Gao Tingyu, who won the first men's speed skating gold medal for China at the Winter Olympic Games by finishing the 500-meter event at 34.32 seconds at Beijing 2022, said he wants to become icon of speed skating.

"I want to be an iconic speed skater," Gao said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, "the kind that people will think of when they hear about the sport."

It has been almost half a year since Gao won the gold, but every time he thought of that moment, he still feels excited, as if it was not real. Such an epic success made Gao the national flag bearer again at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. He did the same job at the opening ceremony.

He felt very proud about the honor, but he didn't indulge himself in the joy. "I was happy for five minutes and then moved on, starting over from zero for the next goal," Gao said. His next goal is to defend the men's 500-meter speed skating title at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

No one has done that in almost 30 years and Gao wants to take this "small challenge." His ambition and confidence come from all the sweat and pain people he went through, which few could see.

Back at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, Gao secured the men's speed skating 500-meter bronze medal, which was also a history-making achievement for Team China. His coach Liu Guangbin praised him like everyone else, but Gao was not content with his performance.

In the first half of 2020, Gao's waist injury returned. In order to fix that, he spent eight months only going to his dormitory, canteen, training rink and medical office. For more than once, he worried that he might miss the 2022 Winter Olympics.

When Gao learnt that he won the gold at Beijing 2022, he celebrated by pointing up to the air with forefingers before hugging with coach Liu in tears. He revealed that it was the first time he saw Liu cry.

Liu has been Gao's coach since he joined the Heilongjiang provincial team at 14 years old. The trust and coordination between them kept growing as time went on. "It's like being alone with my father at home," Gao told Xinhua. "We don't need to speak, but know what each other means with a few simple moves."