Wu looking to do well over long distances
Print Edition
Wu Dajing, the men鈥檚 500-meter short-track speed skating Olympic champion and world record holder, has called 2018 an 鈥渦nforgettable鈥 year, saying that his paramount objective in 2019 is to challenge his limits in longer distance competitions.
鈥淭he year 2018 has been unforgettable for me. My Olympic dream finally came true,鈥 said Wu, who won the men鈥檚 500 meters at Pyeongchang 2018, breaking world records twice in one day to seal his first Olympic gold medal, also the first-ever title for Chinese men鈥檚 ice sports at the Winter Games.
Although leading wire to wire in all three contests en route to the final on February 22 and being praised as 鈥渦ntouchable鈥, Wu said the exciting triumph was by no means easy.
China, the next host of the Winter Olympics, faced an embarrassing 13-day gold drought after the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Wu, the most likely Chinese skater to win a gold, was disqualified from the men鈥檚 1,000 semifinals because of a penalty.
鈥淚 was under tremendous pressure because of my failure in the men鈥檚 1,000 meters. I felt so good before (the penalty) that day,鈥 the 24-year-old recalled. 鈥淭he 500 was my last chance.
鈥淚 could find no way to release the stress. I just told myself, 鈥榠f I had to do something, I must be the best鈥.鈥
The victory at Pyeongchang was not the end of Wu鈥檚 glorious 2018. In November, he refreshed his own world record in 39.505 seconds at the ISU short-track Word Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah. 鈥淚n terms of my fitness after the Olympics, the record was beyond my expectations,鈥 Wu said with a grin. 鈥淚 competed with all my strength and finished on the podium.鈥
Flash in the pan
鈥淢y teammates asked me why I tried so hard in the restoration stage,鈥 the Heilongjiang Province skater said. 鈥淚 want to tell everyone that my career is not a flash in the pan. I have new chapters to unfold.鈥
From the chaser behind Russia鈥檚 Victor An in Sochi 2014 to the 鈥淪peed King鈥 of skating in 2018, Wu has greater responsibilities to shoulder in the new year after he was unanimously voted as the new captain of the Chinese short-track speed skating national team last September.
鈥淐hina announced a concrete measure to encourage 300 million people in the country to participate in winter sports. That鈥檚 one my duties as an ice skater. I would like to participate in social activities to popularize ice and snow sports in China,鈥 he revealed.
Moreover, Wu鈥檚 vision extends to a more distant future. 鈥淓verything we are going to do in the year 2019 is for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, in three years the results will be even greater (than the results of 2018). My next dream is to win golds at home.
鈥淚 want to make breakthroughs not only in 500 meters, but also in 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 relay and 2,000 mixed relay. I expect to challenge my limits in longer distance competitions, in every event that I participate. That鈥檚 my paramount goal in the new year.鈥
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