Chapter 13

"Oppose Zhang Guan's participation in this Asian Athletics Championship!" The speaker was a middle-aged man, slightly plump, with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

This middle-aged man surnamed Tang was not an athlete by profession, nor had he ever been a coach. His expertise was in statistics, which had nothing to do with sports. However, his administrative management skills were highly valued by the leadership of the center. In fact, his work ability was indeed very strong, at least from a professional management perspective, he was much better at administrative management than those who came from an athletic background. Perhaps because of his background in statistics, his data analysis skills were very strong, and he was a typical performance-oriented person.

Tang then said, "Zhang Guan's explosive power and speed are indeed fast, but in my view, he has a huge weakness that makes him unsuitable for this Asian Athletics Championship. He doesn't know how to run in a relay race!"

"For this Asian Athletics Championship, we will not only participate in individual events but also in the 4x100m relay race. I have reviewed Zhang Guan's relevant data. He has only undergone two months of formal training and has not even reached the professional level in the basic start. He certainly has not been trained in relay races. Based on this, I believe he is not suitable for this Asian Athletics Championship."

"In the men's 100m event, the strongest in Asia is the Japanese team. Although they no longer have athletes of international caliber like Ito Koji, the current Asahara Nobuyuki and Endo Shingo have both run under 10.10 seconds, which is stronger than our athletes. Additionally, Tsuchiya Kengo and Takahashi Shinji have similar strength to our athletes. Furthermore, there are Medvedev and Chernoff from Kazakhstan, and Mubarak and Abdullah from Saudi Arabia. For our athletes to win a medal in the 100m event is virtually impossible. However, in the men's 4x100m event, we are only slightly inferior to Japan, and our overall strength is comparable to Saudi Arabia and slightly stronger than Kazakhstan. I believe that if we send the current team, we can at least win a bronze medal and have a chance to win a silver medal. But if we change the team at the last minute and send a new player who has never run in a 4x100m relay, we might not even win a bronze medal."

Although Director Tang was not an expert in athletics, he directly analyzed the situation based on factual data. The allure of a medal was indeed very persuasive.

Coach Yu clearly did not agree with Director Tang's argument and countered, "The main reason for sending Zhang Guan is to train young athletes and give him more experience in major competitions. As you all saw in the video I just played, Zhang Guan has great potential. His current reaction time for the start is about 0.3 seconds. If he can reach the level of top athletes in this area, he can reduce his time by at least 0.15 seconds. With further training, I believe he can run under 10 seconds. Such an athlete will certainly be world-class in the future and is worth the investment to cultivate. Moreover, his performance has already met the Olympic A standard. For the sake of next year's Olympics, I think we should send Zhang Guan to gain experience."

"Coach Yu makes a valid point; Zhang Guan's potential is indeed great," Director Tang agreed, but then added, "However, the growth of a young athlete always takes time. Just the issue of the start reaction time alone is not something that can be improved to a top level in just a few months. To illustrate, let's take Liu Xiang in the 110m hurdles. When he joined the national team in 1999, he was only 16 years old, one year younger than Zhang Guan is now. We focused on his development, and it wasn't until 2001 that he achieved results in Asian competitions, 2002 when he broke the Asian record, and this year he is qualified to participate in the World Athletics Championships. It took us four years to cultivate him into a world-class athlete. Even if we start cultivating Zhang Guan now, it will probably take two to three years for him to become a world-class athlete."

Director Tang deliberately paused and then turned to Director Ma, saying, "As for the Athens Olympics next year, it's still too early to discuss who should participate. However, Zhang Guan's Olympic A standard performance does not help our quota for participants. We can still only send one athlete, and Chen Jian has also met the B standard. Personally, I believe that for a major competition like the Olympics, it is more prudent to send an experienced athlete like Chen Jian, who might have a chance to advance to the second round. Zhang Guan is still too young and has participated in too few competitions. One exceptional performance does not prove that he has top-level capabilities. Sending Zhang Guan to the Olympics is too risky."

Director Tang's final words made almost everyone in the room feel a jolt. Zhang Guan had suddenly emerged in this competition, breaking the national 100m record, but he had only participated in one official competition. There was a possibility that he had performed exceptionally well, and no one could guarantee the consistency of his performance. Compared to experienced athletes, Zhang Guan's sudden emergence always seemed unreliable, and there was a fear that he might be just a shooting star, shining brightly for a moment before disappearing into the darkness.

Director Ma frowned, knowing that sending Zhang Guan to the competition carried significant risks. If Zhang Guan turned out to be a one-hit wonder, sending him would not only fail to train the athlete but also cost the national team a medal in the 4x100m relay. For the national athletics team, any medal in international competitions was hard-won.

Director Ma did not express his opinion, but the mention of the Olympics made some people in the room restless.

"Director Tang makes a valid point. It is more prudent to send Chen Jian to the Olympics. Zhang Guan is still too young and lacks experience, and there will be many more opportunities in the future."

"Yes, in recent years, the sports development in South Guangdong has been excellent, producing a large number of outstanding athletes and making significant contributions to the country. Their athlete training system is also worth learning and promoting."

Except for Coach Yu, most of the others in the room nodded in agreement.

South Guangdong has always been a strong province in sprinting. Currently, well-known athletes like Chen Jian, Yin Hanzhao, and Liu Yang are all from South Guangdong. Among young athletes, Wen Yongyi and Liang Jiahong are also from South Guangdong. Notably, the first athlete to break the 100m barrier at 9.99 seconds, Su Bingtian, is also from South Guangdong.

Coach Yuan of the South Guangdong athletics team introduced some training methods from Hong Kong, which produced a batch of excellent athletes. The more outstanding athletes, the better the results, and the more influence they have in the national team. South Guangdong is also one of the economically strongest provinces, so it has excellent relationships and networks in both the Athletics Association and the General Administration of Sport.

As a senior member of the Athletics Association, Director Ma knew that Chen Jian's participation in the Athens Olympics had already been internally decided, as a form of honor for the South Guangdong athletics team. Of course, Chen Jian's qualifications for the Olympics were well-deserved. At the higher levels of the General Administration of Sport, the athletes reported by the associations would also be given a green light.

"Zhang Guan is 17 years old this year, and he will only be 22 years old at the capital's Olympics in five years, which is his prime. Perhaps it is indeed too early for him to participate in the Olympics now."

Between the medal and the training of trust, Director Ma made his decision.

Director Ma said, "As Director Tang said, cultivating an athlete is not an overnight process. Even for a genius, it takes several years to develop into an international-level athlete. In the men's 100m event, the higher the level of the athlete, the harder it is to improve their performance. Therefore, Zhang Guan's competitive level will not improve significantly in the short term. Moreover, Zhang Guan is still very young, and there are some uncertainties about him. We will not send him to this competition. Young people have many opportunities, and this is not the time."

Director Ma looked at Coach Yu, who was clearly reluctant, and then added, "However, Zhang Guan broke the national record, and this achievement should be rewarded. I have already submitted a report to the Athletics Association to request a cash reward of 100,000 yuan and a special training grant of 200,000 yuan. The leadership should approve it. Moreover, I believe that for a young athlete with unlimited potential like Zhang Guan, he should be given priority consideration for the capital's Olympics in the future..."

Coach Yu nodded, clearly agreeing with Director Ma. He knew how important the capital's Olympics in five years would be. Participating in the Bird's Nest would have special significance. According to the overall plan of the General Administration of Sport, Director Ma would still lead the national athletics team to the capital's Olympics in five years, so the priority given to Zhang Guan in the selection of athletes for the capital's Olympics was a reasonable resolution.

...

Chen Lao was not surprised by the result. He calmly informed Zhang Guan of the decision and explained the reasons clearly.

"By not sending you to the competition, we can at least win a medal in the 4x100m relay. If we send you, we might not even win that medal. Moreover, from the current situation, your chances of participating in the Athens Olympics next year are not optimistic."

Chen Lao paused and said solemnly, "Zhang, you must remember, competitive sports are cruel. All talk of sportsmanship is just that—talk. For athletes, it's all about performance! To win a medal in the 4x100m relay at the Asian Games, you lost the opportunity to participate. For certain reasons, you might also lose the chance to participate in the Olympics. If you don't want this to happen again, you must train hard, continuously improve, and achieve results in various competitions. When you stand at the pinnacle of the world, you will truly be in control of your own destiny. At that time, whether you participate or not will be your decision, not someone else's."

Zhang Guan nodded, "Rest assured, Chen Lao, that day won't be far off..."

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