2023 national rowing championship： Hubei aquatic athletes won 1 gold and 1 bronze.

"Steady! Add up the paddle frequencies! Come on! There are the last 500 meters! " On the waterway, the athletes struggled to paddle and cut the waves; On the shore, coaches, team leaders, etc. followed by cycling all the way, cheering up while commanding the team members, and the constant shouts resounded through the lake, becoming a beautiful landscape at the scene of the highest-level rowing competition in China.

From September 5 to 9, 2023, the National Rowing Championship was held in Yulin Water Sports Center, Shaanxi Province. A total of 731 athletes and 299 boats from 21 teams including Hubei, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian competed for gold medals in 14 events. 31 athletes from our province participated in 11 events, and after fierce competition, they won 1 gold and 1 bronze.

Yu Jingyi went into battle with injuries.Hubei team won the gold medal of women’s solo boat again after 22 years.

In the women’s single sculls final held on the 8th, Yu Jingyi won the championship with a score of 7 minutes 49.67 seconds.

It was a crosswind that day, with occasional raindrops flying. With the starting gun, six boats from Hubei, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Henan, Jiangxi and Shanghai entered the women’s open single sculls final A. In the first half of the 500-meter race, the contestants struggled bravely, but Yu Jingyi did not seize the advantage and ranked third. By the time she reached 1500m, Yu Jingyi maintained a good physical condition, and her oar was powerful, which enabled her to overtake. In the sprint stage, she accelerated the paddle frequency, and finally won the gold medal by leading her opponent by 1.46 seconds! This is also the second time that the Hubei team won the gold medal in the women’s solo boat project after a lapse of 22 years. The last time the Hubei team won the gold medal in the solo boat was in 2001.

Behind the success is the team’s all-out efforts and the tenacious struggle of the players. Few people know that Yu Jingyi didn’t start rehabilitation training until one and a half months before the game because of injury. On the night before the game, Yu Jingyi was still taking medication because of hip joint glenoid lip injury. During the competition, Yu Jingyi endured physical pain, overcame various difficulties and finally won the first prize.

Yu Jingyi used to be a kayaker, but later she switched to rowing and practiced rowing for just over a year. Chen Zheng, head coach of Hubei Rowing Team, said that Yu Jingyi’s physical fitness is very good, and she has both physical fitness, endurance and outburst. Although she is in poor health, she has broken through herself with tenacious fighting spirit.

Yu Jingyi said that the gold medal was really hard-won, and all this was attributed to the joint efforts of the team. Thanks to the care and support of the center, the training guidance of the coaching team and the full support of the medical team. What we have to do now is to take every step in a down-to-earth manner and strive to win gold and silver for Hubei in the National Games!

In addition, Zhang Qiuyi, He Jiaying, Shi Hongmei and Yang Rongrong won the third place in the women’s open four-person single paddle final held on the 9th. Wu Yongmei, Li Duolei, Sun Ning and Wei Wenlin won the fourth place in women’s open sculls.

Provincial aquatic center: gathering strength for "three major preparations" to strive for a breakthrough

The person in charge of the provincial aquatic center said that the competition was a little regrettable and did not fully reflect the overall strength level of the Hubei team. In addition to Liu Zhiyu, Wang Zifeng and Li Wenlei, the three main players selected for the national team were absent for preparing for the Hangzhou Asian Games, and absolute main players such as Lin Xinyu and Zhang Peixin were also unable to participate due to injuries. Zhang Peixin, in particular, just won the gold medal in women’s synchronized single oar at the Chengdu Universiade held in August. During her preparation for her return to the province, she chose to retire because of injury and illness, which caused the overall strength of the Hubei team to be insufficient. Fortunately, there was little gain in the competition, and the gold medal in the women’s solo boat was very meaningful, which made people see progress and hope.

In the next step, Hubei team members will do their best to play the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, achieve the set goals, and make a good start for the "three major preparations" of this cycle. In the future work, Hubei team will continue to strengthen physical training, constantly improve the level of special sports, give full play to the advantages of the project, lay a solid foundation for next year’s Paris Olympic Games and the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao National Games the year after, strive for breakthroughs, and contribute to accelerating the construction of a strong sports province in Hubei to a higher level!

The competition was hosted by the Water Sports Management Center of the State Sports General Administration, China Rowing Association and Shaanxi Provincial Sports Bureau, and was undertaken by Shaanxi Water Sports Management Center and Yulin Sports Bureau.