Looking forward to this late gold medal - an exclusive interview with weightlifting Olympic champion Lv Xiaojun

  Original title: Looking forward to this late gold medal - an exclusive interview with weightlifting Olympic champion Lv Xiaojun

  The Chinese track and field men's 4X100m relay team won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics two days ago due to the opponent's violation of anti-doping regulations.

When Lu Xiaojun, who was on vacation at his home in Tianjin, heard the news, he comforted his relatives and friends who asked kindly with "good luck", while secretly getting angry.

He thought: "When will the gold medal in the Rio Olympics be given to me?"

  Always remember, there will be reverberations.

The anxious waiting of the "God of War" actually responded two days later.

The International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued an announcement on its official website that due to Kazakh weightlifter Rahimov’s violation of relevant anti-doping regulations, all his competition results from March 15, 2016 to January 18, 2021 were cancelled. And took back all of his medals, including a gold medal in the men's 77kg weightlifting category at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

This means that Lu Xiaojun, the runner-up that year, is expected to be replaced with a gold medal, thus achieving the feat of three consecutive Olympic championships.

  Just finished the online class with his daughter, Lv Xiaojun said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency on the 23rd that although the gold medal has not yet been obtained, everything is going according to plan, which makes him extremely gratified.

He said: "I am very happy now. This gold medal and the 'three consecutive championships' are rewards for me, an old athlete who has dedicated his life to weightlifting. I am looking forward to this gold medal."

  37-year-old Lv Xiaojun still remembers the press conference after the Rio Olympics, he said: "I praised Rahimov for winning gold at the press conference, but I said that I would compete with him again at the Tokyo Olympics. Fan. I'm not reconciled to losing."

  Lv Xiaojun said that he would like to thank the experience of the Rio Olympics. This experience made him devote himself to the preparations for the Tokyo Olympics without hesitation. Even if the epidemic caused the postponement of the Olympics, he did not waver or retreat in the face of various difficulties.

"It's this incident that made me firm," he said. "I must hold on to another Olympics."

  At the Tokyo Olympics, Lu Xiaojun won his second Olympic gold medal by defeating a group of rookies, and Rahimov had been suspended due to doping problems at that time.

After the game, Lv Xiaojun once appealed, hoping that the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Olympic Committee can consider the mood of an old athlete and let him win the late gold medal earlier.

  In the past six months, Lu Xiaojun has been accompanying his family and is on vacation, but he has not stayed away from weightlifting.

He said: "Although I have been resting during this period, I have never forgotten the weightlifting family. I have been involved with the weightlifting bar in my life. I have never considered retiring. I hope to return to the national team as an assistant coach and teach while teaching. Practice and give the little players a good head."

  Regarding the 2024 Paris Olympics, Lv Xiaojun did not make promises lightly. He said: "I have confidence in the Paris Olympics, but I know it will be a very difficult and difficult preparation process." The announcement has changed his original plans, and maybe four consecutive Olympic titles will become his new goal.

  "Until everything becomes clear, I don't want to promise anything lightly. But what is certain is that I am now eagerly looking forward to returning to the national team." Lu Xiaojun said.

  The Chinese weightlifting team is also waiting for the return of Lu Xiaojun.

If the gold medals of the Rio Olympics are supplied to Lu Xiaojun, the Rio record of the Chinese weightlifting team will be rewritten to 6 golds and 2 silvers, which is considered to have created the best record in the history of the Chinese weightlifting team in the Olympic Games.

(Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Yang Wang Hengzhi)