Chapter 106 Star Falls
He Hui finally won the gold medal in women's singles, Ophelia Park of the United States won the silver medal, and Olya Petrova of the Russian Olympic delegation won the bronze medal.
Tan Ling, who did not have 3A or any other week-four medals, fought her way to fourth place, but unfortunately missed the podium.
The liveliness at the awards ceremony plaza that evening was no less than when the Chinese figure skating team won the team gold medal.
The difference is that this time, friends from the Chinese Figure Skating Team were standing in the audience cheering for He Hui.
Everyone appeared in the middle area reserved for the team members, with bustling fans on both sides.
As soon as they saw the Chinese figure skating team coming out as a group, fans enthusiastically asked for photos.
Although there was more than just the award ceremony for the women's singles that evening, Chinese people accounted for almost three-quarters of the crowd who came to the stage to witness the national flag flying. Five-star red flags were flying everywhere in the square, and many of the people wore red fox pendants that symbolized He Hui's support.
He Hui's popularity is evident.
The temperature in Jiangling was very low at night, making people's noses red from the cold, and the cold wind was so loud that it seemed to blow people down.
The moment He Hui walked to the center of the field, the entire square was filled with screams and a sea of cell phones were raised. Some fans were fine with gloves on, but others were soon blown by the strong wind and their arms were shaking.
He Hui's smiling face made it impossible for them to put down their phones, and the ice fans wanted to record every moment clearly and vividly.
Amidst applause and cheers that were almost at home level, He Hui strode onto the highest podium with ease.
Compared to the proposal podium set up in the ice rink that day, everything in the award plaza at night was more spacious and more ceremonial.
He Hui looked at the densely packed crowd and the dots of red in the award ceremony square. Blood rushed from her heart and flowed throughout her body. Her heart beat faster, making her not feel cold at all.
She excitedly raised her right arm again and waved it towards the audience, even standing on tiptoes and blowing them a kiss.
"Ahhh! The goose girl blew me a kiss!"
"Cardiac arrest! He Hui's smile is so bright and sunny, it lights me up."
"You guys are exaggerating! All I can say is that the gold medal is the best match for her!"
The ice fans in the audience were chattering about the event, and He Hui had a glittering golden medal on his chest.
He Hui lowered his head again, looking at the championship symbol flashing with a unique metallic luster under the spotlight, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.
To her right stood American Ophelia Park and to her left stood Russian athlete Petrova.
The flag on the opposite side has the same layout, except that the Russian flag has been replaced with the Olympic rings.
At the announcer's prompt, He Hui turned slightly, looked at the flagpole, and placed his right hand on his chest.
The square fell silent almost instantly, as everyone was waiting for this solemn moment.
The next second, the national anthem sounded.
He Hui immediately sang along and felt his heart beating two beats faster, as if pushing him forward.
The voices from the audience started out as a trickle, but as the national flag rose to the top little by little, they gradually converged into clearer and louder singing along.
The Chinese national flag was flying at the highest point, and the winter night wind blew up the corners of the flag, carrying the melodious song to further parts of the square.
*
The closing ceremony of Pyeongchang was held two days later. The gold medal won by He Hui, who won the Olympic women's singles championship for two consecutive years, marked the finale of China's participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The Chinese team's gold medal luck in this Winter Olympics can be described as ill-fated.
Short track speed skating, which has always been the main force in winning gold medals, only won two gold medals. One was from Feng Liying in the women's 500 meters, and the other was from Feng Liying's teammates who fought hard to win the women's 1500 meters. In other events, the referees basically called fouls or the opponents took them off the track.
On the contrary, figure skating became a surprise for the Chinese team. Three gold medals and two bronze medals created a new miracle in the history of the Winter Olympics.
"I suddenly have a lot of confidence in what's going to happen four years later! I feel like the team building in figure skating has been going pretty well in the past two years."
"I really can't complain about the short track referees! I feel like in Korea, it's incomplete without being cheated!"
"Isn't Ophelia's score exaggerated? If it weren't for He Hui's strong ability, he would have been defeated."
At the closing ceremony, China gave an eight-minute wonderful performance, and the Olympic baton was handed over to Beijing four years later.
He Hui and other Chinese athletes looked at the huge 2022 projected on the field, their hearts full of anticipation.
"Four years later, I should only be able to appear in the audience and watch you." Tan Ling turned to He Hui, and suddenly seemed to think of something, and smiled, "Witness you win the women's singles championship for the third time."
There has never been a female singles athlete who has won three consecutive Winter Olympic championships since the Winter Olympics began.
"Do you trust me so much?" He Hui asked with a smile.
This sentence sounds bold and impossible to achieve, but when Tan Ling looked at He Hui, she always felt that there was nothing this young lady in front of her couldn't accomplish.
"certainly."
Tang Meng, who was listening to their conversation, suddenly leaned over and grabbed Tan Ling's hand.
"I think so too!" Tang Meng's eyes sparkled, and he turned to look at He Hui again, "Then I will have a GOAT teammate!"
"Don't you want to think about how you can fight your way to Beijing?" Tan Ling asked Tang Meng with interest.
Tang Meng's eyes widened, and he said confidently: "Instead of struggling on my own, I'd rather let He Hui take me flying!"
"Are you right, He Hui?"
He Hui was amused by Tang Meng's remarks and nodded: "I will try my best."
*
On the second day after the closing ceremony, as the national figure skating team got off the plane, the fans lining the streets to welcome them almost filled the entire terminal. Reporters even prepared a small folding ladder just to capture this historic moment.
The figure skating team, wearing the uniform national team uniforms, lined up in twos and threes from the exit. The winning team members had medals hanging in front of them and returned home with their heads held high.
In the past, when the figure skating team returned to China, they could basically only hear the screams of He Hui’s fans. But this time, the team members who won the team gold medal and became famous all had their own fan groups.
Tang Meng responded to her fans enthusiastically. If the team leader hadn't been watching her, she would have jumped three feet high.
Although Bian Jing appeared calm on the surface, he excitedly shared his feelings with He Hui as soon as he got in the car.
"Ahhh, did you see that? Someone was holding my posters and banners to pick me up at the airport."
"You've won the Olympic bronze medal, isn't it normal to have fans?" Tan Ling asked back.
“But it’s completely different to see it up close with my own eyes!” Bian Jing couldn’t help but put aside his boasts, “I have to put the development of my new quadruple jump on the agenda.”
"Then we're looking forward to seeing you try your best in Beijing and turn the bronze medal into a gold medal." Tan Ling teased with a smile.
Bian Jing slumped down in his seat like a balloon that had suddenly been deflated: "That...that's still a bit difficult."
"Think about the encouragement from your fans!" He Hui patted her shoulder earnestly.
*
He Hui's schedule was full after returning to China, with requests for exclusive and group interviews coming one after another.
Because she hopes to make figure skating her lifelong career, He Hui hopes to promote this sport on more platforms. Her gold medal and world record have great influence, and she needs to use this influence reasonably.
Her idea is to build a prototype of the sports agency she wants to start during the four years in college, accumulate and develop personal connections, and then, driven by the Beijing Winter Olympics, expand the audience for figure skating and sports.
Although this idea seemed extremely unprofitable to He Jianmu, He Hui had no intention of giving up. She wanted to carve out a way out and let her father know that this was the 21st century where everything was possible!
*
In March, the World Championships opened in Milan, Italy.
There was no suspense in the short program competition, and the focus of the competition was still between the Winter Olympics champion and runner-up He Hui and Ophelia.
Because he had lost to Ophelia in the short program in Pyeongchang, He Hui was extremely focused this time, taking care of every detail and leaving no room for the judges to manipulate.
Ophelia also performed perfectly. The height and distance of her three jumps were still amazing, maintaining her good form during the Winter Olympics.
"Are you worried that you still can't surpass Ophelia?" Lin Xiaoman asked while waiting for the division.
He Hui shook his head and raised his eyebrows: "Don't worry, I don't think there is anything wrong with my performance. Ophelia, it's just a minor flaw."
A confident mentality brought about good results. He Hui avenged the 0.04 points loss at the Winter Olympics with a flawless performance and won first place in the short program.
While everyone was competing, an explosive piece of news continued to ferment on the Internet.
The World Championships after the Winter Olympics were not originally so popular, but this news quickly made things different.
"Star falls! Well-known figure skater Ophelia Park is suspected of being involved in a doping scandal!"
An exclusive news from a well-known foreign sports media instantly swept the world, as if dropping a depth bomb on the figure skating world that should have been calm.
After the game ended that day, the mixed interview area was packed with reporters for the first time ever. Media from various countries and industries gathered in the small media channel, surrounding and blocking Ophelia who was about to leave the stadium.
Ophelia changed her usual smiling face and walked out quickly with her head down.
"Ophelia!"
"Ophelia, can you respond to the rumors about doping?"
"Have you taken any illegal drugs?"
......
A flood of questions came flooding in, and the reporters were like ferocious beasts seeing their prey, with greedy green light in their eyes. They stretched their arms out of the fence, and some even reached out to grab Ophelia.
If the staff had not stopped it, the order at the scene would probably have been so chaotic that an accident might have happened.
Without any pause, Ophelia strode through the mixed sampling area and left the scene.
Although the reporters failed to catch Ophelia, they did not intend to let He Hui go.
He Hui walked and sat upright. As usual, she stopped in front of the Chinese media reporters.
Soon, reporters from all other countries heard the news and rushed over.
The questions from the Chinese reporters were not surprising. They revolved around preparations after the Winter Olympics and the performance of today's short program.
But soon, the American reporter, unable to hold back his excitement, interrupted: "He Hui, do you know anything about the rumors that Ophelia might have taken banned drugs? What do you think about this?"
The question was sharp and direct. The American reporter put the microphone in front of He Hui, as if he didn't want to give her the chance to refuse and leave.
He Hui looked at the American reporter deeply, his smile disappeared in an instant, and his serious eyes made people shudder.
"First of all, I don't care much about other players' private lives. Secondly, I hope all unfair competition will be punished accordingly."
He Hui's voice was loud and clear, and it spread throughout the mixed interview area.
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