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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
Shi Zhiyong of China in practice in Beijing, May 10, 2024. /CFP
Two-time Olympic gold medalist weightlifter Shi Zhiyong of China will compete for his third title at the coming 2024 Summer Olympic Games that will begin on July 26 in Paris, France. This time, the 30-year-old veteran will have more difficulties to overcome.
When Shi broke the world record to win the weightlifting men's 73-kilogram gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, he yelled "Who wants to challenge me!" with excitement and authority. However, not many knew that he had been dealing with various injuries before that moment.
Having aged in the following years, injuries began to have a bigger effect on Shi, especially by costing him regular and systematic training sessions and practice. As a result, he hasn't appeared in many international events since then.
Shi lost the men's 73-kilogram title to Rizki Juniansyah of Indonesia at the International Weightlifting Federation World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, this year. His world record of 364 kilograms in total was also broken by Juniansyah.
Shi Zhiyong of China celebrates after winning the gold medal in men's weightlifting 73-kilogram event in the Tokyo Olympics at Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo, Japan, July 28, 2021. /CFP
"I thought the World Cup would be my last international tournament," Shi told China Media Group (CMG). "I knew I would be facing strong opponents and I didn't train well enough. I wanted to give my best efforts to wrap up my international career."
Shi failed to lift 360 kilograms at the World Cup, but after watching others compete, he felt that he wasn't too far behind and could continue to do it. A few days later, he managed to lift 230 kilograms in deadlift in practice. That gave him confidence to challenge himself again in Paris.
He recalled how frustrated he was previously when he couldn't finish regular training on daily basis. However, as he has grown healthier in recent months, he has picked up more and more practice every day which gave him true happiness.
"I'm so happy that I can maintain systematic training every day now," Shi said. "I may not lift too much sometimes, but I can do it on daily basis. I make a little progress every day and then I grow better in the end. But first, I must keep systematic training sessions."