"Friends from the audience, the men's 400-meter preliminaries are about to be held. This is Zhang Guan's third appearance this morning!" The commentator continued: "There are two international athletes in the same group with Zhang Guan, one from Australia. Mark and Hiroyuki Nakano from Japan. In the 400-meter sprint event, the Olympic A standard is 45.55 seconds, while the Olympic B standard is 45.95 seconds. This standard result is different from the 400-meter world record of 43.16 seconds held by Zhang Guan. We also wish Zhang Guan a good performance in the competition and strive to achieve an Olympic standard result."
The commentator no longer mentioned reaching the Olympic A standard, but only said "Olympic standard results", which is obviously because he is not as optimistic about Zhang Guan as before.
At the starting line, Zhang Guan didn't pay much attention to the two foreign athletes, Mark and Nakano Hiroyuki. Zhang Guan has never heard the names of these two athletes, so they must not be powerful big-name players. There is no need for Zhang Guan to be wary of them.
Compared with some European and American countries, Australia is not considered a strong country in track and field, and in sprint events, Australian whites do not have any advantage. Australian second-tier players like Mark, even if placed in Asia, are about the same strength as Japanese players.
As for Japan, Japan’s 400-meter race has been basically in a state of semi-destruction in the past two years. The running method used by Zhang Guan when he participated in the 400-meter race for the first time in the East Asian Games that year was regarded by the head coach of the Japanese team, Kobayashi Keikazu, as a way to adapt to Asia. A new running method for the human body, so Kobayashi Keikazu has been conducting similar training for Japanese athletes in the past two years. However, Japanese athletes do not have Zhang Guan's "incomplete sprint" skills, so even if the athletes practice very hard, they still cannot reach Zhang Guan's level. Instead, they practice the Japanese track and field team's 400-meter event. nondescript.
As the starting gun sounded, the game officially began.
Australian player Mark took the lead. Now his mind was filled with the idea of defeating Zhang Guan, and he was running with extra vigor. Japanese player Hiroyuki Nakano didn't run very fast at the beginning. He was learning Zhang Guan's running method of running at a constant speed in the front and sprinting hard at the end.
Zhang Guanze is still in the state of "incomplete sprint", so the speed is not very fast either. As for other domestic players, they also choose running methods that they are better at.
After entering the straight, Mark started to accelerate. When he reached the end of the straight, he looked at the distance between him and the other runners and found that he was in the leading position. Based on the distance covered, the other seven runners, including Zhang Guan, were the best. Everyone was left behind by him.
"I'm in the lead. Just run like this. The first place in the group is mine!" Mark was delighted, and then thought: "Zhang Guan is really dead. It's been nearly a year and a half since you left the track and field competition. How much better can you be? It feels great to beat the 400m world record holder!"
At this time, Mark was already a little dazzled by the victory. He forgot that Zhang Guan's strongest point in the 400 meters was the sprint in the final stage.
In the surrounding stands, some spectators found that Zhang Guan was lagging behind and seemed very anxious. In the opinion of many people, Zhang Guan, the 400-meter world record holder, should lead all the way to the end in a competition of this level. Yes, and now it is obvious that Australian player Mark is relatively far ahead.
"What's wrong with Zhang Guan? He seems to be lagging behind!"
"I've told you a long time ago that Zhang Guan's condition has not recovered at all. Do you still expect him to win the gold medal in the Olympics? Let's get into the Olympic A mark first!"
"Why are you so anxious? Don't forget that the strongest point of Zhang Guan's 400-meter run is the final sprint!" someone reminded, and this reminder also rekindled the hope of many spectators around him.
At this time, the athletes on the field were about to turn into the final straight track, and several of them had already started to speed up, or had simply started to speed up, in preparation for the final sprint.
Mark entered the straight track first. Looking at the finish line in front of him, he felt that the first place in the preliminaries was already within reach.
"The finish line is right in front of us. Go with all your strength!" Mark increased his speed to the extreme and charged toward the finish line.
But in the next second, a figure suddenly flew past Mark.
"It's Zhang Guan!"
It was at this moment that the entire audience burst into earth-shattering cheers.
"Zhang Guan sprinted so fast! By the way, I remembered his sprint. His strongest point in the 400 meters was the final sprint..." Mark suddenly realized that he had made a mistake. He only cared about Zhang Guan all the way. Falling behind, but forgetting Zhang Guan's final sprint ability.
Mark watched Zhang Guan running faster and faster, and the gap between the two parties became wider and wider. Only then did he realize how ridiculous his idea just now was. Zhang Guanhe himself is not an athlete of the same level at all. Even if his condition is not good, it is still beyond his reach.
"Zhang Guanchao passed and came to the first position. He is still accelerating, and the finish line is coming. Cross the line! We congratulate Zhang Guanchao for winning the first place in the group!" the commentator roared.
Amid cheers from the audience, Zhang Guan crossed the finish line.
"Zhang Guan is the first to cross the line, look at the time! Has he reached the Olympic A standard?"
"43.93 seconds! Zhang Guan's score is 43.93 seconds, which is within 44 seconds!"
"The Olympic A-standard for 400 meters is 45.55 seconds. Zhang Guan exceeds the Olympic A-standard by so much!"
"A time of less than 44 seconds is enough to win the world championship!"
"Did you see that Zhang Guan's condition is absolutely fine? He easily ran within 44 seconds for the 400 meters!"
The direction of the audience's discussion changed instantly, and those who were still questioning Zhang Guan's status all shut up at this moment.
Apart from Zhang Guan, only Jeremy Varina can achieve a score within 44 seconds. If this result is placed in any world-level competition, it is possible to win the championship.
Now it is only the 400-meter preliminary round, and the results in the preliminary round are definitely not as good as the final. Zhang Guan was able to run within 44 seconds in the preliminary round, which is enough to prove that he is still the best in the world in the 400-meter event.
…
The morning competition is over. Zhang Guan participated in three events and won two Olympic A-standards. There was no competition for the whole afternoon. The next stage of the competition will start at 19:00 in the evening.
In the evening competition, Zhang Guan will participate in the men's 100-meter preliminaries. Since Zhang Guan became famous for his 100-meter sprint competition, this competition was also scheduled for the prime time of 19:30, and it will be Live broadcast to a national audience through sports channels.
So for those viewers in front of the TV, this game is Zhang Guan's comeback.
The first chapter was delivered today. Please vote for it.
(End of chapter)