CHINA'S Zhang Yufei was only expected to be another member of the nation's team in swimming and banked upon to deliver a gold in the 100m butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics.
However, at the end of the Games the 23-year-old turned out to be a star performer as despite only bagging the silver in 100m butterfly, she took the gold in the 200m butterfly in 2:03,86 while also powering China to gold in the 800m freestyle relay in a world record time.
What made it an astonishing feat was the fact her gold medals came in the same finals session. After prevailing in the 200m butterfly, she checked in with a split of 1:55.66 for her leg of the 800 freestyle relay with her time being the fastest in the history in a textile suit.
In fact, even she was surprised as she was only notified about her role in the event upon the conclusion of her individual event.
Zhang's performance at the Rio Olympics can be regarded as a mediocre one but that spurred her on to look ahead to Tokyo 2020 with renewed vigour.
In her mind she knew she was a talented person who could achieve better. But that was just not enough as she knew success comes to one "who works harder, who does better details, and who has a higher overall level.”
Her first move after Rio was to switch coaches and went under the tutelage of Cui Dengrong who was very detail-oriented with emphasis on techniques.
She had a great relationship with her new coach and improved. She engaged well with Cui and even made suggestions during practice.
The give-and-take relationship had a profound effect on her and was mindful that athletes must also have their own ideas to further improve. She acknowledges that the coach knows best but that does not mean it has to be a one-way street.
"We need to express our own ideas and discuss the most suitable method to help both of us improve together," is her mantra. - Agencies, September 11, 2021
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