PyeongChang / Republic of Korea

#SpeedSkating                          #PyeongChang2018

Zhang GettyImages 918108000

Hong Zhang (CHN) handed China the first speed skating gold, when she won the ladies’ 1000m in Sochi four years ago. This time around, she’s not high up the list of favorites. Her preparations for PyeongChang 2018 have been plagued by a long struggle to overcome the pain she feels in her knees.

What began in October 2016 as a cartilage-related issue in her right knee has recently extended to her left joint, compounding the difficulties faced by the Sochi 1000m champion.

"My knee has affected me a lot in the last two years," she explained. "No matter how much warm-up I do, how much physiotherapy I put myself through, it still hurts constantly. Sometimes it hurts so much I can’t even go down the stairs. No matter how much warm-up I do, how much physiotherapy I put myself through, it still hurts constantly.

“The doctors even advised me to just be on bed rest and take the weight off my knees for three months to recover. But that's not an option for me, at least not now.”

The stories of fellow Olympians inspired Zhang to carry on.

 "It can be frustrating, especially since it's chronic. You feel like it’s something you have no control over and just can't beat. But injury is not a scary thing. I’ve been turning to self-motivational books, as well as the stories of other Olympic athletes to spur myself on to overcome this injury."

Zhang has changed a lot since Sochi 2014. “The ZHANG Hong of 2014 was like a newborn calf who had no fear for a tiger. A rookie who feared nothing. Now, after all that I’ve been through in the last four years: victory then failure and the agony of injury, the ZHANG Hong of 2018 is a more mature person.

"I understand better the true meaning of being an Olympic athlete."

In that spirit she feels it’s not the medal that counts, but the constant struggle to improve oneself.

"I don’t want to give myself the pressure of defending the gold. I just want to be the best version of myself. Only when you constantly outdo yourself on the ice, will you be able to beat your opponents.

"Will I win gold, or a medal, or beat whomever? It's something I will achieve in the process of competing against myself. It's more important to first beat myself.