiful a piece of music is, if the person playing it is an ordinary person who has no idea how to play it, then the notes cannot be put into place and cannot be combined into a beautiful melody.

When everyone knew about Su Zhe's crazy idea and performance theme, who could not help but curse in their heart - this terrible lunatic!

Including Galliardo, after hearing Su Zhe's idea for the first time, he also felt extremely crazy. As a choreographer, he could also understand more deeply what such a performance represented.

However, although people found Su Zhe's plan crazy and unbelievable, in the end, everyone agreed with Su Zhe's idea.

The farewell battle of a legendary genius should leave behind an unforgettable and brilliant chapter!

At this moment, the notes of "Balghis Etudes" are still flowing on the ice. The black and white figure on the ice seems to be an elegant and slender piano key. This huge ice surface of 30m*60m is a huge ice piano, allowing the elves transformed by the notes to roam freely on the ice.

His feet left deep ice marks on the ice. His limbs and everything about him were like beautiful music that moved people's hearts, just as if an invisible performer was playing the "Barches Etudes". His every move, the changes and intersections, played wonderful and dazzling notes on this pure ice piano.

In the audience, people were fascinated by the figure on the ice and the music in their ears. They truly felt as if they had seen the advent of the God of Music.

Apart from the God of Music, who else could make people feel as if they could see the melody dancing all over the sky on such an almost unreal stage?

After a series of bracket steps, choctaw, half turn, triple turn, half turn, small jump and choctaw, accompanied by the music of "Etude" and entering the climax of the second half, the note on the ice also entered a crazy climax of continuous jumps!

4t3t, 4lz, 3f1lo3s, 4f2t, 4s... In the entire program of "Etude", Su Zhe has a total of 8 jumps, including 6 crazy quadruple jumps. What's even crazier is that 4 of the difficult jumps are in the final climax part, which is called the most difficult peak of "Etude" by pianists.

Just as "Etudes de Parghese" has become an insurmountable peak of super-skilled exercises, in this series of jumps, Su Zhe, the crazy performer on ice, also turned the free skating program of "Etudes de Parghese" into an equally insurmountable devilish peak in figure skating performances!

When the last quadruple jump was completed, accompanied by the final music of the "Etude", the crazy performer on the ice performed the last set of perfect rotations...

The "Balghis Etudes" ended perfectly. The god of music on the ice had also completed his performance of the musical notes. He stood on the ice with his hands open. There seemed to be beads of sweat on his forehead. His breathing was not even and steady. But even at the last moment, he perfectly followed the rhythm of the music and gave his own farewell, leaving behind a peak performance that amazed the world.

On the ice, Su Zhe opened his arms and closed his eyes for a long time. He was still breathing hard. This peak performance undoubtedly consumed most of his energy, but at this moment, he stood on the ice and was the king that no one could question.

The entire venue was already filled with thunderous applause and cheers, and everyone was sincerely congratulating the king of ice, the god of ice, before them.

This is a perfect closing scene, for sure!

"Su Zhe!!! You will always be the ice god in my heart!!!"

In the audience, there were hoarse shouts from the ice fans for this miraculous talent and for the legends and touching moments he had brought to all the ice fans over the years.

"This is an amazing scene! This is a scene that will be unforgettable! This is also destined to be recorded in history!"

In the commentary room, Lin Ya said excitedly but restrainedly: "Let us remember this legendary scene, remember Su Zhe's "Parghese Etude", its brilliance, its unimaginable difficulty, all of which will become a brilliant chapter in the history of figure skating!"

"I am lucky that I can witness and commentate on this game in person. I am even more lucky that I can watch such a legendary five-year ice career."

"Everything about him will be an indelible peak!"

When Su Zhe came to the edge of the ice rink amidst the rain of dolls, Cui Yi gave him a big hug, celebrating this miracle and this legend.

Tian Haiyi, who was about to play, also gave him a hug with a smile, and said to Su Zhe in Chinese: "You are a hero on the ice."

After a perhaps short, perhaps long wait, Su Zhe's free skating score was finally announced!

Su Zhe's free skating "Parges Etude" finally won 210.73 points, once again breaking the world record for free skating under the new rules. Together with the 110.78 in the short program, he won a total score of 321.51 points, which also broke the world record under the new rules.

At this point, there is no doubt who will win the medal at the Winter Olympics.

That evening, during the punctual news broadcast at 7 o'clock, people all over the country already knew that in the Winter Olympics, a Chinese athlete named Su Zhe won the historic first Winter Olympic men's singles figure skating gold medal for China!

No matter where people are from in the world, after watching this dazzling performance, it is hard for them to forget this legendary name, Su Zhe.

This was the farewell battle of a generation of ice legend. He won the honor that he could deserve. Although his legend at the pinnacle of ice has come to an end, the next chapter of his legend has just begun!

The author has something to say: Ahhhhh, QvQ I finally! Finished the extra chapter of the figure skating chapter, wuwuwuwuwuwuwu, it’s so hard for me…

You know, I originally thought that this would only be a 10-something chapter extra... I never expected it orz

Well, there’s no time to say more tonight, see you all tomorrow!

There will be some extra chapters that will continue to drop until the end of the month, muah muah muah! Love you guys! =w=!