(Characters of the Two Sessions) Ye Shiwen: Self-confidence is very important to women, and I hope to compete in another Olympics

　　China News Service, Beijing, March 8th: Ye Shiwen: Self-confidence is very important for women, I hope to compete in another Olympic Games

　　China News Agency reporter Wan Shuyan

　　This year is Ye Shiwen's fifth year of serving as a deputy to the National People's Congress. She brought suggestions on establishing a knowledge database for running competitions and strengthening vocational skills training and employment guidance for retired athletes.

During the group discussion of the two sessions, Ye Shiwen's notebook was full of records.

Ye Shiwen, deputy to the National People's Congress and Olympic champion, was interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency.

Photo by Wan Shuyan

　　"The first gold slam winner in the history of Chinese swimming", "the first grand slam winner in the history of Asian swimming", "the youngest Olympic double champion in swimming in the world"... Ye Shiwen has many brilliant labels.

　　On March 1, Ye Shiwen celebrated her 26th birthday.

After years and precipitation on campus, her temperament is more quiet and restrained now.

Behind the lightness of the wind and the clouds is a hard battle with his own heart.

　　In 2012, Ye Shiwen won the women's 200-meter medley and 400-meter medley championship at the London Olympics.

But since then, she has been carrying a huge psychological burden: "I am an Olympic champion, if I don't win the next game, I will regress." The pressure brought her into a low period.

She was constantly plagued by anxiety, insomnia and physical development, "as if walking into a dead end".

　　In those years, Ye Shiwen often shut himself in the room to cry and vent.

After the loss of the game, doubts came one after another, and some people called it "the 'fall' of a talented girl".

　　After that, Ye Shiwen spent a long time to settle himself and get out of the slump.

In 2017, Ye Shiwen returned to Tsinghua University to study. Coach Xu Guoyi hoped that she would focus on her studies and start planning for her future life.

But after a year of study at Tsinghua University, Ye Shiwen realized that he still loves swimming and did not want to give up his sports career.

At the end of 2018, Ye Shiwen applied for a two-year leave of absence and returned to the national swimming team to prepare for the 2019 World Championships.

　　Ye Shiwen, who has experienced ups and downs, once again reached the podium of the World Championships with the results of two silver medals in the 2019 World Swimming Championships.

In 2021, at the 14th National Games, Ye Shiwen won one gold and one silver, proving his strength with tenacious struggle and outstanding performance.

　　"In the past, I valued the results of the game too much and couldn't accept the fact of failure." In recent years, Ye Shiwen has realized that setbacks are actually valuable life experiences. We must learn to face failures bravely, and failures can better find problems, so that we can better big breakthrough.

"In the past few years, I have started to enjoy the process of the game, compared with a relaxed state of mind, constantly breaking through and challenging myself, and the results of the game have become secondary."

　　Ye Shiwen has more than 5 million followers on social platforms.

Talking about the power of female role models, Ye Shiwen said that self-confidence is very important to women. Whether in life or in competitive sports, women should be more confident, constantly challenge themselves, and bravely choose the life they want.

　　After preparing for the 2021 National Games, "Little Leaf" returned to the campus of Tsinghua University to study.

She said that the current focus is to complete her studies as soon as possible, while taking into account the training, she plans to officially return to the team next year, and hopes to compete in another Olympic Games.

Her parents and friends persuaded her that 26 years old has reached the age of transformation, so don't make herself work too hard.

But Ye Shiwen believes: "As long as there is love in your heart, age is not a problem."

　　The successful holding of the Beijing Winter Olympics has allowed Ye Shiwen to see a broader space for sports.

"The Beijing Winter Olympics has promoted the development of national fitness, which is a good trend." Ye Shiwen said that these years are the peak period for China to hold international competitions. He hopes that the next Hangzhou Asian Games will be able to benchmark the Beijing Winter Olympics. Organize the competition and ensure the protection of the athletes.

　　This year's government work report proposes to make good use of the legacy of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Ye Shiwen suggested that it is necessary to innovate the system and mechanism, form a unified national knowledge management system for the organization and operation of international competitions and comprehensive sports games, and create a special database of talents for the organization and operation of international sports events, so that the experience of running games can be better passed down.

　　Ye Shiwen also paid attention to the phenomenon of "retirement means unemployment" for many athletes.

"Athletes have spent a lot of sweat in their careers, especially those who have not achieved results. They are very confused after retirement." Ye Shiwen suggested that vocational skills training and employment guidance for retired athletes should be strengthened so that athletes can have more career choices after retirement.

She also hopes that more positions will be open to athletes, and suitable positions can lower the recruitment threshold for athletes.

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