From January 19 to February 1, Beijing time, the fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games were held in Gangwon Province, South Korea. As the competition continues, mixed-gender competition is one of the highlights of the Winter Youth Olympic Games. It is reported that mixed gender teams are set up in many events such as Nordic combined, cross-country skiing, short track speed skating, biathlon, ski jumping, alpine skiing and freestyle skiing. For example, the Chinese team cooperated tacitly in the short track speed skating mixed team relay and finally won the gold medal.
In recent years, in order to promote gender equality among athletes, improve the level of competition, and increase the spectacle of events, there has been a gradual increase in the number of mixed-gender competitions and events in international competitions. With the leading role of the Olympic Games, mixed-gender sports are gradually expanding to more international sports competitions.
Hybrid projects are on the rise.
Racquet sports, which are more suitable for men and women, are also the first mixed-gender (mixed doubles) international competitions to appear. As early as the seventies and eighties of the last century, mixed doubles competitions appeared in badminton, tennis and table tennis.
However, for badminton, tennis and table tennis, the mixed doubles rules are different. For example, table tennis mixed doubles requires one person and one board, and there are strict round restrictions. Badminton, which became an official Olympic sport in 1992, made its debut in mixed doubles at Atlanta 1996. At London 2012, the mixed doubles event returned to the Olympic Games after a long hiatus.
The number of new events added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has significantly increased the number of mixed events. In addition to the table tennis mixed doubles, which attracted the attention of Chinese audiences, the added mixed events also included the 4 100m men's and women's medley relay, mixed archery team, track and field 4 400m mixed relay, judo mixed team competition, triathlon mixed team relay, etc. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, there will be a total of nine mixed events, four of which are new.
The reporter learned that at this year's Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee continued to "make a fuss" about the mixed men's and women's events. As a new event, the marathon race walking mixed relay has become the second co-ed Olympic track and field event after the 4,400m mixed relay.
There is a reason for growing popularity.
Due to the innate differences in physical strength between men and women, it has always been a tradition in the sports world for male and female athletes to compete separately on the field. So why has there been an increasing trend of male and female matching events in international competitions in recent years?
The reporter learned that the promotion of equality between men and women is the most direct reason. Eliminating gender disparities and creating opportunities for female athletes to compete and ultimately achieving equal opportunities for men and women has always been the goal of the IOC and some other individual sports organizations. In response, the IOC's sport director, Kate McConnell, has said that changing some men's events to mixed events or creating a separate mixed sports "increases the opportunities for female athletes to compete and helps to achieve gender equality on the field".
The data shows that the proportion of female athletes in the Olympic Games has increased in recent years, from 26 in the 1988 Seoul Olympics1% rose to 48 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics8%γFor the first time at the upcoming Paris Olympics, this proportion will reach 50 per cent, achieving full equality between men and women.
In the eyes of industry insiders, the mixed events will help improve the technical level of the players. In this regard, FINA President Musalam once said about joining the men's and women's medley: "Due to the different technical characteristics of male and female athletes, they can learn from each other in training and competition, so as to improve their technical level. β
Improving the spectacle and increasing the suspense of the competition is also another reason to promote the increase in mixed events. In this regard, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC**) said frankly that the mixed events of men and women are more tests of the psychological state and competitive state of athletes, "the competition has more highlights, and the audience wants more suspense".
To the surprise of the audience, synchronized swimming, known as "water ballet", has also begun to accept male athletes in recent years. In 2014, a mixed gender event was added to the international synchronized swimming competition for the first time. It is reported that in this year's Paris Olympics, male athletes are allowed to participate in the Olympic Huayou collective event for the first time, and each team can have up to 2 male players among the 8 players.
Find the pattern to meet the challenge.
Industry insiders believe that the increase in mixed-gender events in international competitions has provided new opportunities for the Chinese team, but the challenges have also increased accordingly. To this end, China's sports community must plan ahead and respond effectively.
According to Wang Lian, the leader of the Chinese shooting team, the national team has not yet set up a head coach for mixed events, and the male and female players are still in charge of their respective coaches, but there will be special time for pairing training in the usual schedule. "In a mixed match, you have to play two people at the same time, so it's important to adjust the rhythm of both sides. As for the rules of the mixed team competition, both the Chinese team and the world's top teams are still in the process of exploring. β
Some mixed events are more of a test of the mental quality of the athletes. In this regard, butterfly swimmer Zhang Yufei has a deep experience. She said that the medley competition is more exciting, "just swim your own in the individual competition, the psychological fluctuation is relatively small, and the medley is especially in the headwind situation, which tests the psychological quality." The line-up in the medley also tests the coach. Depending on the opponent on the field and the athlete's own situation, the coach may use different tactical arrangements such as "male and female", "male male" and "male**male".
Li Jian, a professor at the Capital Institute of Physical Education, believes that the inspiration for the Chinese team from the increasing number of mixed events is that they should pay attention to the matching of men and women in training, promote mutual learning, and plan early for project adjustment. "For example, the new mixed-gender events at this year's Winter Youth Olympic Games are likely to appear on the stage of the future Winter Olympics, and they must be planned and deployed in advance, so that male and female athletes in these sports can find a tacit understanding in advance. β