Ford, who changed his running method, has rapidly improved his strength. During training, he often runs under 20 seconds. In terms of performance alone, he seems to have returned to the 200-meter champion of the World Championships that year.
Of course, training and competition are different. In official competitions, especially large-scale international competitions, athletes can perform 80% of their usual training strength, which is considered stable performance.
This also completely confirms Li Dai's previous guess that the reason why Sean Ford cannot run fast is not because he is not talented enough, nor because he does not work hard enough, but entirely because of problems with his running method.
The coaches Ford had encountered before were all trying to use technology to make up for his shortcomings in long and short legs. However, the result was counterproductive. Instead of gaining faster speed, Ford became slower.
Li Dai believes that running with long and short legs should not be the same as normal people. Instead of avoiding shortcomings, it is better to exploit strengths and use the advantages brought by strengths to offset the disadvantages brought by shortcomings. From this perspective, as long as the advantages brought by strengths are large enough, Ford's overall speed will still increase.
Ford's long and short legs are faster than other normal athletes in corners, but on the straight, his long and short legs will definitely affect his speed. If his long and short legs make Ford 0.1 seconds slower, and Ford Germany is 0.2 seconds faster in the corner. After this, Ford is 0.1 seconds faster than before.
This is also thanks to Ford's left leg being longer than his right leg. Since the race is running counter-clockwise along the track, he will gain more power when cornering. If the right leg is longer than the left leg, then the fortune will really be lost.
It's just that Ford's progress has not been tested in competitions. It's not that he doesn't want to compete, but that he doesn't have much chance to compete.
There are very few 200-meter dash competitions. Generally, only some large-scale competitions will have 200-meter events. In comparison, the treatment for the 100-meter dash is much better. As long as it is a comprehensive competition, there will definitely be 100-meter dash events. meter dash event.
The 100 meters and the 200 meters have too much in common, and many sprinters take care of both events at the same time. Some athletes who run 100 meters may not have good cornering skills, so they will not run 200 meters concurrently, but 200-meter athletes will definitely have no problem running straight, so they will run 100 meters concurrently.
As the organizer of the competition, the physical fitness of the athletes will be taken into consideration when setting up the competition events. Therefore, it is impossible for the two events of 100 meters and 200 meters to be held on the same day in large-scale competitions. The physical fitness of the athletes cannot support these two events at the same time. consumption.
Therefore, in the Olympic Games or World Championships, the 100-meter race usually starts first, and then the 200-meter race begins after the 100-meter preliminary and semi-finals are completed. In those invitational or grand prix competitions that are completed in one day, there are simply only 100-meter events and no 200-meter events.
The small number of 200-meter competitions also makes more athletes focus on the 100-meter event, while fewer and fewer athletes specialize in the 200-meter event. Athletes are all running 100 meters, so the organizers of the competition will pay more attention to the 100 meters and ignore the 200 meters.
This is actually a vicious cycle. If the competition in a certain event is good, there will naturally be fewer athletes involved in it; if there are fewer athletes, the event will become less and less popular.
The United States is the country that hosts the most track and field competitions in the world. There are hundreds of competitions at or above the state level every year, but not many of them include the 200-meter event. Most of these competitions are completed in one day. competition, so only 100-meter events are set.
Fortunately, this year is an Olympic year, so in the first half of the year, the number of competitions will be more than usual. Especially when the Olympic trials are approaching, the USA Track and Field Association hosts some slightly larger competitions, which can be regarded as giving athletes points and allowing young people to Athletes accumulate some competition experience to prepare for the next Olympic trials.
…
Florida, Miami Track and Field Open.
This is a four-day competition, which is relatively large-scale among track and field competitions, and the competition time is relatively sufficient, so this competition has a 200-meter sprint event. In other track and field events, the 800 meters and 1,500 meters in the middle-distance running, and the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in the long-distance running also exist at the same time.
At the scene of the 200-meter final, Sean Ford walked to his lane, bowed down and began to adjust the starting block.
No one around him paid any attention to him, and even when the athletes were introduced later, there was only sparse applause.
Ford's World Championship championship has been so long ago that it has been forgotten by people; there are many young talents who also entered the finals. Ford, an old bacon who was short-lived and then unknown, simply cannot attract them. people's attention.
Ford seemed very calm, he was used to all this.
When he won the 200-meter championship at the World Championships, he was also very successful. When he appeared on the field, he would get the most cheers and applause, and someone would shout his name loudly in the stands.
But soon, these all turned into doubts, because I never ran as good as the World Championships again. When people's expectations for him turned into disappointment, there were no more cheers and applause.
The halo of the world championship gradually faded, and Ford was quickly forgotten. Although he was still active on the court and continued to participate in competitions, the applause he received became less and less. Younger audiences could not even remember it. With his name, he became a relatively ordinary member of countless athletes, and Ford himself gradually got used to it.
Sports are like this. People will remember the champion, the runner-up, and maybe even the third place. But in addition, those athletes who are ranked lower or have no ranking at all will be remembered by people.
The starter's command interrupted Ford's thoughts, and Ford was ready to start. He was undistracted and focused all his attention on the track.
The gunshot rang out, and Ford rushed out, starting, accelerating, and turning. When Ford rushed into the straight track, he was already in the lead, and all seven other contestants were left behind.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Ford, because he was the fastest man on the track!
"The leader is Sean Ford!" The commentator called out this name that was once familiar to him but is now very unfamiliar.
…
Sebastian is a well-known coach, and several athletes under him have participated in the Miami Track and Field Open, but he did not go to Miami himself. At this time, he was attending an interview in Polis, Indiana. The interviews are organized by USA Track and Field to select the next head coach and associate head coach of the USA Track and Field team, which will then lead the team to the Olympics in August.
The board of directors of USA Track and Field has a total of fifteen voting chairmen, who are also the interviewers this time. A total of nine coaches participated in this interview, all of which are well-known track and field coaches in the United States. However, Sebastian is the most popular candidate to be elected as the head coach of the US team. Sebastian once won the best track and field coach in the United States. Compared with others, Sebastian’s coaching performance, coaching experience and personal His qualifications are superior, and the most important thing is that Sebastian has a wide range of connections in the American track and field circle.
Although he had a great chance of getting the head coach of the U.S. track and field team, Sebastian still prepared carefully, and there were no mistakes in the interview process. When the interview ended and he walked out of the room, Sebastian was even more confused. I feel that he has already won the head coaching position of the U.S. track and field team this time.
Sebastian walked to the parking lot, and the smile on his face could not conceal his joy at this time. When he reached for the car keys, he inadvertently touched his cell phone. Only then did he remember that he had set his cell phone to silent mode just before the interview.
"I wonder if anyone has called me just now." Sebastian took out his mobile phone and saw two missed calls. The calls were from his assistant. At this time, the assistant was in Miami to accompany him. Athletes participating in the Miami Open.
"Is there a result for the game in Miami?" Sebastian played the call back.
Soon, the call was connected, and the assistant's voice sounded on the other side of the phone: "Coach, Wharton finished fifth in the 200-meter event."
"This is very good. Wharton hasn't practiced 200 meters for a long time. His main focus is still on the 100 meters. Being able to get fifth this time is considered an excellent result." Sebas Tian said.
Wharton lost to Alexander in a recent competition, but he is still Sebastian's ace athlete. In order to train Wharton, Sebastian also began to let him practice 200 meters, and this The young American champion has lived up to expectations and has made considerable progress in a short period of time. The fifth place he has now achieved in Miami has met Sebastian's expectations.
Feeling that his disciple ran well, Sebastian was in a better mood. He subconsciously asked: "Who is the champion of the 200 meters?"
"It's Sean Ford," the assistant answered on the phone.
Sebastian felt that the name was familiar, and it took him a long time to remember who Sean Ford was.
"The Sean Ford you are talking about is the one who won the 200-meter championship at the World Championships, right?" Sebastian asked.
"Yes, that's him." the assistant replied.
"It turns out it's that guy. I haven't heard his name for a long time. If I don't think about it carefully, I almost forgot about him. It turns out he hasn't retired yet and is making a comeback in this Olympics!" Sebastian used A teasing tone, completely like making sarcastic remarks. In Sebastian's view, Sean Ford was lucky enough to win the World Championships that year. Such a short-lived athlete is not worth cultivating, let alone paying attention to.
However, on the other end of the phone, the assistant said: "Sean Ford's score today is 19.93 seconds. He has just set the fastest time in the United States this year."
"What? So fast!" Sebastian suddenly took a breath of air. As a top track and field athlete, he certainly knows what the time of 19.93 seconds means, which is a world championship level result.
"Is it super wind speed?" Sebastian asked immediately.
"No, the wind speed is 1.2 meters per second, Sean Ford did not exceed the wind speed." The assistant replied.
"Then why did he run so fast? Since that World Championships, he has never achieved good results again. Why did he suddenly break out today? Has he changed coaches?" The experienced Sebastian immediately found The crux of the matter.
"I just asked. His coach is the same person as Justin Alexander, the Chinese-American Li from Los Angeles. As for when Ford started training with Li, I haven't received the news yet," the assistant replied.
"Why is it him again, and that Li again!" Sebastian's originally good mood fell to the bottom in an instant.