Chapter 12

On the train back to the provincial capital, Zhang Guan sat next to Mr. Chen and asked, "Mr. Chen, now that I’ve won the championship, can I participate in the Asian Athletics Championships?"

Mr. Chen thought for a moment, then shook his head with a serious expression: "Not necessarily, it’s not that simple right now."

"Why? Wasn’t this the selection event for the Asian Athletics Championships? According to the rules, since I won the championship, I should naturally get the qualification to participate in the Asian Athletics Championships." Zhang Guan seemed somewhat anxious. The system’s task prompt also required him to participate in an international competition. If he couldn’t go to the Asian Athletics Championships this time, it would be hard to say when he could complete the task.

Mr. Chen sighed deeply and said, "It’s not as simple as you think. Although this competition is called the selection event for the Asian Athletics Championships, it doesn’t mean that the winner of the selection event will represent the country."

Zhang Guan looked at Mr. Chen in confusion, clearly not understanding his meaning. Mr. Chen continued, "Although you are the champion of this selection event, the center is not very likely to send you to the Asian Athletics Championships. The situation is quite complicated. You can consider it a matter of national conditions. Don’t say it’s just the Asian Athletics Championships; even in the Olympic selection, athletes who meet the Olympic A standard may not necessarily compete with those who meet the Olympic B standard. Even if I explain it to you now, you might not understand. You will naturally understand more as you see more in the future. For now, calm down. Don’t be proud just because you broke the national record. Go back and train hard. You are only seventeen years old. As long as you train well, you won’t lack opportunities to compete."

Although Mr. Chen spoke vaguely, Zhang Guan quickly understood after a moment of thought.

The system for selecting athletes in the country is complex, involving various interests. When selecting athletes to participate in international competitions, not only internal factions but also local interests must be considered. From a certain perspective, local teams have more explicit demands for benefits. They go to great lengths to cultivate an athlete, and naturally, they need the athlete to bring them benefits. For the sake of benefits, they can block excellent athletes from advancing to higher-level competitions, find excuses to suspend athletes, or even force them to retire early.

Local teams spend years digging and cultivating excellent athletes, then send them to the national team. Therefore, the national team must also give some returns to the local teams. This is not a matter of interest exchange but more like a mutual reliance, a necessary reliance for the development of sports.

This return is not just economic compensation but also includes honor.

For some weaker events, obtaining the qualification to participate in the Olympics is an honor! It is an honor that can be allocated through certain means.

As a later person, Zhang Guan would understand even if it wasn’t explained in detail. In later Olympic Games, there were instances where B-standard athletes replaced A-standard athletes. In the 54 kg women's weightlifting event at the London Olympics, the national weightlifting team did not send the top-ranked A-standard athlete but instead sent a B-standard athlete. As a result, the team did not win any medals in that event.

Weightlifting is not like table tennis, where anyone sent can win a gold medal. However, it is undeniable that weightlifting is a strong event for the national team. Chinese athletes in the women's 54 kg category have won Olympic gold medals and broken world records. Even if their strength is not as good as before, they still have the potential to win medals. Yet, in the selection process, they resisted the temptation of Olympic medals and firmly bowed to factional and local interests, selecting a less skilled but well-connected athlete to participate in the Olympics, fully demonstrating the spirit of "competition second." In the face of media questions after the event, they remained unflappable.

Compared to the women's weightlifting event, the men's 100m sprint is undoubtedly a long-term "showing up" event. Its Olympic qualification is even more suitable as an honor to be given to a local team as a reward for their long-term support of the national sports cause.

Thinking about this, Zhang Guan clenched his fists in frustration. If he had the fame of Yao Ming or Liu Xiang, he wouldn’t worry about the center depriving him of his qualification to participate. The center would even beg him to participate, and he wouldn’t even risk losing his Olympic qualification!

...

A national men's 100m record brought leadership visits, a special commendation meeting, media attention, and most practically, inclusion in a provincial talent program, allowing Zhang Guan to receive an annual allowance.

As for Zhang Guan himself, apart from his status in the team being clearly improved, he was still an ordinary person. Even if he walked down the street, no one would recognize him outside the track and field training ground. In an era where the internet had not yet fully exploded, a national record was far from making an athlete a household name, especially in the men's 100m sprint, a long-weak event that did not receive the frequent media attention and endless topics that football did.

...

In the meeting room of the Track and Field Management Center, a video of Zhang Guan overtaking Chen Jian in the final was playing on the screen. The camera zoomed in and focused on the scoreboard, showing a close-up of the 10.16 seconds.

Coach Yu pressed the pause button on the remote control and said, "This is the process of yesterday’s race. Everyone can see that although Zhang Guan’s reaction time at the start was slow, his explosive power and speed were very good. To achieve this level of speed and explosive power at seventeen is rare even among black athletes in the United States."

After speaking, Coach Yu’s gaze turned to a middle-aged man with a buzz cut sitting in the center. This man, surnamed Ma, was the head coach of the national track and field team and also the assistant director of the center. He was sure to be promoted to deputy director, making him the highest-ranking person in the room.

Director Ma pointed to the screen and said, "I have already sent a written report about Zhang Guan’s situation to everyone before the meeting. I believe everyone has some understanding of him. The Asian Athletics Championships, as a practice event before the Athens Olympics next year, is quite important to the General Administration of Sport. According to our previous plan, the participants for the men’s sprint events have already been determined, and Zhang Guan was not originally on the list. Zhang Guan breaking the national record is an unexpected event for us. Whether to stick with the originally selected athletes or replace them with Zhang Guan is the main topic of discussion for today’s meeting."

After speaking, Director Ma looked at an older colleague across from him and said, "Old He, you go first."

Old He nodded and said, "I started in pole vault, so I have some understanding of sprinting. Since Director Ma asked me to speak, I’ll share my thoughts. Zhang Guan is a good seedling, with excellent explosive power and speed. As long as he can maintain normal training, he will surely become a great athlete in the future. He is only seventeen, still young, and from the perspective of talent development, he should be given more opportunities. However, he has only been in formal training for two months, and in terms of technique and experience, he is still behind older athletes. If we push him too hard, it might not be good."

Old He sat back down, and Coach Yu glared at him, thinking to himself that this old fox had said a lot but nothing substantial, just empty words.

Director Ma also knew that he couldn’t expect much from Old He. His intention was just to have someone start the discussion so that others could speak freely. Old He, being older and not usually making decisions, was a suitable choice.

Sure enough, before Director Ma could call on anyone else, someone spoke up, "I oppose Zhang Guan participating in this Asian Athletics Championships!"

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Thank you to the book friends who couldn’t sleep this night and to Yan Yan for the support. I appreciate the recommendations and the collections. Thank you.

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