From being exposed to skiing over two years old to stepping on the stage of the Winter Youth Olympic Games at the age of 16, Chinese teenager Yi Xiaoxiao galloped along the skiing Road.
Xinhua News Agency, Lausanne, Switzerland, January 13 (reporter Lin deleng, Du Yang, Luo Xin) from being in contact with skiing over two years old to stepping on the stage of the Youth Winter Olympic Games at the age of 16, chinese teenager Yi Xiaoxiao was speeding along the skiing Road.
At the Holly Olympics in 2020, he represented China in alpine skiing. Although there is still a certain gap between him and the world’s top level, he has always determined his dream-to board the Stadium of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
For Yi Xiaoxiao, this Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games is a “home battle” to some extent “. In order to better balance study and training, Yi Xiaoxiao started to study in Switzerland more than two years ago and is currently studying in a middle school near St. Moritz, Switzerland, this school is only 5 minutes walking distance from the nearest ski resort. At present, his grade is equivalent to that of senior one in China. The academic pressure is not small. Between training and study, he is also trying hard to find a balance. “Generally, we will train five times a week, go to school on Monday and Friday, go to school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the morning and train in the afternoon, and then train on Saturday and Sunday. This is the general winter arrangement, then in summer, I will also go to Bingchuan for training.” Yi Xiaoxiao said.
Because my mother is a ski lover, Yi Xiaoxiao began to contact skiing before the age of three. “I heard from my family that I didn’t slip for the first time. I fell asleep on the cable car and was held down by the coach. But I came to the ski resort again a week later, from three to five years old, I began to challenge some snow trails. Then when I was six or seven years old, my mother began to take me around the world and ski in other countries.”
Nanshan Ski Resort in Beijing is the place where Yi Xiaoxiao started his skiing career. Because of his wonderful performance in Nanshan Ski Resort, he also got the nickname “Nanshan little civet cat. If it grows bigger, Yi Xiaoxiao began to participate in various competitions and began to challenge alpine skiing.
In March 2018, Yi Xiaoxiao won the championship in the National Youth Competition and was successfully selected into the National Alpine skiing training team. Since 2019, Yi Xiaoxiao has continuously accumulated FIS points of the International Snow Federation and finally successfully stepped onto the stage of the Youth Winter Olympic Games.
Along the way, the skiing road of Yi Xiaoxiao seems to be smooth. However, like all teenagers, he had been confused about his dream. “For a while the year before last, my mood almost fell to the bottom. Just changed from a lover to an athlete, suddenly facing the full schedule, he gradually lost the fun of skiing. At that time, they would steal snacks, drink cola, complain and lose their temper.”
Yi Xiaoxiao, who was in a low mood, quarreled with the coach once. Then he told the coach frankly about his state and said that he seemed to have lost his interest in skiing. The coach told him that this sport still needs you to love it. If you don’t love it, give up as early as possible.
“The coach didn’t kick me away, but discussed with my parents to let me take a week to have a good rest, travel and ski in other countries. Then I went to Japan and experienced the joy of skiing in my longevity. At that time, I felt that skiing was already an essential part for me. I can’t abandon skiing. Even if I don’t be an athlete in the future, I will go skiing as soon as I have time.” Yi Xiaoxiao said.
The Young Yi Xiaoxiao has a clear understanding of his own positioning. He said that he did not have high-intensity training since he was young, so the gap with top foreign players still needs to be gradually made up. However, Alpine skiers usually mature after the age of 25, so he still has a lot of time to improve.
For now, it is his biggest dream to stand on the 2022 Winter Olympics.
“When I was very young, I had the idea of being an Olympic champion. Of course, I was naive and arrogant at that time, but when I grew up gradually, the clearer the goal of participating in the Winter Olympics was, now my goal is to try my best to win a quota for the Winter Olympics.” Yi Xiaoxiao said.