Chapter 10

On the morning of the second day, the finals of the track events and long-distance races were held first, with the men's 100-meter final scheduled for the afternoon.

In this competition, apart from Zhang Guan, no other dark horses emerged, and the finalists were all familiar faces. At this stage, those still on the track were the top athletes in the country for the men's 100 meters, representing the highest level of competition domestically.

Zhang Guan, the sudden rising dark horse, naturally became the focus of everyone's attention. Almost everyone at the scene knew that this young man had an unusual speed but a terrible start. More informed sources had already found out that Zhang Guan was discovered by Coach Chen during a national second-level athlete test and had only undergone two months of formal training.

Everyone knew that Zhang Guan was a newcomer to track and field, but no one considered him a weakling. After all, Zhang Guan had secured a spot in the Olympics the previous day. Although the top domestic athletes would likely run much faster than the Olympic B standard if they performed well, competitive sports have many unpredictable factors. If no one reached the Olympic B standard in the next year, Zhang Guan would become the sole participant in the 100 meters at the next Olympics.

The level of short-distance running in the country was not high enough to compete for rankings internationally, so participating in the Olympics was undoubtedly the greatest dream of domestic short-distance runners.

On the track, the athletes were preparing. Shen Bao approached Chen Jian and said, "That new guy, Zhang Guan, is really fast. I think if his start could be faster, he would definitely be quicker than you."

Chen Jian smiled and said, "I heard from our team's old Yin (Yin Hanzhao) and watched your race yesterday. That kid is indeed very fast. In a couple of years, he will definitely surpass me. But for now, he still lacks the experience!"

Chen Jian was currently the top athlete in the country, and this year was his best. Running sub-10 seconds in training was a regular occurrence for him, and his official race times were usually around 10.3 seconds. Based on his current level and form, his actual race times should be between 10.20 and 10.25 seconds. Therefore, facing Zhang Guan, who had run 10.28 seconds in the semifinals, Chen Jian was confident of winning.

Moreover, Zhang Guan's achievement of the Olympic B standard the previous day deeply stimulated Chen Jian. Chen Jian's goal had always been to participate in the Athens Olympics the following year, so he had been working hard to adjust his form and prepare to meet the Olympic standard. However, he was surprised to be outpaced by Zhang Guan, so today, Chen Jian was determined to compete with Zhang Guan.

Meanwhile, Zhang Guan's mind was entirely focused on breaking the national record.

Now it was the final, and if Zhang Guan couldn't break the national record in this race, he didn't know when he would have another chance to participate in an official competition. To complete the "break the national record" task in the system, Zhang Guan decided to give it his all in this race.

"The key is the start. If I can improve my start by 0.12 seconds, I can break the national record," Zhang Guan calculated, constantly reminding himself to concentrate.

The eight finalists had their feet on the starting blocks, ready to start. The starter gave the command and raised the starting pistol.

"Bang!" As the starting pistol rang out, the athletes dashed from the starting line.

Zhang Guan's condition today was much better than yesterday. He could feel that his reaction time was definitely within 0.3 seconds, which was already a relatively good start for him.

However, unfortunately, his start was still the slowest. Compared to the other athletes' reaction times of less than 0.15 seconds, Zhang Guan was clearly lagging behind, with a gap of more than 0.1 seconds, which was noticeable even to the naked eye.

"His start reaction is faster than yesterday! He has improved," Coach Yu on the stands relaxed his brows.

Zhang Guan's poor start reaction was expected by everyone. All the athletes and coaches knew that what was truly terrifying about Zhang Guan was his speed. His ability to surge from the last position to the first was a thrilling performance that would get the audience's blood pumping.

As expected, after the start, Zhang Guan once again staged a dramatic overtaking. The athletes who were initially behind him had no chance against him. The speed difference was so significant that they could only watch helplessly as Zhang Guan overtook them.

In the lead were Chen Jian and Shen Bao, who were almost neck and neck, making it difficult to tell who was ahead.

However, Shen Bao was already impressed by Chen Jian. Shen Bao's first 50 meters were world-class, and he believed no one could be faster than him in the first half of the 100 meters. Based on past races, Shen Bao had always been ahead in the first half and only caught up by Chen Jian in the second half.

This time, however, Chen Jian's speed in the first half was on par with Shen Bao's, indicating that Chen Jian would definitely overtake him in the second half.

"Good job, Chen Jian, you've been hiding your strength all this time! I'll have to intensify my training, or I won't even be able to keep the second place!" Shen Bao thought.

Halfway through the race, the gap between Chen Jian and Shen Bao had widened, and it was at this moment that Zhang Guan was closing in on Shen Bao.

"How could I forget about Zhang Guan, the rising star? It looks like I can't keep the second place," Shen Bao felt a bit regretful, but then he realized that Zhang Guan had already caught up with him.

"I remember Zhang Guan didn't catch up to me this fast yesterday. This kid is improving every day, with unlimited potential! We, the older generation, might have to gradually step down from the stage," Shen Bao watched as Zhang Guan overtook him, feeling a sudden sense of melancholy.

Today, Zhang Guan's start reaction time was 0.1 seconds faster than yesterday. In the 100 meters, 0.1 seconds is a significant difference, especially in the second half of the race. In the start, 0.1 seconds might not even be enough for an athlete's reaction time, but at the finish line, a 0.1-second difference is clearly visible to the naked eye, amounting to several body lengths.

At this moment, this 0.1-second difference put enormous pressure on Chen Jian.

Chen Jian had watched Zhang Guan's semifinals and quarterfinals the previous day and had a clear understanding of his fast speed and poor start. He had formulated a plan for the final. According to his plan, Zhang Guan's speed would catch up to him near the finish line, but Chen Jian would have a 0.1-second advantage to cross the line first.

Unfortunately, plans didn't keep up with changes. Zhang Guan's start was 0.1 seconds faster than yesterday, allowing him to catch up to Chen Jian earlier.

"He caught up so quickly! This deviates from my plan!" Chen Jian noticed that Zhang Guan was about to run neck and neck with him, and he was startled. Seeing the finish line just ahead, he knew he had to give it his all.

Chen Jian was the national champion and the top athlete in the country. Although he had only joined the national team last year, he had dominated all the competitions this year. At 23, he was just entering the prime of his career as a sprinter, and this was his strongest moment! He didn't want to lose, not just for the Olympic ticket but also for the honor of the athletes!

Chen Jian leaned forward, hoping to cross the line with his head first, but Zhang Guan made the move a split second earlier.

Zhang Guan was already ahead, and he was closer to the finish line.

The officials at the finish line saw a blur as both athletes crossed the line.

"Who won?" The spectators on the sidelines looked at the scoreboard. They were scattered around the track, some closer and some farther from the finish line, and their observations were not very accurate, especially for high-speed movements. The naked eye could easily make significant errors, making it difficult to determine who was faster.

Only Coach Yu clenched his fist and excitedly said, "Zhang Guan won!"

Coach Yu was in the stands, parallel to the 100-meter track, which was the best viewing position in the stadium. He could clearly see that Zhang Guan was slightly ahead.

"It's been a long time since I've seen such an exciting race!" Coach Yu looked at the athletes at the finish line with satisfaction.

Chen Jian performed at his best, living up to his title as the top 100-meter athlete in the country. Coach Yu could see that Chen Jian's physical condition was excellent, and he would likely continue to achieve better results if he maintained his form.

What made Coach Yu even happier was Zhang Guan. The 17-year-old rookie was faster than Chen Jian, and Coach Yu was now certain that Zhang Guan would become the hope of the national track and field team in the future.

Coach Yu closed his eyes and carefully recalled the moment they crossed the line, then made a judgment: "They were probably 0.05 seconds apart!"

Finally, the electronic scoreboard displayed the results of all the athletes.

"Chen Jian ran 10.22 seconds!" someone exclaimed.

This was Chen Jian's normal performance, as he had the ability to run sub-10.20 seconds. According to historical records, the second half of 2003 was Chen Jian's peak, and he would soon set his personal best of 10.17 seconds at the National Track and Field Championships, tying the national record set by Zhou Wei in 1998. No one in the country would run sub-10.20 seconds again until 2010.

Almost simultaneously, another voice cried out:

"Look, 10.16 seconds! A new national record!"

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