Chapter 5

Two months later, the provincial track and field team boarded a train bound for Jinmen.

The provincial capital was not far from Jinmen City; the train journey took only four hours. If the high-speed rail was built a few years later, the travel time would be reduced to just one hour.

After the athletes were settled into their accommodations, they headed to the competition venue to familiarize themselves with the grounds.

Track and field was not a strong point for the country, so the domestic selection trials were not taken very seriously. As a result, the registration requirements were relatively lenient. In general, a team could only send three athletes to compete in the same event at major competitions, but for this competition, the Track and Field Association relaxed the limit to four athletes per team.

Sprinting has always been the event with the lowest technical barrier. In the men's 100 meters, each provincial team sent four athletes to the selection trials, and they were mostly young athletes, clearly aimed at nurturing new talent. Apart from the island province, there were 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and the military's Bayi team, the police's Qianwei team, the railway's Huotou team, and the postal system's Communication team, making a total of 35 teams and 140 athletes participating in the competition. Just the preliminary rounds required 18 heats.

Because of this, when Zhang Guan arrived at the competition venue, the stadium was already packed with people. The athletes could only take a cursory look around and had no chance to practice on the track.

Many of the athletes from different teams knew each other, and they naturally chatted when they met. However, Zhang Guan was a newcomer to this venue and could only follow his roommate, Wang Kai, who took on the role of a mentor and introduced the nearby athletes to Zhang Guan.

Wang Kai pointed to a handsome young man in the distance and said, "That's Yin Hanzhao from Yuandong, the runner-up in the 100 meters at the National Games two years ago, and fourth place at last year's National Track and Field Championships. The one next to him is his teammate Liu Yang, the bronze medalist at the National Games two years ago. They also have Chen Jian on their team. You must know Chen Jian, the current top 100-meter sprinter in the country. He will definitely be selected for the Asian Track and Field Championships. But I wonder why he's not here..."

"That group over there is from Donghai," Wang Kai continued, pointing to another group of athletes. "The one with the buzz cut is Shen Bao. He's one of the best in the 60-meter indoor event, reaching world-class standards. His 100-meter performance is second only to Chen Jian. He will likely be selected for the Asian Championships as well."

"See that guy with glasses over there?" Wang Kai pointed to an athlete from Shancheng.

Zhang Guan followed Wang Kai's finger and said, "I know him, Hu Kai, the 'Glasses Hero'!"

"You, a newcomer, know Hu Kai? 'Glasses Hero'? That nickname fits him well. But to be honest, he's the only sprinter who wears glasses. Hu Kai only emerged in the last two years. He's originally from our province but was specially recruited to Tsinghua University and now represents Shancheng. The one next to him is He Jun, also representing Shancheng." Wang Kai explained.

Zhang Guan nodded in agreement. At this point, Hu Kai was not yet famous, and the nickname "Glasses Hero" was only known among the capital team. It would only become widely recognized after he won consecutive titles in Asian competitions in the next two years.

Wang Kai then pointed to another group of athletes.

"That's the Huangpu team."

"Huangpu team?" Zhang Guan searched for a while and then asked, "Why isn't Liu Feifei here?"

"He's not coming this time. The Asian Track and Field Championships and the 9th World Track and Field Championships are scheduled at the same time, so Liu Feifei won't be participating in the 110-meter hurdles at the Asian Championships, and thus won't be in the selection trials. Two weeks ago, the selection trials for the World Championships were held in Huangpu. All those who qualified for the World Championships won't be participating this time," Wang Kai explained.

"Then who's going for the 100 meters? Chen Jian?"

Wang Kai shook his head with a smile, "Our country's 100-meter level is not yet up to the standard for the World Championships. In the speed events, the national team's strong points are race walking and women's long-distance events. Only the 110-meter hurdles have the qualification to participate in the World Championships."

...

After Wang Kai's introduction, Zhang Guan didn't remember many of the athletes. As the sky grew dark, he returned to the accommodation with the rest of the team. After dinner and a shower, he slept until morning.

The next day, after breakfast, Zhang Guan went to the venue with the track and field team.

Due to the tight schedule, the first day was mainly for the preliminary rounds. The skill levels of the athletes in the preliminaries varied widely, so there was little观赏性, and few people paid attention. Even the on-site journalists were reluctant to take photos or write detailed reports.

There were 140 athletes in the men's 100 meters, and 18 heats were required for the preliminaries. The top two from each heat would advance to the semi-finals, along with the top four from the remaining athletes, making a total of 40 athletes. This meant that 100 athletes would be eliminated in the preliminaries.

Zhang Guan was assigned to the second lane in the first heat.

In many competitions, the first heat is often seen as the "cannon fodder" group. When the first heat starts, the timing and monitoring equipment are just being activated, making it prone to malfunctions or other unexpected issues. If any problems arise, it's the unknown "cannon fodder" athletes who bear the consequences, while the well-known athletes wait for the equipment to be fully operational.

Additionally, since the competition has just begun, the atmosphere has not yet been fully established, making it difficult for the athletes in the first heat to get into the right state of mind. As the competition progresses, the competitive atmosphere intensifies, and the athletes' emotions become more excited. With the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, the athletes are more likely to perform better. Therefore, the organizers often schedule the stronger athletes to compete in the middle to later heats.

However, being in the "cannon fodder" group has its advantages. The athletes in this group are generally less skilled, and the organizers do not assign well-known athletes to this group. Therefore, the first heat often consists of newcomers or athletes who rarely get the chance to compete.

Experienced athletes generally do not want to be in the "cannon fodder" group, but Coach Chen was quite satisfied with this arrangement. In his view, Zhang Guan needed to adapt to the competition atmosphere, and being in a group with weaker competition would help him advance.

"Kid, with such weak competition in this group, if you try your best, you can advance," Coach Chen muttered to himself, looking at Zhang Guan, who was already on the track.

At that moment, someone suddenly patted Coach Chen on the shoulder.

"Old Chen!"

Coach Chen turned around and saw a bald man standing behind him, smiling at him. The man was about 60 years old, with a large nose and mouth, and a slightly plump body, resembling a temple guardian at first glance.

"Xiao Yu! You still remember to come see this old man!" Coach Chen said with a smile.

This bald man was the deputy head coach of the national track and field team and the head coach of the sprinting events, Coach Yu.

The organizer of this competition was the National Track and Field Association, and as the deputy head coach of the national team, Coach Yu also held a position in the association, so he had to be present.

Coach Yu was eight years younger than Coach Chen and was also a former sprinter, specializing in the 200 meters. He had broken the national 200-meter record multiple times.

Coach Chen and Coach Yu had a long-standing friendship. They were both from Sichuan Province. The year Coach Chen set the 10-second hand-timed record, Coach Yu was selected for the national team. After Coach Chen retired and became a national team coach, it was during Coach Yu's peak as an athlete. Later, after Coach Yu retired, he also became a national team coach. They had been friends for nearly 40 years and addressed each other as "Old Chen" and "Xiao Yu" with great affection.

Old friends meeting naturally led to reminiscing, and the other coaches knew their relationship and tactfully stepped aside to let them chat. However, Coach Yu soon noticed that Coach Chen's mind was not on reminiscing but was focused on the competition.

"Alright, Old Chen, stop watching. Let's go to the rest room for a cup of tea. The first heat is just cannon fodder, with mediocre skills. What's there to watch?" Coach Yu said with a smile.

"Cannon fodder? There's a good seedling I've been working hard to find in this group!" Coach Chen said seriously.

Based on his understanding of Coach Chen, Coach Yu knew that if Coach Chen was this serious, the "good seedling" must be exceptional. This piqued his curiosity, and he couldn't help but ask, "Which one?"

"The one in the second lane," Coach Chen replied.

Coach Yu carefully looked at Zhang Guan in the distance and said, "A young athlete. Very promising?"

"You'll see," Coach Chen said with a smile.

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