A total of 70 medals, including 26 gold -
third in the medal table - has consummated a fortnight of entertainment and
excitement for Chinese spectators of the Olympics.
As its leader Liu Peng put it, Team China
"basically" fulfilled what had been anticipated for Rio 2016.
Yet this otherwise handsome harvest will be
of no consolation to those for whom gold appeared almost a foregone conclusion.
Rio 2016 was a downer for at least half of
Team China's six "dream squads". The gymnastics and shooting squads,
in particular, both registered their worst performances since 1984.
But while the nation's sports authorities
are obliged to do the return-on-investment accounting and subsequent
preparations for Tokyo 2020, it is well to remember the Olympics is not all
about medals.
Rio 2016 provided some marvelous winning
stories, be it Usain Bolt fulfilling his career “triple triple”, Michael Phelps
snatching his 23rd gold, or our women's volleyball players stumbling all their
way to again stand on top of the world, after 12 long years.
However, it showed that sports is not just
about winning. While it is enthralling to see strong rivals competing against
each other to see who will come out on top, it is also inspiring to watch
athletes push themselves beyond what they thought were the limits of their
abilities to achieve something they didn't know they were capable of. Indeed,
many Chinese athletes recorded personal bests.
Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui's unexpected rise
to stardom, for instance, had little, if anything, to do with that bronze medal
she earned. The 20-year-old became the nation's sweetheart simply because she
displayed such pure enjoyment on learning that she had achieved a new personal
record.
In Rio, it was not only the gold, silver
and bronze, that shone.
The International Olympic Committee and the
Rio organizers deserve a special medal for incorporating a team of refugees
into the world's most watched sporting event.
Together they gave the Olympics a whole new
dimension - a dimension of compassion.
“Rio 2016 showed that while Chinese
spectators feel proud when the five-star flag is raised to the national anthem,
they also enjoy such occasions for the sports themselves. Netizens lauded home
winners at the games and also had encouraging words for those who kept pushing
their personal limits but failed to get a medal.” Steven said, “The spirit of
Olympic goes far beyond sports. It is an active way of living, a demonstration
of self-confidence and a presentation of courage. For my company, we must keep
dreaming. We must believe that we can be the biggest oxyhydrogen generator
industry in the world and we must insist that we create products for
contributing to human environmental protection.”
没有评论:
发表评论