An hour of rowing training requires 1,200 times of paddling. With two hours of training in the morning and two in the afternoon multiplied by a schedule of six days a week, the total number of paddling times amounts to 28,800.

That is the number of paddling Qiu Xiuping does in a week. As a rowing athlete from Shaoguan, Guangdong Province and the first gold medalist at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the 23-year-old girl has a pair of hands covered in calluses from paddling that are inconsistent with her age.

This pair of calloused hands have witnessed her efforts in paddling for years, and they have also propelled her towards her champion dream. As she firmly states, "Engaging in rowing is the best choice I have made on my life's journey."

To become an entirety with the boat

Qiu Xiuping had her first attempt at rowing in September 2013. "At that time I was naive. I just felt that drifting on the water was very relaxing and enjoyable." Rowing has changed Qiu Xiuping's life. In 2013, she was scouted from the Shaoguan City Youth Amateur Rowing Team to the Guangdong Provincial Rowing Team, thus embarking on a more professional training journey.

In Qiu's view, rowing is an athletic discipline that takes time to master. "The more you practice rowing, the more familiar with the boat you will be."

Qiu Xiuping refers to it as the unity of her body and the boat, a seamless integration with nature. To reach this state, one must enjoy the process. In the past, Qiu used to paddle by brute force, but now she has grasped the essence of the skills. "When rowing a boat, you feel free like a fish swimming in the water. You don't have to use brute force, it's all about the feeling."

"Just be a risk-taker and do it!"

Growing up, Qiu has laid a solid foundation for her subsequent leap in performance with the help of her coach, Guo Xiaobing. Then in 2021, she got acquainted with her senior teammate Huang Wenyi, the gold medalist in lightweight double sculls at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, who then became her pacemaker.

Since then, with a stronger determination to pursue her champion dream, Qiu has won the gold medal at the Shaanxi National Games and finished as the runner-up in the women's lightweight double sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Cup in Belgrade. She has also secured her qualification for the Paris Olympics in this year's World Rowing Championships.

After claiming the first gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Qiu boldly declared her ambition to "reach the highest podium at the Paris Olympics," earning countless praises for her confident personality. She describes herself as straightforward, "Everyone says I am a risk-taker. I'm always the first one to charge ahead. So just do it!"

It was also the first time for Qiu's parents to witness her competition on the spot. Qiu is able to go home just once a year, and she knows what difficulties her parents are facing. "Last year, my mom fell ill and was hospitalized. Her weight dropped from 140 to 120 pounds, and I felt very sorry for her. The support from my parents is my greatest motivation to move forward."

Calming down from euphoria, Qiu started to think about the Paris Olympics next year, fully aware of the challenges ahead. And she is clear about what to do in the next step — to paddle each stroke with dedication and get closer to her champion with every effort.

独家专访丨首金得主广东运动员邱秀萍：一双老茧手，划出冠军梦

一小时的水上训练需要划桨1200次，一天上下午各练两小时，在一周六练的节奏下，每周划桨总次数达到28800次！

这是杭州亚运会首金获得者、广东赛艇运动员邱秀萍一周的划桨次数。这名韶关姑娘的双手已满是划桨磨出的老茧，很难想象这是23岁女孩的手。

就是这双老茧手，见证了邱秀萍十年如一日的挥桨洒汗，也划出了她的赛艇冠军梦。她坚定地说：“从事赛艇运动，是我人生道路上最正确的选择。”

“磨”出人船合一的感觉

邱秀萍第一次接触赛艇是2013年9月，“当时很懵懂，第一次划桨漂在水面上的感觉很轻松，非常享受。”赛艇，改变了邱秀萍的人生轨迹。2013年，她被韶关市中心业余体校输送到广东省体校赛艇队，从此开始更专业的训练。

在邱秀萍看来，赛艇是需要时间沉淀的竞技项目，“只有你的手磨出了感觉，划得久了自然就会对艇有感觉。”

邱秀萍口中的感觉就是人船合一，与自然界完美融合。想达到这种境界，就要去享受这个过程。以前邱秀萍划桨是用蛮力，现在已逐渐领悟到个中真谛，“在水中划桨时，你会感觉特别舒服，就好似水中的鱼儿自由自在地游来游去，你也不需要花多大力气，就是这个感觉。”

“我是社牛，干就完了！”

在成长期，恩师郭晓兵为邱秀萍后期的成绩飞跃打下了坚实基础。而在2021年，邱秀萍遇到了师姐黄文仪，2010年广州亚运会女子轻量级双人双桨冠军成了她的领路人。

此后，邱秀萍更坚定地朝着自己的冠军梦前进，收获陕西全运会金牌；2022赛艇世界杯贝尔格莱德站，获得女子轻量级双人双桨亚军；今年的赛艇世锦赛锁定巴黎奥运会的参赛资格。

在摘得杭州亚运会的首金后，邱秀萍发出“巴黎奥运会冲击最高领奖台”的豪言壮语，飒爽的性格获得无数点赞。她自认是直来直去的性格，“大家都说我是社牛，什么事情我都是第一个往前冲，干就完了！”

这也是邱秀萍的父母第一次在现场观看她的比赛，一年只有一次回家机会的邱秀萍深知父母的不易，“去年妈妈生病住院，体重从140斤掉到120斤，我看着非常心疼，家里的支持与坚守，是我前进的最大动力。”

欣喜之后，冷静之余，邱秀萍对明年的巴黎奥运会充满期待，也深知充满挑战，但她很清楚自己前进的路——努力划好每一桨，冠军梦才会越来越近。

文｜记者 柴智 詹淑真
图｜记者 梁喻 林桂炎
翻译｜洪婷
责编丨古司祺
校对丨马曼婷