Southern Finance Media Reporter Shi Shi reports from Shanghai
Recently, Shanghai won the right to host the 2026 Track Cycling World Championship. This will be an opportunity for Chinese track cycling to become popular. From the first Olympic gold medal to the upcoming large-scale world competitions, track cycling may flourish in China. For Zhong Tianshi, a member of the National Youth Federation and Olympic champion, she is a participant and witness of this period of history.
From Jiang Cuihua’s bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics to Jiang Yonghua’s silver medal at the Athens Olympics, to Guo Shuang’s two silver and two bronze medals at the Beijing and London Olympics, Chinese cyclists have never stopped chasing gold medals. Finally, the dream of Chinese cyclists came true in Rio.
On August 12, 2016, at the Women’s Cycling Team Speedway at the Rio Olympic Stadium, Zhong Tianshi, who participated in the Olympic Games for the first time, appeared in a red combat robe and a helmet with a floral magnolia pattern on her head. Together with teammate Gong Jinjie, he defeated multinational rivals and won the Olympic gold medal, achieving a breakthrough of zero Olympic gold medals.
In an interview with Southern Finance Dialogue, Zhong Tianshi admitted that this is not the effort of their generation, but the result of the efforts of multiple generations. “Unity and inheritance are the fine traditions of Chinese cycling teams. Everyone says that China is a big bicycle country, but why can’t a big bicycle country win a gold medal? All Chinese cyclists have a firm determination in their hearts. It is the inheritance of generations of predecessors that has enabled us to achieve a breakthrough in the Rio Olympics.”
After making a breakthrough at the Rio Olympics, Zhong Tianshi did not choose to retreat bravely. After overcoming two waist injuries, three rib fractures, two rib fractures, and knee injuries, she stood on the sidelines of the Tokyo Olympics. Standing on the Olympic arena again, she took Bao Shanju, 23, to win the gold medal again and successfully defend her title.
With the Olympic Games, track cycling gradually entered the public's vision. Zhong Tianshi hopes that in the future, more dedicated bicycle trails will be built in cities, and professional venues will be opened to the public, allowing amateurs to fully experience riding.
The goal of going to Tokyo is to defend the crown
Southern Finance Dialogue: Let’s talk about your Olympic experience first. In fact, from 2012 to 2022, we experienced three Olympic Games. What was your state during the London Olympic Games? Shouldn’t it have been in the competition yet?
Zhong Tianshi: Yes, the London Olympics was my first year in the national team. After joining the national team in 2009, in that preparation cycle, I studied with everyone as a young athlete to catch up with excellent athletes.
“At that time, I was the youngest and arguably the worst performer on the team. My daily training status was basically compared to that of older athletes, to see how much they achieved, and then to see how much I achieved, and then to catch up bit by bit every day. So during the three years from 2009 to 2012, I was basically in a catch-up pace.”
Southern Finance Dialogue: Did you have the idea of winning the championship at the Rio Olympics?
Zhong Tianshi: At that time, I was actually in an upward phase, and I didn’t think too far away. I might just have an impact on small goals at each stage, and I wouldn't have set myself a very ambitious or stressful goal, just moving forward bit by bit according to my own state. So in fact, in preparation for that session, I more hoped that my predecessors could achieve our “zero breakthrough” in the Olympic Games, but I have not yet thoroughly thought about whether I would win the gold medal.
Southern Finance Dialogue: In 2016, what kind of state were you in?
Zhong Tianshi: In 2016, I was basically in a state of improving myself to the best, because after a cycle of training in London, my competitive level has improved very quickly. As the games get more and more, I follow the national team to participate in various international competitions and accumulate more and more experience. So by the end of the entire international competition cycle in 2013, we will basically be in the top three levels, and we will have a very competitive advantage internationally.
On the other hand, my own positioning and goals are becoming increasingly clear, that is, to achieve our breakthrough in the Olympic Games, so I am moving towards this goal bit by bit, and then set my own goals and realize my dreams.
Southern Finance Dialogue: When you changed your partner at the Tokyo Olympics, did you ever think you could defend your champion?
Zhong Tianshi: In fact, at that time, all we wanted was to win the championship. At a stage like the national team, I am also an Olympic champion myself. Why would I return to the field and train for the sports team? In fact, because I still have a goal, I hope to win a second Olympic gold medal, so I did not hesitate to return to the training arena.
So our goal of going to Tokyo is actually to defend our title and achieve our goal of winning the Olympic gold medal again.
Pain is both suffering and growth
Southern Finance Dialogue: Looking back on the past 10 years, what keywords would you use to summarize? Can you elaborate on it in detail.
Zhong Tianshi: The first keyword is “persistence”. Because cycling belongs to physical fitness, it is necessary to constantly stimulate oneself during training, and then continuously break through their physical and psychological limits. During this process, there will be relatively difficult moments, so I think the first step is to persevere. When I suffer very much in training or suffer from very serious injuries, I always maintain a firm belief in “persevering” - to work hard and persevere for my own goals and to be able to stand on the Olympic podium again.
The second keyword is “good luck”. First, I have a very good team. During the preparation for this session, the national team has well protected my recovery from injuries and has invested a lot of technical support in training, which has enabled me to return to the peak when I am not in a competitive state. I believe that my achievements were achieved by the team members who helped me achieve them, and I am very grateful to have such a team. Secondly, the one-year postponement of the Olympic Games has been a lucky year for me.
So “persistence” and “good luck” can well summarize my recent decade.
Southern Finance Dialogue: Which stage made you feel the most difficult in the past 10 years, and how did you get through this stage?
Zhong Tianshi: The hardest part is preparing for the Tokyo Olympics. Before 2016, my career was relatively smooth: I started cycling in 2002, joined the Shanghai cycling team in 2007, became a professional athlete, joined the national team in 2009, and won the first Olympic gold medal in 2016. Although training has been very difficult and tiring along the way, I have not experienced too many setbacks or injuries. Later on, we won the championship in the Rio Olympics with crushing strength, so my career before 2016 was very smooth for me.
However, after 2016, the entire preparation cycle for the Tokyo Olympics was the most difficult period of my career. Due to injuries, I have wondered many times whether I can continue to persevere and return to the peak. I experienced a relatively serious low back injury in 2017, a second low back injury in 2018, three rib fractures and two rib fractures in 2019, and knee problems in 2020. Therefore, I have a major injury almost every year.
During the two waist injuries, I was unable to move in bed for a week. It took me 10 to 20 minutes to complete the movement of sitting up from the bed and walking to the bathroom 10 meters away. Each movement was a small amount of movement, and the pain would be unbearable as long as the amplitude was large.
So it messed up my preparation rhythm. Every time I experience an injury, I slowly readjust to a good competitive state, but the new injury will make me directly fall to the bottom. This repeated experience makes me feel very tortured inside, and it will also generate questions about my own state and psychological sharpening: Can I continue to persist? So I gave myself psychological counseling, psychological cues, and convinced myself.
This process is also a process of growth for me, because I can survive this stage and get through it. In my future life, no matter what I experience, I feel that I can survive without any obstacles. Therefore, this period of life experience is both painful and valuable to me.
Southern Finance Dialogue: In fact, many people think that you can choose to retreat bravely after the Rio Olympics. What is the reason for you to overcome so many injuries and persist in the Tokyo Olympics?
Zhong Tianshi: This is a goal I have set for myself. Every athlete has a goal of standing on the highest podium in the Olympic Games.
Although I had already won the Olympic gold medal in 2016, when I was in my 20s and 60s, I believed that I was in a good condition at that time, able to continue practicing, and able to continue to return to the competition and strive for glory in the international arena. This belief enabled me to persevere.
Southern Finance Dialogue: Have you ever worried that an injury or illness will cost you all these years of persistence?
Zhong Tianshi: I didn’t think that much. Throughout the process, what I gained was far more important than the Olympic gold medal. Although the results were very good, I was actually very lucky. If I had paid so much and still didn’t win the Olympic gold medal, I wouldn’t regret it or regret it, because I went all out and showed my best in the process. The final result was difficult for us to control and decide, but I wouldn’t regret the process, and that's all right.
Have no regret in career
Southern Finance Dialogue: Your life can be said to be slowing down now. Do you often think of the moment when you won the Olympic championship? Do you feel absentminded?
Zhong Tianshi: Actually, up to now, I have never thought about it. It seems that I have never recalled the scene at that time, because I was very involved in the process of the game. And I think the past is the past, and the achievements and processes are both in the past, but perhaps it is not yet the age to recall the past.
Southern Finance Dialogue: Let’s review your career from the current point in time. Do you feel that you still have any regrets?
Zhong Tianshi: I have no regret and I feel it perfect.
Southern Finance Dialogue: Do you want to be more perfect? For example, to win three consecutive championships at the Olympic Games.
Zhong Tianshi: No, because first of all, from my own state of affairs, it is inevitable that I have injury problems, including when I walk the stairs at home now, my knees will react, and I dare not step down completely because it hurts, not to mention the heavy training we do every day. Therefore, this actually depends on my own situation. But I haven’t left any regrets in my entire career, so I feel like it’s time to say goodbye.
Hope more people will love cycling due to the Olympic gold medal
Southern Finance Dialogue: Do you remember when you first fell in love with cycling? What kind of coincidence made you like this sport?
Zhong Tianshi: In fact, it’s not a coincidence, because during our training, whether on the road or on the field, when we warm up well and don't feel very tired, we can feel the wind whistling in our ears as we ride the car. That's a very free feeling, a feeling I like. When we rush down the slope of the field, the speed can reach 70 to 80 kilometers, and the sense of speed that flies like lightning also fascinates me.
So I didn’t fall in love with cycling in a single moment, but rather the accumulated training and daily experience of riding the bike to feel the wind and nature made me fall in love with this sport, which is the unique charm of this project.
Southern Finance Dialogue: In fact, cycling has always been dominated by Europe and the United States. How can the two Olympic gold medals promote the development of cycling in China?
Zhong Tianshi: These two Olympic gold medals have made more people know about our cycling program. In fact, when I started practicing cycling as a child, my relatives and friends at home heard that I practiced sports and practiced cycling. Everyone would think, is there any such sports? Is this a competitive event? Everyone doesn't know that cycling is a sport that can be competed in. In everyone’s mind, bicycle is a means of transportation and travel. However, as we won the Olympic gold medal in 2016, more people know that bicycle is a competitive event, including many small events such as roads, venues, and mountain biking.
Now, after this year’s epidemic, I found that there are many cycling enthusiasts on the roads in Shanghai. I think this project has gradually extended from competitive sports to mass sports and mass sports. More people have known about this project, more people have participated in this project, and they also like this project.
I think this is a driving and circular driving effect, and then we Chinese cyclists will promote this project, which will make more and more people like cycling.
Unity and inheritance are the fine traditions of cycling teams
Southern Finance Dialogue: You mentioned a lot just now, and I think it can be summarized in one word: inheritance. This is actually a tradition of Chinese cycling teams. From the time you partnered with Gong Jinjie in Rio to the time you partnered with Bao Shanju in Tokyo, how do you see the significance of this inheritance?
Zhong Tianshi: I think “inheritance” is very important for a team, because there is a need for a soul figure in the team to drive young athletes, and then a group of young athletes to work towards the same goal.
For example, our team experienced 16 years from winning the first medal in the cycling Olympics in 2000 to winning the first gold medal in the Olympics in 2016. You may only see the birth of this gold medal, and only see that two athletes, Gong Jinjie and I, have achieved such a historical breakthrough. However, we have accumulated 16 years of time before. This gold medal is the result of the joint efforts of many cyclists and bicycle predecessors, and it is their inheritance that has helped us achieve this breakthrough. Cyclists always have such a dream and goal.
Everyone says that China is a big bicycle country, but why can’t a big bicycle country win a gold medal? Therefore, all Chinese cyclists always have this belief in their hearts, or “a firm determination”. We want to prove the strength of our Chinese cyclists in the Olympic Games, and we have the strength. Therefore, it is generations of predecessors who have passed on to us, enabling us to achieve a breakthrough in the Rio Olympic Games.
The second is the internal inheritance of the team. At the Rio Olympics, I was the youngest athlete, led by Gong Jinjie. Our team was very united, and our teammates trusted each other very much. Because cycling is a team project, we have two people and two cars on the field, but we only have one person and one car in our hearts, which can perfect many details. It is the core of the team - unity that enables our young athletes to confidently follow the old athletes forward.
Just like the experience during interviews with the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, when I was interviewed at the Rio Olympics, I didn't speak, and Miyagi Jinjie took the initiative to speak the whole time, because I was a little sister next to her, and I was very relieved. But when I arrived at the Tokyo Olympics, I took the initiative to speak during the interview, and Bao Shanju was very relieved to follow me and listen to me. Therefore, I feel that unity and inheritance are a fine tradition of a team.
Cultivate the enthusiasm and hobbies of young people
Southern Finance Dialogue: From a big bicycle country to a powerful bicycle country, where else do we need to work hard?
Zhong Tianshi: In fact, it has gradually become better and better. At present, road cycling, including professional and amateur leagues, is developing better and better because it is not limited by the venue. Our cycling enthusiasts can experience riding as long as they like and have bicycles.
However, because cycling events also include many small events, the venue will be limited. For example, in my own project, I need to ride on mountain roads, but it is difficult to have professional mountain bikers to ride. So I think in the later stage, we need to build more venues, including cycling roads, and at the same time, we need to build more bicycle dedicated cycling lanes in cities.
In addition, we can open the venue. In fact, in Europe and the United States, the venues for bicycle events are open to the public, and amateurs can make reservations between 6 a.m. and 12 a.m. every day. For example, if you want to come for a ride and reserve the venue from 7 to 8 o’clock, you can bring your bike with you.
When I was training in Switzerland, I saw many grandparents in their 60s and 70s. Before going to work or after waking up in the morning, they would carry their bikes to the field and ride for an hour. After riding, they would relax and go home to do their own things. I think this is a very good lifestyle and fitness concept, so we need to do more in venue construction.
Southern Finance Dialogue: What suggestions do you have for talent cultivation?
Zhong Tianshi: I think today’s teenagers actually have their own ideas and pursuits. First of all, they need to cultivate their love and affection. They need to sincerely say, “I like this project”, “I like riding”, “I like running”, and “I like ice sports”. Let them like it, and then truly engage in projects or things, and they will make their own efforts instead of passively accepting it. Therefore, it is very important to cultivate their enthusiasm and hobbies.
Southern Finance Dialogue: What suggestions do you have for teenagers who like bicycles?
Zhong Tianshi: First of all, I hope everyone can enjoy the riding process, feel the nature, and feel the muscle soreness when your legs exert force during the riding.
If you are on the path of this career, don't worry, because competitive sports requires a process, and you can achieve your dreams through your own efforts, step by step, step by step, and down-to-earth.
Southern Finance Dialogue: Will you continue cycling after you leave the professional arena? What are the current plans?
Zhong Tianshi: Definitely. First of all, from 2002 to this year, I have been engaged in the bicycle industry for 20 years, and my rich life experience has also been brought to me by bicycles. Therefore, after retirement, I also hope to do more things for the bicycle project, including the one just mentioned, and I hope to make more people understand and love the sport of bicycles.
In addition, I would like to open our venue and cooperate with the Shanghai Bicycle Association and the National Bicycle Association. Currently, in China, our venues are limited to professional team athlete training, and no venues are open yet. I hope to make some efforts in this area in the future, so that amateur cyclists can experience the sensation of athletes riding at full speed on the field.
The future of cycling is bright in China
Southern Finance Dialogue: Please look ahead to the future of Chinese cycling.
Zhong Tianshi: The future is bright. In April, May, and June of this year, our national team was participating in the National Cup in Europe and achieved historic good results: winning three gold medals in an international competition. So now, with the strong comprehensive strength of our country and a large amount of investment in the technology of the bicycle project, this project will definitely become better and better.
In addition, China actually has a lot of reserve talents, so as long as our team is united, I believe that the future of our bicycle project is bright and getting better.
(Hao Jiaqi, an omni-media reporter from Southern Finance and Economics, also contributed to this article.)
