At 35, Chinese shot-putter Gong Lijiao is embarking on her fifth Olympic journey, aiming to defend her women’s shot put gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Gong, who clinched her first Olympic gold with a personal best throw of 20.58 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is eager to compete once again on the world’s grandest stage.
“I think it only gets harder each time I compete,” Gong shared with CGTN Sports Scene’s Zhu Mandan. “After winning in Tokyo, I had high expectations for this Olympics. But as I grow older, my physical strength inevitably becomes weaker. However, I have also matured as an athlete. In training, I dig deeper and gradually improve. So I am really looking forward to the Paris Olympics.”
Gong acknowledges that Paris will mark her final Olympic appearance, but rather than feeling pressure, she is embracing the opportunity to enjoy every moment. “Paris will be my fifth Olympic Games. Life doesn’t have enough years for me to continue competing,” she said. “People expect me to feel under pressure, but for me, I’ve won all the titles that need to be won. What I care about most is enjoying every match and finding myself during these games. So, the Paris Olympics is more of a challenge for me. I don’t feel that nervous anymore.”
Adapting to changes is challenging for any veteran athlete, but Gong has embraced new techniques under the guidance of coach Dieter Kollark. “I’m relatively short for this sport, and I have a shorter length when I slide at the start of my throw. So he made some changes at the start to create more space, and that helped me a lot,” Gong explained. “At first, I struggled a bit as I’ve been using the same technique for over twenty years. But when I really accepted and used his way, I realized it helped me a lot. I can move faster, and the results turned out better.”
Despite claiming all major titles, Gong remains motivated to strive for gold in Paris. “My goal is definitely to win gold. I feel that I have the ability to do that. If I can cooperate with my coach well and perform my best on the field, then I’m confident that I can win the gold medal again for China,” she affirmed.
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Chinese shot-putter Gong Lijiao wants to defend her title in Paris
cgtn.com
