Chapter 38: World Champion or a Whiner?
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Few people in the country were unaware of Feifei Yu.
She began swimming at 6-years-old, and then competed with adult swimmers when she was only ten. Later she won the 50-meter freestyle swimming competition at the Provincial Games. She joined the national sports team at twelve, and got winner titles among all kinds of national competitions in the same year. The next year she even earned two gold medals in the Asian Games, and two silver medals at the World Swimming Championships. She was praised as a "Gifted Girl."
At 14, she won her first world championship of the 200 meter individual medley in the World Championships, and was the youngest world swimming champion. Two years later at the Olympic Games, she earned gold by breaking the world record in the 400 meter individual medley, and earned another gold by making a new world record in the 200 meter individual medley. The next year she received the "Best New Act" from the Laureus World Sports Awards.
After becoming a world champion at 14 years old and breaking a world record at 16, FeiFei Yu was a legend in the swimming world. She herself was regarded as the new hope of this country for the next ten years.
However, in the last two years, Feifei Yu hadn't performed well, and even showed a decline in performance. Last year in the Swimming World Cup, she was only seventh in the 40-meter individual medley, which she used to be best at, and placed third in a national competition.
The national team's explanation for Feifei's decline in performance was her unexpected injury, which had left a crushed bone in her ankles and caused a dull pain quite often. This was supposedly the reason why her training condition and game status had been affected.
Dai Li had realized that the "banshee" he met in the training room was probably Feifei Yu. But he could not understand why she was weeping alone there in the dark. Dai Li got his courage back, then went back to the laboratory building and moving towards the training room. This time, as he arrived at the third floor, the light was on. Dai Li walked closer to the training room on the tips of his toes, then took a careful look inside.
"Sorry to scare you." Dai Li looked towards the voice. It really was Feifei Yu.
Feifei Yu, it is her! She looks a little bigger than what I have seen on TV, perhaps she is wearing a thick coat. This is a world champion, the real person! Dai Li was so excited, he really wanted to take a picture with this celebrity, but he immediately gave up the idea as he remembered the confidentiality agreement.
Dai Li walked inside and noticed that Feifei was the only one there. Thinking about his terrible behavior, he smiled with embarrassment. "Hi, I'm Dai Li, an assistant coach in the Provincial Sport University. Today is my turn to be on duty. Mr. Qian suddenly fell ill, I'm here to take his place. I didn't know that you were here, and the lights were off, so I thought there was nobody in this room."
Feifei Yu looked him over. He was only a few years older than her. She would take him for a college student if he hadn't introduced himself.
Dai Li was looking over Feifei Yu at the same time. Compared to the little girl at the Olympics several years ago, she was grown up now. She had welts on her face and her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.
"Were you crying?" Dai Li sounded out.
"No, I wasn't," Feifei Yu denied.
"Did you hurt yourself when you were training? Should I call you a doctor?" Dai Li kept asking. He was worried that Feifei had hurt herself while training.
Feifei Yu was a world champion. If she got hurt here, Dai Li had to shoulder some responsibility. He spent so much effort getting this job, he definitely wanted to keep himself safe.
"I'm OK," she replied immediately.
"Was it because of your old wounds? Are you sure you are fine? I'd better find a doctor for you," said Dai Li. He was afraid that if Feifei was crying because of her old wounds, he still needed to pay for that. After all, he was only employed under contract. it would be easy for the school to fire him.
However, Feifei's eyes bulged in anger. She said with a rushed voice, " Are you expecting me to get injured?"
"I swear to God, I'm not." Dai Li felt something was wrong. He tried to lighten the mood. "You are the world champion, the whole nation wants you to be well-nourished and healthy."
Because of Dai Li's expectation, and hearing the words "well-nourished," Feifei suddenly burst out in tears.
"Wuwuwu...I know I'm plump, I know that I have gained 7 kilograms. I have been trying so hard to lose weight...I'm doing high intensity training everyday, I dare not eat...But I cannot lose even a pound, how could that happen...I don't want to be kicked out from the national team...I want to win another world championship, I want to break another record, I tried..." She was having an emotional breakdown, and was whining louder and louder.
Dai Li had no idea what to do. He never expected that a world champion would cry like a kid in front of him.
"You gained 7 kilograms? Be kicked out from the national team?" Dai Li connected the dots and finally figured out what was going on.
Athletes had to strictly control their weight, especially swimmers. They had to confront water resistance while increasing their own buoyancy. Seven kilograms overweight was a disaster. Being overweight led to being a larger size, which increased water resistance. In addition, a higher weight would reduce individual buoyancy, which meant that the swimmer had to spend a lot more effort supporting themselves floating on water. That meant less energy was left for moving forward.
There were some reports about Feifei Yu's decline in performance being due to her injury. But it looks like what was reported was false. Was it actually because of her substantial increase in weight? The Swimming Association must have blocked the information. What happened with the national team then? Is it that serious that she would be kicked out?
A thousand thoughts came to Li's mind. He suddenly realized, the Slimming Exercises might be best thing to help!