A former national team swimmer, Ning Zetao broke the Chinese record in the 100-meter freestyle in 2013 as one of the most commercially valuable active sports stars.
Why was he expelled from the national team in 2017, despite how he had behaved so "unbeatable"?And now, how has his life changed?
Ning Zetao was born in 1993, and his hometown is Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
The two generations of his ancestors were soldiers, but due to the protection of his grandparents, Ning Zetao did not receive militarized education from a military family when he grew up, but lived a pampered life.
Ning Zetao is the only child in the family, and he has not experienced any grievances since he was a child, as long as it is something he is unwilling to do, no one can force him to do it.
Under the pampering of his family, he even lived a life of stretching out his hands for clothes and opening his mouth for food, and became a complete "little master".
Surprisingly, Ning Zetao, a future swimmer, was very afraid of water when he was a child, afraid to approach the river, and even extremely resisted when washing his hair. This made his parents very worried.
Liu Wenhong's mother had never forced her son, but this time she decided not to sit idly by. Seeing that Ning Zetao was weak, often sick, and afraid of water, his parents forced him to go to a swimming training class.
When Liu Wenhong first arrived at the pool, he turned his head and found that his son was missing, and he was anxious to think that he had escaped.
Later, I found out that Ning Zetao watched the other children jump into the water, and he was also curious, so he plunged into the water. This frightened Liu Wenhong, and hurriedly went into the water to catch people.
After Ning Zetao was rescued unscathed, he actually smirked unexpectedly.
From that moment on, an inseparable bond was formed between Ning Zetao and the water.
Ning Zetao is extremely talented in swimming, and many movements are still being Xi by other students, and he has been able to skillfully use them in swimming.
Coach Guo Hongyan came to the amateur sports school to teach again, this time he was teaching the new movements of breaststroke, but surprisingly, as soon as he finished speaking, Ning Zetao turned around and jumped into the water.
Guo Hongyan, who just wanted to get angry, found that the child actually swam in a standard breaststroke position.
After Guo Hongyan saw this discovery, his eyes lit up with excitement, because this is exactly the outstanding talent he has been looking for, right?
Perhaps there are those who fail to understand the difficulties faced by professional swimmers. Unlike ordinary swimmers, professional swimmers not only need to ensure that their movements are standardized, but also need to pursue speed.
This requires an athlete to be able to use every muscle in their body, and this is an achievement that requires hard training and a lot of talent.
In swimming, a good coach is crucial. Under the careful guidance of Guo Hongyan, Ning Zetao led the ** in the swimming pool.
In 2004, he joined the Henan Provincial Sports Brigade and officially embarked on his career path.
At only 11 years old, he went from being afraid of water to loving water in just four years. Liu Wenhong watched her son's body become stronger day by day, and felt a little restless.
Both generations of the family have been in the military, so there is only one expectation for the son, that is, to continue to serve in the army.
When telling his son about this idea, Ning Zetao said: "I won't go, because my friends are here, and if I leave, no one will play with me." ”
Liu Wenhong gently persuaded: "There are quite a few teammates in the Navy Swimming Team, which is really full of momentum." ”
Despite his young age, Ning Zetao disagreed. The mother had no choice but to deceive her son to take her son for a medical examination.
Ning Zetao had no doubt that he thought it was just a routine physical examination, because since joining the swimming team, he has been undergoing physical examinations every once in a while.
His mother said to him meaningfully, after the physical examination: "In a few days, you will report to the army." ”
Ning Zetao suddenly realized that he had been deceived.
He has reached the point where he can't regret it, so Ning Zetao hasn't paid attention to his parents for a long time, all for this matter.
In the army, after a long period of training, Ning Zetao gradually changed his concept and realized the good intentions of his parents. After all, the troops are not an ordinary place.
In the Navy swimming team, Ning Zetao is the youngest member, so he receives special care from his teammates. Thousands of miles away, he felt more freedom than he had ever felt before, and he also learned to live independently in this place.
Ye Jin, the famous coach of the national team, was the coach of the swimming team at that time, and she had coached students such as Qi Hui and Zhao Tao.
Ye Jin was very busy at work, because she was preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, so she spent most of her time in the national team.
Without the help of his coach, Ning Zetao did not indulge himself, but trained diligently. At that time, in the freestyle event, he had already become the top swim team in the swimming team.
However, the long-term absence from home and the difference in diet between the north and the south made Ning Zetao a little maladaptable, so he missed his hometown even more.
He was still a kid after all, and he couldn't help but want to complain at times like these.
Ye Jin is a stern coach, and she only said one sentence to Ning Zetao's complaints: "As a professional athlete, you are not joking, every athlete has experienced unimaginable hardships behind it." If you can't even accept that, you might as well go home early. ”
The coach's encouragement ignited Ning Zetao's desire to win, and he has never complained since.
Ning Zetao calmed down and made rapid progress, and after the Beijing Olympics, he also participated in the first National Games in his life.
Ning Zetao finished eighth at the 2009 National Games and suffered a knee injury, forcing him to concentrate on developing his best freestyle.
Two years later, Ning Zetao participated in the national swimming competition again, successfully advanced and won the first place. Unfortunately, the trophy was lost by a narrow margin in the final.
Despite the lack of success in both races, his performances have fully proven his potential.
However, fate is changeable, Ning Zetao originally thought that his career would be smooth sailing, but he ushered in the first low point in his life.
Ning Zetao was banned for one year in the 2012 competition for accidentally eating "Clenbuterol", which made him deeply regretful.
He trained around the clock for a year, eventually winning the 2013 national swimming championship and breaking the Chinese record.
Subsequently, he continued to achieve excellent results in competitions.
Ning Zetao made history at the 12th National Games, breaking the Asian record with a time of 48.27 seconds.
Ning Zetao broke the Asian record again at the 2014 Asian Games, using only 47.70 seconds, becoming the first yellow runner in the world to swim in 48 seconds, when he was only 21 years old.
In 2015, Ning Zetao won the best male athlete among the sports figures, and won the championship at the World Championships in the same year, and his sports career reached its peak.
However, the good times didn't last long. Unexpectedly, this gold medal became the only most precious championship award in his life.
He quickly gained popularity in the sports world after becoming famous, with a large number of loyal fans, and at the same time, advertisers continued to come to his door asking him to endorse.
The national team wants to make unified arrangements for athletes' advertisements, and Ning Zetao's illegal acceptance of endorsements has caused dissatisfaction with the national team, which also lays a hidden danger for him to be expelled from the national team in the future.
Because of his long-term dedication to the advertising business, Ning Zetao neglected training, which caused his skills to gradually regress, and he could no longer reach the results of his peak, and could not even swim for 48 seconds.
Perhaps, the fundamental reason for Ning Zetao's departure from the national team is the decline in his strength. In the national team, there are many "disobedient" athletes, such as Wang Meng and Zhang Jike, who are all "thorns".
But because they have the support of the world championship results, the strength speaks for itself.
Ning Zetao's career plummeted in 2017, when he fell from the national team to the Navy swim team and eventually returned to the Henan team, never competing at the national level since.
The once-shining swimmer announced his retirement in 2019 at the age of 26. While athletes his age are still fighting on the field, he has chosen a different path.
Although some people think that it is irresponsible for him to give up his sports career for the benefit of advertising endorsements, it is commendable that he has never forgotten who he is.
According to rumors, after retiring, a number of foreign swimming teams sent invitations to Ning Zetao and promised to give him a high salary, but Ning Zetao was unswerving, rejected these **, and always maintained his Chinese nationality.
Some people believe that with his popularity and appearance, he can enter the entertainment industry to develop. Surprisingly, however, he eventually chose to return to campus to continue his academic career.
2021 has quietly come, and some netizens found that Ning Zetao actually began to focus on playing golf, and his skills seem to be quite good. It seems that he has not given up on his dream of being an athlete.
His departure from the national team is a shame because, given his potential, if he trains more, he may be able to become a future world champion who can bring glory to his country.
However, he chose his current path and, despite leaving the national team, he still loves his country and continues to shine on the sports field.