In the eyes of many, the 2015-2016 season was filled with frustration and unresolved emotions. The senior group encountered various issues: two top-tier and one first-tier men’s singles skaters faced problems. Both the senior and junior divisions had fierce competition with unexpected outcomes.
First, let’s talk about the Four Continents Championships. Cha Hanbuhua completed the 4T jump years earlier than Zhang Jue had remembered, winning the bronze medal. However, he lost to Hayato Teraoka and Carlson. Min Shan, who had a 3A and 3Lz+3T combination, was outscored by Keiko in terms of performance, spins, and skating skills, securing only a silver medal at Four Continents.
Poor Min Shan had been unstoppable since moving to the senior division, but she lost to Keiko in the Grand Prix Final, and then again at Four Continents. If it weren’t for her carefree personality, she might have had a mental breakdown by now.
Moving on to the European Championships, the men’s singles event had low viewership this year. After all, former champion David and current favorite Ilya were both in the hospital. The remaining competitors were not particularly strong, and viewers preferred to watch the Four Continents broadcast, where the intense rivalry between Zhang’s team and the Japanese skaters was far more interesting.
The 2016 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held in Hungary on March 16. Zhang Men’s only junior skater, Jiang Yihong, completed a 4S and won the junior world championship gold medal. Meanwhile, Chiba Takashi, who had been unable to advance to the senior division because he wasn’t yet 15 by July 2015, was devastated.
To be fair, when Cha Hanbuhua hadn’t yet advanced to the senior division, Chiba Takashi often lost competitions despite having a technical advantage due to his inconsistency. Now that Cha Hanbuhua had moved up, his junior brother entered the junior division, and Chiba Takashi still lost due to inconsistency?
It was somewhat understandable to lose to an older senior, but not being able to beat a younger junior skater left Chiba Takashi feeling deeply frustrated!
While many were disheartened, Zhang Jue remained the most unfortunate. He had to reduce his body fat to 7% before the World Championships, recover his technical skills, and take calcium supplements along with various vitamins and protein powders to maintain his health. Eating had become a painful chore, and every mealtime, he became deflated.
When you can’t even enjoy eating, how do you go on with life?
Ten days before the start of the World Championships, Zhang Jue’s body data finally satisfied the coaching team.
“68 kilograms, 7% body fat—great, he finally slimmed down,” the coach said.
Zhang Jue, pale-faced, asked: “Can I finally go back to my usual diet now?”
Aunt Ning clapped her hands and said: “Yes, as long as your weight doesn’t bounce back.”
To celebrate Zhang Jue’s successful weight loss, Aunt Ning rewarded him with a meal of shredded chicken, but of course, it was a low-fat, low-salt version, which was so dry that Zhang Jue ate it without any enthusiasm.
He complained: “This meat is so dry, and it gets stuck between my teeth. After eating, I’ll need dental floss to clean it out.”
Aunt Ning patted his head and replied: “Well, if you ate better food, your body fat would bounce back into double digits. You’ve worked hard to lose weight, and I can’t let your diet hold you back.”
Zhang Jue was on the verge of tears. This dry chicken was worse than fresh, juicy vegetables.
But he couldn’t skip meals. Without enough protein and calcium, if he had another stress fracture, who could bear it?
Cha Hanbuhua, with 8.5% body fat, and Jiang Yihong, who had 10% because he was still growing, both shuddered silently. As underage male singles skaters, even their body fat wasn’t as low as their senior brother’s.
The female skaters, on the other hand, were relieved. Since low body fat in women could lead to missed menstrual periods, the coaching staff wasn’t as strict with them in terms of body fat, compared to other figure skating disciplines.
If they had to lose weight like their senior brother, especially if they were prone to gaining weight, life would be too miserable.
The 2015-2016 World Championships were held in Boston, USA, starting on March 28.
Beijing and Boston had a 12-hour time difference. Upon seeing this, Zhang Jue didn’t even have time to say anything before the coaches made the decision—they had to leave for Boston at least a week early to give Zhang Jue enough time to adjust.
As a result, they were among the first to arrive in Boston. Zhang Jue, Cha Hanbuhua, and Jin were the three male singles competitors. On the women’s side, there were Min Shan and Xu Chuo. In pairs skating, Huang Ying/Guang Lin and two other pairs participated. Jiang Xiuling and his partner Luo Mi would move to the senior division next year, so after winning the junior world championship, they had no more competitions.
In ice dancing, the Huatai Lion/Mei Chunguo pair competed, while junior skaters Sai Peng/Sai Qiong, like Jiang Xiuling, ended their season after winning the bronze at the junior world championships.
It was great that so many skaters could go to the World Championships. Sun Qian personally sent them off at the airport, kindly reminding them to look after the kids, especially the minors, and not to wander off when there weren’t any competitions.
Team leader Zhang Junbao solemnly agreed.
“No eating random food, don’t touch food given by others, and once Zhang Jue finishes competing, no more opening cans of fresh fish either,” he warned.
Zhang Jue raised his hand: “What if someone else brings fresh fish cans and invites me to open them?”
Sun Qian said: “Still not allowed. Coach Lu, keep an eye on this kid. He’s afraid of you.”
Coach Lu nodded.
“Alright, off you go.”
Sun Qian watched as the team boarded the plane. His heart was filled with both relief and worry. As an old figure skating veteran, he had been waiting for the rise of Chinese figure skating for far too long—since the 1990s. He had been the head coach of the national team for 26 years.
Seeing Beijing and Zhangjiakou successfully bid for the Winter Olympics before his retirement gave him a sense of fulfillment. Now, he was only waiting for Zhang Jue, Huang Ying, and Guang Lin to bring home Olympic gold medals to be truly satisfied.
As many people online said when Zhang Jue was unjustly criticized recently, even if he had won gold medals at the Grand Prix Final, Four Continents, and World Championships, it wouldn’t mean much without an Olympic gold. That’s what really counted.
No one cared how impressive an Olympic silver medal was. They only cared about gold.
Sigh, Sun Qian worried about the three months Zhang Jue lost to a stress fracture and the lasting effects of that injury. He hadn’t been able to regain his 4Lo since recovering.
Zhang Jue could land a 4Lz, but the 4Lo, which required balance and core strength, and had caused his previous injury, was now out of reach. Every time he attempted it, he fell. Whether it was due to physical limitations or a psychological barrier, he couldn’t complete the jump.
They were sending him to the World Championships because there was no other top-tier male singles skater available. Zhang Jue was the only one in China who had mastered the 4T, 4S, and even the advanced 4Lo and 4Lz. He was also the most consistent; no matter how much he struggled, he wouldn’t drop off the podium.
So as long as Zhang Jue could skate, even though he hadn’t placed in the top three at Nationals, and even though his participation would push out Liu Yemeng, who placed third, the higher-ups would still prioritize him.
Boston was a coastal city near the Atlantic Ocean. While others might think of Harvard, MIT, or its advanced medical technology when they thought of the city, Zhang Jue only thought of two words: lobster.
Boston lobsters were famous, and as a seafood high in protein and low in fat, Zhang Jue could eat them!
After being restricted in his diet for a long time, Zhang Jue got off the plane, and without even adjusting to the time difference, he excitedly said he wanted to eat lobster. Zhang Junbao, with his strong arms, forcibly dragged him back to the hotel to sleep.
He couldn’t be stopped on the fifteenth, and the next day, Hayato Teraoka and Shiratsuka Keiko came to knock on his door:
“Tama-chan, Keiko and I are going to eat lobster, do you want to come?”
Zhang Jue replied: “Yes, yes, yes!”
At the restaurant, he also saw Ilya and David.
The three of them gathered together and had endless things to talk about. They first congratulated each other on recovering from their injuries, then congratulated David for finding his ideal partner. After that, Ilya praised Zhang Jue for losing weight successfully and looking particularly slim, while Zhang Jue complimented him on his thick and shiny hair.
Since Zhang Jue had previously suffered a ligament injury and undergone surgery, he was able to share his post-surgery recovery experience with Ilya. David, who had also suffered a bone fracture, related well to the topic of how fractures affect athletes.
David mysteriously whispered to Zhang Jue: “Do you know Choi Jeong-su? He’s the South Korean singles skater, now training with Sarena in Canada. He landed a 4S, but his leg couldn’t take it, and now he’s in the hospital. He’s thinking about retiring.”
Zhang Jue slapped his thigh and said: “I know, it’s really unfortunate for Jeong-su. Landing that four-rotation jump is so hard. It’s such a pity that he’s retiring.”
David continued: “Also, ice dancers Yoon Mijing and Liu Mengcheng wanted to go for the gold medal at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, so to avoid any accidental pregnancies, Liu Mengcheng went and got a vasectomy. Although it can be reversed, it shows how much he cares for Mijing.”
Zhang Jue laughed and said: “Mengcheng has always treated Mijing very well. If he wasn’t a good man, Mijing wouldn’t have been so determined for him, even changing her nationality to Kazakhstan for him.”
David was a gossip enthusiast, and he kept sharing news: “Speaking of Kazakhstan, do you know Kharhasha Golovkin? He was training a 4F but sprained his ankle. But since there aren’t any other strong male singles skaters in their country, he has no choice but to participate in the World Championships… Oh, and Zhu Lin from ice dance is getting engaged, but his partner is not Stephanie… There’s also a pair of sibling ice dancers from America, and their short dance this year is a song by a Chinese rock band.”
Zhang Jue, while gnawing on lobster, asked: “Which band? What song?”
David replied: “Earth Dragon Band. The song seems to be a love song, and they’re skating to the English version called ‘Sing to my baby.’”
Zhang Jue suddenly realized that this song was one he had written when he first realized his feelings for Qin Xuejun. The song structure was an homage to the famous Japanese singer Nakamori Akina’s “Smile to Mick Jagger.” He was surprised that the song had already gained popularity overseas.
Zhang Jue now understood why the wealthy second-generation boss had gained recognition for starting a business—he had two rock bands selling songs abroad and was definitely making a lot of money.
As the conversation progressed, the topic shifted to the lottery for the next day’s competition.
Everyone looked at Zhang Jue, who was holding a blue flower, innocently blinking his eyes.
This year, there were 42 men’s singles skaters from 29 countries participating in the World Championships. During the short program, they would be divided into seven groups, with six skaters per group. Zhang Jue drew the last group and would skate first in that group.
Zhang Jue thought to himself: “This must be my fixed spot for performance.”
He felt some pressure. After all, skating first in a group usually meant being judged more harshly. If his performance wasn’t good, it would be hard to recover, and if he ranked too low, it would be even harder to catch up in the free skate.
The coaching team wasn’t surprised when they saw his draw. Coach Lu, Zhang Junbao, and Shen Liu exchanged a glance and saw the concern in each other’s eyes.
After arriving in Boston, Zhang Jue had practiced the short program and free skate four times, but the number of perfect attempts… was zero.
Shen Liu whispered: “Teraoka tried five different four-rotation configurations in the free skate at the Four Continents Championships, and he landed all of them successfully. He only made two mistakes in the second half, which was a result of fatigue. His technique is very strong.”
Teraoka’s free skate program: “Doctor,” was considered the most classic of his career, which meant Zhang Jue would be facing an opponent at his peak, even though Zhang Jue hadn’t fully recovered yet.
This was bound to be a tough battle.
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