Chapter 8

"His start was a bit of a failure." Zhang Guan felt very depressed. Although he was a beginner, he could still feel that this start was clearly not as good as the previous one.

"What a terrible start!" The coaches and athletes watching the race thought the same thing, and even Coach Chen shook his head helplessly.

Experienced athletes knew how to maintain their state and excitement during a competition, so even if they ran two races in the morning, they could still maintain their performance. Zhang Guan, as a beginner, clearly had not mastered this skill. After one race and a period of rest, his body was no longer as excited as before, so this start was far worse than the first one.

"With such a poor start, his reaction time is almost 0.4 seconds. Even if he performs as well as the last time, his time will exceed 10.60 seconds. It seems Zhang Guan is not a threat, and the qualifiers for this group are already decided!" Coach Chen slowly relaxed his tense fists, and the other coaches also breathed a sigh of relief.

In high-level 100-meter races, 0.01 seconds can be a significant difference, so the start reaction time is particularly important. Zhang Guan's start reaction time was close to 0.4 seconds, while the others were within 0.2 seconds, making a 0.2-second difference. In the men's 100 meters, a 0.2-second slower start is almost a death sentence for an athlete.

Coach Chen had not watched Zhang Guan's first race. According to his understanding of a normal athlete, Zhang Guan's start reaction time in the first race should have been within 0.2 seconds, as a qualified professional athlete's start reaction time would not exceed 0.2 seconds. Therefore, he calculated that Zhang Guan's final time would exceed 10.6 seconds. However, Coach Chen did not realize that he could not judge a beginner by normal standards. Zhang Guan's start reaction time in the first race was 0.3 seconds, and although his start in the second race was not as good, it was only about 0.1 seconds slower than the first one.

What was different from the first race was that Zhang Guan's sprint skill had already become expert-level.

On the platform, Coach Yu was also paying attention to Zhang Guan. When he saw Zhang Guan's start, he actually laughed. He muttered to himself, "He's really a beginner. But beginners are good; they are like a blank slate, highly malleable! What? His explosive power is even stronger? How can he be so fast? This is impossible!"

Coach Yu immediately noticed that Zhang Guan's speed was slightly faster than in the first race, which left him puzzled.

From the start, it was clear that Zhang Guan's state in the second race was not as good as the first, and his body's excitement was also lower. Therefore, it was reasonable to expect that his speed after the start would not be as fast as the first race. However, after the start, Zhang Guan's speed did not decrease; instead, it was even faster than the first race. To Coach Yu, this was completely against common sense.

"His state is worse, but he runs faster! Who would believe that? Did this kid not give his all in the first race?" Coach Yu said in a low voice.

In the stands, Coach Chen also frowned.

Coach Chen also noticed that Zhang Guan's state was not as good as the first race, but his faster speed afterward was clearly unreasonable.

"Did this kid hold back before? It must be so; otherwise, it doesn't make sense. This kid's hidden strength even fooled me." Although Coach Chen thought this, he was more delighted. Zhang Guan's potential today had far exceeded his expectations. As a coach, he had dedicated his life to the country's sports, and at his age, the success of his disciples was his only pursuit.

...

On the track, Hu Kai, the third-place runner wearing glasses, was using all his strength to sprint forward. After fifty meters, he was already running neck and neck with the second-place runner, Pang Guibin.

"The one with glasses is Hu Kai!" Pang Guibin noticed that Hu Kai had caught up and then looked at Wang Peng, who was in the lead. He felt that even if he gave it his all, he could not catch up to Wang Peng. In an instant, Pang Guibin made a decision to secure the second place and immediately adjusted his pace to a more aggressive running style.

Hu Kai had only started formal sprint training two years ago, and his race experience and ability to adjust during the race were not as good as Pang Guibin's. However, in terms of talent, Hu Kai was a bit better. At this moment, Hu Kai had found his rhythm and increased his speed, eventually overtaking Pang Guibin.

"He's overtaken me!" Hu Kai was delighted and prepared to sprint towards the leading Wang Peng.

At that moment, a figure flashed past Hu Kai.

"Oh no, I've been overtaken by Pang Guibin!" Hu Kai was startled but then realized that the figure was taller than Pang Guibin and had a different uniform.

"It's not Pang Guibin, then who is it? I don't recognize him. Oh, it's that Zhang Guan!" Hu Kai immediately realized that Zhang Guan was already chasing the first-place Wang Peng.

Wang Peng had been in the lead since the start.

Wang Peng's state in this race was very good, and after fifty meters, he could already sense the taste of first place.

"My state is good today; I can definitely run under 10.40 seconds!" Wang Peng silently calculated. As an experienced athlete, he could estimate his performance even while the race was ongoing.

Suddenly, Wang Peng noticed out of the corner of his eye that an athlete was catching up from behind.

"His speed is so fast, who could it be? He's not wearing glasses, so it's not Hu Kai. It must be Pang Guibin. Pang Guibin has improved a lot this year, running so fast." Wang Peng's thoughts flashed, but then he realized that the athlete was already running neck and neck with him. To his surprise, the one who had caught up was not Pang Guibin.

"It's that Zhang Guan who won the preliminary race? If he can catch up to me, maybe his 10.38 seconds in the preliminary was not a fluke." Wang Peng immediately realized this. At the same time, he noticed that his speed could not keep up with Zhang Guan. The two ran neck and neck for a moment, and then Zhang Guan overtook Wang Peng. At the moment Zhang Guan overtook him, Wang Peng clearly knew that he could not catch up. The speed of the other runner was so fast that it made Wang Peng feel hopeless.

In all speed events, overtaking is always the most exciting and thrilling moment. Due to his start reaction time, Zhang Guan was initially in the last position. However, in just ten seconds, he overtook seven opponents and took the lead. This dramatic turnaround ignited the passion of the spectators. Especially when Zhang Guan overtook Wang Peng, the crowd outside erupted with excited cheers and exclamations.

On the track, with less than fifteen meters to the finish line, Zhang Guan felt that qualifying for the semi-finals was no longer a problem. Considering that his sprint skill could last for 20 seconds, he deliberately slowed down.

In the last ten meters, Wang Peng made a final sprint but could only finish in second place. Zhang Guan, who had slowed down, crossed the finish line first, with a time of 10.35 seconds, 0.03 seconds faster than in the preliminary, and the fastest in the semi-finals.

Zhang Guan walked off the track and headed towards the athlete's passage. To his surprise, some coaches and athletes he did not know greeted him, and some even came up to chat with him.

"This is competitive sports! It's really cruel." Zhang Guan silently sighed. On the track, strength is the only standard for gaining recognition from peers. Even if you are not handsome, not tall, or not good at talking, as long as you achieve results, you will gain recognition. When you achieve outstanding results, you will earn everyone's admiration!

...

Coach Chen walked up and pretended to be angry, "You know how to hide your strength! You could run so fast, but you kept it all hidden during training, even from me."

Zhang Guan smiled awkwardly. It wasn't that he was hiding his strength; it was that his skill had just upgraded after the last race.

"Tell me, how fast can you really run?" Coach Chen asked.

"Well..." Zhang Guan hesitated for a moment and then said, "I've never really tried. I guess if I'm in good shape and push myself, I might be able to break 10.30 seconds."

"So fast? Are you sure?" Coach Chen asked.

"I'm sure!" Zhang Guan nodded seriously and leaned closer to Coach Chen, whispering, "I held back a bit at the end of the race."

Coach Chen nodded, "That's right. You have another semi-final in the afternoon. With two races this morning, it's a very intense day. You should conserve some energy. Fortunately, the afternoon race is a bit later, giving you more time to recover. After the afternoon race, you have until tomorrow afternoon for the 100-meter final, so you have plenty of rest time. In the afternoon, the top eight overall will qualify for the final, and the competition within the group is less intense. You just need to focus on your own performance."

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