Chapter 40 40 Record Breaking
The women's singles short program kicked off the French station.
The Courchevel Ice Rink seemed deserted in the afternoon, with most of the seats empty and the few spectators too lazy to even take pictures with the cameras.
He Hui was drawn to be the last person to perform in the last group, while Kong Ziqiu was the fourth person in the first group.
"Warm up well, I'll go and play with Zi Qiu first." Lin Xiaoman patted her shoulder and said, "Warm up well, I'll be there in a minute."
He Hui nodded and teased, "Why, do you think I'll get mad because my concern was taken away from me?"
Lin Xiaoman is a person with a much more delicate mind than she appears.
Lin Xiaoman glared at He Hui unhappily: "Okay, I thought too much."
"That's not what I meant." He Hui stuck out her tongue playfully.
Kong Ziqiu remained expressionless from the beginning to the end of the sixth practice, looking quite aggressive.
After getting off the ice rink, Kong Ziqiu continued to remain silent.
"Relax slowly." Lin Xiaoman patted Kong Ziqiu's shoulders, trying to relax her tense muscles. "You have to believe that you are now very used to this ice rink."
Kong Ziqiu was like a rubber band that was stretched very tight. If he pulled it any further, it might break, but if he let go now, he would hurt himself.
"OK."
Inhale, exhale. Kong Ziqiu kept taking deep breaths in the background, her rising and falling chest revealing her anxiety at the moment.
The first few players were not very good at this, some of them did a triple axel instead of a double axel, and some of them simply did not have the skills to perform a triple axel.
"Kong Ziqiu, representing China." The host's voice rang out in the venue.
Lin Xiaoman sent Kong Ziqiu to the ice rink with a firm look in her eyes: "Believe in yourself."
Kong Ziqiu closed her eyes and cleared her mind of distracting thoughts. When she opened her eyes again and stepped onto the ice rink, a slightly stiff smile was already on her face.
He Hui in the backstage walked to the display screen and waited attentively for the music.
This season, Kong Ziqiu's short program song is the classic "Bolero". The powerful choreography can better help Kong Ziqiu play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.
Amid the powerful drum beats, Kong Ziqiu completed the advanced triple-triple jump sequence.
But because of nervousness, the height of her second jump was slightly lower, resulting in a lack of landing angle. If nothing unexpected happens, she will probably be caught by the referee.
"Come on..." He Hui didn't dare to blink, his palms were tightly dug by his nails, and he murmured.
Kong Ziqiu glided on the court step by step, her full attention focused on the next two jumps.
Fortunately, both 3F and 2A Kong Ziqiu were stable.
He Hui in the backstage and Lin Xiaoman on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Kong Ziqiu's international debut ended with a pretty good result.
Her final score was 47.27 points. Given the level of competition in this competition, she even had a chance to be placed in the final group of the free skating with He Hui after the short program.
Lin Xiaoman brought Kong Ziqiu back to the backstage, and He Hui welcomed them with a smile: "Congratulations, Ziqiu!"
"Thank you." Kong Ziqiu felt relieved.
Lin Xiaoman continued to comfort her: "Take your time."
He Hui knew that it would take some time for Kong Ziqiu to step out of the haze and truly display his strength.
"Okay." Kong Ziqiu nodded obediently.
Lin Xiaoman was in a good mood and was smiling when she asked He Hui to warm up.
"So happy?" He Hui raised his eyebrows.
Lin Xiaoman propped up her head and squinted her eyes: "Well, how should I put it? I just feel a sense of accomplishment as a coach."
He Hui: “…”
*
He Hui's biggest opponent in the French station is Diana Volkova, who has just entered the youth group of Russia. Her short program configuration is of the same difficulty as He Hui's, and they both have the bonus of raising their hands for GOE.
But what makes Volkova special among many players is her excellent flexibility.
The Biellmann pose of an ordinary person is in the shape of a teardrop, which places great demands on the flexibility of the waist. Most male players are unable to complete this movement.
But Volkova is more than that, she can also do the candlestick Bierman. This action starts with the knife being lifted up, with the legs completely in a straight line, the head close to the legs, and the hands completely wrapped around the calves, like a candle.
"Hiss, it hurts just looking at it." He Hui is quite flexible, but she would never be able to challenge such a move.
After Volkova completed her performance, she received a high score of 61.05 from the judges, ranking among the 60 points as soon as she debuted.
This made He Hui's fans on the Internet express their envy.
"New ice fans ask: Why can't He Hui wear the 3A+3T set?"
"Because you can only do two types of triple jumps and repeat them twice, it's really not cost-effective to repeat + 3T when you need three consecutive jumps. If you can do quadruple jumps like men's singles, there will be more choices."
"I understand, I really hope the girl can go out for four weeks! I'm so tired of watching that video!"
If He Hui can really perform a quadruple move, she will undoubtedly become the most difficult female singles player currently on the court, and she may even have the difficulty reserves to compete with the men's singles player.
He Hui wanted to overcome this difficulty completely, but he always hesitated in front of the door.
She glanced at Volkova's score and confidently stepped to the center of the ice.
Coincidentally, Volkova's kilt today was a layered white one, while He Hui wore a black gauze dress.
He Hui began her performance with the classic melody of "Black Swan".
The two ice performances allowed her to have a deeper understanding of the program content. The ballet skills she had acquired since childhood in two lifetimes made her really like a black swan with its neck stretched out, showing herself proudly and confidently.
He Hui devoted herself to the performance. She completed three jumps in sequence: 3Lz+3Lo, 3F and 2A.
The whole process went smoothly. Tano's participation added a different kind of beauty to the program, and there was no stiffness in raising hands just for the sake of raising hands.
The Black Swan stopped dancing and He Hui bowed to the judges and the audience.
The sparse applause formed a sharp contrast with the enthusiasm of the ice performance.
"Good job!" Lin Xiaoman appeared in the kiss & cry area for the second time today and sat down to wait for her share with ease.
“Just nice?”
He Hui was indeed relaxed. The short program in the youth group was limited in difficulty and there was basically no difficulty for her.
Lin Xiaoman was helpless: "Perfect."
Miss He snorted, "Thank you."
If it was He Hui last year, it might be unknown whether her short program score would be higher than Volkova's.
But after sweeping all championships within a year of debut, He Hui's treatment is no longer the same. At least the program content score is absolutely impossible to drop unless there are major mistakes.
Otherwise, it would be a slap in the referee's own face.
"He Hui from China scored 62.87 points in the short program, ranking first."
The result was as expected.
"I declare that He Hui's title as the Great Devil is secure!"
"I feel like there is no suspense. Judging from the judges' goe and the program content scores, He Hui has finally made it!"
"Wow, I'm so moved that I cried. China actually has such a day!"
He Hui and Lin Xiaoman gave each other a tight hug.
"Keep going forward." Lin Xiaoman looked at He Hui with love and expectation in her eyes, "Go to a place where no one can catch up with you."
No one can catch up with me?
He Hui was stunned. This was a very lofty goal. But Lin Xiaoman's eyes were so sincere and trusting that He Hui couldn't help but believe that this was achievable.
Although there were few spectators at the Junior Grand Prix, CCTV reporters came all the way to report on the race.
The reporter stopped He Hui in the mixed interview area and asked, "The songs selected for both programs this season are about the theme of love. Do you find it difficult to perform?"
He Hui: “?”
What kind of weird question is this?
She thought about it and decided to correct the other person's idea first: "Black Swan is not completely black, although there is indeed a connection in the original Swan Lake, but I think my interpretation gives it more color."
"Have you done any preparation for tomorrow's free skating of 'Butterfly Lovers'?" the reporter asked, probably intending to ask about the theme of love.
He Hui raised her eyebrows: "I specifically studied classical dance, and I hope to spread Chinese culture to more audiences in the future."
With just one answer, the situation changes dramatically.
That night, netizens were confused by the questions asked by the CCTV reporter, but were also shocked by He Hui's answers.
"I don't know why you're asking a 15-year-old kid such a weird question..."
"By the way, have you noticed? He Hui has a program with Chinese music every season! And last season's exhibition skate!"
"Yes, yes! They really are taking action. I'm so touched."
*
Due to the well-known poor ice conditions in France, many people made mistakes in the short program. Kong Ziqiu successfully won the sixth place with a slight advantage of 0.3 points.
The two were in the last group together.
"Kong Ziqiu will be the second, He Hui the fifth, and Volkova the last." Lin Xiaoman looked at the order of appearances and said calmly, "Ziqiu, your difficulty level is actually not low. The main thing is not to put too much pressure on yourself."
"I feel very confident about you." She looked up at He Hui again.
The next second, Lin Xiaoman's eyes were filled with warnings, and she said in a long tone, "Just... don't give me your half-finished 4T at the last minute."
The reason why the Devil is the Devil is not only that she is invincible on the field, but also that she is a wild horse that the coaches cannot stop.
He Hui: “…”
"I'm not more than 50% sure about 4T, so I won't take any risks!" He Hui promised.
"That's not even close..." Lin Xiaoman tilted her head and stared at her again, "What do you mean less than 50%? How dare you mess around with me at 60%?"
"I dare not, I dare not." He Hui waved his hands quickly.
Lin Xiaoman turned around and said, "Zi Qiu, let's work hard to surpass your troublesome senior sister."
"Ah?" Kong Ziqiu pointed at herself, unable to believe that the fire had finally burned her body.
"You can do it!" Lin Xiaoman patted her shoulder solemnly.
The atmosphere among the three of them became lively, and Kong Ziqiu was not as nervous as before.
Kong Ziqiu's written configuration for free skating is not low. The three sets of consecutive jumps are 3Lz+3T, 2A+3T, 3S+2Lo+2Lo, and the repeated three weeks are 3Lz and 3T.
If it can be executed according to the plan and cleaned perfectly, it will be difficult for the current young women's singles figure skating group to compete for the podium.
Before going on stage, Kong Ziqiu placed his hand on his chest, feeling the strong beating of his heart.
It seems... not so stressful anymore.
She glanced at the camera and looked at He Hui in the backstage through the camera.
The music started, and the sound of skates sliding across the ice joined in, composing a concerto.
The opening 3Lz+3T survived the cycle, and the following three consecutive jumps 3S+2Lo+2Lo were no problem. The 3F single jump made great progress after Lin Xiaoman helped to change the edge, but 3Lo also got a less than sign immediately afterwards.
The second half was opened by the 2A+3T jump combo, and the clean landing was no problem. The rest was 3Lz and 2A, which were Kong Ziqiu's strengths, and there was no problem with that either.
Although Chinese ice fans thought the free skating was more of a collection of jumps than a performance, they still cheered for Kong Ziqiu's progress.
In the end, Kong Ziqiu scored 87.45 points and ranked second.
"It's your turn." Lin Xiaoman, who had just come off the field, patted He Hui's shoulder and said, "Give me a stable happiness, okay?"
He Hui smiled: "Definitely."
*
He Hui did not come on stage this time to try a quadruple jump, nor did she want to upgrade to a new level of difficulty, but she definitely could not be as "obedient" as she was in front of Lin Xiaoman.
What she wants to do is to break the world record in the women's youth singles category.
At present, the record of the adult women's singles is very difficult for He Hui to break in two or three seasons due to the content of the program. But it is different in the youth group. She has the powerful weapon of 3A, so it is possible to break the record of the youth group in free skating.
But this requires a very high-quality program. It is not just about skating smoothly, or simply showing off the double 3A, but a performance that tells a story and is remembered by everyone.
He Hui came on stage wearing the Costen designed by Luxing, and during the preparation time, he performed an Axel turn with an amazing delayed turn while suspended in the air.
Lin Xiaoman's right eyelid twitched inexplicably.
"There shouldn't be any problems this time, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar excerpt from "Butterfly Lovers" sounded in the venue.
He Hui's free skating performance began.
The classical dance training at least taught her some fancy moves, and her gestures indeed had more charm than before.
The first 3A landed on the beat, and He Hui raised one hand for the following 2T. The tenderness of "Butterfly Lovers" and He Hui's tano were perfectly matched.
Real-time display shows that the current technical score is 9.8+1.3.
The fact that the goe can be added to 1.3 means that most judges gave an excellent score of +2, which is very rare in the youth group. He Hui thought that this might be one of the reasons why he was selected for 3A.
Slightly different from the choreography of last season, He Hui did a bow and turn at the beginning.
Although it is not as stunning as Volkova's candlestick Bierman, it is very beautiful in terms of posture. In addition, the number of circles meets the requirements of level 4, and the overall rotation displacement is also very small. The goe of the rotation is still increased, although it is only increased to 0.6.
The main melody comes to an end, and the rhythm suddenly becomes faster, entering the allegro part full of joy.
He Hui did not hesitate at all, and after completing a Mohawk, she jumped 3A again neatly. She was very tight and maintained her posture in the air very well.
The most important thing is that her jump is incredibly high and far!
I don’t know if it was because of the muscle-building strength training he did for the four weeks that accidentally added to the effect of the 3A, but He Hui felt that this jump was particularly easy and he jumped very far.
3A=8.5+1.4 (goe)
The scores accumulated at an astonishing rate, and He Hui was really getting closer to his goal step by step - breaking the world record.
To the cheerful music, He Hui continued dancing without stopping, and her 3S that soared into the air earned her a 0.9 GEO score.
The last technical move in the first half is the change of feet combined rotation.
In order to fit the concept of transformation into butterflies in "Liang Zhu", the entry here is designed as a swallow style. He Hui's arms swing along, and the wide sleeves merge into flowing emotions in the wind.
Spin, change feet, and spin again. In this series, He Hui mainly chose squatting spins, performing the joy of allegro in the rapid rhythm.
The music changes from fast to slow, and the second half with a 1.1x score bonus begins.
First of all, He Hui performed the 3Lz+3T which was quite difficult for other players with ease. The bonus of two tanos increased the difficulty and artistry to the maximum.
3Lz+3T=11.11+0.9 (goe)
The goe of this move is still the top in the youth group.
Then comes the 3Lz single jump, neat and far-reaching, closing the accent of this slightly sad selection.
The triple jump 3F+2T+2Lo was as light as a butterfly touching the surface of the lake, leaving ripples.
He Hui made a swallow-like patrol as if he was looking for something, and the main melody sounded again at this moment.
3Lo is a preview of transformation into a butterfly. After three circles, He Hui turns into a butterfly and flies into the sky.
The seven jumps in the free skating came to an end here. Except for the 3A, He Hui performed each one with a difficult step plus tano.
Do your best and leave the rest to fate.
He Hui started a series of fast and varied straight-line steps with blades. It was clearly the slow and melancholy rhythm of the violin, but He Hui chose to speed up all the way in a rather contrasting way, as if to vent all the emotions in his heart.
He Hui's hand movements were specially selected and practiced to match the theme. With the help of her classical dance teacher, she used a more Chinese body language to express her fate of turning into a butterfly.
In the end, it’s still the Yan style.
This series of jumps and swallow-like spins seemed like the final dance of a butterfly, somewhat tragic yet extremely gorgeous.
He Hui chose to start with the posture of looking up at the swallow. Her arms turned into flying butterflies, expressing herself softly and delicately.
The speed of rotation did not slow down until the end when the body was exhausted. On the contrary, He Hui continued to inject energy into herself, circle after circle, blooming until the moment when the music stopped.
She knelt on one knee with her other leg extended and her arms stretched high in front of her body.
A butterfly on ice was frozen on the field.
The blood rushed to the head after the crazy jumping and spinning, and the heart worked harder and harder.
He Hui hadn't experienced such a state of selflessness for a long time. She remained kneeling on one knee for nearly ten seconds before slowly standing up.
Because his knees had been in contact with the cold and hard ice for too long, He Hui staggered when he stood up and almost fell to the ground.
There were bursts of laughter coming from the audience, and He Hui touched the back of his head embarrassedly.
"We had so much fun skating." After finishing the skate, Lin Xiaoman touched He Hui's head helplessly.
"Hehe." He Hui stuck out her tongue and, as usual, took a tissue to wipe her nose.
The two of them sat there kissing and crying in equal parts, with time ticking away.
Perhaps because he had performed an extremely perfect show, He Hui was even more looking forward to the score.
He Hui looked at Lin Xiaoman with sparkling eyes and asked, "Do you think I can break the youth world record?"
Lin Xiaoman, who was originally smiling, curled her lips: "So this is your plan for this game?"
He Hui blinked and did not deny it, but her attention was all on the big black screen that would determine whether she would succeed or not this time.
Lin Xiaoman: "I think it's okay."
This time, the two did not have to wait too long for the scores. As the host announced, the scores came out.
At just one glance, He Hui's eyes suddenly lit up.
——Technical score: 78.38 points, program content score: 55.18 points, total score: 133.56 points.
133.56 points?! Before this, the world record for the women's singles youth group was 128.80 points. He Hui not only broke the record, but also broke it by a huge margin.
You should know that this 128.80 points was the record that the queen set five years ago when she was in the youth group.
For five whole years, the record that no one could break was broken.
Did it?!
Did I really break the world record for the youth category? ! !
For some reason, He Hui felt a sore nose and tears filled her eyes.
The world is blurry.
This was the first time that He Hui experienced so personally why the position she was in was called kiss and cry.
This place witnessed all the tears and miracles of figure skaters.
"What did I see? The BV of this program is 67.37, but the GEO has increased by 10 points! Do you know what the GEO is worth?!"
"Break the world record in the youth category!! Oh my god, this girl is really a star from the sky, right?!"
"It's not easy to get this score even in the adult category, not to mention that He Hui's current P score is basically only 6.5 to 7 points. If I can continue to show my face in the adult category, can I dream of winning a championship in Sochi?"
Lin Xiaoman looked at He Hui, who was covering her face and secretly shedding tears, and rubbed her head again.
He Hui put down her hands, revealing a pair of big red eyes sparkling with tears. The sequins of her eyeshadow were stained on her cheeks, but she was completely unaware.
Lin Xiaoman's heart trembled, and she gave He Hui a hug and whispered in his ear: "Congratulations."
He Hui buried his head in Lin Xiaoman's shoulder, feeling the warmth coming from her body.
The hug lasted for a long time, so long that He Hui's tears were almost wiped dry on Lin Xiaoman's clothes.
"Let's go." Lin Xiaoman patted He Hui on the back.
He Hui let go of the hug, waved to the camera, with the redness still evident in her eyes.
As soon as the two returned to the backstage, Kong Ziqiu sent his blessing with a smile on his face: "Congratulations!"
Kong Ziqiu finished fifth in the total score this time, which is a good result for her debut in a large-scale international competition.
"Congratulations to you too!" He Hui sniffed, looked into Kong Ziqiu's eyes, and also curved his eyebrows.
Lin Xiaoman took out the Chinese flag she had prepared and handed it to He Hui: "Take it when the awards are presented later."
"Okay." He Hui accepted it.
Diana Volkova was the last to play. Volkova, who watched He Hui break the youth world record from the sidelines, was a little absent-minded.
"Cheer up." Volkova's coach patted her on the back, "Don't be influenced by others, skate your own program well."
Volkova nodded, took a deep breath, and raised the corners of her mouth high.
Even though she was told not to worry about it many times, Volkova's mentality inevitably fluctuated. She landed unsteadily on the ice in the first jump of the 3Lz+3T combo at the beginning, and she was afraid of falling and making mistakes, so she only did a 2T combo.
A trace of regret flashed across Volkova's face, but she concentrated all her energy and continued her free skating performance.
......
"115.95 points, not bad. The program got the highest score for content right after it came on." Lin Xiaoman's tone was slightly envious, "That's great."
"Envy?" He Hui looked at Lin Xiaoman with amusement.
"Yes, after all, some people promised to give me stable happiness, but in the end they just kept on breaking records."
There was no trace of tears in He Hui's eyes long ago, and she looked like a young lady again.
She supported her head with her hands, a trace of panic flashed across her eyes, and then was replaced by a sly smile.
"Just tell me, did I win the championship?" He Hui asked back.
Lin Xiaoman couldn't deny: "Yes."
"Isn't that stable happiness?! Don't you think that's enough?"
Lin Xiaoman: “…”
Miss He's defense is impeccable and sounds really reasonable!
*
The awards ceremony began shortly after the competition.
The national flag was quite light, but when He Hui slid onto the field again with it, it felt heavy.
Although she didn't win the championship, Volkova also brought a flag to salute. The third place winner of this station was from the United States and also brought a national flag.
He Hui unfolded the flag, walked on the ice, and let the wind blow it up.
A flag carries the honor of an entire country and gives athletes invisible power.
The gold medal was hung around the neck and the five-star red flag was flying in the stadium.
Volkova stood on the runner-up podium and looked up at He Hui, her eyes full of ambition.
And He Hui has become the most shining devil in the women's singles figure skating world.
After winning the JGP France Championship, she continued her winning streak from last season and headed towards the next championship with full confidence.
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