Max drove by and frowned when he saw the "Coach Li Physical Training Center" sign in front of the training hall.
"This gymnasium has been rented out! How could a rich person be willing to accept such a high rent?" Max thought with some displeasure.
Max and Li Dai are peers. He also runs a physical training center. His "Ironman" training center is somewhat famous in the north of Los Angeles. Many athletes or wealthy people come to customize physical training courses.
In addition to the training center, Max also has two gyms and a swimming pool. He also runs a bodybuilding club and a swimming club.
Max has always planned to expand his business, and he also took a fancy to this gymnastics gym. The location is good and there is enough space, but the rent is not cost-effective, which makes Max prohibitive. However, Max did not give up on this jump. He felt that with such high rental prices, he would definitely not be able to find tenants, and the price would be reduced sooner or later.
Today, when Max saw the signboard of "Coach Li's Physical Training Center", he suddenly felt as if his beloved gift had been taken away.
So Max dialed the real estate agent’s phone number.
"I passed by that gym today and found that it has been rented out. Do you know who rented it?" Max asked.
"He's a Chinese, maybe a new immigrant." The real estate agent said.
"There are still people of Chinese descent who engage in physical training? What about the price? Did he accept such a high rent?" Max continued to ask.
"No, as far as I know, he accepted the second option, the one you refused to accept before." The real estate agent replied honestly.
"He's willing to train disabled people for free? It's really thankless." Max curled his lips disdainfully.
"Mr. Max, actually I think this condition is not harsh. After all, you can get a partial reduction in rent. If you had been willing to agree, this gymnasium would have become a training base of the Ironman Training Center. "The intermediary said, for him, of course, he hopes to facilitate a business, and he can also charge the intermediary fee.
"I run a physical training center, not a physical training institution!" Max continued: "Furthermore, when it comes to training disabled athletes, no matter how good the training is, what will happen? Half of the disabled people rely on Those who are living on welfare cannot afford the course fees! In my opinion, this Chinese training center cannot last more than a year!"
…
Meanwhile, in Seattle. A Paralympic Games is being held here.
Seattle is located in the northwest of the United States, but this Paralympic Games still attracts many disabled athletes from the east.
Thanks to the low-cost airlines all over the United States, journeys of thousands of kilometers have become very fast and convenient. In terms of American income, low-cost airlines’ planes are equivalent to domestic green trains, and the air tickets are not very expensive. Difficult numbers to pay. Even low-income groups can afford a low-cost airline ticket.
What's more, many of the disabled athletes who come to participate in the sports games are strong men with tattoos, and they all have more or less burn marks on their bodies.
"Like me, they are all retired soldiers due to injuries. I think most of them should have been in Iraq!" Philip said.
In addition to the one-time insurance compensation, military personnel who retire due to injury can also receive a monthly retirement allowance for disabled military personnel from the government, so their economic conditions are better than those of ordinary unemployed people.
The United States encourages disabled soldiers to participate in disability sports. The earliest disability sports in the United States also originated from the US military. During World War II, wheelchair basketball teams composed of disabled soldiers were very popular. Even after the end of World War II, a special wheelchair basketball association was established to hold touring competitions across the United States. It can be said that the historical heritage of the American Wheelchair Basketball League is no less than that of the NBA.
For decades, the United States has been fighting all over the world, and after each war, a large number of disabled soldiers will emerge, followed by a large number of disabled athletes. Following the next two Paralympic Games If so, America's performance will be very good. And if there is no war for a few years, the United States' performance in the Paralympic Games will also decline.
For example, although the Iraq War has ended more than ten years ago, U.S. military operations in Iraq are still continuing, and the number of injured and disabled soldiers has been increasing. After several withdrawals, the United States still has more than 5,000 soldiers stationed in Iraq. The process of this war also created a large number of disabled athletes in the United States.
Compared with other disabled athletes, Philip is a newcomer. He has been playing rugby before and has not started practicing track and field for a long time.
At this moment, Philip stood on the track and looked around nervously. After all, it was his first time to participate in the competition.
"Hey, man, you seem very nervous. You should relax and just treat this as a practice!" said a bearded white man next to him.
"You're right, the important thing is to participate, don't take the outcome to heart." On the other side, a brown-haired man patted Phillip on the shoulder, and then continued: "Actually, I also think that T43 and T44 It is indeed unfair to compete at the same level. But we are here not to defeat our opponents, but to defeat ourselves."
The two people speaking are both disabled athletes at the T44 level. In the Paralympic Games, the two levels T43 and T44 compete together, and sometimes the T42 level is added. In comparison, the disability level of T44 level is milder than that of T43 level. T43 is bilateral amputation below the knee, above the ankle or through the ankle joint, while T44 is unilateral amputation below the knee, above the ankle or through the ankle joint. To put it simply, it is the difference between losing one leg and losing two legs.
Theoretically speaking, one can run faster with one leg disabled than with both legs disabled. Among the athletes on the field, only Philip is at the T43 level. Therefore, Philip's nervous performance was interpreted by others as A kind of pessimism about winning or losing, which attracted enlightenment from other contestants.
People tend to sympathize with the weak. Among a group of disabled people, the one with the worst condition will arouse the most sympathy. The others only have one broken leg, but Philip has two broken legs. At this time, both legs are broken. Philip suddenly became the object of sympathy from the audience.
…
"The men's 100-meter sprint competition at the T43/T44 level is about to begin. The athletes are ready. What you can see is that only one athlete in this group is at the T43 level."
While talking endlessly into the microphone, the commentator glanced at the information in his hand and continued: "This T43 athlete is called Barron Philip. The registration information shows that he only started practicing sprinting a month ago. , and today is his first official sprint competition. We wish him good results!"
The commentator's excited voice aroused applause from the surrounding audience. In fact, everyone at the scene felt that compared with other contestants, Philip, who had lost his feet, must be the weakest one. What he could do, He was left far behind by everyone, and then he finished the race amidst encouraging applause, showing everyone the indomitable spirit of the disabled.
In the stands, a young father was pointing at Philip and said to his son beside him: "Jimmy, have you seen that man? Although he lost his feet, he did not become a wheelchair. He wore prosthetics. , walks like a normal person, runs like a normal person, and he can even participate in track and field competitions."
"So can he run very fast?" the child asked childishly.
"He has one foot less than others, so he will be the slowest among all the runners, but he will cross the finish line like everyone else, and he will achieve his goal." The father said with certainty.
At this moment, the gunshot sounded to start the competition, and the contestants started to take off.
People without feet lack the Achilles tendon, and therefore do not have the explosive power of pushing off the ground when starting. T44 level athletes still have one foot, which can explode the pushing power of one foot when starting, but people like Philip do not have both feet. People really have no explosive power at all.
The initial acceleration was slower, so in the first thirty meters of the race, Philip fell behind without any surprise.
Last place, this is in line with everyone's positioning of Philip. How can a person without two feet run faster!
The father turned his head and continued with a serious look on his face: "Jimmy, although he fell last, he has an indomitable spirit. This is worth learning from. When encountering difficulties, don't compromise, learn from In order to overcome difficulties, it doesn't matter to him whether he can defeat his opponent or not. If he can appear in this arena, he has already defeated himself."
The father began to instill inspirational chicken soup into his son, and similar situations appeared in many places in the stands.
Americans have always been good at practical education, and they also teach children to strive for self-improvement. In China, it may be to read a text and then write a review, or to do a question with a standard answer. It seems that if the child answers the question correctly, he will learn what is Just like self-improvement. Americans, on the other hand, are more willing to let their children experience it for themselves. Watching athletes with disabilities compete on the field like this kind of competition for people with disabilities is obviously an excellent opportunity to educate their children.
However, the child named "Jimmy" shook his head. He pointed to the track and said, "Dad, you are wrong. He is not the last one. He is now third, second, oh, no, yes First!"
The father turned his head and followed the child's hand.
At this time, the race course had exceeded 60 meters, but Philip had already overtaken the first position.
"What happened? How did he get to first place!"
…
The audience suddenly burst into excitement. The only athlete on the field without feet actually rushed to the front!
The counterattack of the weak is the scene that people like to see the most. Philip rushing from the last to the front is in line with people's subconscious sympathy for the weak. At this moment, Philip successfully ignited the whole audience.
"Come on! Charge forward!"
"Rush, cross the finish line!"
At this moment, Philip deservedly became the focus of the audience.
…
On the runway, the brown-haired man who comforted Phillip just now was far behind Phillip. He could barely see Phillip's profile now, but could only see his junior.
"That newcomer runs so fast!" The brown-haired man sighed in his heart. The next second, he suddenly realized that Philip was a T43 athlete, and both of his legs were wearing prosthetics.
"How is this possible! He has no feet, I just don't have one foot. Why can he run faster than me, and so much faster!"
Thinking of this, the brown-haired man couldn't help but look down. He wanted to confirm again whether Phillip had really lost his feet.
Although the black panther-style prosthetic limbs are made of carbon fiber, they exude a metallic color in the sunlight, like a pair of sharp blades.
"Blade!" The word flashed through the brown-haired man's mind involuntarily.
…
"Oh my God, Philippe came from behind! He passed the other runners, he was ahead! He was getting faster and faster, the lead was getting bigger and bigger, and he crossed the line! Philippe! Philippe won, he won!"
The commentator's roaring voice also boosted the atmosphere at the scene, and countless people like him began to shout.
"I really didn't expect that the final winner turned out to be Barron Phillip! You know, among all the contestants, he was the only one at the T43 level. He was the only one who lost both feet, but he outperformed the others, and He still defeated the other opponents with an absolute advantage! When he crossed the line, the other contestants were already far behind him!"
"Let's take a look at Philip's result, 12 seconds 16. Confirmed, it's 12 seconds 16! According to the information in my hand, in Philip's T43/44 level, the men's 100-meter world record is 12 seconds 20, that is to say , just now, in front of our eyes, Barron Philippe set a new world record!"
The commentator's voice became louder and louder, finally reaching the highest decibel level when he said "create a new world record".
The atmosphere at the scene has also reached its peak. Cheers, screams, and shouts are all intertwined. At this time, even if someone is shouting to the sky, they probably cannot hear their own voice.
"World record, did I hear it correctly? The commentator just said world record!"
"Who is that guy with no feet? I've never seen him before. Did he just break a world record?"
"Barron Phillip, I remember introducing his name before, his name is Barron Phillip!"
"Barron Philip?" A reporter quickly typed the name on his tablet.
…
The world record for men's 100-meter dash in the T43/44 level has been broken. Although many people don't know what level T43/44 is, everyone knows that the person who set this new world record was a man who lost his feet. people.
A time of 12.16 seconds cannot reach the level of second-level athletes even in China. In a powerful country like the United States, there are countless people who can run better than this. Normal people would probably say they can run 12.16 seconds. Feel ashamed. However, considering that this is a person who has lost his legs, the situation is completely different.
Before that, Barron Phillip was just a nobody.
In this game, he came out of nowhere.
And from today on, more and more people will remember his name.