Taikonauts host their own ‘Olympics’ aboard Chinese space station – Xinhua

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) — To mark China’s 16th National Fitness Day on Thursday, the three taikonauts aboard the Chinese space station organized their own sports event to share their joy of exercise and support the athletes of the ongoing Paris Olympic Games.

According to footage released by the China Media Group, the “Space Games” began with a mock torch relay. Commander Ye Guangfu, clad in an extravehicular activity suit, handed an improvised torch to crew member Li Cong, who then floated over a hurdle to hand it to fellow crew member Li Guangsu. Li Guangsu accepted the torch before performing a skillful long jump.

On the home stretch, the torch was returned to the team captain, who finished the relay with a graceful backward jump.

Li Guangsu and Li Cong later competed in a slow-motion tableless tennis match in which a golden ping-pong ball bounced against the walls in the station.

While watching the Chinese women’s volleyball team compete in Paris, Ye and Li Cong attempted to recreate a similar game in orbit, with one crew member in an upright position and the other inverted.

The three men in the core module playfully imitated swimming positions as they competed in a replica swimming pool, with Ye ultimately emerging as the winner. They then mimicked the moves of Olympic divers.

The final event of the Space Games was weightlifting. Ye jokingly pretended to exert himself as he lifted his two crewmates into zero gravity, even pausing to wipe imaginary sweat.

As the video broadcast came to an end, the trio conveyed their best wishes to Team China and encouraged them to take on challenges and pursue their dreams.

The Shenzhou-18 crew is more than halfway through their six-month space mission, which began with their launch in late April. And the time the three taikonauts have spent in Earth orbit has involved much more than experiments and spacewalks – they’ve also been maintaining a work-life balance. The Chinese Manned Space Agency has released video updates on the progress of their mission, showing how they’ve invested time in fitness. ■