by sportswriters Zhang Han, Wang Chunyan, Yue Wenwan
BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic debutant Zhu Yi cried out again after her free skate in the women's figure skating team event at the Beijing Winter Olympics here on Monday, but this time her tears were for the praise she received from her teammates and the audience.
"I tried so hard to hold my tears back even before I started to skate, since I heard the applause and chanting from my teammate and the audience," she said afterwards.
"And before that, [China's pairs skater] Peng Cheng gave me a hug when I took off my slides in the athletes' rest room. It was so touching and sweet," she added.
Zhu was warmly welcomed after stepping off the rink and was held around tightly over her shoulders by China's ice dancer Wang Shiyue at the kiss and cry corner while waiting for her score.
"It's like a family to compete here in Beijing together with my team. I'm so grateful to have them," she said. "Without my teammates, I don't even know whether I can make it."
The 19-year-old sensation, who burst into tears after committing a major error by missing a triple loop during her short program on Sunday, fell twice in her free skate to Sunset Boulevard, but managed to turn a triple toeloop into a triple-double combination later.
She delivered three four-grade spins during the free skating routine for 91.41 points, almost 20 points less than her season's best, and finished bottom among five skaters to add six points to China's total score in the finals.
"I feel, first of all, relieved after the free skating, especially because I was under a lot of pressure and expecting something. But right now, I'm going to move on and focus on my individual event," Zhu said.
Not many expected China to be in medal contention. Zhu and her teammates' achievements in qualifying for the team event free skate for the first time at an Olympic Winter Games, led by two-time world champion pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, has already made history.
As the sole women's singles competitor here from the host nation, Zhu, who seized her chance through a month-long series of trials against two other Chinese skaters, said that she was just too anxious to prove herself.
"I know everybody in China was pretty surprised with the selection for the ladies, and I just really wanted to show them what I was able to do," she told reporters on Sunday.
Asked whether she would do extra training to prepare for the individual event on February 15 and 17, Zhu said, "Honestly, I've trained really hard and I think the main thing is mentality and trying not to be distracted by outside influences."
Describing what this Olympics means to her, Zhu, who was born to Chinese parents in Los Angeles and won the novice division at the 2018 U.S. Championships in San Jose before being naturalized as a Chinese citizen the following year, said it feels unreal.
"It means the world to me," Zhu said. "Especially when you are surrounded by all the international competitors and your team. It's like something you can't really expect." ■
