Chapter 62

Originally, Director Guo could have gone to the athletes' dormitory to announce the punishment, but he felt that it was not enough. Therefore, Director Guo came to the dining hall, deciding to wait here. As long as Zhang Guan came to the dining hall for a meal, he would announce the punishment in front of everyone, so that the entire national team would know. This would bring Zhang Guan a severe sense of humiliation, and Director Guo would enjoy an unparalleled pleasure.

Truly, the bad guys get worse with age!

"Zhang Guan, you were so arrogant in front of me a few days ago, and you even had a set of arguments. When I asked you to write a self-criticism, you kept making excuses. This time, it's not something a self-criticism can solve! As long as I'm still in charge, dealing with a small athlete like you is a piece of cake!" Director Guo thought excitedly, as if he had returned to a special era in his youth. He found the same pleasure in criticizing others as he did in his youth!

At this moment, Zhao Gan's voice interrupted Director Guo's thoughts. He carefully observed every track and field team member entering the dining hall and then said, "Director Guo, Zhang Guan hasn't come."

"Hasn't come?" Director Guo looked carefully and indeed did not see Zhang Guan.

"Let's go up and ask." Director Guo walked forward, stopped an athlete, and asked, "Where is Zhang Guan? Why haven't I seen him? Didn't he train with you?"

The athlete shook his head: "No, he has a competition today. He got on the bus not long ago and went to the venue."

"Does he have a competition today? Didn't he just compete yesterday?" Director Guo asked.

"Yes, but Zhang Guan advanced in yesterday's competition! So he has to participate in the semi-finals today." The athlete explained.

"Advanced! What a stroke of luck!" Director Guo's face immediately turned gloomy.

Zhao Gan leaned in and said, "Director Guo, why don't we go back first and come to find Zhang Guan tomorrow to announce the punishment? It's almost dark, and Zhang Guan's competition might start very late."

"No! We'll wait no matter how late it is!" Director Guo showed the same perseverance he had in the past, and continued, "Let's eat first, and then go to the bus parking lot to wait for him! As soon as he gets off the bus, we'll announce the punishment immediately!"

"This old pervert! You don't rest, but others need to rest! Sick!" Zhao Gan cursed in his heart, but he had to show a compliant face.

...

At 9 PM on August 22 in Athens, the semi-finals of the men's 100-meter sprint finally began.

Sixteen athletes participated in the semi-finals, which were divided into two groups. The top four from each group would advance to the final. The fifth-place finisher, even if they ran faster than the first-place finisher in the other group, would not advance to the next round.

All the athletes who made it to the semi-finals were top sprinters in the world. The elimination rule of the top four advancing made the competition even more intense. In such a situation, many athletes felt nervous, affecting their normal performance, and thus the uncertainty of the competition increased significantly.

American athletes Shawn Crawford and Justin Gatlin were both in the first group. Considering that the men's 100-meter final would be held two hours later, the two American athletes did not give their all but chose to conserve their energy. Therefore, neither of them ran under 10 seconds. Crawford, who finished first in the group, ran 10.07 seconds, while Gatlin, who finished second, ran 10.09 seconds. These times were even worse than in the preliminary rounds.

The semi-finals being less exciting than the preliminary rounds disappointed the audience, but the professional sports commentators were not too surprised. After all, the final was only two hours away, and it was normal for star athletes aiming for the championship to hold back. Moreover, a calm semi-final meant that an even more intense and fierce final was about to unfold!

The other two spots in the first group were taken by Ghana's Aziz Zakari and Barbados' Obadele Thompson.

In the second semi-final group, besides Maurice Greene and Zhang Guan, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell and European champion Francis Obikwelu were also in this group. Additionally, there were St. Kitts and Nevis' Kim Collins and British star Jason Gardener. All six had the potential to advance to the next round, so on paper, the second group was stronger than the first, and the competition would be even more intense.

...

Powell secretly glanced at Kim Collins beside him. He knew that the 100-meter champion of the Paris World Championships would go all out to secure an advancement spot. This was not good news for Powell. The semi-finals were only two hours before the final, and Powell did not want to expend too much energy in the semi-finals. He still wanted to win a medal in the final!

Francis Obikwelu, a Portuguese athlete, had similar thoughts.

Obikwelu was originally from Nigeria and had won the 100-meter and 200-meter double titles at the World Junior Championships. In 2001, he was naturalized to Portugal and later won championships in the Golden League and IAAF Grand Prix series, making him the fastest runner in Europe.

Obikwelu's naturalization process was not smooth. As an African athlete, he had long yearned for life in Europe, and it was common for athletes in Nigeria to aspire to go to Europe, just like many Nigerian football players in European leagues. However, the Nigerian government did not want Obikwelu to naturalize to a European country, so he used an injury as an excuse to stay in Europe. He then hoped to be naturalized to a European country and was eventually accepted by Portugal.

For Obikwelu, his only skill to survive was sprinting. The Portuguese were willing to naturalize him because of his sprinting ability. Therefore, he had to perform well in major competitions to prove his value. If he couldn't even make it to the final, Obikwelu would be of no value to Portugal. A naturalized athlete from Africa with no value would find it difficult to survive in Europe. So for Obikwelu, this was a battle for survival.

Kim Collins, on the other hand, felt somewhat frustrated. He came from the small Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, where he was undoubtedly a sports star. His best performance was winning the 100-meter title at the Paris World Championships last year, although that championship was somewhat watered down because many top athletes did not participate. In fact, he only ran 9.97 seconds, which could be considered a lucky win.

Although the championship was not very prestigious, it was still a championship. Even if no one considered Collins a favorite, he was expected to make it to the final. However, an unexpected event occurred: Zhang Guan suddenly emerged and ran under 9.9 seconds, effectively taking one of Collins' advancement spots. So in the upcoming semi-finals, Collins was prepared to go all out and fight for a spot in the final at all costs.

Maurice Greene, however, looked at Zhang Guan with a provocative expression. He always considered himself the leader of the U.S. track and field team and saw the 100-meter championship as a sure thing. The betting companies, however, listed the Chinese athlete as the top favorite, which irritated Greene. So he decided to have some fun before winning the championship, to teach the Chinese athlete a lesson and show the analysts who the best 100-meter sprinter really was!

Zhang Guan, however, was in a great mood and did not notice Greene's provocative gaze. After returning to the Olympic Village yesterday, he received some good news: the Iraqi men's football team had made it to the semi-finals!

The Iraqi team, which was never favored, defeated Portugal 4-2 in the group stage and then beat Costa Rica 2-0 to secure a spot in the knockout stage. They then lost 1-2 to Morocco in the third match. However, in the other match in the group, Portugal lost 2-4 to Costa Rica, resulting in both Iraq and Costa Rica advancing, with Iraq topping the group.

In the quarter-finals on the 21st, Iraq faced Australia, the second-place team in Group C, and won 1-0, miraculously advancing to the semi-finals.

Zhang Guan made a significant profit from this, with odds of about 80 to 1, earning him three million euros. Although he had not yet claimed the prize, Zhang Guan was in high spirits.

"Tonight, if I win the 100-meter championship, I'll earn over ten million euros, equivalent to over 100 million yuan. That's becoming a millionaire overnight!"

Money was undoubtedly the most direct stimulus. Thinking about the millions of euros, Zhang Guan's body involuntarily became excited, and he couldn't wait for the race to start.

...

The eight athletes on the track were ready to start.

Since the first group's performance was not impressive, the audience seemed to lack interest in the second group's semi-finals. Everyone was more focused on the men's high jump and triple jump finals. As for the 100-meter sprint, they were waiting for the final in two hours.

The high jump bar was set at 2.34 meters, and six athletes were still attempting it. When Swedish star Stefan Holm failed his second attempt at 2.34 meters, the audience collectively sighed, discussing how the former world champion might be eliminated at this height.

At this moment, the starter reminded the athletes to prepare for the start and then fired the starting gun for the 100-meter semi-finals.

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