The news that Jiang Aiguo wanted to switch to the 62kg class quickly spread throughout the weightlifting team. It is easy to upgrade in weightlifting and difficult to downgrade. Jiang Aiguo has been in the 69kg class for nearly fourteen years, and suddenly he said he wanted to move to the 62kg class. , indeed surprised many people.
Except for Li Dai, no one is optimistic about Jiang Aiguo's decision. After all, Jiang Aiguo is already 32 years old. At this young age, domestic athletes' bodies have begun to decline, and they are basically entering the countdown to retirement.
In the cafeteria, Huang Xiang's big mouth started talking nonstop again.
"I said Lao Jiang is really hard-working. In order to stay in the team, he had to transfer to the 62kg category. You must know that he is already in his thirties. Most athletes should retire when they reach his age. ." Huang Xiang said.
"Isn't Lao Jiang going to wait until 15 years and receive more retirement compensation? I heard that his daughter will have a second operation soon." Coach Liu Tao next to him said.
"But I think it will be difficult for Lao Jiang to stay in the team even if he moves to the 62kg category. There are only two weeks left before the National Weightlifting Championships, and there is not much time left for Lao Jiang. I couldn't pass the weighing test.
…
Weightlifting competitions are divided according to weight classes. Even if it exceeds 0.01 kg, you are not allowed to participate in this level of competition, so weighing before the competition is necessary.
On the eve of a weightlifting competition, athletes weigh in for up to two hours. The pre-weighing room opens an hour before and athletes begin preparing for the weigh-in. The official weighing room will open in one hour. During this hour, athletes can weigh themselves as many times as they want. If they feel too heavy after weighing once, they can go to the toilet to settle it, or do some strenuous exercise, and then weigh themselves again. once until the athlete is satisfied with the weigh-in results.
In the rules of weightlifting competitions, if two athletes lift the same weight, whoever weighs less will win, so weightlifters will do everything possible to reduce their weight. At the Olympic Games in the 1980s, a famous weightlifter lost his Olympic gold medal because he drank a glass of milk for lunch and was 0.05 kilograms heavier than his opponent. .
Generally, athletes begin to restrict their diet several days before the competition, eating only some vegetables and strictly controlling carbohydrate intake; 48 hours before the start of the competition, athletes begin to limit water intake, and some even stop drinking. When weighing, you will often be in a slightly dehydrated state.
In addition, athletes will also take a sauna before the game. High-heavyweight athletes can lose four to five pounds by taking a sauna for half an hour. If you really don't have the conditions for a sauna, you can wrap yourself in cotton-padded clothes and quilts and sweat all over to lose weight. This process can be described as torturous.
There are also more extreme methods, such as cutting hair, shaving, removing body hair, exfoliating dead skin, and even cutting nails as long as it can reduce weight.
During the weigh-in, in order to weigh less, the athletes must be naked, not even wearing underwear, and go directly onto the scale with their bare buttocks. Domestic competitions often take care of the gender of the athletes, allowing male referees to be responsible for weighing male athletes, and female referees being responsible for weighing female athletes. But in many international competitions, foreigners don't pay attention to these. There are often five or six referees, both men and women, appearing together. At this time, it will be more embarrassing for athletes to weigh in with their bare buttocks.
It often happens that athletes fail to pass the pre-match weigh-in. There was once an athlete from West Asia who could not reach the standard during the pre-match weigh-in at the Asian Games and had to abstain in the end. In national-level competitions, there are also many people who abstain due to weighing issues.
…
Two weeks have passed quickly, and the Qingcheng Station of the National Weightlifting Championships has also entered the competition day.
As the second lightest weight for men, the 62kg category has a relatively early competition schedule, so Jiang Aiguo came to the competition site early in the morning to prepare.
"Athletes participating in the men's 62kg competition, please prepare to be weighed before the competition." A gentle female voice sounded from the speaker on the wall.
The athletes who were about to compete stood up and walked towards the pre-weighing room.
"Brother Jiang, let's go get ready too!" Li Dai said.
"Okay." Jiang Aiguo looked solemn, stood up and walked towards the pre-weighing room.
At this moment, someone not far away called Jiang Aiguo's name.
"Jiang Aiguo!"
Li Dai immediately turned around and found that the person shouting was the coach of another team, and his appearance actually seemed familiar to Li Dai.
"This man looks very familiar to me. I must have seen him before. Where is he from?" Li Dai was thinking about it, but Jiang Aiguo next to him said the other person's name.
"Shi Gang! Why are you here?" Jiang Aiguo said and slapped his head: "Look at my memory, you are now the head coach of the Jianglin Provincial Weightlifting Team!"
Li Dai next to him suddenly understood when he heard the name "Shi Gang".
"Shi Gang, it turns out that he is the Olympic champion Shi Gang back then. I said he looks so familiar, but he is much fatter than he was then. No wonder I didn't recognize him at first glance. He has retired as a coach now!" At this time, Li Dai suddenly remembered the "gratitude and hatred" between Shi Gang and Jiang Aiguo.
That year, Jiang Aiguo defeated Shi Gang in the competition and qualified for the Olympics. However, he was unable to go due to injuries. In the end, Shi Gang replaced Jiang Aiguo, participated in the Olympics, and won the gold medal. From then on, the fate of the two people changed dramatically. Jiang Aiguo never achieved outstanding results again. He gradually disappeared and was forgotten by people. In the end, he could hardly stay on the provincial weightlifting team.
Shi Gang also did not achieve better results, but with the halo of Olympic champion, he received countless praises and admiration. The country and the government gave him a lot of bonuses, and the income from advertising endorsements also allowed him to live comfortably, even though After retiring, as a former Olympic champion, he undoubtedly became a popular weightlifting coach, and now he is the head coach of a provincial weightlifting team.
"Destiny really likes to play tricks on people!" Dai Li sighed silently in his heart.
At this time, Shi Gang had already walked closer and said, "Aiguo, I haven't seen you for a year. You look much better than last year! Come on, I have nothing to do now, let's go over there and sit."
"Shi Gang, when the game is over, I will go and talk to you slowly. Now I have to hurry up and prepare for the game." Jiang Aiguo said.
"Competition?" Shi Gang was stunned: "Jiang Aiguo, are you confused? We are now preparing for the 62kg category. According to the schedule, it will be your turn to play in the afternoon."
"I am participating in the 62kg category." Jiang Aiguo said.
"What? You moved to 62kg? When did it happen? When I came here last year, you were still in the 69kg class?" Shi Gang looked surprised.
"I just transferred it two months ago." Jiang Aiguo said.
"Two months? Jiang Aiguo, are you crazy! You are this age..." Shi Gang suddenly stopped talking, and he remembered the special situation of Jiang Aiguo's daughter.
Shi Gang took a deep breath: "Patriot, after all, we have been friends for more than ten years. If you encounter any trouble at home, just tell me. Although I am not a rich man, I can help you to some extent. .”
"Thank you, Lao Shi! Your words are enough." Jiang Aiguo nodded at Shi Gang, then turned and walked towards the pre-weighing room.
Shi Gang opened his mouth, but did not speak, because he knew that if he continued to speak, it would probably hurt Jiang Aiguo's self-esteem.
Jiang Aiguo walked into the pre-weighing room and looked at the athletes around him who were much younger than him, with a look of determination in his eyes.
He is not a successful athlete, nor does he have the ability to make a lot of money. His family has a heavy burden. He has a daughter who needs money for surgery, but he does not need other pity and sympathy, let alone others' charity. He always I firmly believe that with my own hands and efforts, I will be able to take care of the whole family and make my family live a better life!