Zhan Xugang

------Two-time weightlifting champ goes for gold cctv.com 07-22-2004 14:26

Zhan Xugang clinched two Olympic weightlifting golds in Atlanta and Sydney, making history in China. Amid so much fanfare, he was at first thinking of retirement. But surprisingly, he chose to restart training a year ago. His form is returning, and his confidence of winning at the coming Games is increasing. In this paper, we meet the veteran weightlifter to see how he is defining the idea of "Nothing is Impossible".

In a gym with no air-conditioning, Zhan Xugang, China's double Olympic gold medallist in weightlifting, has been doing routine training for more than a year. For his third and last appearance in the world's biggest sporting event, he has defied other people's suggestions to retire and has been braving the stifling heat, his age, as well as his decreasing physical strength.

Back in 1996, the then-22-year-old won his first Olympic gold medal in Atlanta with little rivalry and broke 3 world records. 4 Years later in Sydney, however, the road to victory became rough, and he lagged behind his arch-rival by 7.5 kilos. In the last attempt, Zhan had no choice but to close that gap.

Eventually he made it, and became China's first weightlifter to successfully defend the Olympic gold in the event.

After the Sydney Games, Zhan Xugang took a 2-year-long rest and it was not until early 2003 that he resumed training. He paid the price for his delay at the Vancouver World Championship late that year by making only one attempt out of six and winning no titles. He knew he had let his coaches and fans down.

He was barely injured during his more than 2 decades-long sporting career, but a severe ankle injury since early last year has been bringing him much trouble, and partially resulted in his poor performance. But he says he should be the one to blame, because it was his inconsistency that led to the injury and all those setbacks. He says failure is natural to every athlete, and a top athlete is always able to regain confidence amid depression and skepticism.

Zhan Xugang said,"Everyone is afraid of failure. It is human nature. As a two-time Olympic champion, I hope I can succeed this time. I have high expectations on myself. But no Olympic medal is tailor-made for any athlete, and you have to bear in mind that failure may find you at any moment."

Months of painstaking training have turned Zhan Xugang more muscular, and he seems to have retained his form from the 2 previous Olympics. Although he has often had to face others' doubt over how far he can go in Athens, he is trying to maintain a balanced mind, for he knows that "participation is victory" is the spirit of the Olympics.

Zhan Xugang concluded, "Many people ask me why I resume training. It's because I feel I can still improve. I believe I have made a right decision. If I stay at home, I will certainly feel regret on seeing all my improvement come to nothing. I may not do a good job in Athens, but my choice is right, for I have hope."

Editor:Wang  Source:CCTV.com