“Never Give Up and Challenge Ourselves”—the 121st Southwest Jiaotong University Sports Meeting Successfully Held

The 121st Sports Meeting and the 125th anniversary of the founding of Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) kicked off in the north stadium of the Xipu campus on the morning of April 16, 2021. The participants included Wang Shunhong, Party Committee Secretary of SWJTU, Principal Yang Dan, Vice Principal Zhou Zhongrong, directors of departments and deans of schools in SWJTU.

The opening ceremony started at 8:30 am. The team from the School of Civil Engineering (SCE) consisted of blue, red and white, blue for the teachers’ calmness and wisdom, red for the students’ enthusiasm and hope, meanwhile, the “small red civil” cartoon full of positive energy also joined the squad. Besides, excellent show in the opening ceremony was performed by the students and teachers from the SCE to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC and the 125th anniversary of the founding of the SWJTU. The slogan—A stable mainstay with one hundred-year history, to reform and strive for the top—also demonstrated the confidence and inexhaustible courage of the SCE for the future.

After the splendid and grand opening ceremony, the two-day Sports meeting officially started in the North Stadium, and good news came one after another, about the good performance of SCE in field and track events.

Li Yanzhe took the second place in the student men’s shot put, fully showing the strong and vigorous characteristics of boys from the SCE. Wu Bangyu won the first place in the student men’s 400m qualifying competition, and Li Yijie and Fu Yifei also won the first and third place in the student women’s 800m qualifying competition.

Tan Qilong took the first place in the men’s 100m preliminary with a perfect performance in a time of 11.43s. In the final, with a gunshot, Tan dashed fast as expected, with all eyes on him; every muscle twitching and every drop of sweat spilling showed that he was striving for a higher goal, and finally after his successful sprinting across the line, everyone cheered and applauded for him. He not only made it to the first place with an amazing performance, but also successfully broke his own record of men’s 100m, setting a new record for men’s 100m in SWJTU.

In addition, team games also brought a lot of good news. In the Penguin Walk and the Student Group Mixed Rope Skipping Relay Competition, with great wisdom and excellent teamwork, our school won the third and second place. Meanwhile, our team also took the third place in the men’s 4×100m final with a stunning performance.

At the same time, our faculty and staff also achieved many excellent results. Teachers were also among the best in the women’s and men’s faculty 60m and 100m, shot put and other games.

On the second day (April 17, 2021) of the sports meeting, there was light rain, but the competition was still in full swing and the athletes were full of passion.

Besides, our athletes made joint efforts and had a close cooperation in the team games. For example, the students from the SCE became the champion of the fun game—“In the Same Boat” with a big lead. Also, faculty and staff from the SCE tried their best to sprint forward in the 10×50m relay. Finally, our school won the championship in an imperious manner after the fierce competition. At the same time, the faculty team also worked together and did well in the long rope jumping game.

In the women’s 400m final, with the sound of starting gun, the athletes dashed to the finish line. The exciting news came that Dai Ying won the third place. At the same time, the women’s shot put final was continuing on the track field. The elegant parabolas displayed the athletes’ huge inner strength. Then, Li Yijie and Pan Wenjia won the third and sixth place inn this game.

Teachers in faculty team were still striving for success. Here came the games of the Men’s and women’s 400m finals, women’s long jump and basketball shooting. Our players as brave warriors who never gave up and vigorously competed on the field, showed the spirits of the SCE.

The women’s and men’s 4×400m finals were held around 15:10. Indeed, it was a competition of speed, endurance and cooperation. The baton was passed rapidly in the hands of four players, and the audience on the field cheered and waited nervously for the last player to cross the finish line. In the end, our school won the third place in the women’s group, and the champion of men’s group! In the men’s 1000m final, Xu Tianxin did not disappoint the spectators and won the champion.

Finally, the closing ceremony took place at 17:15, April 17, 2021. In this sports meeting, owing to the great efforts of all athletes, SCE won the 1st place in student group A with 329 points and the 3rd place in faculty group A with 176 points, and won the “Sportsmanship Award” and “Best Organization Award for Students”.

After this competition, the faculty and students of the SCE will continue to persist in exercising, and devote themselves to both their study and work with a positive and progressive spirit. As a stable mainstay with one hundred-year history, the faculty and students from the SCE in this wonderful sports event, displayed the spirits of fighting for the best, working hard, and never giving up, and composed a new chapter of victory with sweat and efforts.