It is common for professional athletes to conceal their injuries. This is not only to protect themselves, but also to prevent being deliberately targeted by opponents during competitions, and to prevent injuries from affecting their commercial value and income from advertising endorsements. reduce.
For example, in professional basketball or professional football, many clubs will keep players' physical examination reports confidential, which not only protects the athletes but also the interests of the team.
Helen Pepe concealed her hip injury. Even when she withdrew from the Australian Open not long ago due to injury, she only announced that it was due to a strained calf muscle.
The human buttocks are a place with a lot of meat. Whether it is muscle or fat, it can be used as a buffer or a kind of protection. When a person falls to the ground, if he lands on his butt, the pain will be relatively mild and it will be less likely to cause injury. And if the knee touches the ground on a relatively hard place, the skin will be broken if it is light, and serious injuries such as fractures may be caused if it is heavy.
From this perspective, the buttocks with more flesh have more protection and are less likely to be injured.
Many athletes' hip injuries are strain-related. After long-term and high-intensity training and competition, the muscles are easily injured if they do not get adequate rest. Moreover, it is more troublesome to recover from this kind of strain injury. It will naturally take many years to recover from such an injury caused over many years. Moreover, that kind of inflammatory muscle damage will happen again and again. Even if it is cured, there is a possibility of recurrence, and it is likely to follow the athlete for a lifetime.
It is precisely because this kind of hip strain injury is very troublesome and cannot be cured in a short time that Helen Pepe chooses to hide it.
However, Dai Li directly told Helen Pepe about her hip injury, which naturally surprised her.
Apart from herself, only her coach and doctor knew about Helen Pepe's hip injury. Pepe didn't even tell her parents, and there was absolutely no fourth person in the world who knew about it.
"How did he know?" Peipei looked at Dai Li with a surprised face and couldn't help but ask, "How did you know about the hip injury?"
Seeing Peipei's expression, Li Dai knew that he might have talked too much again.
Dai Li carefully recalled the news about tennis that he had seen recently. He recalled that the news only mentioned that Helen Pepe had withdrawn from the Australian Open due to a calf strain. There was no mention of her hip injury in the media. In an instant, Dai Li suddenly understood.
"It turns out that she has been hiding her hip injury!" Thinking of this, Dai Li pretended to be inscrutable, and then said: "Miss Peipei, didn't you just say that I am very good at rehabilitation training, if even athletes If you can't see any injuries, then how can I do rehabilitation training for the athletes, don't you think?"
"Oh, really?" Helen Peipei obviously didn't believe what Li Dai said, and she looked at Li Dai with a puzzled look.
In order to resolve the embarrassment and relieve Peipei's concerns, Dai Li said: "Miss Peipei, please rest assured that I will keep your injury confidential. I am a coach, and I will naturally abide by the coach's ethics."
"Thank you very much." Pepe picked up the wine glass and made a toasting gesture, took a small sip, and then left with a smile.
But Dai Li could feel that this "most beautiful woman in tennis" must be wary of him.
After all, Dai Li has seen through her secret, and she may not become Dai Li's client anymore.
…
As winter turns to spring, the weather finally warms up and triathlon sports in the Northern Hemisphere start to become active again.
The triathlon consists of a 1.5km swim, a 40km bike ride and a 10km run. Among them, the 40-kilometer bicycle and the 10-kilometer long-distance running can be held in winter without any problem, while the 1.5-kilometer swimming is held in public waters. This event cannot be held in winter. Even if the water surface is not frozen, the cold water will It will bring life danger to athletes.
The weather is hot in summer, so swimming is no problem. In spring and autumn, although the water temperature in open water is not high, triathlon athletes wear special thermal swimsuits, which can fully guarantee the athletes' normal competition.
Hansen-Brown trained in Los Angeles and participated in several triathlon events held in the United States, successfully winning several championships.
With Hanson Brown's level, as long as his brother Tyer is not participating, he will be the champion.
"Coach Li, I feel that my strength has improved a lot compared to half a year ago." Hansen's eyes were full of confidence as he spoke.
Dai Li nodded. He was still very confident in the effect of his training. Hanson Brown had indeed made some progress with Dai Li. But Li Dai also knew that the current Hansen was still not as strong as his brother Tyer.
However, Hansen-Brown didn't think so. He continued: "I feel now that I am on par with my brother. As long as I work harder, I will definitely be able to surpass him."
Dai Li nodded again. He did not tell Hansen the truth, and he did not want to dampen the young man's ambition.
Hansen continued: "Coach Li, there are still three months left before the Kona Triathlon World Championships. I plan to use this time to carry out some higher-intensity special training, so I ask you to make a plan for me." A new training plan and I hope to increase the intensity of the training some.”
"Okay. I will put down all the work in the afternoon and work on your training plan." Li Dai agreed. From a coach's point of view, if an athlete wants to train harder, there is no need for him to refuse, and he should To give athletes more encouragement.
However, thinking of the situation when he met Thiel at the Lawrence Awards Ceremony, Dai Li asked: "Hansen, I know you really want to win against your brother, but have you ever thought that your brother may not value the relationship between you too much?" The winner or loser, or in other words, he doesn’t care who among you comes first.”
Hansen-Brown was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "I don't know."
"When you were in the UK, you trained together all day, didn't you communicate often?" Dai Li then asked.
"In the past, we did talk about everything. When we were young, we talked about cartoons. When we grew up, we started talking about beautiful women. After we became athletes, we started talking about competitions and championships." Hansen sighed and continued Said: "However, in recent years, the topics between us have really become less and less. Especially when we win more and more championships, we feel that we have nothing to say to each other."
"Is it because there is competition between you?" Li Dai continued to ask.
"Probably! I don't know either." Hansen shook his head: "In short, the relationship between us is estranged."
"I probably understand a little bit." Dai Li looked at Hansen, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Li Dai is an only son in the family and has no brothers and sisters. Unlike Hansen, he has a brother who grew up with him.
But Li Dai could understand Hansen's mood. His brother had become his strongest competitor in his career. This choice between family affection and career, this ambivalent psychology, was like a shackle, and even more of a burden.
…
The Kona Triathlon World Championship is a hallowed event in triathlon. This event is held in the small town of Kona, Hawaii. Two thousand athletes participate in the competition every year. Of course, these two thousand athletes are divided into different groups. Most of them are not professional triathletes. There are even many film and television stars or business giants who come to "participate". After all, it is a commercially run competition, and it is normal for celebrities to give the green light.
For professional athletes, the participation quota is very strict. Those who can participate in professional-level competitions are top players from various countries. Many athletes who are capable of participating in the Olympic Games may not be able to participate in the Ironman World Championships in Kona.
The Kona World Triathlon Championship is also the longest race in the sport of triathlon today.
The Olympic triathlon consists of a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run, while the Kona World Triathlon Championships is a 3.8km open water swim, 189km road bike race and a 42.159km standard full marathon. .
In terms of exercise intensity, the Kona World Triathlon Championship is four times that of the Olympic triathlon, and the difficulty is more than four times higher. Even the world's top triathletes will need more than 8 hours to complete the entire event, while those with slightly lower levels will need more than 10 hours to complete the entire event.
If you can successfully complete this kind of high-intensity competition, you will definitely be worthy of the title of "Iron Man".
This year's Ironman World Championships in Kona, the Brown brothers are still the favorites to win the championship. In fact, in the past two local world championships, older brother Tyr Brown won the championship, and younger brother Hanson Brown also won the championship. runner up.
Where the competition started, many athletes gathered densely. The Brown brothers stood side by side, and the camera kept focusing on this pair of brothers who dominate the triathlon sport.
However, the two brothers didn't communicate much. They didn't even look at each other. They were just quiet and looking at the water ahead with serious expressions.
The gunshot sounded to start the game, and the players rushed into the water.
Swimming 3.8 kilometers in open water consumes the same physical energy as swimming 5,000 meters in a swimming pool. This long-distance, physically demanding sport can quickly separate athletes into different echelons.
As the top men in triathlon, the Brown brothers were naturally in the leading echelon. Soon, the two brothers stood out from the many competitors.
Sports such as long-distance running and long-distance cycling have tactics to help athletes save energy. For example, in long-distance running, there is a tactic of alternating leads. For another example, in the Tour de France, a team will have a clear division of labor. Some people will be responsible for carrying drinks and supplies, some will compete for the sprint point to get the green jersey, and some will compete for the climbing point to get the spotted jersey, and each team will compete for the green jersey. The core riders of the team are responsible for competing for rankings and striving for the yellow jersey that symbolizes the overall lead.
But this situation does not exist in the Ironman World Championships. In a competition that lasts for more than eight hours, the athletes' physical fitness will inevitably be in an extreme state for a long time. In this case, any tactics will have no effect. There is no point in doing tactical coordination.
Therefore, other players are not worried that the Brown Brothers will use tactical coordination to gain an advantage.
…
Hansen-Brown was the first to complete the 3.8-kilometer swim. He walked onto the shore. He took off his swimsuit while jogging, and then came to the area where the bicycles were parked. He quickly put on his helmet and put on his shoes. While pushing the bicycle forward, the 189-kilometer long road bicycle formation began.
His brother Tyr Brown followed closely behind. He was only more than 20 seconds slower than Hansen. In the sport of triathlon, this is not a big gap at all. Maybe if you wear a helmet or wear shoes a little slower, it will be enough. There will be a gap of twenty or thirty seconds.
After a long distance swim of 3.8 kilometers, the difference between the two brothers was only more than 20 seconds. This also shows from the side that the difference in strength between the two is almost negligible.
However, Tyr Brown knew that his brother had improved.
"Hansen has improved a lot. Compared with the previous games, I need to spend more physical energy to follow him. It seems that his training effect in the United States is really good. That coach Li can win the best coach in Lawrence, it is indeed Well-deserved." Tyr Brown thought to himself.
At this time, Tyr Brown felt that Hansen was already on par with him in terms of strength. This time, he had to exert all his strength without reservation to compete with his younger brother.
Road cycling is Hansen's favorite event. His riding skills are better than Thiel's, and the gap between him and Thiel is gradually getting wider.
The sea breeze blowing in the face has a sweet smell. Hansen likes this smell very much. This is a smell unique to Hawaii, mixed with the smell of pineapple and banana, with a hint of sugar cane fragrance, and the sun shines on it. The smell of seawater evaporating from the sea surface.
He raised his head, enjoying the feeling of the sea breeze hitting his face, and even more enjoying the burning sensation of the sun shining on his face. However, this burning heat became more comfortable in a different way after the humid sea breeze blew by.
He turned a big corner and glanced back. His brother Tyr Brown had already disappeared from his sight.
"I finally got rid of him!" Hansen felt excited in his heart.
"Maybe this time, I can really defeat him!" This thought came to Hansen's mind.
This isn't the first time Hansen has had this idea. But every time, when he raised his hopes, he ended up disappointed.
"No, now is not the time to take it lightly. This is only the second event. There is still a long marathon ahead! I have to hold on to the lead until the end."
Hansen's expression became serious again. He no longer enjoyed the sea breeze proudly, but looked forward with a serious face.
…
Tyr turned a corner and looked ahead. Even at the end of the horizon, he still didn't see his brother Hansen.
"He left me for more than two kilometers!" Tyer frowned slightly. He was a little dissatisfied with the result.
How far the human eye can see depends on the target it recognizes. For example, if you look up at the stars, you can see artificial satellites a thousand kilometers away with your naked eyes. If you look at a high-rise building, you can see it from about 8,000 to 10,000 meters away. If you look at a bungalow, the visual range is from 5,000 to 5,000 meters. Seven thousand meters, and it takes a distance of 60 meters to identify a person's eyes, nose and fingers.
If a person is targeted, the limit of human visual recognition is about 2,000 meters, or two kilometers. At this time, Thiel could no longer see Hansen, which meant that Hansen was at least two kilometers away from him.
"I need to be faster, at least not to be left out of Hansen's sight."
…
Hansen was once again the first to complete a 189-kilometer road bike ride.
He put the bicycle on his spot and put on his running shoes, while still looking in the direction he came from.
Until he put on his running shoes and started running, he didn't see Tell.
"Tiel hasn't caught up yet. It seems that my advantage is big enough. This time, maybe I can really win!" Hansen finally felt that the goddess of victory was waving to him.