Inside and outside the arena, warmth surpasses victory and defeat in an instant (Winter Olympics Big Vision)
It was almost evening, although the sun had not yet set, the temperature at the National Cross-Country Ski Center in Chongli, Zhangjiakou had dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius.
In the men's 15km (traditional technique) cross-country skiing competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 11, the gold medalist Finnish star Ivo Niskanen did not return to the warm lounge after finishing the race, but stood at the finish line to greet everyone. A player who crossed the line until the last player, Colombian veteran Carlos Quintana, hit the line.
Niskanen and Quintana gave each other a high five, like old friends reunited after a long absence.
"All athletes should respect each other, and everyone needs to work hard to stand in the Winter Olympics," Niskanen said.
In the freestyle skiing women's aerial skills competition on the 14th, American team player Ashley Caldwell immediately hugged the gold medalist and Chinese team player Xu Mengtao and said to her sincerely: "I really love you. Proud." In the snowboard men's big platform final on the 15th, Chinese teenager Su Yiming completed a difficult move to win the gold, and the contestants gave him high fives.
Compete in the same field and pursue excellence together.
The players of each delegation are competitors, but also friends who challenge the limit together.
The same goal of "faster, higher, stronger" has formed a consensus of "more unity".
At the short track speed skating women's 3000m relay award ceremony held on the 13th, Zhang Chutong of the Chinese team took out his mobile phone and took a selfie with the champion Dutch team and the runner-up South Korea team.
"I was very happy at the time, and this joy should of course be shared." Zhang Chutong said: "Although everyone is a competitor, they are also good friends who respect each other. I hope to share this beautiful moment together."
There are many moments beyond victory or defeat on the field.
In the men's curling round-robin competition on the 16th, the Chinese men's curling team showed a full of gentlemanly demeanor.
In the crucial tenth game, the Chinese team trailed the Swiss team 4-5.
At this time, the feet of the Swiss team touched the pot. According to the rules, the Chinese team can choose to void the Swiss team's pot or keep it as it is.
If the first choice is made, the Chinese team will have an advantage in the game.
But after discussion, the team decided to maintain the status quo.
Captain Ma Xiuyue said: "We will not make such a decision because it is beneficial to ourselves, and we are confident that we can solve such a situation." In the end, Ma Xiuyue successfully scored two points in the last shot, and the Chinese team won the game.
In the sixth inning of the previous men's curling match between the Chinese team and the American team, the third base of the American team knocked out the red kettle in the Chinese team's base camp outside the camp.
Without anyone noticing, the U.S. team captain Schuster voluntarily admitted that the players accidentally touched the Chinese team's placeholder pot while wiping the ice, and asked Ma Xiuyue that the Chinese team could put the pot back to the base camp.
After confirming with his teammates, Ma Xiuyue chose to continue throwing pots.
"Curling is a gentleman's sport. Although the referee said that you can put the ball back, we don't think it will affect the pitching line, so we won't do it." Ma Xiuyue said.
Schuster also praised the Chinese team's choice: "This decision is an excellent manifestation of sportsmanship."
Outside the arena, there are also warm moments.
On February 7, in the media center of the National Alpine Ski Center venue, Swiss journalist Pascal received a cotton cap from the news operation staff and was very excited.
On the same day, the National Alpine Skiing Center ushered in the men's downhill competition, the first event of alpine skiing in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Swiss players are the favorites to win the event.
Pascal lost his hat in the process of rushing to the stadium. He was anxious to find the staff and said: "I need to work outside for a long time, it will be very cold without a hat, please help me find it, or where can I buy it. "
After learning about Pascal's situation, Zhao Zitong, the director of the reporter's workshop, helped him contact him for the first time, but he couldn't find it.
After many efforts, the staff finally found a cultural and creative product with the theme of "Yanqing Blue" - a hat, which solved Pascal's urgent needs and built a warm friendship bridge.
Looking at the hat specially sent by the staff, Pascal was very pleasantly surprised.
He said: "I am very honored to receive this hat. The working experience here is wonderful. I am very happy to be able to come to Beijing to participate in the interview work of alpine skiing." Pascal said that his colleagues envied him very much, they I will also tell this story on my own media and tell everyone the beauty of this trip to China.
In the Winter Olympics, there are such moving stories and touching moments almost every day, showing excellence, respect and friendship, which will surely gather the strong force of the Olympic family to the future together.