For decades, Mu Xiangxiong has won many enviable honors. 1959, the state sports commission awarded him the national medal of honor for sports. 1986 was elected as the national excellent swimmer. 1987, was named the best coach in China. 1988 12 was selected as one of the top 20 excellent coaches in China during the 6th National Games held in Guangzhou. 1989, was named the top ten coaches in China. 1990 was invited to protect the flag for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Asian Games. 1994, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), was named as one of the 45 outstanding sports athletes since the founding of New China. When Mu Xiangxiong was young, sports in China was still very backward, and China people were often called "the sick man of East Asia" by other countries. A cartoon full of irony left a deep impression on young Mu Xiangxiong, which also prompted him to practice swimming with his father.
"The content of the cartoon is to draw a big egg, a big egg with a five-ring flag. There is a thin and shriveled man with long braids and a big pick. The curve on his leg looks as if it is shaking. (He wants to) break the egg. It means satirizing the sick man of East Asia who wants to make achievements in the Olympic Games and break the deadlock. At last he wrote three words, which is impossible. "
After reading this cartoon, Mu Xiangxiong's father was very angry. He hopes that his children can practice sports and prove that China people are also good at the Olympic Games. However, what events should we practice? As an athlete's father, he has his own opinion. He thinks that athletes in Asian countries have similar physical conditions, and China can learn from neighboring Japanese experience.
Mu Xiangxiong, who is quite talented in swimming, quickly emerged, and won the Tianjin Swimming Competition Award the year he just started to learn swimming. Since then, Mu Xiangxiong's interest in learning swimming has become more intense, and the situation of ranking in the competition has become out of control. 1952 won the national swimming championship 100 meter and 200 meter breaststroke champion, 1953 joined the newly formed Chinese national swimming team. 1946 years old 12 years old, participated in the first swimming exhibition in Tianjin for the first time and won the first place in the children's group and a silver shield. 1August, 947 and1April, 948 participated in the Tianjin Swimming Open successively, and both won the first place in the children's group, and were known as "swimming prodigies".
1950, as a student of Tianjin No.1 Middle School, she participated in 6 one-way dives, 3 one-way dives and 3 one-way backstrokes in Tianjin swimming competition and won the championship. 195 1 On July 23rd, 2008, it set a new national record for the men's 200m breaststroke, which was held in old China for 16 years. On August 26th, in the Beijing-Tianjin swimming competition, he set a national record for the men's 200m breaststroke with a time of 2 feet, 56 inches and 7 seconds. 1952 In August, Mu Xiangxiong, who was just 17 years old, participated in the first national swimming competition held in Guangzhou on behalf of the North China team, and won the 100 meter and 200m breaststroke championships, and broke the national record of 200m diving breaststroke with a score of 2' 54 "8. Facing the achievements, he said: "I am determined to study hard, improve my achievements, strive to catch up with the international level, break the world record and win glory for the motherland and the people." "
1In July 1953, Mu Xiangxiong was selected for the national team and went to Moscow to participate in the swimming trials of the International Youth Games, breaking the national record of the men's 200m breaststroke with 2' 25 "4. From 1954 to 1956, Mu Xiangxiong won many gold medals and silver medals in breaststroke competitions at home and abroad, and won 9 international swimming championships in 100 and 200m breaststroke only in 1956. 1956 After the Melbourne Olympic Games, FINA stipulated that "diving is not allowed in official competitions" and did not recognize the original world record. This is undoubtedly a great loss for Mu Xiangxiong who dived for 40 or 50 meters at a time. But he didn't flinch. With the help of his father and coach, he quickly gave up his diving specialty and explored the "half-altitude" technical action, which was successful.
1958 65438+On February 20th, in the swimming competition held in Beijing, he scored1'1"4, and after diving was suspended, he set a world record of 100 meter breaststroke. Eight months later, on August 30th, 1959,1'1kloc-0/"3 set a new world record for 1000 meters breaststroke. 1On September 7th, 959, in the final of the first National Games 100 meter breaststroke, she broke the world record for the third time with the score of1'1"1. "China Youth Daily" reported: "This kind of case of breaking one's own record three times in a short time is rare in the history of swimming in the world. As soon as the news was released, there was a storm of applause in the swimming pool and it lasted for a quarter of an hour. " In the national swimming competition in 1950s, he won the 100 meter breaststroke champion seven times and the 200m breaststroke champion seven times, and was known as the "frog king". Mu Xiangxiong and a dozen teammates were sent to study in Hungary, which opened his eyes and made his training methods more scientific and effective. The study and life in Hungary left a good memory for Mu Xiangxiong. He feels that if he doesn't study hard and get some achievements, it will be a shame for his country.
He studied while studying, and finally found a unique breaststroke method-underwater breaststroke. He made impressive achievements in many subsequent competitions by using this swimming method. 1958 broke the 100 meter breaststroke world record. 1959, he broke the world record twice with 1 min, 1 1 sec, 1 1 sec. Mu Xiangxiong's brilliant swimming experience reached its peak at that time. Like many athletes' experiences, Mu Xiangxiong became the head coach of China swimming team after retiring, and trained many excellent athletes for China swimming. Especially after retirement, he also set up some swimming clubs to train children who may become famous swimmers in the future.
65438-0963, Mu Xiangxiong was the coach of the national swimming team. 1964 was invited to Vietnam as the coach of the national swimming team, and its female athletes won the 200m breaststroke championship at the Asian Emerging Power Games held in Indonesia in 1966. During the Cultural Revolution, Mu Xiangxiong was shocked and imprisoned for 40 days. 1976 after smashing the gang of four, he returned to the national team and served as the head coach of the national swimming team to discover and cultivate talents. His disciples Huang, Ye Runcheng, Wang Lin and Liang all achieved excellent results in the international swimming competition. Later, Mu Xiangxiong served as the vice chairman of China Swimming Association, and continued to contribute his wisdom to China's swimming career.
Today, Mu Xiangxiong, the "Frog King", is still active in swimming, although he has already retired. In 2003, Mu Xiangxiong Swimming Training Center was established in Tianmu Village. In 2005, it was renamed Mu Xiangxiong Swimming Club. Every year, 200 or 300 preschool children gather around and train carefully, in order to continue the glory of "Mu Jiajun" swimming in China, and continue to exert their own light and enthusiasm. 1956 Before the Melbourne Olympic Games, Mu Xiangxiong ranked first in the world at that time. At that time, the State Sports Commission carefully selected 92 athletes including swimming events for training in Beijing. These athletes included China's elite athletes at that time, including the world record-breaking weightlifter and high jumper Zheng. The sports delegation has arrived in Guangzhou and is waiting to leave Hong Kong for Melbourne. As a result, a deputy stationmaster of an advance station said that the flag of "Taiwan Province delegation" had been raised in the Olympic Village, which was obviously a plot to create "two China". For this reason, our delegation did not participate, and the team came back.
In order to test its own strength, the State Sports Commission held a unique Olympic Games in Shanghai at the same time as the Melbourne Olympic Games. In that competition, Mu Xiangxiong's performance in the 200m breaststroke was nearly 2 minutes and 2 seconds faster than that of Melbourne Olympic champion. If Mu Xiangxiong participated in the Olympic Games and Mu Xiangxiong won the gold medal, then China won the gold medal 28 years earlier, and the history of the China Olympic Games is likely to be rewritten.
However, to his delight, his disciple Hong Qian finally helped him realize his dream of an Olympic gold medal. Hong Qian won the gold medal in 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. He waited for this late gold medal for 36 years.