Chapter 59

Facing the 9.87-second result, Zhang Guan appeared very calm. He was not surprised by this performance; he knew he could run even faster, and when his condition was slightly better, he could probably run around 9.82 seconds.

The audience in the stadium burst into applause, which was for Zhang Guan. Zhang Guan subconsciously waved to the crowd, expressing his gratitude.

Then, on the TV screen, the broadcaster focused the camera on Shawn Crawford.

This world-class sprinter had a look of confusion, as if he still hadn't figured out what had just happened.

"An Asian? Red uniform, definitely Chinese, only Chinese like to wear red so much. Who is he? Why don't I know him at all? How can a Chinese person run so fast? I can't catch up at all! Is he possessed by a devil?" Crawford's mind was filled with countless thoughts.

As a world-class athlete, Crawford had participated in many competitions and had competed against the world's top athletes multiple times. Those top sprinters were all black athletes. As for Asians? Everyone knew that Asians were not good at sprinting.

But today's situation exceeded Crawford's understanding; an Asian he couldn't catch up to had appeared! Crawford wished he could grab Zhang Guan and vigorously rub him to see if he was a black person disguised with yellow dye.

"This world is too crazy! I can't understand it at all." Crawford shook his head, feeling that his IQ needed a recharge.

...

In the just-concluded race, Crawford did not hold back; he ran very hard. When he overtook Obadele Thompson, he thought he could secure the group's first place. But then he suddenly realized that a figure had already rushed ahead of him. He started to chase, chasing with all his might, but found that he couldn't catch up. By the last twenty meters, he knew the game was over. He could feel the 0.05-second gap between them, which was almost impossible to close at their level, so Crawford gave up the chase.

Zhang Guan, after seventy meters, had already confirmed that Crawford couldn't catch up to him when he was running at full speed, so he also eased off a bit and calmly crossed the finish line.

Neither of them made a final sprinting motion when they crossed the finish line. In fact, if Crawford had leaned forward at the last moment, he might have crossed the line first. However, as a champion, Crawford naturally had a strong sense of pride. Since Zhang Guan didn't make a sprinting motion, Crawford wouldn't either. After all, this was just the second round of the group stage, and whether they finished first or second in the group wouldn't affect their advancement to the next round.

In the end, Zhang Guan finished first with 9.87 seconds, Shawn Crawford second with 9.89 seconds, and Obadele Thompson third with 10.12 seconds, slowing down at the last moment to secure third place.

Although 9.89 seconds was not Crawford's limit, this result would have been enough to win a championship in a regular track and field grand prix. Under normal circumstances, there was no need to achieve a sub-9.9-second time in the Olympic preliminary rounds. However, since the semifinals were to be held the next day, Crawford didn't need to conserve his energy too much.

The fourth to sixth-place finishers all ran 10.26 seconds, but they didn't need to compare their times to the thousandth of a second. According to the rules, the best athlete outside the top three in the group would advance. The fourth-place finisher in the first group, Frenchman Ronald Bergnon, ran 10.15 seconds, which was faster than them, so their Olympic journey had ended.

As for Kazakhstan's Jerald Chernoff, his 10.42-second time placed him seventh in the group. However, from his expression, Jerald Chernoff showed no disappointment. As an Asian athlete, reaching the second round was already a very good achievement, and he could be satisfied with his Olympic journey.

...

In the distance, Coach Yu looked at the final results, speechless.

Coach Yu knew Zhang Guan was fast. If Zhang Guan had run around 9.95 seconds, Coach Yu would have been very happy but not surprised. However, Zhang Guan's 9.87-second time was something even Coach Yu found hard to believe. Even after Zhang Guan had left the track and was about to come to him, he still couldn't accept this number.

A sub-9.9-second time was something Coach Yu had never thought about or dared to imagine. Even among black athletes from Europe and America, only a few could break this barrier. Crossing this threshold meant becoming one of the world's top athletes and having the ability to win any track and field competition outside the Olympics.

The 9.9-second barrier was only broken in 1991. Among active athletes worldwide, those who could run sub-9.9 seconds in official competitions could be counted on one hand, and most were American. In 2004, even in the sprinting powerhouse of Jamaica, the national record was still 9.91 seconds, not yet breaking the 9.9-second mark. This meant that even Jamaica's current sprinting star, Asafa Powell, had not broken 9.9 seconds in official competition.

When Zhang Guan came to his side, Coach Yu finally snapped out of his daze. He looked at Zhang Guan, hesitated, and then a look of "pity" appeared on his face.

"Coach? What's wrong? Are you not satisfied with my performance?" Zhang Guan asked.

"Pity, such a pity! If you had run like this in the semifinals, you would have definitely made it to the finals."

"Is that all?" Zhang Guan looked at Coach Yu, a mix of laughter and tears in his eyes, and said, "I'll try harder in the semifinals; I'm sure I can make it to the finals."

...

In the BBC studio, Ericson was speechless. There was no way around it; this was a painful slap in the face.

Ericson was a respected authority in British athletics, and his status as a professor and coach gave his words a professional edge. However, now, all his "professional judgments" about Zhang Guan had fallen flat. As an expert, being wrong was a painful experience.

"Damn this Chinese, why did he run so fast! How could he run so fast! This is a live broadcast on BBC, and the whole world can see it. I'm going to lose face in front of the entire world! What should I do?" Ericson secretly glanced at the host, who was chatting happily with another guest, Edwards.

"Who would have thought that this Chinese athlete could run so fast? It's truly beyond everyone's expectations," Edwards said.

"Yes, the broadcast also showed the expressions of the Chinese coaching staff for a brief second, but I can confirm that they were also surprised by this performance," the host paused and continued, "It's simply unbelievable."

Edwards immediately added, "As an Asian, achieving such a result in the 100 meters is a miracle. We should congratulate him! Perhaps he has a chance to break the black athletes' monopoly in the 100 meters."

"Does a Chinese person think he can break the black athletes' monopoly in the 100 meters? That's a very naive idea!" a sarcastic voice suddenly interjected, and it was Ericson.

"Why not?" Edwards countered, "If I'm not mistaken, there are about 500 to 600 million black people in the world, with less than 40 million in the United States. However, China has a population of 1.2 billion. If so many geniuses can emerge from 40 million black people in the United States, it's not impossible for one genius to emerge from 1.2 billion Chinese."

"What's the point of having a large population? After all, they are just Asians. The physical attributes of Asians cannot surpass those of black people in sprinting!" Ericson snorted and continued, "This Chinese person running so fast might have used some special methods."

"Special methods?" The host was taken aback, clearly not understanding what Ericson meant by "special methods."

However, Edwards knew what Ericson meant. For an athlete, "special methods" implied the use of banned substances to enhance performance.

Doping was a taboo for all athletes, a very serious topic. Ericson didn't explicitly say "banned substances" or "doping" but used "special methods" instead, clearly because he had no evidence. Explicitly saying it would have a very negative impact.

Edwards said, "Mr. Ericson, athletes have to provide urine samples after competitions. And as I understand, the doping tests at this Olympics are very strict, provided by a biotech company from Northern Europe, whose technology is even more advanced than that of the United States."

"But the Olympic doping tests are not for everyone," Ericson clung to this as a lifeline and continued, "The tests are only for medal winners. Clearly, this Chinese person doesn't have that qualification. He might stop at the semifinals. And even if an Asian uses some special methods, it's impossible for him to win a medal."

"Is that so?" Edwards smiled slightly, no longer arguing with this stubborn old man, and said, "Let's wait and see."

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