Chinese swimmer Li Bingjie reveals secret of her return to LA Olympic track: cold buns
National Games gold medallist says she was never a prodigy but a ‘shark’ who found her way back to the top through sheer grit
Chinese swimming star Li Bingjie has rejected the notion she was ever a prodigy, and rather considered herself to be a “shark” who swam her way back to the top through years of hardship and who now had her sights set on the Los Angeles Olympics.
Li rose to fame at age 15, breaking the Asian record when she won silver at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, and claiming four gold medals at the National Games that year.
However, there was an eight-year gap before she achieved another four-gold performance last year.
“The pool suddenly didn’t recognise me any more,” she said in an interview with state media released on Sunday.
At her career peak, “I felt the whole pool belonged to me”. But during a prolonged slump, she went through injuries, a sharp drop in results and even missed making the finals at a world championship.
“I couldn’t see any hope,” she said, “but I wasn’t willing to give up.”