Although Zhang Jue was the leader in men’s singles, he was actually someone who really enjoyed watching ice dance.

Yes, it had nothing to do with his good friends Meijing and Mengcheng, he genuinely liked ice dance.

This was actually an interesting fact: many new figure skating fans tend to prefer singles and pairs skating, where there are jumps and throw jumps, and show little interest in ice dance. Many people even confuse ice dance with pairs skating. But after they’ve watched enough singles and pairs programs and gained a basic understanding of figure skating, they start to appreciate the strong expressive power of ice dance.

Many top-level choreographers were ice dancers during their active careers, and they had numerous classic programs.

Yes, pairs skating has jumps and throw jumps, but ice dance doesn’t. Ice dance mainly showcases footwork and performance, and lifts cannot go above the shoulders.

Zhang Jue leaned on the railing, watching the competition below. “Hey, those Russian ice dance coaches look kind of familiar.”

Zhang Junbao glanced at them and told Zhang Jue: “They were the silver medalists at the Nagano Winter Olympics. But foreigners age quickly, and if you’re a bit face-blind, you might not recognize them.”

Zhang Jue rubbed his eyes. “I’m not face-blind, right? I just can’t distinguish unfamiliar foreigners’ faces, but I can recognize people I know. By the way, that American pair really retired after winning Olympic gold, huh? I was hoping they’d compete for a few more years.”

Shen Liu called over to him: “They were already veterans. If they kept skating, their bodies wouldn’t be able to handle it. Do you think maintaining top competitive form for so many years is easy?”

To be clear, that American ice dance pair retired at the age of 33! Young people just don’t understand the struggles of veterans. Well, it’s better if they don’t know—he hoped Zhang Jue would never have to know.

After the American ice dance champions who won in Sochi retired, the Canadian pair ended up in the hospital recovering from injuries. This year, the strongest ice dance team was the “Dream Come True” couple, humorously nicknamed by fans as “The Victory of the Real Ship.”

This couple had great programs this year. Their short program music was “Mountains” by Hans Zimmer, from Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, with a futuristic vibe, even featuring metallic costumes with a tech feel. Their free skate was to Andrea Bocelli’s “Fall on Me,” which was romantic and sweet.

These two programs fully showcased the athletes’ ability to control different musical styles.

“In ice dance, Liu Mengcheng is probably the best male partner. His lift technique is excellent. Even if there’s a mistake, he would rather cushion the fall himself than let his partner get hurt. Meijing is bold and outgoing, and her expressiveness is outstanding.”

Ming Jia patted Xu Chuo’s head and said: “They’re definitely going to win this time.”

Xu Chuo had placed seventh in the previous day’s competition and was in a good mood, nodding repeatedly. “Yeah, I think they can totally compete for the gold medal in Pyeongchang.”

The thought of an Olympic gold medal made Ming Jia sigh inwardly. If he was correct, Pyeongchang would likely be the only Winter Olympics where the “Dream Come True” couple had a real shot at winning gold.

As for North American ice dance, even though the top U.S. pair retired, their successors, while Grand Prix Final-level competitors, were more like a wealthy couple dabbling in figure skating to gain some fame and express their hobby. The female partner had just given birth last season, and it wasn’t clear how well her body would recover. The Canadian pair was also aiming for Pyeongchang, but they were plagued with injuries.

This meant that the toughest competition for the “Dream Come True” couple all had physical issues.

Russian ice dance, on the other hand, was in a slump, though their foundation remained strong. The great ice dancers who dominated from 1985 to 2000 had mostly left for commercial performances and were now entering the coaching field. They had so many young skaters that they could start their own TV shows, and some of them were truly talented.

So by the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Olympic cycle, the “Dream Come True” couple, who would be aging and facing fierce competition from younger skaters, would struggle. Without the advantage of nationality, their best chance to win Olympic gold would be during the PyeongChang cycle.

As for Zhang Jue, Ming Jia glanced in his direction. This kid was really talented, and his skating federation treated him like a treasure. As he continued to deliver excellent results, his growing popularity further benefited the federation, creating a positive cycle.

Unsurprisingly, the ice dance champions turned out to be the “Dream Come True” couple. During the awards ceremony, Qingzi teased Zhang Jue: “Now you both have Grand Prix Final, Four Continents, and World Championships gold medals, and you’re both aiming for Olympic silver.”

Zhang Jue put his hands together in a prayerful gesture. “Amitabha, I hope my next Olympic medal is gold.”

Hayato Teraoka, who also wanted an Olympic gold, joked: “Can you not say that in front of me? It makes me feel like you’re pretending I don’t exist.”

Zhang Jue responded: “If you didn’t exist, even if I didn’t pray, that gold medal would still be mine.”

He rubbed his stomach and walked toward the coach. Hayato Teraoka whispered to Qingzi: “Did he eat a lot of food before the competition again?”

Qingzi replied: “How would I know?”

Some people rub their stomachs because they’ve eaten too much; others rub theirs because their abs hurt, like Zhang Jue.

As someone who could do weighted hip thrusts with a barbell, Zhang Jue had an incredibly strong core. His waist strength was also exceptional. Even if he wasn’t in peak condition, he could still perform combinations like 4T+1lo+3S+3T+3lo+3lo, but the wear and tear from quadruple jumps was unavoidable.

During practice, Zhang Jue attempted two 4Lz jumps, both of which were successful. Learning this toe loop jump hadn’t been too difficult for him. After the offseason last year, he started working on this jump and landed his first successful attempt after just eight days of training. So far, his success rate in training for the 4Lz was 60%.

Yes, if you can land one type of quadruple jump with a 60% success rate, you’re already a top-tier men’s singles skater. Success rates for these jumps are notoriously tricky—mistakes are the norm, and Zhang Jue was one of the most consistent skaters out there.

What was really bothering him, though, was the 4Lo. He never expected that, while his short program performance went off without a hitch, the practice session would cause his abs to strain again.

Before the competition, Yang Zhiyuan checked on Zhang Jue. “It’s not a big issue. Why not skip the 4Lo and go for the 4Lz instead?”

Shen Liu frowned. “He hasn’t used that jump in a formal competition before. Wouldn’t it be too risky to debut it at the World Championships?”

Zhang Jue raised his hand: “I think I’m fine, though.”

The coaches continued their discussion, and Zhang Jue kept raising his hand, shouting that he wanted to jump. Finally, Zhang Junbao gave him a helpless look.

“Do what you want. You always make decisions on your own anyway. Even if we object, it’s no use. Just focus on warming up.”

Only then did Zhang Jue obediently run to the side and kneel on a yoga ball to stretch his shoulders, balancing steadily.

Zhang Junbao turned back to Coach Lu, discussing plans. “Zhang Jue’s frame is too small. His weight limit is 73 kilograms. If he gains more muscle and his weight increases, the pressure on his landings will become too much. I plan to add fascia training as a supplement to his strength training to improve his overall core.”

If Zhang Jue had heard his uncle’s words, he would have been very surprised, as fascia training was a relatively new concept in recent years. Fascia is a type of connective tissue in the body that wraps around muscles, organs, and other tissues. Some athletes’ injuries are not to the muscles themselves but to the fascia.

So, strengthening fascia training and post-training care could improve the body’s ability to endure injuries, increase strength and flexibility, and further enhance an athlete’s physical fitness.

For example, a few years later, a woman from China, who became both the first UFC straw weight champion from Asia and China, also did fascia training.

Though his uncle often took people to train with weights, he was never the kind of coach who just made people stick to machines. On the contrary, he preferred dynamic training because figure skating is a comprehensive sport that tests an athlete’s coordination, strength, endurance, and even performance. Simply using machines to develop specific muscle groups wasn’t very helpful.

Coach Lu, although older, was a diligent man who persisted in reading and learning, and he fully agreed with Zhang Junbao’s training philosophy. Only Shen Liu showed a subtle expression.

Zhang Junbao’s training methods were advanced and precise, and the children he coached could perform difficult moves with fewer injuries. For example, when Jiang Yihong first came to train, his heart rate exceeded 180, but after following Zhang Junbao for a few years, his level steadily improved.

Master Zhang was truly a great coach, but the fact that he had held a target for Xiao Yu to strengthen his legs by kicking it was one thing, and that Xiao Yu could punch through a wooden board was another. However, Xiao Yu’s training regimen was actually based on the template and goals of the other male singles skaters on the national team.

If this continued, the figure skating national team might end up with a group of strong men who could punch through wooden boards… Didn’t Master Zhang realize that because of their powerful performances and confident aura, the Zhang clan was sweeping domestic competitions and being humorously referred to as having an “all-villains” vibe?

Some bored people online even made videos using songs like The Great Hero in Troubled Times and Legend of the Hungry Wolf to match the Zhang clan, and Shen Liu felt that their image had unknowingly drifted into a strange direction.

While they were discussing Zhang Jue’s training plan, the pairs’ free skate competition had also ended. Huang Yinguan, under the pressure of over 10,000 home crowd spectators, performed a clean free skate and won the gold medal.

Zhang Jue, also a shipper, was kneeling on a yoga ball, loosening his joints while keeping his eyes glued to the TV screen. When he saw the results, he excitedly pumped his fist.

This was a victory for the true ship!

The next second, he lost his balance and rolled off the yoga ball.

With a loud crack, Zhang Jue turned his head, expecting to see Hayato Teraoka putting his phone away. But to his surprise, Hayato was busy practicing his spins on a rotating board. The one putting away his phone was Ilya.

Since Vasily had once told Zhang Jue about Ilya’s secret social media account, Zhang knew that Ilya had blurred his face and posted a picture of him with the caption “Crocodile Roll.”

By the time the second-to-last group of the men’s free skate began, more athletes gathered around the TV, especially when Alex, the current French champion, took the ice. Everyone’s attention was on him.

Even through the screen, it was obvious that this young man was incredibly nervous, almost as if he wanted to slam his head into the boards. He even choked while drinking water. His senior and assistant coach, Martin, looked at him calmly and scolded him sternly, causing Alex to immediately straighten his back.

As a junior, although they both had strict seniors, Ilya touched his chin and felt he was luckier. Though Vasily had a stern temper, he had a caramel rose face, and his expression would soften and appear gentle when he smiled.

Hayato Teraoka said: “It’s over. Alex is so scared; he’s definitely going to mess up again.”

Zhang Jue nodded in agreement: “Yeah, he always gets nervous easily.”

The three musketeers all thought Alex would fall apart, but then they watched as this guy landed a quality 4Lz, the best he’d ever done, and went on to cleanly skate his free program.

Alex, the current French champion and a man full of surprises, always failed when people expected him to succeed and succeeded when people thought he wouldn’t.

Although his free skate only included three quads, his score broke the 195-point mark, rocketing him into first place overall.

Hayato nudged Ilya and said: “Hey, his quad Lutz is even better than yours.”

Ilya, who had made a mistake in the short program and was skating in the second-to-last group, rolled up his sleeves, his aura sharp and fierce, looking like a fearless steel bear.

“Watch me, I’m going to beat him!”

Zhang Jue took a picture of Ilya’s back, blurred his face, and posted it on his social media account with the caption: “Bear on the attack.”

 

 

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