Chapter 60

Shawn Crawford walked off the field in a daze, still unable to understand why he couldn't run faster than an Asian person.

"Shawn, you lost to a Chinese person! How embarrassing! Don't forget, you're American, how could you lose to a skinny Chinese person?" A voice that Shawn Williams detested very much rang out. The speaker was none other than Maurice Greene.

If asked who the world's fastest man was, eighty percent of people would say Maurice Greene.

Maurice Greene had absolute strength. In 1999, he broke the 100-meter world record and improved it to 9.79 seconds, the first sub-9.80-second 100-meter world record. At the time, many experts claimed that the human limit was 9.80 seconds, as the previous world record was 9.84 seconds.

Maurice Greene had extensive competition experience. Since 1997, Maurice Greene had won dozens of world championships, the most prestigious being the 100-meter world champion at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In other words, Maurice Greene was competing as the defending champion.

Maurice Greene also had sufficient talent. In 2002, he was involved in a motorcycle accident that caused a leg fracture, a potentially fatal injury for a sprinter. However, after recovering, he changed some of his technical habits and returned to the peak of 100-meter sprinting. It's worth noting that changing habits for top athletes is extremely difficult, and athletes are never short of effort. Maurice Greene's ability to do this demonstrated his astonishing sprinting talent.

If we only consider the above three points, Maurice Greene could be seen as the perfect athlete. However, in reality, Maurice Greene's personality had significant flaws. He was arrogant, quick to anger, impulsive, liked to act as the boss, and was dismissive of others.

During the era when Carl Lewis dominated the 100-meter sprint, Maurice Greene once defeated Lewis and performed arrogantly on the spot. After breaking the world record, he became even more arrogant. Two years ago, Tim Montgomery broke Greene's world record, and Greene targeted Montgomery for two years, especially after Montgomery was embroiled in a doping scandal, when Greene took every opportunity to kick him while he was down.

The accident two years ago did not make Greene more restrained. After his comeback, Greene became even more arrogant and flashy. In the American team trio, Greene often acted as the boss in front of Crawford and Gatlin, so both Gatlin and Crawford disliked Greene.

At that moment, hearing Greene's voice, Crawford knew he would definitely be mocked by Greene. He was very upset but still tried to defend himself: "The Chinese person is very fast, and he's not weak. He's also taller than you. Besides, he ran a 9.87, and there are very few people in the world who can achieve this."

Gatlin, who was about to compete, clearly stood on Crawford's side and said, "Shawn is right. We have to admit that this Chinese person has the ability to compete with the world's top athletes."

"So what?" Greene sneered. "If it were me, I wouldn't lose to a Chinese person. I'll show you how I deal with that Jamaican rookie."

The Jamaican rookie Greene referred to was Asafa Powell. They were in the same group. The media often hyped Powell as a genius sprinter who would break the American monopoly on sprinting, which made Greene very unhappy. So, Greene planned to teach this media-hyped junior a lesson in the race.

Gatlin knew Greene's arrogant personality. In competitions, even if Greene lost, he would never admit it verbally. So, he ignored Greene and walked onto the track.

In the third group, American Justin Gatlin was undoubtedly the strongest competitor. Besides, British Jason Gardiner and Nigerian Uche Emedo also had strong capabilities. These three advanced to the next round, with Gatlin running a 9.96-second time. Notably, another Japanese athlete, Asao Senji, finished fourth and did not advance to the next round, eliminating both Japanese athletes.

The fourth group had no American competitors, so Ghana's Aziz Ali won first place with a 10.02-second time. Additionally, veteran Kim Collins and Jamaican Michael Frater advanced to the next round.

In the fifth group, Maurice Greene faced Asafa Powell. Greene was determined to teach Powell a lesson, but Powell did not engage. He did not plan to compete head-to-head with Greene in the semifinals, so he did not perform at his full potential, finishing second with a 9.99-second time and advancing smoothly. Greene was the group's first, and Ghana's Mills was third.

Subsequently, French athlete Ronald Bergeron from the first group advanced to the semifinals with a 10.15-second time, ranking first among the fourth-place finishers.

Thus, the sixteen semifinalists were determined. The only remaining Asian athlete was Zhang Guan, and all white athletes were eliminated. The only non-black athlete left was Zhang Guan.

...

On August 21, the Chinese team won three gold medals. In the women's doubles badminton final, the gold medal was already a foregone conclusion as it was contested between two Chinese pairs. In the men's doubles table tennis final, the national team faced Hong Kong, reducing the tension. In the women's 75+ kg weightlifting final, Tang Gonghong staged a dramatic comeback and broke the world record.

Besides these three gold medals, the domestic media focused on the historic entry of the 100-meter sprint into the semifinals. A 9.87-second time was previously only achieved by black athletes, and it was unimaginable for an Asian. However, Zhang Guan broke the black monopoly on sprinting, and not only the domestic media but also East Asia and the entire Asian region celebrated for Zhang Guan.

In the men's 100-meter semifinals, although no white athletes were present, white Europeans did not feel depressed because in the women's 100-meter final, Belarus's Natalya Nestorenko miraculously won the gold medal. Europeans began to celebrate, breaking the black monopoly on sprinting. For some Eastern European countries, whose economies were far behind those of Western European countries, this gold medal was a significant morale booster.

Nestorenko's victory also brought a small profit to the betting companies. As a white athlete, Nestorenko was not favored before the race. Whether in men's or women's sprinting, no one would bet on a non-black athlete.

Of course, many people liked to bet on underdogs, often with small amounts of one or two euros. Although the chances of a big win were extremely low, the odds were also very high. These small bets accumulated into a considerable sum.

In the data analysis department of Ladbrokes, analysts were extremely busy, carefully analyzing each race and adjusting the odds.

A young analyst handed a data report to his supervisor, Williams, and said, "Sir, the odds for the men's 100-meter sprint have been adjusted, and there are no abnormal bets yet."

Williams nodded, took the report, and looked at the young man, who seemed hesitant to speak. He asked, "Tommy, do you have a question?"

"Yes, sir. I don't understand why you lowered the odds for the Chinese athlete to 1:2, which is already the lowest among all competitors. This makes the Chinese athlete the favorite to win the 100-meter sprint. Although he has improved in every race, I've watched his race videos, and I believe his speed has reached its limit. To win at the Olympic level, he would need to run a 9.80, which the Chinese athlete clearly cannot achieve."

"Tommy, your analysis is sound. The Chinese athlete's performance may have reached its limit, and his chances of winning are very slim," Williams said, then continued, "But don't forget, even if the chances are slim, it doesn't mean it's impossible. What if all the other athletes perform poorly, and only the Chinese athlete performs exceptionally well?"

"Although there is a possibility, the probability is extremely low and can be considered zero from a statistical standpoint."

"If I didn't know that the Chinese athlete had placed a significant bet on himself, I would think the same way," Williams took a sip of coffee and continued, "In our previous predictions, the Chinese athlete's time was around 10 seconds, but now he has run a 9.90. He might be even faster. Considering he placed a significant bet on himself, I believe he has some confidence."

Williams paused and then said, "I know this reason may not convince you, so let's look at the data. If the Chinese athlete wins, we would have to pay him over a million euros, which would result in a loss for us in the 100-meter sprint. Therefore, we need to lower his odds to limit other clients from betting on him. I think even if we make the Chinese athlete the favorite, not many people will bet on him. Who would bet on a Chinese athlete winning the 100-meter sprint at 1:2 odds?"

"If the Chinese athlete hadn't placed that significant bet before the race, I wouldn't have lowered his odds so much. I might have adjusted his odds to be the same as Powell's. But he did place a significant bet on himself! Remember, we are a betting company! Our industry is like a giant casino, and we are the house. In gambling, the house always wins because it seeks stability, while gamblers rely on probability. In a game, gamblers either win big or lose everything, while the house only has the difference between big wins and small wins. So, we would rather make less money than incur a loss. This is our principle! Tommy, trust me, other betting companies will make the same choice. I think in a few minutes, the Chinese athlete will be the favorite to win the 100-meter sprint."

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Chapter 2 is delivered. Please give a recommendation. Thank you to the readers 1983shengren, bi nin qiong, dushuren-YES, Loli Green Town, gan wei xianfeng, xin wei xue, meizhu jushi, mo zai ti mz, rong nai da, cai yun tian, hui po de deng, KING009V, shi li tao hua yuan, you yu de lang man, yi xi qiu liang, xiang nan ju, hai di xing, ling no den sho, BULAND, S~A~X, hei an kuang wu, 151219194158911, chen guang ye yu, chi fan ji nian bei, ya, ya, lsl1977, Altria Pendragon, shi shi ke tian shi, 130325001328192, hong lou yan yu, ying qie, xing xue rou, da 1 cheng, jian fei chi, ji u bei ji te, chong sheng zhi jin hua, tian: qi ling, 151122005809496, liu tong~ for their support. Thanks.

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