God of Sprint

Chapter 662: Gathering at the Great Hall of the People before the Battle

The Olympic Committee of China also announced the competition schedule for the athletes of the Olympic Games early on.

At 2016:7 pm on July 18, , the Chinese sports delegation to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was established in the Great Hall of the People. Gou Jianguo, Director of the General Administration of Sports, and Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee attended the pre-departure pep rally.

The total number of Chinese sports delegations this time is 711, including 416 athletes, which is the largest delegation size of my country's overseas delegation, second only to the Beijing Olympic Games. This Olympic Games has a total of 28 major events and 306 minor events. The Chinese delegation will participate in the remaining 26 major events, excluding rugby and handball, with a total of 210 minor events.

This time, the flower growers in the Olympics are led by 35 Olympic champions.

The Rio Olympics is my country's ninth participation in the Summer Olympics since 1984. Among the 416 athletes, there are 12 Olympic champions from 35 events. Among them, three veterans, Du Li, Zhu Qinan and Wu Minxia, ​​had reached the peak of the Olympics as early as 3. He Wenna, Long Qingquan and other Beijing Olympic champions are looking forward to a comeback, while Sun Yang, Zhang Jike and Li Xiaoxia will defend their titles for the first time.

It is worth mentioning that if Wu Minxia wins another gold medal in this competition, she will tie Zou Kai's Olympic gold medal count with 5 gold medals, becoming the "first person" in Chinese Olympic history. If the famous swimmer Sun Yang can win gold medals in all three events he signed up for, he may also make history.

Like Du Li, Zhu Qinan and Wu Minxia, ​​Chen Ying, Lin Dan and Yi Jianlian will also be taking part in the Olympic Games for the fourth time. They are the athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games the most times in the delegation. Among the 416 athletes, 113 have participated in the Olympic Games before, including 108 who participated in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The average age of the athletes in this delegation is 24 years old. The youngest is 14-year-old Wuhan girl Ai Yanhan, who will compete in the women's 200m freestyle and is also a key reserve talent for the Chinese swimming team in preparation for the 2020 Olympics. The oldest athlete is veteran shooting team member Chen Ying, a 39-year-old "mom shooter" who will appear in the women's 25m sports pistol competition. Chen Ying said that her goal is to "raise the five-star red flag in the Olympic arena."

The Chinese delegation also includes 259 people including coaches, team leaders, and medical staff. Among the coaches, there are 29 foreign coaches, covering 17 events including track and field, swimming, and women's football.

At the London Olympics, the Chinese delegation followed the US delegation with 38 gold medals and 88 medals, ranking second in both the gold medal and medal tables.

At the Rio Olympics, table tennis, weightlifting, diving and other events are still the main force for the Chinese delegation to win gold medals. Badminton, judo, shooting, gymnastics, fencing, taekwondo, track and field, swimming and other events also have gold medal opportunities. Cycling and still water canoeing are eager to achieve breakthroughs.

It is worth mentioning that China has a total of 6 teams in team ball sports that have qualified for the Rio Olympics. The words of Lang Ping, head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team, expressed the collective voice of all teams, "Carry forward the spirit of the old women's volleyball team and win glory for the country in the Olympic arena."

Ning Zetao and Wei Qiuyue also chose to "keep the appointment" in the end

As the list of athletes for the Chinese delegation to the Rio Olympics was released, some of the "suspense" that everyone was concerned about was also revealed. Ning Zetao, the most popular swimmer on the Chinese swimming team, was on the Olympic list.

Ning Zetao, wearing a uniform red sportswear, became the "background wall for group photos" as soon as he appeared at the Chinese delegation's inaugural meeting. Whether he was a known athlete or not, he came forward to ask for a group photo, and "Baozi" smiled and satisfied them one by one. In the past half month, there have been rumors that "Ning Zetao may miss the Olympics due to illegal endorsements." There are also reports that the actual obstacle to his "appointment" is that he was banned for taking banned drugs by mistake, and the Chinese swimming team has been avoiding this matter. Yesterday, Ning Zetao appeared at the delegation's inaugural meeting, finally blowing away the mystery.

In this Olympics, Ning Zetao will strive for gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle events. He said that he is very honored and proud to be a member of the Chinese delegation. When talking about his competition goals, he said that he is in good shape and is preparing for the sprint stage. He will do his best to fight.

Wei Qiuyue, the second setter of the Chinese women's volleyball team, who had been plagued by injuries, also won the "3-choose-2" competition and will embark on her third Olympic journey. Liu Hong, the world champion of women's race walking and the holder of the world's best time this season, also appeared on the Olympic list amid suspicion. Earlier, some media reported that Liu Hong would miss Rio because she was found to have used banned drugs.

Some are happy while others are sad. For athletes who have also fought hard for four years but failed to make the Olympic team, they inevitably felt disappointed yesterday. After weightlifting star Liao Hui failed to make the team, he announced his retirement on Weibo yesterday, "Maybe the ending should not have ended this way, but I have made the effort and have no regrets."

In the Olympic list released by the Chinese weightlifting team yesterday, the athlete competing in the 69kg class was not the Olympic trials champion Liao Hui, but the runner-up Shi Zhiyong. As the champion of this class at the Beijing Olympics, Liao Hui missed the London Olympics due to taking stimulants by mistake. However, he did not become depressed because of this. Instead, he regained his strength in the new cycle, won the championship in domestic and international competitions several times, and repeatedly broke three world records in this class. However, according to Yu Jie, the head coach of the Chinese men's weightlifting team, Liao Hui accidentally injured his knee during training last month and had to miss the Olympics again.

"I have been through a lot over the years...but what keeps me going is my love for weightlifting, my desire for victory, and my goal of returning to the Olympics." Liao Hui said he will work hard to do better in other areas.

In addition, Zeng Chunlei, the captain and main setter of the Chinese women's volleyball team when they won the World Cup last year, did not appear in the 12-man roster. Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei, the "Grand Slam" winners of women's doubles badminton and the defending Olympic champions, were eventually replaced by Luo Ying/Luo Yu, who fell behind in the Olympic points.

This year, what the leaders value most is not the national sport, table tennis, nor the diving team led by our Dream Team, but the sprint events.

This event finally gave the yellow race a chance to break the monopoly of blacks and whites, and the leaders attached great importance to it. Gou Jianguo and the chairman of the Olympic Committee praised Zhao Yun and Su Bingtian for their past achievements on the stage, and asked them to strive to win a sprint gold medal for the yellow race in this competition.

Zhao Yun and his friends were a little flattered when their leader singled them out for praise, and they straightened their backs.

Finally, the leaders encouraged all the athletes and emphasized the importance of unity and hard work. They said that no matter what the result is, as long as everyone goes all out and shows the elegance of Chinese athletes, it will be the best contribution to the country.

There was thunderous applause.

After the meeting, Zhao Yun, Su Bingtian and other sprinters were surrounded by reporters. They expressed their gratitude to the leaders and said that they would go all out to achieve good results in the competition. Zhao Yun said excitedly: "We will definitely work hard to win glory for the yellow race and for the country!"