Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 09/19/2023
Chapter 121: Enrollment Booms for Training Course & 110m Hurdles Preliminaries and Results
《Doha Athletics Asian Championships Day Two - Tonight, the Crown of Glory Belongs to China》
The second day, this report was directly featured on the front page of the Sports Daily. Even for Chinese athletics, which had been achieving remarkable results over the past year, the performance of this evening was truly uplifting. Not only the Sports Daily but also other domestic news publications reprinted related news. On the morning news programs of April 17th, the anchors reported the good news brought by the Chinese national athletics team with cheerful expressions.
On this day, coaches and staff members who had stayed behind at the national athletics training base instead of traveling to Doha with the team all congratulated Su Bai with smiles.
Indeed, the news from the previous night placed significant emphasis on the 400m sprint event, and not only that, but also the state that Fang Yu was currently in, effortlessly running under 10 seconds, had much to do with Su Bai.
"Coach Su, we're all looking forward to your training!" said a coach who had a good relationship with Su Bai, knowing that Su Bai was currently preparing for his series of lecture courses.
Of course, as coaching staff members of the national team, it was easy for them to secure a spot in Su Bai's lectures. The discussion on this topic was essentially just a friendly chat with Su Bai.
In contrast, coaches from various provincial teams outside the national team were eager to secure spots for learning and exchange since the number of seats was limited. The reason for this eagerness was Su Bai's lecture theme, which was not limited to the 400m sprint but covered broader topics related to coaching in athletics.
Su Bai's lecture was titled 《Exploring Coaching Perspectives in Athletics》, and it included sections on "Effective Scientific Improvement of Technique," "Analytical Approach to Athlete Technique," "Managing Pre-Competition Training Load for Athletes," and more. Naturally, it also included some of the research results that could be publicly disclosed from his recent collaboration with Ma Changping's research group, focusing on "More Effective Training Planning Based on Athlete's Individual Qualities."
This series of courses would span about a week, and the schedule was planned such that Su Bai would conduct the lectures in the morning, while in the afternoon, coaches and trainees from various provincial teams would engage in discussions, summarizing their thoughts, and providing feedback and questions for Su Bai's lectures.
When the course topics were distributed to the various provincial teams, each team initially assumed that only coaches from the 400m sprint would attend. However, as soon as the team leaders hinted at this, coaches from other disciplines such as 100m sprint, 110m hurdles, and even high jump protested.
Su Bai was indeed the head coach for the 400m event, but hadn't he also elevated Fang Yu's performance to new heights? Moreover, didn't he personally bring athletes like Qiu Wen and Cui Luoheng from the S Province Athletics Team to the national team? It wasn't just Qiu Wen; Cui Luoheng was Su Bai's dedicated protégé, right?
And when we mention Qiu Wen and Cui Luoheng, how could we forget Wang Shen? Wang Shen achieved a personal best under Su Bai's guidance. Wasn't that something he thanked Su Bai for?
So, with this in mind, it became clear that the national team wouldn't have enough spots to accommodate coaches from all the provincial teams for training and exchange.
Firstly, the 400m sprint event was a priority. Given the current lead by the national team and the S Province Athletics Team in this event, other provincial teams had no choice but to send their coaches for learning and exchange to avoid falling behind.
Secondly, in the 100m, 110m hurdles, and high jump events, coaches couldn't help but envy Su Bai's coaching since he had improved the performances of the athletes he had worked with. Moreover, considering the theme of Su Bai's course, which clearly related to athlete conditioning, it was clear they didn't want to miss out.
Furthermore, the national team's performance at the Asian Championships also created a sense of pressure among coaches from various provincial teams.
Under these multiple factors, Su Bai's one-week training seminar suddenly became highly sought after.
In China, following the explosive results of the Asian Championships on April 16th, the domestic audience, already highly engaged in following the competition, became even more enthusiastic.
On April 17th, around 1:00 PM local time in China, the third day of the Doha Athletics Asian Championships finally began.
In the morning session, the most anticipated events for Chinese viewers were the heats of the men's 110m hurdles and the men's 4x400m relay.
The heats for the men's 110m hurdles began at 8:50 AM local time in Doha, and the men's 4x400m relay heats were scheduled for 11:00 AM.
Due to it being a workday, the number of local spectators in Doha was not very high, but those who did attend were dedicated athletics enthusiasts, which created a lively atmosphere in the stadium.
In the audience stands, coaches who had accompanied the Chinese team, as well as athletes who had already completed their events, were seated in their designated areas, ready to cheer for the Chinese participants.
Since the morning events were all preliminaries, and the Chinese team had a relatively strong presence in these heats, the atmosphere in the Chinese athlete section was quite relaxed.
Jiang Wentao, sitting next to Wang Ting, couldn't help but express his thoughts, "Well, I'm not worried about anything else, but this Zhang Ziyi is a bit stubborn. After such a strenuous performance yesterday and with the 4x400m relay heats this morning, substituting another athlete wouldn't have made much of an impact..."
When discussing officials like them in the sports world, many people often claimed they were out of touch with the actual sport. However, they had all risen through the ranks within the sports community and were genuinely passionate about their athletes. Many of them had extensive experience in their respective sports, and though they currently focused on management, it didn't mean they cared any less about their athletes.
Wang Ting chuckled and shook his head, saying, "He wants to test the limits of his physical distribution. This Asian Championships is an opportunity for him to experiment, and it might provide some peace of mind. After all, he might get anxious during the World Championships. Don't worry; the other relay team members have been briefed. Zhang Ziyi will take it easy during this relay heat. If they want a good performance, they'll rely on the other guys with good stamina."
In the audience section, Jiang Wentao, Wang Ting, and others chatted about the competition. Meanwhile, in the sports channel's live studio, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were discussing another topic.
"What's about to begin now are the heats for the 110m hurdles at this year's Doha Athletics Asian Championships. China has sent two outstanding athletes to compete in the 110m hurdles event: our seasoned champion, Lu Mengfan, and the reigning Asian Games 110m hurdles champion, Cui Luoheng."
"That's right," Li Sen added with a light-hearted smile. "Last year, at the Asian Games, Lu Mengfan and Cui Luoheng joined forces to claim the gold and bronze medals in the 110m hurdles event. Now, they're competing together again. It's exciting to see what kind of results they can achieve this time."
"For those who followed Cui Luoheng's training during the winter break, they should be aware that, under Su Bai's guidance, he started working on the eight-to-seven step approach technique, which is quite challenging. Due to its difficulty, Su Bai didn't include Cui Luoheng in any indoor competitions earlier this year."
"That's correct," Li Sen checked his notes and confirmed, "This Asian Championships marks Cui Luoheng's first competition after successfully transitioning to the eight-to-seven step approach technique under Su Bai's guidance. We're eagerly anticipating how he'll perform in this event."
Online viewers, waiting for the race to start, didn't seem too nervous about the morning preliminaries. The 110m hurdles preliminaries were divided into three groups, with the top two from each group advancing directly to the final. The remaining athletes would be selected based on the best times.
Without considering other factors, based on the typical results of past Asian Games and Asian Championships, the top eight qualifiers in the 110m hurdles usually have times in the range of around 13.80 seconds or faster.
Lu Mengfan and Cui Luoheng, on the other hand, consistently maintained times around 13.50 seconds throughout the previous season, with some minor variations. For viewers, the only variable to consider was whether Cui Luoheng's transition to the eight-step approach technique had matured. However, compared to Su Bai's previous decision not to allow Cui Luoheng to participate in indoor competitions, his current approval for external competitions likely meant that Cui Luoheng had met Su Bai's basic requirements.
Furthermore, in interviews before the national team's departure, Cui Luoheng had explicitly stated that his goal was the championship!
With this kind of confidence, if he were eliminated in the preliminaries, wouldn't that be a joke?
With this mindset, the audience was quite relaxed and started placing bets on the preliminary performances of Lu Mengfan and Cui Luoheng.
At 8:40 AM local time in Doha, as the earlier events concluded, the event staff began setting up the hurdles on the track and made necessary adjustments to the competition venue.
Although the 110m hurdles event was divided into three groups, the number of participants was not particularly high, with only 21 athletes in total. Each group had only 7 athletes.
Lu Mengfan and Cui Luoheng were placed in the first and third groups of the preliminaries, respectively.
After the field was prepared, Lu Mengfan and the other athletes in his group, which originally had seven participants, for some unknown reason, saw one athlete withdraw. As a result, only six athletes from this group would actually compete.
In these preliminary rounds of the 110m hurdles, there were no particularly challenging groupings. However, what made it unique was that apart from China's national team athletes Cui Luoheng and Lu Mengfan, there was actually... another Chinese athlete capable of reaching the final.
In the 110m hurdles event at this competition, both Taipei and Hong Kong had two participants each. While Hong Kong's athletes were slightly less competitive, Taipei's athletes had the capability to run within 13.80 seconds.
Additionally, Japan also had a strong presence in the 110m hurdles event, with athletes like Takakazu Komatsu, who had previously performed well in the Asian Games, representing Japan.
In the first group of preliminaries where Lu Mengfan competed, the most significant threat to him in terms of ability came from Taipei's Sun Youchen. Sun Youchen's personal best (PB) time had always been close to Lu Mengfan's, and the two had been long-time rivals.
During the warm-up training on the practice field prior to the race, Sun Youchen had chatted with Lu Mengfan and also inquired about Cui Luoheng.
During the previous Asian Games, Sun Youchen had not made it to the top three, losing to Cui Luoheng and Lu Mengfan. At the time, he had been quite surprised by the sudden appearance of Cui Luoheng in the Asian Games.
"I've been following your training, and I even watched Aheng's [Cui Luoheng's] extra training videos," Sun Youchen said, his curiosity evident. "Aheng, have you completed your seven-step attack over the hurdles?"
Cui Luoheng calmly nodded in response.
"It's a shame; I'll have to wait until the finals to compete against you."
In the commentary booth, Shao Minyi and Li Sen, being longtime partners, steered the conversation back to the competition as the athletes took the field.
"Sun Youchen's personal best is 13.41 seconds, although he hasn't yet broken the 13.40-second barrier. But I believe he's not far from breaking that milestone..."
Shao Minyi and Li Sen provided an overview of the six athletes on the field, including the one who had withdrawn from the race. They had also gathered information on the athlete from Kazakhstan who couldn't compete due to health issues.
"In fact, this Kazakhstani athlete who couldn't participate is quite talented. The reason for his absence tonight is said to be a stomach ailment he suffered from yesterday. Currently, he's undergoing treatment and was unable to participate."
The audience in front of their televisions had initially wondered why the athlete withdrew from the race, but learning it was due to a stomach ailment left them somewhat speechless. However, getting a stomachache wasn't an uncommon occurrence. In a previous edition of the World Athletics Championships, a renowned international 400m sprinter had missed the championship final due to a stomach issue, despite being a strong contender for the top three spots.
After Shao Minyi and Li Sen finished their introductions, the atmosphere in the venue settled down, and the competition was about to begin!
Even though it was just a preliminary race with only six participants, none of the athletes dared to relax their guard. In the 110m hurdles, a sport where milliseconds could make all the difference, even being 0.01 seconds slower in reaction at the starting gun could lead to failure.
When the starting gun fired, the race was immediately underway, and Lu Mengfan, positioned in the fourth lane, had an excellent start.
Since the appearance of Cui Luoheng last year, Lu Mengfan's burden had significantly lightened. Not only that, but the various supplementary training programs that Su Bai provided to Lü Shengbin after that had also put him in a fantastic form.
For today's race, even if it was just a preliminary, Lu Mengfan believed that he could perform at his best. The pressure on his shoulders had reduced, and he felt confident.
On the race track, as the six athletes approached the hurdles, they began their battle without hesitation. The rhythm and pace changes between each athlete were so rapid that it was almost dizzying to the ordinary spectators.
The general audience couldn't quite grasp the movements of the athletes during hurdling, but the athletes on the track felt the presence of their competitors. The way each hurdler attacked the hurdles often affected others, and whether they could maintain their own hurdling rhythm while dealing with these influences was a crucial part of the race.
Despite the appearance of many hurdles, to these athletes, they passed by in the blink of an eye, taking just over ten seconds.
In the final stage, it was a close competition between Lu Mengfan and his teammate Sun Youchen. The two athletes were neck and neck throughout the race, maintaining their positions side by side over the final three hurdles. It wasn't until the last hurdle that Lu Mengfan's movement was slightly faster than Sun Youchen's. In this final phase, Lu Mengfan's sprint speed was on par with Sun Youchen's. It was the slight advantage he gained at the last hurdle that allowed Lu Mengfan to cross the finish line in first place.
In the first group of preliminaries, Lu Mengfan finished with a time of 13.47 seconds, while Sun Youchen finished with 13.48 seconds. The difference between the two was indeed only a fraction of a second.
After the results were announced, Sun Youchen sighed and looked at Lu Mengfan. "I still couldn't beat you."
Lu Mengfan just smiled and replied, "There's still the final."
Sun Youchen rolled his eyes playfully. "Be honest with yourself. I can feel that you're in even better shape now. And the final won't just have you; there's also Ah Heng."
Lu Mengfan and Sun Youchen continued their conversation as they left the track. Following closely behind, the athletes of the second group of preliminaries stepped onto the field. Among them, the strongest contender was likely Takakazu Komatsu from the Japanese team. Besides him, there was a promising newcomer from Kuwait, Abdullah.
The Kuwaiti national track and field team has seen several new talents this year, such as Amesi Faerde in the 400-meter sprint and this young talent, Abdullah, in the 110-meter hurdles.
Initially, everyone believed that in the second group of preliminaries, Takakazu Komatsu from Japan would easily dominate the competition. However, what no one expected was that the first-place finisher in this group of preliminaries would be Abdullah, the young athlete from Kuwait.
Abdullah not only outperformed Takakazu Komatsu in the preliminaries but also achieved a time of 13.45 seconds, surpassing Lu Mengfan's 13.47 seconds. This temporarily placed him at the top of the rankings.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this Kuwaiti young talent is exceptional," remarked Lu Shengbin from the audience stand.
Jiang Wentao and others nodded in agreement. Abdullah's emergence at the Asian Athletics Championships was reminiscent of the way Cui Luoheng had burst onto the scene at last year's Asian Games. Furthermore, Abdullah was young, the same age as Cui Luoheng, and his speed and performance were impressive indicators of his exceptional talent and ability.
The spectators in the stands were slightly concerned about Abdullah's appearance, as the 110-meter hurdles event held significant weight in this year's Asian Athletics Championships, just as it had at the Asian Games last year, where both Cui Luoheng and Lu Mengfan had won medals.
While there were understandable concerns, the fact that Cui Luoheng had recently switched from eight strides to seven strides before the hurdles, and no one had seen him compete since then, left many feeling uneasy.
If the gold medal won last year at the Asian Games were to be lost at this year's Asian Athletics Championships, even with a good reason, it would still be disappointing.
With this somewhat anxious feeling, the audience awaited Cui Luoheng's appearance in the third group of preliminaries.
When Cui Luoheng was waiting in the call area, he had watched the second group of preliminaries on the live broadcast screen and noticed Abdullah from Kuwait. However, he did not pay special attention to Abdullah's performance. After carefully observing Abdullah's entire race, he withdrew his gaze.
Back in China, the audience was unaware of what the Chinese team's coaches and leaders were worried about, nor did they know if Cui Luoheng had noticed Abdullah. They simply expressed their excitement upon seeing Cui Luoheng take the stage.
Just as Zhang Ziyi served as a pillar of confidence in the 400-meter sprint event, there was also a reassuring figure in the 110-meter hurdles event, which was Lu Mengfan. Now, with Cui Luoheng securing an Asian Games gold medal last year, he has joined the ranks of these reassuring figures.
Even though some had expressed concerns about Cui Luoheng's transition from an eight-step to a seven-step approach before the hurdles, those worries vanished entirely once he calmly stepped onto the track. There was something about Cui Luoheng's composed demeanor that instilled confidence.
Commentators Shao Minyi and Li Sen, who were well-acquainted with Cui Luoheng, had just praised Abdullah from Kuwait. However, as they turned their attention back to Cui Luoheng, they adopted a tone of humility that subtly exuded pride.
"Regarding athlete Cui Luoheng, he is the same age as Abdullah from Kuwait. Based on age alone, he should be considered a young athlete. However, due to Cui Luoheng's achievements at last year's Asian Games, many seem to have forgotten that he is just a 21-year-old athlete."
Take a look at how they phrased that statement.
They didn't even mention his specific achievements, but any Chinese viewers following the games knew exactly what they were referring to.
This type of 'modesty' that's akin to bragging—it makes you wonder how Abdullah from Kuwait would react if he heard it.
Of course, if this 'boastfulness' were to backfire due to poor results from Cui Luoheng, it wouldn't be fun. However, since joining Su Bai's training program, Cui Luoheng had never disappointed in any competition he participated in, including this one.
For example, this time, this race.
After undergoing the eight-to-seven technical adjustment, Cui Luoheng appeared on the track for the first time. Amidst the amazed exclamations from the crowd at the venue and those watching on television, he maintained a comfortable lead throughout the race, finishing first in the preliminary round of his group.
When the results were announced, he remained calm and turned his gaze towards the large screen displaying the scores, which clearly showed: Preliminary Round, Group Three, First Place: Cui Luoheng (China), 13.30 seconds (Wind Speed: 0.7 meters/second).
All the viewers watching this race were initially captivated—13.30 seconds! That's a solid first place in the group!
Shortly after, commentators Shao Minyi and Li Sen were the first to react—wait a minute, 13.30 seconds... isn't that the qualifying standard for the 110-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics?!
However, before those who realized this could get too excited, others remembered—the qualification period for the Olympics only officially began on May 1st.
In an instant, emotions shifted from joy to elation and then to the excitement being dampened. The range of emotions was quite a rollercoaster.
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Chapter 122: Post 110m Hurdles Race & 4x400m Relay Preliminaries
Today, although it's not the weekend, it's a little past 1 o'clock in China, and most students haven't started their classes yet. Working professionals also have their lunch break, so naturally, the audience can take advantage of this time to relax and watch the competition.
Zheng Xiaoya, ever since watching 《 Athletics Idol Training Camp》, as well as various indoor athletics events that were televised before, and now the Athletics Asian Championships, has been continuously following these events. Today is no exception.
However, what made Zheng Xiaoya and numerous viewers watching the competition skip a beat is that they didn't expect the qualifying standard for the 110m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics to suddenly appear on everyone's screens at this moment.
Many people, upon seeing this result, thought to themselves: "If only this result had come a half month later."
A time of 13.30 seconds, while it may seem to have a gap of 0.3 seconds from the elite 110m hurdles athletes who aim for sub-13 seconds, in reality, if you visit the official website of World Athletics, you will find out just how rare it is for athletes to run under 13.30 seconds every year.
"It's a pity, it's really a pity!"
In the audience stands, ever since seeing Cui Luoheng's result, Jiang Wentao couldn't help muttering this sentence.
He wasn't the only one; the coaches sitting next to him in the audience also shared a sense of regret. You see, throughout the entire 2018 season, in the 110m hurdles event, only 14 athletes managed to run under 13.30 seconds in official competitions.
Considering the 2019 outdoor season, Cui Luoheng's casually run time in the heats is already a top-ten performance worldwide in the 110m hurdles for this year.
Even the coaching staff sitting in the audience couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality when they saw Cui Luoheng's result. The former 110m hurdles king in China was exceptionally talented and raised the previously ignored 110m hurdles event in China to a world-class level single-handedly.
The coaching staff present had experienced that era. Around 2005, they would hear 110m hurdles times in the range of 13.10 seconds. Only when they heard times under 13 seconds would they exclaim that the hurdles king was in excellent form. If they ever heard the hurdles king's time beyond 13.30 seconds, it would lead to debates across the nation, with questions like whether the hurdles king was taking it easy or facing a decline in form.
That was an era when top 110m hurdles athletes from around the world gathered. It seemed like all the top 110m hurdles athletes in the world collided during that era. As a result, with the retirement of that generation of top athletes, the performance in the 110m hurdles event began to gradually decline, and China's 110m hurdles event found itself in an awkward situation after the retirement of the hurdles king.
In the past, Chinese athletics enthusiasts, or rather, the national athletics team, never considered 13.30 seconds an insurmountable threshold. However, after the retirement of the hurdles king, candidates who were once considered successors to the hurdles king couldn't even break the 13.40-second barrier. People began to realize that it wasn't that China had a strong 110m hurdles team; it was the brilliance of the hurdles king that made everyone believe that China had a strong hurdles team.
"Shengbin, did Aheng start practicing the eight-to-seven technique during the winter training period? How is it possible for him to run 13.30 seconds now?" Zhang Chun, the coach responsible for the 400m hurdles training, asked Lü Shengbin somewhat baffled.
Lü Shengbin, looking at Cui Luoheng on the track who remained calm and composed even after seeing his result, shook his head and sighed, "During the winter training period, this kid went to train with Coach Xiao Su. His eight-to-seven training has been entirely supervised by Coach Xiao Su. But to be honest, it's been nearly half a year since the winter training started, and that's quite a sufficient amount of time for the eight-to-seven training."
Zhang Chun heard this and smiled wryly, shaking his head. While time was indeed sufficient, the fact that someone had the ability to provide Cui Luoheng with eight-to-seven training that was successful, enabling him to achieve excellent results in his first competition after the training, was truly remarkable.
Furthermore, ever since Su Bai emerged, every piece of advice he provided to the athletes and the technical improvements he led had brought about improvements in the athletes' performances. This was truly an extraordinary feat.
Haven't you noticed that there are many coaches who painstakingly arrange technical improvements for their athletes, but the athletes' performances not only fail to improve but sometimes deteriorate due to the technical changes?
With Su Bai's ability to pinpoint areas for improvement and make actual improvements that led to enhanced performance, he possessed a talent that not just any coach could match.
Thinking of this, Zhang Chun said, "Speaking of which, Coach Xiao Su is going to give a lecture in a few days, right? I think I'll attend."
Lü Shengbin naturally understood Zhang Chun's intention and nodded, saying, "I'll attend that lecture as well." After a pause, he added, "We should all attend that lecture."
In the commentary box, after seeing Cui Luoheng's result, the mood of commentators Shao Minyi and Li Sen went through a cycle of surprise, delight, and regret. However, sitting in the commentator's box, Shao Minyi and Li Sen certainly wouldn't say anything untimely.
After a brief pause, Shao Minyi quickly spoke, "Let's all congratulate Cui Luoheng. After completing the technical transformation from eight to seven, he made his first appearance and demonstrated tremendous strength!"
"From Cui Luoheng's performance in today's competition, we can easily see that 13.30 seconds is by no means his limit! We also have reason to believe that the 13.30-second qualifying standard for the 110m hurdles event at the Tokyo Olympics will definitely not be an obstacle for Cui Luoheng!"
On the field, Cui Luoheng was unaware that many people were feeling regretful about his performance. After the competition ended and the results were announced, he followed the staff's guidance back to the backstage area.
In the backstage changing room, Lu Mengfan had just finished changing. When he saw Cui Luoheng enter the room, Lu Mengfan patted Cui Luoheng on the shoulder and praised him, "Well done!"
During Cui Luoheng's time training with the national team, his relationship with Lu Mengfan had been quite good. Seeing the admiration and emotions in Lu Mengfan 's eyes, Cui Luoheng thought for a moment and said, "The actual results of the seven-step approach to hurdles are even better than expected."
Lu Mengfan understood what Cui Luoheng meant when he heard this, but he still shook his head and smiled, "The eight-to-seven transition is a major trend, but the seven-step approach to hurdles is a technique that not every athlete, even in European countries, practices. Everyone's adaptability varies."
"In fact, Coach Lü has also discussed the technical transformation of the eight-to-seven with us, but we still have some concerns about it. Our steps aren't as fast as yours."
At this point, Lu Mengfan seemed to remember something and chuckled, "But with you as the vanguard of the eight-to-seven transition, I guess Luyan Kai and I will soon start working on our eight-to-seven technique."
Not to mention the disappointment felt by people like Jiang Wentao at the venue due to Cui Luoheng's early 13.30-second result, nor the nostalgia of many former athletics enthusiasts who recalled the glorious seasons of China's 110m hurdles project in their hearts.
In this kind of atmosphere, time passed quickly, and soon, it was 11 o'clock in the morning in Doha, the time when the men's 4x400m relay preliminaries were about to begin.
The 400m relay events for this competition are divided into men's 4x400m relay, women's 4x400m relay, and mixed men and women's 4x400m relay. However, as the competition progressed, only the men's 4x400m relay preliminaries remained.
Originally, the mixed men and women's 4x400m relay also had preliminary rounds scheduled, but one of the participating teams decided to withdraw at the last moment, reducing the number of teams from 8 to 7, making the preliminaries meaningless.
As for the men's 4x400m relay, there were actually only 10 participating teams in total. The preliminaries were divided into two groups, and the Chinese team was in the first group. This time, there were no strong teams in the same group as the Chinese team. The final qualification method was that the top three from each group would directly advance, and an additional spot would be allocated to the highest-ranked team from the remaining groups.
In other words, out of the 10 preliminary teams, only 3 would be eliminated.
In such a relaxed preliminary environment, if the Chinese team, the silver medalist from last year's Asian Games, still failed to advance, they would have no face to see their supporters in the eastern region.
It was precisely because this preliminary round had little pressure that before taking the field, Qiu Wen, Guo Dun, and Li Junhao all watched Zhang Ziyi, telling him not to exert too much effort.
In the two days leading up to this, Zhang Ziyi had run three high-intensity races, including the peak battle where he broke the 45-second barrier. Although he had opened up the 45-second mark, the physical toll on Zhang Ziyi was no joke.
At the time, right after achieving that result, Zhang Ziyi might have been too caught up in the excitement, so he didn't feel the fatigue. However, once the excitement wore off, he realized just how severe the physical toll was.
Although he had rested for a night, Zhang Ziyi was indeed not in his best condition today. Only after experiencing his own condition did he realize that he wasn't as composed and reliable as he had imagined. He also understood that maintaining a top-notch performance in a competition wasn't solely reliant on responsibility and willpower.
"Alright, I know. I appreciate your efforts in today's preliminaries," Zhang Ziyi smiled at his teammates and felt fortunate to have such a group of teammates.
At 11 a.m. Doha time, the men's 4x400m relay preliminaries officially began.
This preliminary round was a relaxed affair for everyone, whether it was the athletics team in the spectator stands, the athletes on the field, or the viewers watching from their televisions.
During the last Asian Games, the strength of China's 4x400m relay team members couldn't compare to their current abilities. Now, athletes like Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen were among Asia's top 400m runners, capable of running under 45 seconds. Besides them, Li Junhao's 400m sprint results had also been rapidly improving after winter training, although he had not yet had a chance to participate in outdoor 400m individual events.
Even Guo Dun had made significant improvements in his personal results.
With such a cohesive team of four athletes, even if Zhang Ziyi's physical condition hadn't fully recovered today, it wouldn't significantly affect the overall performance.
As expected, after the first leg of the men's 4x400m relay preliminaries started, the remaining athletes, especially Guo Dun and Li Junhao, who hadn't participated in individual events these past few days, ran exceptionally well.
With the teamwork of the relay team, China easily secured first place in the relay preliminaries.
On April 17th, the morning session of the competition ended. In the evening of the same day, Wang Shen and Ye Wenhao would have the men's high jump finals in their respective events.
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