Screenshot of Zhang Guowei's social media.

　　China News Service, Beijing, August 11 (Reporter Xing Rui) The "sports celebrity" with more than 35 million fans is finally returning to the game.

On the morning of the 11th, high jumper Zhang Guowei posted an invitation letter for foreign competitions on his personal social media. He will go abroad to participate in the competition around the end of September.

　　"I will keep my promises when I promise you," Zhang Guowei shouted to his fans after fulfilling his promise to return to the arena a year ago.

Below this dynamic, some netizens left a message: "Zhang Guowei finally remembered his sideline, rush rush."

Data map: Zhang Guowei is in the game.

Photo by China News Agency Futian

Internet celebrity

　　As an athlete, Zhang Guowei's name has often appeared in various entertainment hot searches in recent years.

　　Last year, the topic of "PK Zhang Guowei pumping building blocks" once ranked the top three in the challenge list of a short video platform.

This made Zhang Guowei, who was only active in the sports circle, successfully "break the circle", and also made the number of his fans soar.

　　Looking at Zhang Guowei's social media accounts, he almost maintains an update frequency of two to three times a day. There are many kinds of video materials, including some funny and nonsensical content.

　　With the videos of smoking building blocks, absorbing water with dragons, opening watermelons with their heads, and racing pigs... Zhang Guowei quickly went out of the circle, attracting countless attention and traffic.

　　If it weren't for the plastic training ground in the background of his video, many people would hardly believe that he was once an athlete with high expectations.

Data map: Zhang Guowei is in the game.

Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency

retired

　　Born in 1991, Zhang Guowei was once one of the star athletes of the Chinese track and field team.

He's in great physical condition and explosive.

Since the age of 20, he has emerged in domestic competitions, constantly refreshing his personal best results.

　　In 2013, in the National Indoor Athletics Championships, Zhang Guowei broke the national indoor high jump record held by the national high jumper Zhu Jianhua for 27 years with a score of 2.32 meters.

This year, Zhang Guowei was 22 years old and was in a period of rapid ascent of athletes.

　　Zhang Guowei began to be known to everyone. In the 2015 Beijing Track and Field World Championships, he jumped a height of 2.33 meters in the Bird's Nest and won a precious silver medal.

　　After the game, Zhang Guowei became popular with the action of "white crane and bright wings".

In the face of many media, Zhang Guowei also shouted his dream: "I want to be a yellow race who can skip 2.40 meters, surpassing Zhu Jianhua."

Data map: Zhang Guowei at the 2015 World Championships.

Photo by China News Agency Futian

　　But "the ideal is very full, the reality is very skinny", perhaps due to the influence of injuries, Zhang Guowei's state has gradually declined since 2016.

　　Outside the arena, Zhang Guowei has received invitations from major variety shows with his humorous and witty personality.

For going out privately to participate in business activities, Zhang Guowei was also punished and disappeared from the arena for a time.

　　In 2019, Zhang Guowei's figure appeared on the field again.

But times have changed and he has experienced ups and downs. Perhaps he is still the young man who only wants to break the records of his predecessors, but his body has become a "stumbling block" that prevents him from realizing his dream.

　　In 2020, with the announcement of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, Zhang Guowei posted: "Sorry, I really can't dance, I decided to retire."

Data map: Zhang Guowei is in the men's high jump qualifying event at the Rio Olympics.

Photo by China News Service reporter Sheng Jiapeng

comeback

　　Zhang Guowei, who left the arena, appeared more and more on short video platforms and became the head net red of the platform.

　　Just when netizens felt that Zhang Guowei was about to transform into the entertainment industry, after 573 days of retirement and the Tokyo Olympics had just ended, Zhang Guowei announced his comeback at his own expense.

　　He said: "It is very likely that I will go abroad to compete and train next year, and continue to fulfill my 2.40 dream. I also promise you that the podium will absorb water, and you will also see me dancing in the competition." After announcing his comeback, Zhang Guowei hired a coach out of his own pocket. The team, while training, continues his "Internet celebrity career".

　　If nothing else, in September this year, we can see high jumper Zhang Guowei again.

However, with the passage of time, can the 31-year-old Zhang Guowei still fulfill his 2.40 dream?

　　On August 5, Zhang Guowei released a training video in which he successfully jumped to 2.25 meters.

This result is still some distance away from his peak of 2.33 meters.

　　Previously, some media interviewed people in the industry about Zhang Guowei's comeback. The other party said that because the professionalization and commercialization of the high jump project is not high, Zhang Guowei's "solo flight" is actually difficult to "support" himself.

　　However, below Zhang Guowei's latest developments, netizens sent blessings to the atypical athlete;

　　As for how far Zhang Guowei can go on the field in the future, it may only be revealed after the game in September is over.

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