Feature: Taikonauts hold their own “Olympics” aboard China’s space station

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — To mark China’s 16th National Fitness Day on Thursday, the three taikonauts aboard China’s orbiting space station organized their own sports event to share their joy of exercise and show support for athletes at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
According to footage released by the China Media Group, the “Space Games” kicked off with a mock torch relay. Commander Ye Guangfu, clad in an extravehicular suit, passed an improvised torch to crew member Li Cong, who then floated over a hurdle to hand it to his crewmate, Li Guangsu. Li Guangsu accepted the torch before performing a skillful upright long jump.
In its final stretch, the torch was passed back to the crew commander, who completed the relay with a graceful back jump.
Li Guangsu and Li Cong later faced off in a slow-motion, tableless tennis match that saw a golden ping-pong ball hit against the walls inside the station.
While watching the Chinese women’s volleyball team compete in Paris, Ye and Li Cong attempted to replicate a similar match in orbit, with one crew member positioned upright and the other upside down.
The three men in the core module were seen playfully imitating swimming postures as they raced against one another in a mock pool, with Ye eventually emerging as the winner. They then proceeded to mimic the actions of Olympic divers.
The final competition of the Space Games was weightlifting. Jokingly, Ye pretended to exert great effort as he lifted his two crewmates in their zero-gravity environment, even pausing to wipe away imaginary sweat.
As the video feed came to an end, the trio sent their best wishes to Team China, encouraging them to embrace challenges and chase their dreams.
The Shenzhou-18 crew has progressed more than halfway through a six-month space mission that began with their launch in late April. And the time the three taikonauts have spent orbiting Earth has involved a lot more than experiments and spacewalks — they are also maintaining a work-life balance. The China Manned Space Agency has released video updates over the course of their mission, showing how they have been devoting time to their fitness. ■