He Yueji: A Record-busting Teen Weightlifter Who Never Quits

By HICN / HICN / Updated: 21:31,20-January-2022

19-year old He Yueji is a member of Hainan's weightlifting team. He began training at the age of nine, going on to win several accolades. In 2019, he coolly snagged three gold medals at the Chinese National U-series Men's Weightlifting Championship in the 61kg class, breaking the national youth records both for overall performance and in the snatch category while beating the world youth record for clean and jerk. In 2020, at the Chinese National Men's Weightlifting Championship and Tokyo simulated Olympics - held concurrently - he smashed both another national and world record with a 146kg snatch. At the 2021 Chinese National Men's Weightlifting Championship and the 14th National Games weightlifting preliminaries, he won overall champion in addition to champion of the snatch category.

However, in the men's 61kg weightlifting category at the 10th National Games that ended recently, He Yueji failed three consecutive snatch attempts, losing the competition. Though he had sustained an injury prior to the competition, this failure was enough to stir up doubts. In the face of these doubts, this record-breaking teen has this to say: I will get through this rough patch. There is nothing that can stand in my way. "

The only thing that keeps him going, according to him, is his dream of one day becoming an Olympic champion, a dream he has never doubted. Wang Yuanyi, the coach of the Hainan provincial weightlifting team also said, "As an athlete, it's virtually impossible to avoid injury, so if you want to actually get somewhere professionally, you can't be afraid to get hurt. Everything has its ups and downs. "

Talking about how he got into weightlifting, He Yueji smiled and said that he loved sports from a young age. He could walk on his hands, something that other kids couldn't do but which was easy for him. "He Yueji is in top physical form as far as weightlifting goes, especially in terms of explosive force. So long as you plant seedlings in the right place, they're bound to blossom," said Wang Yuanyi.

He Yueji gets up at 5:30 every day to train. During training, he lifts then lowers each weight, increasing the weight as he goes along. The amount of weight he can lift in a day reaches about 12 tons. According to He, weightlifting is now an integral part of his life.

Recalling his previous defeat, He Yueji looked a little depressed, but said in a firm tone, "Not all labor bears fruit. If you can't make it with what you have, just continue to work hard. I also like to compete with myself." Saying this, He appeared a little embarrassed, smiling awkwardly before adding, "You have to test your limits every day during training, and the number of times you will succeed are few, but only if you challenge yourself can you grow. When I succeed, it really puts me in a good mood; I feel that I have overcome myself.

Click the video above and watch He Yueji, Hainan's tenacious, record-beating teenage weightlifter talk about what it takes to rise to the top in Episode 2 of Going for Gold: Pushing the Limits.

Produced by: New Hainan APP, Xuexi Qiangguo Hainan Platform, Hainan International Media Center and Nanguo Classroom.

Chief Planner: Han Chaoguang

Planner: Luo Jianli

Producer: Hu Xufa / Lin Ying

Executive Producer: Liu Sunmou / Lin Mingyang

Script / Interview: Lin Mingyang

Photography: Liu Sunmou / Meng Meishun

Video Editor: Hou Zhaozheng

Translation: David Janke

Editor: Li Xiang

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