Free running

New sports are invented all the time. They spread quickly around the world and find new fans.

A popular new sport in recent years is “free running”. It is also called “parkour (跑酷)”. This is a French word. It comes from the name of special (特殊的) training for soldiers. It is the sport of moving through a place by running, jumping and climbing under, around and through things.

Free running is not like other sports. You do not use a ball or a bat. You do not have to wear special clothes. In fact, all you need is your own body and the environment where you live. You can practice by yourself or with other people. The sport is a little like gymnastics, and requires great skill and athletic ability. Free runners try to get from one place to another over whatever obstacles are in their way. They do this in the fastest and most efficient way.                 

They do not use any other equipment, but their body. The sport involves running, jumping, climbing, swinging, rolling, and many other movements.

The sport was born in France. The founder (创始人) was in the army. In the army, they had special courses, and soldiers had to complete them. This made them stronger and fitter. He then taught it to his son. His son started using it in the city where he lived. Slowly, more people joined him and it became popular.

Now free running is popular with young people around the world. It has also appeared (出现) in films and music videos. It is also being considered as a possible new Olympic sport for future game. Of course, you must only practice with trained people, and you must fit!

For almost 100 years, the Winter Olympics has been a celebration of snow and ice sports around the world. It is a special event that only happens once every four years.

Although the Winter Olympics started with just five sports across nine disciplines (项目) in France in 1924, it has grown to include seven sports across 15 different disciplines and has been hosted in 12 countries across three continents (大陆). In February, 2022, for the first time ever in the Games’ history, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

China has come a long way (取得很大进展) and achieved many goals since it took part in the Winter Olympics for the first time in 1980. In this short period of time, China’s players have won medals in six of the event’s sports. Short track speed skating (短道速滑) has been an area of expertise (专长) for China.

China’s love for winter sports has been growing. The Ministry of Education ( 教育部) has set a goal of building 5,000 special schools by 2025 to improve winter sports education.

The government has also been encouraging primary and middle schools to add winter sports to their subjects. Many provinces and cities have already acted on this suggestion. Classes will be set up in schools in northern China to improve interest in winter sports. In southern China, schools can work with ice rinks (溜冰场) and winter sports clubs.

Beijing has already set a good example. It is reported that nearly 840, 000 students in the city have begun taking winter sports lessons, including skating and skiing lessons.

How long would it take you to run 5, 000 meters? Li Yiben, 80 years old, ran 5, 000 meters in 28 minutes and 6 seconds.

Li did it in a race in Huainan, Anhui Province on 3rd April. There were six runners in his group. The other five were three men with 50—60 years old and two women with 30 years old. Li was the oldest but he finished the race third.

“This is tough. I have never worked so hard,” said Li after the race.

Li served in the military (在军队) when he was young. In 1968, he left the military and found a new job. Li had to go over 20 km from home to work. That’s when he was interested in running. Li ran to work every two or three days. That made him a great runner.

After he left work in 1995, Li spent more time running. In 1998, Li ran a 100 km marathon. He ran in the National Athletics Championships (全国锦标赛) in 1999. One year later, he went to the Asia Athletics Championships (亚锦赛) in India.

In the following years, Li kept running. “Running makes me feel younger,” said Li.