SHINE NEWS
Yang Kangqi
February 17, 2022
The Olympic arena is never short of victories and record-breaking miracles. People cheer for the medalists, but not many see, or care about, the athletes who don't make the podium.
The stories of those less lucky or less advantaged players are often ignored, drowned in the applause for the winners.
Figure skating is a program that few other sports can equal at the Winter Games in that every skater gets to perform their own programs, fully grasping the chance not only for their skills to be scored and ranked, but also for their stories to be heard, their cultures to be appreciated.
Thanks to the several minutes they spend on ice performing their routine, viewers get to catch a glimpse of how each of these athletes – medalist or not – share their dreams and aspirations in life.
Jin Boyang, the only Chinese athlete to compete in the men's figure skating singles at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, completed his routine with a signature combination of jumps long absent in his recent competitions, despite the doubts and pressure he confronted. He ranked 9th, but eventually won the battle against himself.
Jin Boyang, the only Chinese athlete to compete in the men's figure skating singles at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games
Donovan Carrillo, the first Mexican figure skater at the Winter Games in about three decades, could only train in a local shopping mall, on a small rink far below Olympic standards. Finally finishing in 22nd place, he still managed to inspire the audience with his affectionate performance and his story of miracles.
This list can go on infinitely.
Yuzuru Hanyu, the legendary Japanese skater who chose the unprecedentedly dangerous quad Axel over a third Olympic gold, which ended in failure; Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, the Russian skater who fearlessly challenged her age barrier, but was forced to stop when she was only one step from the Olympics.
The arena is never short of tears, regrets and frustration. Fortunately, in events like figure skating, we see the stories off the podium, stories of the other athletes, those who aren't as lucky or talented or at an advantage, but still wage their battle with unyielding perseverance. They fight against all odds, push the barriers of age, gender and conditions, and struggle against adversity and desperation to write a legend of their own.
Hence, their presence becomes more than just a name on the rankings, but a potentially epic experience, a manifestation of normal people chasing the Olympic dream, an inspiration to fellow human beings, to walk out of the dark abyss of life, and advance toward hope, dreams, and a shared bright future.
(The author is a student from the School of Basic Medical Sciences at Fudan University.)
