At the age of 30, the desire for victory is endless, Chen Lijun: I hope to fight for another Olympic Games
Ten years of surpassing, the championship is still the year to fight
Chen Lijun, born in 1993, from Anhua County, Yiyang, Hunan Province, graduated from Southwest University, an international-level athlete, and a member of the Chinese National Weightlifting Team.
On August 3, Chen Lijun trained at the Hunan Provincial Weightlifting Management Center.Photo by reporter Ye Zhu
It has been a year since he won the men’s 67kg weightlifting competition at the Tokyo Olympics. On August 3, Chen Lijun came to the training hall of the Hunan Provincial Weightlifting Management Center, put down his backpack, put on running shoes, stepped on the treadmill, and started running. . Originally at this time, he should be preparing for the National Weightlifting Championships and the second World Championships in the national team in September.
“I am now in Changsha with my wife to give birth. After this period of time, I will rush back to the national team to train.” Nervous and looking forward to it, Chen Lijun said, “I hope I can compete in another Olympic Games.”
Ten years later, the championship is still the year of the fight.
■Huasheng Online All Media Reporter Ye Zhu Video / Reporter He Jiajie
Ten years of honing on the road, hit the head
“When I was as old as them, how could my training be as good as it is now.” On August 3, at the Hunan Provincial Weightlifting Management Center, Chen Lijun looked at a group of teenage offspring while the barbell was rising and falling. Ten years ago, Chen Lijun went from this small weightlifting platform to the national and even world sports arena.
In 2010, 17-year-old Chen Lijun won the World Youth Championship. In the 2013 Liaoning National Games, when the veterans made mistakes one after another, Chen Lijun withstood the pressure and won the gold medal, opening a smooth road to winning the championship. At the World Championships in the same year, he won another world championship with a weight of 321 kg.
In 2014, Chen Lijun entered the national team. At the 2015 World Championships, Chen Lijun broke the world record for clean and jerk and total scores, winning 2 golds and 1 silver.
Until the Rio Olympics, Chen Lijun went well.
Before the Rio Olympic Games, because his competitor Kim Eun-guo of North Korea did not participate in the competition, everyone thought that his Olympic gold medal was secure. However, an accident happened. Due to the weight loss of more than 4 kg before the game, Chen Lijun had cramps in the waiting area and had no choice but to retire. Walking out of the arena, the boy, who was only 23 years old at the time, said “I’m sorry” three times in a row to the CCTV camera.
When he returned to Hunan from Brazil, facing a group of media in his hometown, Chen Lijun said with tears in his eyes, “I’m sorry”.
Ten years of transcendence, reborn from the trough, and stand on the peak of the Olympic Games
The downturn lasted for two or three months until preparing for the Tianjin National Games. After continuous enlightenment and relief from the coaching team, Chen Lijun finally successfully defended the men’s 62kg championship.
The big boy finally laughed, and his competitive state began to gradually recover.
In 2018, the World Weightlifting Federation carried out a level restructuring. Chen Lijun, who was originally 62kg, needed to be “upgraded” to play 67kg. In the face of the pressure brought by North Korean player Park Jung-soo, he still won the double crown of clean and jerk and the total score, of which the total score of 332 kg also created a new world record. Once again, Chen Lijun announced to the world that the king is back.
Due to the epidemic, in October 2020, Chen Lijun, who had not played an official competition for a whole year, tried his best to win the national championship, causing the tendon of his right elbow to be torn and ruptured.
The Tokyo Olympics are just around the corner, and for Chen Lijun, the injury is undoubtedly a heavy blow. At this time, the 2021 Asian Championships are less than half a year away. According to the regulations of the International Weightlifting Federation, only by participating in the Asian Championships can you finally qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
In half a year, Chen Lijun has to complete the operation, postoperative recovery and the recovery of his special athletic ability. He couldn’t let go of the “broken halberd” five years ago. One month after the operation, he returned to the training room.
At the Asian Championships, Chen Lijun showed his strong willpower and won the overall championship. With good condition, Chen Lijun came to the Tokyo Olympics, and in one go, “raised” the gold medal that he had been waiting for for five years.
Ten years of life change destiny
In 2006, after Chen Lijun joined the Hunan professional team, he was paid more than 1,000 yuan per month. In addition to living expenses every month, Chen Lijun can also transfer some pocket money to his sick father. In the spring and summer of 2012, Chen Lijun’s father and uncle died of illness within 100 days, leaving only Chen Lijun, his mother and grandmother to depend on each other.
All the difficulties turned around in the fall of 2013. At the National Games, the 62kg gold medal in the men’s weightlifting event made him feel for the first time that weightlifting can really change his fate: “When I win (the gold medal), I prove myself and see a way out. .”
In 2016, after losing the chance to win gold at the Rio Olympics, he ushered in the biggest “gold medal” of his life. That year, Chen Lijun met Yuan Mei in Changsha. After that, the two began a 6-year long-distance love run.
In August 2021, when Chen Lijun, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, participated in a variety show, he proposed to Yuan Mei in the air to show his love.
On February 10, 2022, Chen Lijun took his wife Yuan Mei’s hand, and with the blessing of relatives and friends, fulfilled the promise of “marry her”.
After ten years of hard work, the level is adjusted again, and the championship is still the year of battle
After winning the gold medal in the weightlifting men’s 67kg class at the Tokyo Olympics, more people have come to know the poor-born champion from hot searches on the Internet. When asked about the specific moment that changed his fate, Chen Lijun said: “When I win the championship.”
In April of this year, the level setting of the weightlifting event of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was adjusted, and the number of participants was also reduced. For the Chinese weightlifting team, the challenges are self-evident.
The 67kg class that Chen Lijun won at the Tokyo Olympics became a non-Olympic class. “I should lose weight and hit the 61kg class.” After ten years of hard work, this simple Yiyang child is about to reach his thirties. Athletes are more acutely aware of the effects of increasing age on their bodies than the general public. However, the thirst for victory in his heart never stopped.
On August 3, as of press time, Chen Lijun and his wife were looking forward to the birth of their love crystallization. Chen Lijun said with a smile, “I am eager to compete in another Olympic Games and win another Olympic gold medal. My wife said that she will always support me and will add another baby to our small family.”
Journalist’s Notes
From son, husband, to dad, Chen Lijun changed his identity and lived for ten years, condensed into the happiness that laughs out of his gums now.
From a newborn calf born in poverty, to losing the gold medal of the Rio Olympics, to the highest podium of the Tokyo Olympics…Chen Lijun’s life has been ups and downs. The dozens of medals that have been shining before have witnessed the hardships and perseverance of a weightlifter growing into an Olympic champion.
Ten years of hard work, the problems created by fate, Chen Lijun solved it with ten years of transcendence.
Decade Road
In 2013, he successively won the weightlifting event of the 12th National Games and the men’s 62kg championship in the World Weightlifting Championships, opening the road to winning the championship.
In 2015, he won the World Championships in the men’s 62kg category.
Retired from the men’s 62kg weightlifting competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics due to leg cramps.
In 2018, he won the world championship in the men’s 67kg category and broke the world record.
In 2019, he won the men’s 67kg championship at the Asian Weightlifting Championships and broke the world records for snatch, clean and jerk and total score.
The 2021 Tokyo Olympics weightlifting men’s 67kg champion broke the Olympic record with a clean and jerk of 187kg.
On February 10, 2022, Chen Lijun and his wife Yuan Mei got married in Changsha.