Chapter 55

In China, the TV stations did not broadcast the 100-meter sprint race. At the same time as this race, the women's singles table tennis semi-finals were taking place, with national player Zhang Yining facing off against South Korea's "world's best defensive player" Kim Kyung-ah. The status and popularity of table tennis in the country are well-known, and compared to a track and field preliminary, the TV stations naturally chose to broadcast the table tennis match.

In contrast, Japanese TV stations broadcast the Olympic 100-meter sprint heats live. The atmosphere for track and field in Japan has always been strong, and this time, the three Japanese team members had a significant chance of advancing to the next round. Therefore, the Japanese TV stations chose to broadcast the 100-meter sprint heats.

In the first heat, Suehiro Shinji successfully advanced, while in the fifth heat, Tsuchi Kenta was in a pending position. In the sixth heat, Asahara Noboru, a veteran, was also highly anticipated by Japanese viewers.

On the TV screen, Asahara Noboru and Polish athlete Lukas Czira were neck and neck, and the commentator was passionately narrating the race.

"Asahara Noboru and Czira are neck and neck, Asahara, go! Go! He's through! Almost at the same time, oh no! It's Asahara who's ahead. It must be Asahara in front!"

As the commentator's words faded, the footage of the finish line appeared again on the screen. Although the gap between Asahara Noboru and Czira was small, a careful look with the naked eye could still distinguish that Asahara Noboru crossed the finish line first.

"Congratulations to Asahara, he finished second and successfully advanced to the second round. His time is 10.33 seconds! The Polish athlete Lukas Czira finished third by 0.02 seconds. The first place in this heat is Chinese athlete Zhang Guan, with a time of... 9.96 seconds! A new Asian record has been set!"

The commentator's voice became excited: "9.96 seconds, this is the best time in the heats so far, and a new Asian record! The previous Asian record was 9.98 seconds, also set by Zhang Guan, and today, he has improved it by 0.02 seconds! According to the data I have, this is his third time running under 10 seconds this year! He is truly the undisputed 'First Flyer of Asia'!"

At this moment, the Olympic broadcast focused on Zhang Guan, and the screen displayed that 9.96 seconds was the new Asian record.

The information about breaking the Asian record flashed on the stadium's large screen, and a brief round of applause echoed through the stadium. Although Europeans were not particularly interested in the Asian record, any new record was worthy of respect, and the audience still gave some encouraging applause.

"How did he break the Asian record again!" Coach Yu's expression was somewhat dazed, as if he had forgotten to celebrate.

Last year in the Philippines, when Zhang Guan broke the Asian record, Coach Yu was so excited that he couldn't sleep for several days. At the national track and field grand prix a month and a half ago, when Zhang Guan broke the Asian record again, Coach Yu was also so happy that he couldn't sleep all night. But today, Coach Yu suddenly realized that he wasn't as excited as before.

In the next moment, Coach Yu suddenly understood why he wasn't feeling that excitement.

"9.96, a new Asian record, but it's a pity. This is the Olympics, and a time of 9.96 seconds can't even win a medal." Coach Yu smiled self-mockingly and thought to himself, "I'm being too greedy. Being able to advance to the second round and break the Asian record is already great. How can I still hope for a medal?"

...

Since the domestic TV stations did not broadcast this race, the journalists stationed in Athens were on the scene. As soon as Zhang Guan entered the rest area, the journalists ran over.

"Zhang Guan, first of all, congratulations on advancing to the second round and making a historic breakthrough. How do you feel now?"

"Pretty good," Zhang Guan said with a smile.

"Your time of 9.96 seconds has once again broken the Asian record you set. Are you satisfied with this performance?" the journalist asked.

"After all, the opponents in the first round weren't very strong. There was no need to run too fast."

"Does that mean you held back?" the journalist asked, somewhat surprised. The journalist thought that with the level of Chinese athletes, they would always give their all in the first race, especially with a time of 9.96 seconds, which couldn't possibly be a result of holding back.

Zhang Guan nodded, "Of course, after all, there's still another race coming up, so I had to save some energy for the first one."

The journalist was taken aback, thinking that the kid was probably just boasting, but still said, "Well, I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming races!"

...

The competition continued. The seventh heat, which was about to start, was considered the strongest and most watched group in the heats. This group included two major stars: Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell and British star Jason Gardener.

Zhang Guan continued to watch the next race on the TV in the rest area, and he would definitely watch this race because of Powell.

At this point, Powell was not yet considered the strongest sprinter in the world, but in the future, he would dominate the 100-meter sprint. From 2005 to 2008, when Bolt rose to prominence, Powell broke the world record twice and won numerous 100-meter titles, earning countless honors. If not for Bolt's emergence, Powell would likely have dominated the 100-meter sprint for several more years.

At this moment, Powell was just a rising star, far from his peak and not yet showing absolute dominance, but even so, he was still one of the top five favorites to win the gold medal.

There were no upsets in this heat. Powell easily won first place, and British athlete Jason Gardener took second. The top four athletes all ran under 10.30 seconds, and even the fifth-place finisher ran 10.32 seconds, with a good chance of advancing to the next round.

In the eighth heat, the defending Olympic champion in the men's 100 meters, Maurice Greene, was about to take the stage.

Maurice Greene was the last American athlete to compete.

To be fair, Maurice Greene was not the fastest 100-meter sprinter in the United States. The fastest American sprinter was world record holder Tim Montgomery. Since 2001, Montgomery had won multiple world championships and set the world record at 9.78 seconds in 2002. In recent years, he had consistently outperformed Maurice Greene. However, Montgomery's girlfriend was embroiled in a doping scandal and did not qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. Montgomery's girlfriend was the "Queen of Track and Field," Marion Jones.

In the same heat as Maurice Greene was Jamaican athlete Dwight Thomas. However, at the Athens Olympics, Jamaicans were not as dominant as they would be four years later, and their 100-meter sprinters were clearly not as strong as the Americans.

There were no upsets in this heat either. Defending champion Maurice Greene won first place, and Jamaican athlete Dwight Thomas took second. Notably, a sprinter from Hong Kong also competed in this heat but only managed a time of 10.70 seconds.

The ninth heat did not feature any well-known athletes and was considered one of the weakest groups before the race. However, the athletes in this heat performed the worst, with the first-place finisher running only 10.39 seconds, a time that would not even place in the top five in other groups. The third-place finisher from Kazakhstan, with a time of 10.43 seconds, luckily advanced to the second round.

In the final heat, the 100-meter champion from last year's Paris World Championships, Kim Collins, took the stage. Kim Collins was ranked third in the world last year, and although his ranking had dropped this year, he was still considered a medal contender.

In the race, Kim Collins lived up to expectations and won the heat. The athletes in this heat were also very strong, with five runners finishing under 10.30 seconds.

The first round of the men's 100-meter sprint at the Athens Olympics was officially over. In addition to the top three from each heat, the top ten athletes by time also advanced to the next round, with the tenth-place finisher running 10.34 seconds, as predicted.

After the race, athletes who did not advance to the second round could leave, while those who did had to wait, as the second round of the 100-meter sprint would take place a few hours later.

...

Chen Jian had already changed his clothes and put his competition uniform and spikes into his bag. The white number was placed on top, and he stared at it, hesitating to zip up his travel bag.

Chen Jian's Olympic journey was over. Reflecting on it, he felt some regret. If he had been a bit faster, he might have advanced to the second round. At this moment, he suddenly felt an urge to cry. For him, qualifying for the Olympic A standard was already a very difficult achievement. Four years later, he would be too old to achieve it again, so this would be his only Olympic Games. He didn't want his Olympic dream to end like this; he was unwilling to accept it.

Not far away, Zhang Guan watched Chen Jian. Zhang Guan wanted to go and comfort him but didn't know how.

Zhang Guan looked at Coach Yu, who shook his head and pointed to the distance, signaling Zhang Guan to step aside and not disturb Chen Jian.

Indeed, in this situation, letting Chen Jian have some time alone might be the best approach.

Watching Chen Jian's back, Zhang Guan felt the cruelty of competitive sports once again. At the Olympics, every athlete comes with dreams, but on this path of dreams, only a few can reach the finish line, while the rest are destined to be eliminated.

"Since I've already stepped onto this path, I will become one of those who reach the finish line!" Zhang Guan thought to himself.

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Here is the first chapter for today. I hope you enjoy it and give me some recommendations. Thank you.

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