China News Service, Beijing, October 27th: He used a bullet with white hair to shoot down the first gold medal of the Chinese Olympic Games
Reporter Bian Liqun
"At 12:26 noon on July 29, the majestic national anthem of the People's Republic of my country sounded on the Olympic shooting range. Chinese players Xu Haifeng and Wang Yifu took part in the men's pistol slow shooting competition on the morning of the first day of the Olympic Games. 1st and 3rd place. China's record of 'zero' in the Olympic gold medal table was broken..."
This is the 1984 "People's Daily" report on China's first Olympic gold medal.
The second question in the "Three Questions for the Olympic Games" was answered by Xu Haifeng, and he also wrote a footnote for the rise and take-off of Chinese sports.
Xu Haifeng's award-winning uniforms, observation mirrors and other competition equipment are now collected in the China Sports Museum.
For these historical witnesses, he can always explain with great interest.
Xu Haifeng's award-winning uniform, observation mirror and other equipment when he won the gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Hou Yu
Xu Haifeng's 22-year shooting career is full of legends.
He resolutely gave up the "golden job" of a salesperson in a supply and marketing cooperative and switched to shooting sports. With his 0.5 vision, he won the first gold medal of the Chinese Olympic Games in only 2 years and 1 month, and trained Olympic champions such as Li Duihong and Tao Luna to become "gold medal coaches"...
Talking about the story of that year, Xu Haifeng smiled and said to the reporter, "It's just that I'm lucky."
Xu Haifeng.
(Data map) Photo by Liu Xiaojun issued by China News Agency
"Won the first Olympic gold in two years and one month"
There are too many stories of breaking cocoons into butterflies on the sports field, but Xu Haifeng is a special case.
In 1982, he came into contact with shooting sports and won the championship in the provincial competition after two and a half months of training.
After entering the provincial team in November, Xu Haifeng won the national championship after 5 months of training.
In June of the following year, Xu Haifeng was selected for the national team, and then competed in the Asian Championships. He started the Olympic training in November. After five months of selection, he finally qualified for the Olympic Games.
Then there is that familiar historic moment - in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Xu Haifeng won the first gold medal of the Chinese Olympic Games with 566 rings.
On July 29, 1984, Xu Haifeng (right) received congratulations after winning the championship.
Xinhua News Agency
What seems like a "shuangwen" experience now has a crazy beginning at the time.
In 1979, Xu Haifeng, who had completed four and a half years of rural queue jumping experience, was recruited into a supply and marketing cooperative as a salesperson.
"At that time, the supply and marketing cooperative was a good unit, and half of the scarce materials were here." He said.
But when the olive branch of the shooting in 1982 was thrown, Xu Haifeng accepted it without hesitation.
"I asked for a leave to practice shooting, and the supply and marketing agency said it was okay to ask for leave, but no salary was paid. So I went anyway. I liked the sport of shooting," he recalled.
When Xu Haifeng was fully engaged in shooting sports, people around him said he was crazy.
Xu Haifeng in the game.
Image source: IC photo
"The bullets used back then are all hairy"
As an older generation athlete, Xu Haifeng's training and competition conditions at that time were different from today's.
Xu Haifeng said that the budget that year was not large, and a team only had two imported pistols.
Even the bullets used to win gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics were imported in 1975.
"The bullets are the simplest package. They are all packed together. The bullets have been oxidized. In layman's terms, they have long hair. Because the bullets are lead, they will grow a layer of white hair after a long time. Wipe with an oil cloth."
Not only the equipment, but also the training conditions are a big test for the older generation of athletes.
"I was in Anhui at the end of 1982. During winter training, we all had frostbite on our hands. Because we were training outdoors at minus 3 or 4 degrees, with a gun in our hand, blood circulation was very poor." Xu Haifeng recalled.
Xu Haifeng was interviewed.
Photo by Chinanews reporter Bian Liqun
What's even more difficult is that at that time, even shooting-related teaching materials were scarce.
Xu Haifeng revealed to a reporter from Chinanews.com: "At that time, I was thinking about tactics and training methods by myself, and I didn't even have any information. The first time I saw the reference material, it was the teaching material of a training course for senior coaches of the national team. Stenciled."
"You may not have touched it. Underneath it is a steel plate and wax paper, engraved with a stylus, and then printed out by hand with a mimeograph, similar to a very primitive copier." Xu Haifeng explained further.
It was under such a difficult start that Xu Haifeng won the Olympic gold medal in only 2 years and 1 month.
Xu Haifeng was the head coach of the Chinese shooting team.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
It is worth mentioning that Xu Haifeng's vision is only 0.5.
In the two years that the supply and marketing cooperative sold fertilizer, his eyes were damaged by ammonia gas.
However, in Xu Haifeng's view, shooting sports do not require high vision.
"I think 0.5 is enough. Anyone can aim. In fact, pulling the trigger is the most difficult. The key to shooting is not the eyes, but the stability. The eyes only play a supervisory role, so it is necessary to study the shaking law of the gun."
For winning gold at the Los Angeles Olympics that year, Xu Haifeng believes that mentality is also very important.
"I take a lot of things lightly. You can look at the camera at that time. I might just laugh and not take it seriously. I also analyzed it later. If I knew that it was the first gold medal of the Chinese Olympic Games on the day of the competition , I guess I won't be able to get it either. So when you do anything, try your best to do what you need to do, have a good mentality in the game, and don't think too much." He said.
Xu Haifeng (left) Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita
"Shooting sports are getting more and more exciting"
Although Xu Haifeng was transferred to the fencing center in 2004, ending his 22-year shooting career, this did not give up his love for shooting sports.
Xu Haifeng is still paying attention to shooting sports. He believes that this sport is becoming more and more exciting, and the requirements for athletes have become higher and higher.
"Like when I was the head coach in 2004, the total results of the qualifying rounds and the finals were added together. Now, after finishing the qualifying rounds, we entered the finals and played again, so many people went from the eighth place in the preliminaries to the first place. The rules have changed. After that, the competition is more intense, the viewing is more enjoyable, and the chance is more.”
"Now everyone's level is very close, and the official domestic competition can hit 632 rings, which means an average of 10.5 rings per round. The highest domestic hit is 636 rings, which is equal to 10.6 rings per round. The diameter of 10 rings is 0.5 mm, which is equivalent to one ring. Point a point with a pen, which means that in each bullet, half of the bullets are pressed within 0.5 mm." Xu Haifeng said.
Data map: Xu Haifeng.
China News Agency issued a photo by Chen Wen
In his view, the accuracy of equipment has also been greatly improved today.
"In the past, we used a piston-type air gun with a spring at the back. Later, I felt that the force was not stable, so I changed it to carbon dioxide, because it is dry ice, so the temperature change will also bring instability. Now it is much better, the wood behind Tor is like a Transformer, it can be adjusted to any angle, and it is like one body with the human body."
Xu Haifeng jokingly said that he is "coveted" with the current athletes, and he is willing to tell the history to the younger generation, so that young people can cherish the good conditions and opportunities today.
(Reporter Bian Liqun)