Qingdao, 3 March (ZXS) -- Topic: Zhang Yufei, the "Queen of the Butterfly": Looking forward to achieving the "gold medal grand slam" in the 24-meter butterfly this year
China News Agency reporter Hao Lingyu
For Zhang Yufei, who loves to laugh, Qingdao is a "blessed land".
In 2020, at the National Championships and Olympic Trials held in Qingdao, Zhang Yufei successively rewrote the national record, Asian record and world record in different events, laying the foundation for her to win two golds and two silvers at the Tokyo Olympics the following year. In 2, coming to Qingdao to participate in the National Spring Swimming Championships, Zhang Yufei is looking forward to "achieving the goal again" and making a good start for the year-round competition.
On March 3, Zhang Yufei was in the game. On the same day, the women's 22m butterfly final of the 2023 National Spring Swimming Championships was held in Qingdao, Shandong, and Zhang Yufei won the gold with a time of 100.56 seconds. Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang
In Qingdao, a "blessed land", Zhang Yufei smiled and revealed two "careful wishes" to the media: in the 200-meter butterfly event, she is still one world championship gold medal away from achieving the "gold medal grand slam" of the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Asian Games, hoping to fill the last link at this year's Fukuoka World Championships; In addition, she hopes to keep the title of "Most Valuable Athlete" in China at the Hangzhou Asian Games to be held at her doorstep.
These two wishes are not small, and Zhang Yufei is not easy to laugh. 2022 is hardly a year for Zhang Yufei, who won three bronze medals at the World Championships in Budapest, missing out on the opportunity to achieve a "gold medal slam" a year after the Tokyo Olympics. At the Melbourne Short Pool World Championships, Zhang Yufei withdrew due to injury and failed to win a gold medal in the main event.
The outside world has high expectations for her, because the Chinese swimming team has never lacked the "queen butterfly". From Qian Hong and Zhou Yafei to Liu Zige and Jiao Liu Yang, they have all occupied a place in the world women's butterfly stage. Zhang Yufei was "crowned by the new queen" at the Tokyo Olympics, and people expect her to have more gold medals after the Olympics. Zhang Yufei bluntly said that the pressure and public opinion attention he faced after returning from Tokyo were completely different from before Tokyo, and "wanting to win and fear losing became a psychological burden."
In 2023, Zhang Yufei brought a smile back to the arena. "I haven't participated in the national competition for a year and a half, and the water is still a little foggy, so I didn't expect to swim to this result." After winning the gold medal in the women's 100m butterfly, Zhang Yufei told the media with a smile.
In this national championship, Zhang Yufei, who is "a little blind", has won two golds. In the women's 100m butterfly final, Zhang Yufei opened the second place in the first 50 meters by nearly half a second and finally won the championship; In the women's 50m freestyle final, Zhang Yufei overcame the mood fluctuations caused by the preliminary round and won the second gold medal.
After the 50m freestyle final, Zhang Yufei gave her performance a 9-point rating. "The remaining 1 point is left for mentality adjustment, I don't really like this kind of self-confidence like this." Talking about improving methods, Zhang Yufei bluntly said that "you still need to experience more" and hone yourself through more competitions. "I have found a mentality problem since the end of the Olympic Games, and I will communicate more with my seniors in the future and adjust as soon as possible."
When asked about the 200-meter butterfly, the Olympic championship event she did not participate in this time, Zhang Yufei confessed that she was still recovering from injury, so she did not register. She first replied: "I think after a cycle of training at the Tokyo Olympics, I will be much more comfortable in the 200m butterfly than I was before." A reporter asked: "Not so afraid?" Zhang Yufei smiled a little embarrassed: "I'm still a little afraid." ”
For Zhang Yufei, the Olympic championship is a new starting point. She has said that before the Olympics, she attached great importance to winning championships, but now the competition for her is like collecting experience and summing up the shortcomings through competition after competition.
In 2022, Zhang Yufei said in an interview that he hopes to complete all the goals in swimming in 2023. In 2023, Zhang Yufei faced herself in the opening competition of the new year, dealing with the burden and pressure on her shoulders in her own way.
The outside world expects that the smile of the Chinese "butterfly queen" who continues to work hard can be brighter and continue to write more legends in the world swimming world. (End)