Chapter 100

The timer displayed 20.28 seconds!

Manual timing has an approximate error of 0.24 seconds, so this number, when converted to electronic timing, would be 20.52 seconds.

At this moment, several numbers flashed through Coach Yu's mind.

The national third-level athlete's qualifying time for the 200 meters is 25.74 seconds; the national second-level athlete's qualifying time is 24.84 seconds; the national first-level athlete's qualifying time is 22.02 seconds; the national-level athlete's qualifying time is 21.35 seconds; and the international-level athlete's qualifying time is 20.62 seconds!

How many international-level 200-meter athletes are there in the country?

But these were not the key points. The more critical point was that the current national record for men's 200 meters is 20.54 seconds! If Zhang Guan's manual timing was converted to electronic timing, he had already broken the national record for men's 200 meters!

Coach Yu's face showed a look of disbelief. A person who had never run 200 meters before, after learning the curve technique for just one day and barely mastering anything, broke the national record on his first attempt, purely relying on his physical talent!

Thinking about Zhang Guan's performance in the curve, Coach Yu was speechless. However, recalling the speed Zhang Guan displayed in the curve, Coach Yu suddenly realized that the speed was indeed quite fast.

In the 100 meters, Zhang Guan was 0.4 seconds faster than the top domestic athletes, but this 0.4 seconds was not enough to make up for the gap in curve technique. After all, the curve section in the 200 meters actually occupies most of the distance. This also indicated from another angle that Zhang Guan's actual speed in the curve was very fast. Even without any curve technique, his speed was still very fast!

"Unfair! He can't even run the curve, why is he so fast? The heavens are truly unjust. I trained for over a decade in my youth and never ran this fast, but he, a beginner with poor technique, broke the national record." Coach Yu sighed deeply.

The next moment, Coach Yu suddenly became excited. The number on the timer already told him that there was no need to discuss with Zhang Guan whether to continue training for the 200 meters. Even without mastering the curve, he could break the national record. If he learned the curve, breaking the 20-second barrier would not be difficult at all.

"Although his learning ability is a bit lacking, his speed is truly extraordinary. Train him! Train him! It's worth spending more time. With this talent, even a pig would have to be trained! As long as he can break 20 seconds, it would also break the Asian record, and it would be worth training for a year or two." Coach Yu began to console himself.

...

There were no track and field competitions throughout October and November. Winter is generally the season for ice and snow sports, and many other indoor sports also have competitions scheduled.

So Zhang Guan continued to train, mainly focusing on the 200 meters. Although his progress in curve technique was far from what Coach Yu expected, his performance was improving day by day.

In late December, Zhang Guan received a message from Zhuge Wenbo. The champion team was preparing to bring Zhang Guan to the stage of the Spring Festival Gala the following year, and the gala's organizing committee had indicated that Zhang Guan's approval was almost certain.

This year was an Olympic year, and Chinese athletes had achieved their best results in history at the Olympics. Therefore, the Spring Festival Gala would definitely include some Olympic elements, not just for ratings but also for propaganda purposes. So it was inevitable that Olympic champions would appear on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala.

Most of the time, Olympic champions on the Spring Festival Gala mainly played the role of mascots, as athletes generally do not perform cultural programs. However, this year, with Zhang Guan, there was a difference because he had sung a new song at the Hong Kong Grand Performance.

Since they were looking for a mascot, they naturally wanted a famous one. Among the famous mascots, there was one who could also perform cultural programs. Therefore, it was inevitable that Zhang Guan would appear on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala.

Zhang Guan remembered that Liu Feiren had also appeared on this year's Spring Festival Gala, performing in a sketch with a line, "I heard you want to practice with me." The Spring Festival Gala organizing committee's requirements for Zhang Guan were not just a line; they wanted him to sing a song, at least one segment of it.

However, the Spring Festival Gala organizing committee was also concerned about Zhang Guan's singing ability and stage presence, so they directly told Zhuge Wenbo that, for the sake of the show's effect, they suggested lip-syncing.

Olympic champions participating in the Spring Festival Gala is more about form than content. For Olympic champions, just being there is the goal, and whether they sing live or lip-sync is not important to the audience.

...

Zhang Guan spent three months in training.

Xinzhuang Training Base.

Today was the "monthly exam" for the athletes. There had been no track and field competitions since October, but the athletes had not relaxed at all. Relying solely on daily training is not enough to maintain competition form, especially after a long break from competition, which can significantly affect an athlete's performance. Therefore, a monthly simulation competition was necessary, which the athletes called the "monthly exam."

This monthly exam, although a simulation, had all the necessary equipment, including judges, starters, and electronic timers. Coaches also tried to simulate the real competition environment as much as possible, hoping the athletes would not forget the atmosphere of a competition.

In the morning's 100-meter sprint simulation test, Zhang Guan ran a time of 9.89 seconds. This speed was not comparable to the world record, but it was enough to reassure Coach Yu. Running under 9.90 seconds indicated that Zhang Guan's form was good. If he were more serious and more excited in an official competition, his time would definitely be under 9.85 seconds, which is enough to win 95% of the world's track and field competitions.

By around 4:00 PM, all the athletes' "monthly exams" were over, and the coaches cleared the field. Except for a few national team coaches, everyone else was cleared to the outside. The appearance of Director Ma further fueled everyone's curiosity about what was happening.

Director Ma usually stayed in the capital, so his long journey to the Xinzhuang base naturally indicated something important. Two other coaches from the national track and field team also accompanied him.

Seeing everyone gathered, Coach Yu said, "Since the end of the national track and field grand prix finals, Zhang Guan has proposed to practice the 200 meters. So I changed his training plan and focused on training him in the curve technique for the 200 meters. Today, we will take this opportunity to have Zhang Guan run a formal 200 meters and report the training results to the track and field team."

The two coaches who accompanied Director Ma were somewhat surprised. They had been in the capital and did not know that Zhang Guan had started training for the 200 meters. Director Ma knew about it but had not seen Zhang Guan's training. Coach Sun, who had been at the Xinzhuang base, was the most familiar with Zhang Guan's training situation, but he did not know Zhang Guan's results.

For the past three months, Coach Yu had been monopolizing half a track to train Zhang Guan's curve technique, while Liu Feiren's 110-meter hurdles occupied a straight track. This meant that the best half of the training field was monopolized by Zhang Guan and Liu Feiren, effectively using an entire track. Other athletes had to train on other fields. However, with two Olympic champions using a dedicated field, everyone found it reasonable.

Although Coach Sun was a 110-meter hurdles coach, he was also very proficient in other track and field events. Over the past three months, Zhang Guan's curve technique had been improving, but in Coach Sun's view, the progress was very slow, to the point of being quite poor. He couldn't help but compare Zhang Guan to Liu Feiren and found that Zhang Guan's technical talent was much worse, but his speed was so fast, which could only mean his physical talent was strong.

At this moment, Coach Sun smiled as he watched Zhang Guan preparing on the track. He knew Zhang Guan's curve technique level very well and couldn't understand where Coach Yu's confidence came from to invite Director Ma from the capital for this 200-meter sprint report.

"What is Coach Yu thinking? Zhang Guan's curve technique is still far from good. The most basic inner curve technique hasn't even been mastered, and I, a 110-meter hurdles coach, can see that. How could Coach Yu, a national champion in the 200 meters, not know this? Inviting Director Ma here now is just asking for trouble!" Coach Sun looked at Coach Yu and saw a look of anticipation, making him even more puzzled about what Coach Yu was up to.

...

Zhang Guan was ready to start, and the coaches on the sidelines all took out their stopwatches. Although there was an electronic timer, both middle and long-distance coaches and sprint coaches had the habit of timing manually, which they had developed over the years. Coaches for throwing and jumping events did not have this habit.

"Take your marks, set!"

With the sound of the gun, Zhang Guan dashed out of the starting line and began accelerating in the curve.

In the curve, the body is affected by centripetal force, and athletes overcome this force by leaning to the left and using the amplitude and direction of their arm swings to counteract part of the centripetal force. Additionally, to avoid deviating from the track, the knee and ankle joints have specific requirements when the foot lands.

This physical control was not difficult for Zhang Guan, and he had mastered it, but only to a satisfactory level. However, the technique of running along the inner edge of the track, which Zhang Guan had not yet mastered, required a lot of training and practice to accumulate experience, and Zhang Guan lacked the time for this.

"His speed is good, but his curve technique is average, really average! Just at a satisfactory level." Director Ma's initially excited expression turned serious. He had received Coach Yu's invitation and specially made time to come from the capital to the Xinzhuang base, expecting Zhang Guan to show an astonishing talent in the 200 meters, learning it easily. However, from Zhang Guan's current performance, it was far from satisfactory.

In the next moment, Zhang Guan, unable to run along the inner edge of the track, was already in the middle of the lane.

"What is Coach Yu doing? After three months of hard work at the Xinzhuang base, this is what he shows us?" Director Ma recalled Coach Yu's enthusiastic tone when reporting over the phone and felt increasingly dissatisfied. (To be continued.)

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