Two weeks later, a track and field competition for people with disabilities was held here in Auckland.
This is Philip's second time participating in an official disabled competition, but he is no longer the unknown little pawn. Although many people have never seen him, they have heard his name and know that he broke through two weeks ago. A world record, it is known that as a T43 level disabled athlete, Philip can run faster than T44 level athletes.
"That person should almost be Barron Phillippe, right? I heard this newcomer broke the world record in Seattle."
"It should be him. He is the only one who wears prosthetics on both legs."
"He doesn't look young. He must be in his mid-twenties, right?"
"I heard that this Barron Philip also went to Iraq. He probably lost his feet in Iraq."
"To be honest, I still can't believe that he was able to break the world record. Normally, he wears prosthetic limbs on both legs, so he should be even further behind in speed. After all, the other contestants at least have one intact leg. "
"Maybe that's just a coincidence! It's just a game, it doesn't mean anything. I hope he can still perform well today! There are many charities coming to today's game, maybe he can get some sponsorship."
While the people around him were talking, Phillip had already started running.
In the first thirty meters, he fell behind; in the middle thirty meters, he chased; in the last forty meters, he overtook. When he reached the finish line, he left all his opponents far behind.
"11 seconds 61! He ran under 12 seconds, and he was 0.5 seconds faster than two weeks ago!"
"It's so fast. He's really fast. And I heard that he just started practicing track and field not long ago."
In the stands, the heads of several charity organizations all stared at Barron Philip, their eyes shining brightly.
There are many charities in the United States, and Americans are also loyal to charity. The richer people are, the more they like to donate money to charities, and many middle-class people are also willing to make small charitable donations.
Because charitable donations in the United States are tax-deductible, the charitable donations mentioned here are not just donations of money, but also stocks, real estate, cars, and even old clothes, which can be discounted and counted as charitable donations, and then deducted from certain taxes.
To give a simple example, if a person's income is 100,000 US dollars and he donates 1,000 US dollars of clothes, then when paying taxes, he will pay taxes on 99,000 US dollars. For those who have just reached a certain tax threshold, this donation tax deduction is obviously very cost-effective. They can lower their income by a tax bracket by donating to charity, and the tax they pay will be lower than if they donated. If you go more often, you can also get a reputation as a philanthropist.
For the rich, donating can avoid gift taxes and estate taxes. Gift taxes and estate taxes in the United States are very high. Estate taxes and gift taxes may cause their wealth to shrink by half. At this time, Charities can then reflect their value.
The rich can establish or inject capital into a charitable foundation, and then let their heirs be the decision-makers of the charitable foundation. In this way, after the rich's death, the money can still be used by the rich's heirs. They can buy a car or a house, and they can use it for free. There is no inheritance tax to pay.
For another example, if a rich man wants to give his son 10 million U.S. dollars, in order to avoid taxes, he can donate 10 million U.S. dollars to a charity group, and then let his son work as an errand in the charity group, and the charity group will pay his son's salary. It could be 300,000 yuan a month, or 500,000 yuan a month. The money he donated to the charity mechanic was his son's salary. Ant moved the money to his son to avoid gift tax. Of course, charities also receive a portion of the fees as remuneration.
However, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are many charity groups, which will naturally lead to competition. When people donate money, they often choose charitable groups with a relatively high reputation. Well-known charitable groups are also more likely to receive donations. This also requires charitable groups to do some well-known deeds to promote themselves and increase their popularity. More people will donate to them.
Sponsoring a famous para-athlete is obviously good publicity. For example, if a charity group sponsors Philip, then when they raise funds, they can show Philip's photo and tell everyone that this awesome disabled athlete once broke the world record. He is our charity Sponsored, this kind of advertising effect is equivalent to when you open a certain webpage and suddenly "Pheasant Brother gives you a dragon-slaying sword" pops up, or when an experienced driver clicks on a certain video and appears "So-and-so has opened, and the real dealer is posting online." card" sound.
…
In the afternoon, Philip appeared again at the 200-meter dash competition.
In the 100-meter race in the morning, Philip once again set a new world record, so at this time Philip was already the star of the audience. When he appeared on the stage, the audience suddenly burst into deafening cheers.
On the sidelines of the game, Dai Li looked at Phillip with a relaxed expression.
Philip only started training for the 200 meters after the Seattle game. However, his talent in the 200 meters dash is better than that in the 100 meters dash, and his progress is also very fast. In daily tests, , Philip's results have broken the world record of T43 200 meters many times.
In fact, Philip's progress has far exceeded Dai Li's expectation. Two weeks of training can break a world record. This is simply unimaginable for an athlete with sound limbs. After thinking for a long time, Li Dai attributed this result to the American athlete training system.
Although the United States is the world's number one track and field power, in terms of disabled track and field events, the United States is far less dominant than able-bodied people. As far as the sprint event for the disabled is concerned, a set of sports prostheses costing more than 20,000 US dollars is enough to deter many disabled people who hope to become athletes.
Half of the disabled people in the United States rely on government relief to survive, especially black people who grew up in slums. Even if they have excellent athletic talents, they do not have the money to buy a set of sports prostheses. The so-called poor man is rich in culture and martial arts, and playing sports requires money. Philip, a disabled person who has the conditions and is willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get himself a set of advanced sports prostheses, is really rare. When more Americans have money, the first thing they think of is to eat, drink, have fun and enjoy life.
Dai Li was thinking about it blindly, and Philip on the field had already entered the straight from the curve. His speed was still very fast, and Dai Li even saw the shadow of a normal athlete in him.
"Come on, Blade Runner!" A voice sounded from the stands, and someone posted a sign with the words "Blade Runner" written on it, and a picture of a leopard blade prosthetic leg was drawn next to it.
"Blade!"
"Blade!"
This sound obviously infected the surroundings. Gradually, there were many voices shouting "Blade Warrior" in that area of the stands.
"Philip has a lot of fans! Blade Warrior, this sounds like a cool nickname, and it's also very appropriate. His panther-style blade prosthesis really looks like a sharp blade."
Dai Li was thinking as he watched Phillip take the lead and finally crossed the finish line.
Philip's time was fixed at 21.58 seconds, a time that had just reached 22 seconds. In the United States, such a time would be considered a professional sprinter for able-bodied people. However, for a disabled person like Philip, , but set a new world record.
…
"Blade Warrior, it sounds very loud. Are you talking about the young man who lost his feet?" In the main stand in the center, a man with white sideburns and decent glasses asked.
"Yes, this should be the nickname people give Barron Philip. It seems that he already has some fans." A young man next to him said.
"I think this young man is a worthy investment target. Our newly launched accidental disability insurance project, doesn't it also require a spokesperson? Blade Warrior, a name that is easy to remember." The man with bright eyes smiled. explain.
"Director, I understand. After the game is over, I will go to negotiate with Phillip." The young man replied immediately.
…
The name "Blade Runner" soon appeared in the media. At first, it was only the West Coast media that paid attention to Philip. Soon after, the media in the Eastern United States also learned that there was such a "Blade Runner" who lost his legs. , broke the world records for people with disabilities many times in just one month.
The name "Blade Runner" became famous overnight, and Philip became a "famous person" to a limited extent. The reason why it is limited is mainly because disabled sports are not what the mainstream sports media pays attention to, even if there are reports , and it’s just a short-lived saying.
In a major sports country like the United States, the four major sports leagues combined can host hundreds of games a week. In addition to tennis, golf, racing, boxing and other sports that are popular among Americans, the sports media has plenty of content to report. Who would care specifically about games for people with disabilities
…
Phillip handed a check to Dai Li and said at the same time: "Coach Li, I can finally pay you the training fee!"
"Twenty thousand dollars? Where did you get so much money? I remember that your prize money for participating in the competition was only two thousand dollars, right?" Dai Li asked with a puzzled look.
The per capita annual income in the United States exceeds $55,000, but people with this income must pay personal income tax at a rate of 25%, plus social security taxes that must be paid in order to enjoy social benefits, and medical insurance purchased from insurance companies. And dental insurance, the disposable income of Americans is at most 40,000 US dollars, and this check of 20,000 US dollars is already half a year's expenses for Americans.
"I just signed a sponsorship. An insurance company has launched a new disability insurance project and asked me to be its spokesperson. In addition, there are several charities that have provided me with several thousand yuan in sponsorship fees." Philip. An excited smile filled his face, and then he continued: "Now I finally don't have to work part-time or receive relief funds. I can train around the clock!"
"It sounds like you should find an agent!" Dai Li said with a smile.
"You really hit the mark. There was a guy from Steven who got my contact information from somewhere and said he wanted to be my agent! But I ignored him." Phillip shook his head and continued. : "I'm not a big star, I can't afford an agent!"