Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 10/01/2023
Chapter 161 World Relay Championships, Men's 4x400m Preliminaries
In the second preliminary group where the Chinese team is competing, there are 5 other participating teams from Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Bahamas. Among these six teams, the Chinese men's 4x400m relay team currently holds the best performance of the season.
The time of 3 minutes and 1.67 seconds that the Chinese team ran at the Asian Championships is, as of now, the current season's world best in this event.
Of course, this doesn't mean that the Chinese team can easily dominate this competition. In this group, the team with the best historical performance should be from Trinidad and Tobago. They have the ability to break the 3-minute mark and are regular contenders in the World Championships' men's 4x400m relay final. They were even the world champions in this event at the 2017 World Championships.
At this moment, the first leg runners from all 6 teams are crouched on the starting blocks. After the starting gun goes off, on the curved track, these 6 figures shoot out like bullets, vying for the top 2 spots that lead to qualification.
"The race has started!"
In the sports channel commentary booth, Shao Minyi calmly said, "In this competition, apart from Trinidad and Tobago, we should not underestimate the strength of teams like South Africa and Poland. While the Chinese team has made rapid progress over the past year, facing these experienced and strong teams that often reach the finals of World Championships and Olympics, we still need to be cautious."
Shao Minyi's words were accurate, but from his stable calmness and objectivity, one could sense that he wasn't as nervous about these preliminaries as he had portrayed.
Even many viewers in front of their televisions felt the same way. Compared to the tension they experienced while watching the women's team compete earlier, they now observed Zhang Ziyi on the track with a sense of nervous anticipation, but it wasn't like building a castle in the air.
Just by watching Zhang Ziyi on the track, there was an inexplicable sense of trust.
Zhang Ziyi on the track was no longer the runner who once stubbornly adhered to a regular rhythm. He had incorporated an ambitious sense of speed into his natural rhythm. His explosiveness at the start was much stronger than before, yet he could maintain a pace that he could control.
With both speed and strength, and the ability to efficiently balance his physical capabilities throughout the race, Zhang Ziyi's strength had indeed quietly transformed over the past year, making a leap distinct from his previous performance.
In this race, the Chinese relay team was placed in the fifth lane. To Zhang Ziyi's right were the Polish and Bahamian teams.
The first leg runner from the Bahamas, positioned in the outermost lane, appeared to be unusually nervous. When the starting gun went off, he made a significant reaction time error, taking 0.263 seconds to react.
As for Trinidad and Tobago, theoretically the strongest team, their first leg runner seemed to perform adequately or perhaps a bit average in this race, with a reaction time of only 0.207 seconds, which couldn't be considered outstanding.
However, among all the teams on the track, the fastest reaction time in the start wasn't from the Chinese team. It was the first leg runner from South Africa, with a reaction time of 0.142 seconds. It was clear that this South African first leg runner had a very strong start and excelled not only in the initial burst but also in the subsequent curved section of the race. It was evident that he had a strong ambition and desire for the two qualification spots in this group.
As the first leg runners from various countries entered the final 100-meter stretch, their respective strengths and weaknesses became clear.
On the track, leading the first group were Zhang Ziyi and the first leg runner from Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago runner seemed to be taking a steady and calculated approach. While he didn't have an exceptionally fast start reaction, he steadily maintained his pace and utilized his speed foundation to gradually move up to the front of the pack during the first lap, seemingly catching everyone off guard.
Behind them was South Africa's first leg runner. By the time he entered the final 100 meters of the 400-meter lap, he had nearly exhausted his stamina. Although he remained behind Zhang Ziyi and the Trinidad and Tobago runner, he lacked the energy to make a pass at this stage.
When Zhang Ziyi passed the baton to the second leg runner, Qiu Wen, the energetic Qiu Wen, who had been brimming with anticipation, immediately burst into action, sprinting forward.
In the commentary booth of Yokohama TV, Naomura Hiroshi watched Qiu Wen's performance and was amazed, "Ah, China's second leg runner, Qiu Wen, is truly exceptional!"
When the translator relayed Naomura 's words to Coach Su Bai, Su Bai couldn't help but smile in this setting, "Although I don't know what legend Mr. Naomura has heard about, Qiu Wen is indeed a passionate athlete who exudes limitless energy on the track. His ability to unleash energy on the track is one of his most unique charms."
Upon hearing Su Bai's praise for Qiu Wen, Naomura Hiroshi and others all nodded in agreement. Qiu Wen, with his personality, easily made people fond of him. However, it seemed they had only heard the surface of Su Bai's praise for Qiu Wen.
In the audience stands, Jiang Wentao and Pei Jin'an also noticed Qiu Wen's condition and couldn't help but smile. Pei Jin'an was the first to express his feelings, "This kid Qiu Wen has tremendous potential and a great personality. He's full of enthusiasm for competition, which is really remarkable."
"Yeah, ever since he joined the national team under Su Bai, his performance, training, and form have been excellent in every aspect. Su Bai said his biggest weakness was his ability to control his own pace, but after extended training, he's improved significantly."
"Poor pace control?" Jiang Wentao pointed at Qiu Wen on the track with a smile, "Is that not good enough for you?"
On the track, Qiu Wen had already taken the lead after receiving the baton. In the first half of the race, there was no sign of hesitation. After rounding the first bend and passing the exchange zone, he easily secured the inside lane.
Trinidad and Tobago's second leg runner trailed behind Qiu Wen, while the South African runner was in the second lane and didn't attempt to seize the inside lane, seemingly preparing for a potential pass.
If it were just a regular track competition, things would be quite ordinary when there is not much difference in strength among the athletes. In 4x400m relay races, it's common to see a group of athletes who can't find an opportunity to change lanes or overtake each other, resulting in everyone staying in the innermost two lanes until the final sprint segment.
However, this time, everything changed due to Qiu Wen's presence in the second lane.
Qiu Wen's speed in the first half of the race stemmed from his original event-based training, including his transition to the 400m sprint. Su Bai had never neglected Qiu Wen's absolute speed training. This was one of Qiu Wen's greatest assets.
For an athlete with a strong absolute speed but sometimes uncertain speed control ability when running high-speed races, what happens when someone is chasing him and there is no one in front to guide his pace?
In such a situation, it's needless to say what would occur.
"Haha, here it comes, 'Qiu Wen's rhythm time."
In the live broadcast room called "KuKuZi," a sports commentator named Jiang Chao spoke with a clear tone of amusement. In the live chat, a series of "hahaha" comments also scrolled across the screen.
The term 'Qiu Wen's rhythm time was coined after the previous Asian Championships. It referred to a problem pointed out by Su Bai regarding Qiu Wen's pace control ability. Many athletics enthusiasts could discern this issue when reviewing some of Qiu Wen's previous race videos.
Especially in some of Qiu Wen's earlier races before he transitioned to the 400m, his struggles with pace control were even more evident.
However, the reason for everyone's laughter had nothing to do with this issue.
The reason why everyone was laughing so heartily was because Qiu Wen's flaw not only affected himself but also influenced others.
In the words of athletics enthusiasts, Qiu Wen possessed a unique aura. His personal characteristics allowed his state of mind to infect many athletes who competed with him. Furthermore, his own rhythm and state could affect other athletes on the track.
In the past, there were instances where athletes running behind Qiu Wen involuntarily lost their form during races due to his influence. What was even more noticeable was that when there were no athletes ahead of Qiu Wen, his own loss of rhythm control intensified, as seen in the Men's 400m final at the previous Asian Championships when he was assigned to the ninth lane.
With no athletes ahead of him and competitors chasing closely from behind, Qiu Wen displayed a feeling of urgency. His instinctual reaction was to run faster.
The advantage secured by Old Zhang in the first leg couldn't be lost in the second leg!
Qiu Wen was genuinely filled with this thought, and you could practically see two burning flames in his eyes.
Why was the competition so close behind him when his pace seemed fine?
This thought crossed Qiu Wen's mind in an instant, and then he accelerated even more rapidly.
The second leg athletes from Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa, who were behind Qiu Wen, were competing alongside him on the track for the first time. They were unaware of Qiu Wen's technical characteristics. When they saw him accelerating, the South African athlete immediately thought that if he couldn't overtake the first leg runner, he should at least secure the second leg position. After all, there was already a gap in the race segment ahead of Trinidad and Tobago's second leg runner where he could potentially insert himself.
Trinidad and Tobago's second leg runner also sensed the South African athlete's intention, and Qiu Wen's acceleration ahead disrupted his original rhythm.
Soon, the athletes who had been maintaining the 400m running pace were now running at the speed and style of 200m sprinters under Qiu Wen's lead.
This was what they called "Qiu Wen's rhythm time."
Qiu Wen had no idea what the spectators were feeling as he went all out. Once he started running like this, rhythm was completely thrown out the window. With Su Bai's training that not only improved his absolute speed but also enhanced his endurance and physical conditioning, combined with his natural talent in speed and endurance, he was unstoppable on the 400m track. Others couldn't dictate the rhythm to him, and no one could push Qiu Wen to his limits.
In the blink of an eye, the athletes behind Qiu Wen lost their composure, and Trinidad and Tobago's second leg runner was the first to realize that something was wrong with the rhythm. However, by the time he attempted to readjust his pace, he had no energy left to catch up with the Chinese athlete in front.
In the sports channel commentary box, both Shao Minyi and Li Sen couldn't help but smile.
"Qiu Wen is truly an exceptionally infectious athlete, and on the track, he can be considered a 'secret weapon,'" Shao Minyi remarked.
Many viewers in the chatroom also found this amusing, and some of them started joking:
【23333, Can we expect a classic scene in the future? Something like 'We promise never to use Qiu Wen first'???】
【23333, Can we expect a classic scene in the future? Something like 'We promise never to use Qiu Wen first'???】
【We still don't know the full extent of Qiu Wen's destructive power. He's currently in the second leg, and the opponents aren't top-tier. If he were placed in the first leg or the anchor leg, the effect might be explosive!】
【We still don't know the full extent of Qiu Wen's destructive power. He's currently in the second leg, and the opponents aren't top-tier. If he were placed in the first leg or the anchor leg, the effect might be explosive!】
On the track, Qiu Wen surged ahead rapidly in the front. Apart from a brief speed drop in the second curve, he regained his speed in the final straight.
When Qiu Wen's speed briefly decreased in the second curve, the athletes behind him from Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa thought they had an opportunity. However, when they tried to accelerate and overtake Qiu Wen in the third lane, they realized that he had quickly stabilized his speed. After transitioning from the curve to the straight, Qiu Wen's speed once again surged.
As Qiu Wen entered sprint mode on the final hundred-meter stretch, the athletes from Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa, who had thought they had a chance, suddenly felt like they had been deceived.
After their unsuccessful attempt to overtake Qiu Wen, the Trinidad and Tobago and South African athletes had expended even more of their energy. As a result, when it came to the final sprint, they had little left in the tank.
The Dutch and Bahamian athletes who followed them were also feeling extremely disheartened. Why did they feel so exhausted in this 400-meter relay second leg today?
When the relay baton was handed over to the third leg runners, Qiu Wen was surprisingly still full of energy. He cheered for Guo Dun ahead of him, shouting, "Come on, Old Guo!!!!"
The athletes behind Qiu Wen, after catching their breath, took a moment to look at the number and name on Qiu Wen's jersey, committing the name 'Qiu Wen' from the Chinese team to their memory.
On the track, when the third leg runner Guo Dun received the relay baton, he already had a considerable lead over the athletes behind him. Thanks to the strong performances of Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, Guo Dun naturally had the inside lane without having to worry about lane positioning.
In the 400-meter individual event, Guo Dun's current ability was not on par with Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, but after training under Su Bai for such a long time, Guo Dun had made significant improvements and was no longer at the level of a 46.68-second runner.
Guo Dun understood that his absolute speed ability wasn't as good as Zhang Ziyi's or Qiu Wen's, but he had his own strengths: stability.
His stability wasn't just about his mental state but also about his rhythm. In disadvantaged situations, he could remain steady, and even when there was no one to reference in front of him, he could maintain his speed without any panic.
Guo Dun knew that the athletes from Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa behind him were likely to have better 400-meter individual race times, but even so, he didn't forcefully change his rhythm.
He held his state firmly, knowing that the competitors behind were closing in. However, he also understood that if he couldn't maintain this one word, 'stability,' and tried to forcefully change his rhythm to accelerate at this moment, the only result would be a loss outweighing the gains.
In the sports channel commentary box, Li Sen couldn't help but comment when he saw Guo Dun's condition, "Guo Dun's rhythm is truly 'steady.' On the track, with competitors approaching from behind, he can still maintain his speed and rhythm with precision. This is a huge challenge and test for any athlete."
Guo Dun passed this test with flying colors. He successfully maintained his first-place position. Although the third leg runner from Trinidad and Tobago was closing in on him, Guo Dun didn't lose his composure or let his rhythm falter, avoiding the ultimate defeat. This was already a form of victory.
As Guo Dun handed over the baton, Zhang Ziyi gave him a thumbs-up, and Qiu Wen, even happier, exclaimed, "Well done, Old Guo!"
In lane four, after receiving the relay baton, Li Junhao began to sprint at full speed. Since his "glass heart" had been stimulated and miraculously healed by Su Bai, he had been exhibiting an extreme, almost overbearing determination on the track. He had transformed from having a fragile mentality to possessing a heart of steel. On the track, he exuded an air of "Who else but me?"
Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, who would run the mixed 4x400m relay later, had already given their all in the first two legs. However, they had not reached the point of desperation. In the next two legs, Guo Dun's role was to "stabilize," while Li Junhao's mission was to "charge ahead!"
It should be noted that the fourth leg runners from various countries were typically their strongest runners. The athletes behind Li Junhao, while they may not all have reached the Olympic standard of 400 meters, certainly had the potential to achieve the qualification standard for the current year's World Athletics Championships in the 400m individual event.
In other words, all of these athletes were capable of running the 400 meters in under 45.30 seconds, a time that no Chinese athlete had achieved in recent years.
These thoughts flashed through Li Junhao's mind, and he furrowed his brow even more. His on-track demeanor became more powerful, regardless of the capabilities of the athletes behind him or whether they could outperform him. In his mind, he had one thought: Charge!
Of course, as a talented athlete in the 400-meter sprint, Li Junhao's "charge" was not mindless. He didn't possess the same level of speed endurance as Qiu Wen, so what he could do was blend his speed, explosiveness, and rhythm into the best possible state. He aimed to maintain a core rhythm throughout, strive for excellence in each phase, and then, on the foundation of "excellence," selectively unleash his explosiveness.
Achieving mere "excellence" might seem easy, but striving for perfection in every aspect was a Herculean task.
Yet Li Junhao managed it. He had once been skeptical of Su Bai, but now he knew the true extent of Su Bai's "magic." However, even with this knowledge, his proud ego and stubbornness wouldn't allow him to humbly admit his mistakes in front of Su Bai.
All he could do was give his best performance in every competition. He wanted Su Bai to see his strength and abilities.
Driven by this stubborn mindset, he had almost perfected every aspect of the training that Su Bai had assigned him. Whether it was training for absolute speed, speed endurance, speed explosiveness, flexibility, rhythm control, and more, his training felt like a form of "rebellion" against Su Bai. Yet, in this state of "rebellion," he had reaped great benefits.
Sometimes, Li Junhao felt that the farthest road he had traveled was Su Bai's elaborate schemes. However, he had never shattered the unspoken understanding of this "scheme" and continued to diligently follow the training regimen.
In today's competition, he couldn't afford to entertain any possibility of failure, especially given the team's advantage. As the race entered the final straightaway, the only competitors left were Li Junhao, the fourth-leg runner from Trinidad and Tobago, and the fourth-leg runner from South Africa. None of them were holding back in the final phase, pushing their limits by increasing arm movement, lowering their bodies, and quickening their stride frequency.
Sprint!
Only two spots were available to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, and neither of them wanted to lose!
The sound of their sprint was filled with the rhythm of breath, and it echoed through the air as they inhaled, the air tearing through their throats and into their chests, causing a sharp, painful sensation. But no one paid any attention to it. They had pushed their speed to the limits, all the way until they crossed the finish line.
"We won!"
In the spectator stands, Jiang Wentao and Pei Jin'an both burst into laughter. Jiang Wentao clapped his hands against the railing in front of him, his eyes filled with satisfaction and excitement.
"We won!"
In the sports channel commentary booth, Shao Minyi's eyes sparkled. "Congratulations! The Chinese men's 4x400-meter relay team has successfully advanced to the finals of the World Athletics Relay Championships with the first-place finish in their group. At the same time, they have secured their entry qualification for the Tokyo Olympics!"
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 162: Chinese Team's Performance & Conclusion of the 4x400m Preliminaries
On the public chat screen of the sports channel live stream, everyone was delighted by the scene before them. Although this was just the preliminaries, the most crucial aspect of this World Athletics Relay Championships was determining the qualification for the 4x100m and 4x400m events at the Tokyo Olympics and the upcoming World Championships in September.
According to the regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), in the 4x100m and 4x400m events at this World Athletics Relay Championships, the top eight teams will earn qualification for the respective events at the Tokyo Olympics, while the top ten teams will secure qualification for the World Athletics Championships in September this year.
Whether it was the women's 4x400m race that took place earlier or the ongoing men's 4x400m race, only eight teams would make it to the finals. In other words, the Chinese team's current first-place finish in their group had brought them very close to securing qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.
However, there were always exceptions to everything.
Because the qualification slots for the Tokyo Olympics and the World Championships were highly coveted, to truly secure one of these slots, a team needed to complete the final race and achieve a final race result.
In relay races, it was not uncommon for teams to fail to obtain a result due to mistakes or other reasons, and in some events, there might even be two or three teams within the same competition group that committed fouls or couldn't finish the race.
The finals of Group B in this World Athletics Relay Championships were prepared for such situations.
Although Group B finals did not determine the top three rankings, they played a crucial role in the qualification rankings for the World Championships. Additionally, if any team in the finals committed a foul or couldn't finish the race, the vacant slots for the Olympics or World Championships would be filled based on the final results of the Group B finals.
This was why Shao Min did not firmly state that the Chinese 4x400m relay men's team had already secured qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. Even though this was the case, the live chat room was still filled with cheers and excitement. China's 4x400m relay team had won this competition, surpassing Trinidad and Tobago to claim first place. This achievement was not on par with Japan's home victory in the previous group stage.
In the spectator stands, Jiang Wentao and Pei Jin'an, after their initial excitement, wore somewhat intrigued smiles on their faces.
"Ah, now that you mention it, both first-place teams in the men's 4x400m relay preliminaries are from Asia," Pei Jin'an said, then glanced at Jiang Wentao.
"Alright," Jiang Wentao responded with a slightly amused expression, "I can already see the media starting to hype this up again—the rise of the Asian 400m relay project. How does that headline sound to you?"
With that, Jiang Wentao and Pei Jin'an exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
As veterans in the world of athletics, both Jiang Wentao and Pei Jin'an were relatively down-to-earth individuals. However, they couldn't deny that some media outlets had a tendency to exaggerate and sensationalize, which could sometimes be a headache, even for those at the Athletics Center who regularly interacted with the media and used it to promote the sport.
On the field, Zhang Ziyi, accompanied by Qiu Wen and a few others, stood at the finish line of the track. They discussed their performance on the field and eagerly awaited the announcement of the final results for their group.
All six teams in the competition were gathered together, anxiously awaiting the results, with South Africa, currently in third place, being the most concerned. They were very close in performance to Trinidad and Tobago, and the only way they could advance to the final round was if their final result ranked them in the top two among the remaining teams.
In the first group of preliminaries, it was clear to everyone that, apart from the Japanese team, the other teams didn't perform as well as they could have. France, currently in third place, had a time of 3 minutes and 4.19 seconds.
In theory, South Africa's 4x400m relay team should have been able to surpass France's time with their normal performance. However, in today's race, the presence of Qiu Wen had caused a disruption in the rhythm of all the teams in the second leg. While China had secured first place in the preliminary group, the other teams weren't entirely confident about their rankings.
Thinking about this, many athletes discreetly turned their gaze towards Qiu Wen. That guy was truly a madman, completely out of sync with the regular rhythm of 400m runners.
Especially the second-leg runners from Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, and others, seeing Qiu Wen smiling happily now, they all felt a stomachache. That terrifying guy had disrupted their rhythm, making them lose control over their own pace. By the end, they didn't even know if their speed was normal.
The two athletes who had directly competed against Qiu Wen came to a very clear conclusion: "This guy is a genius in the 400m event."
Facing this type of athlete in competition was truly exhausting. After all, being a main relay runner in the 4x400m event for each national team already made them exceptional athletes. However, when they encountered someone like Qiu Wen, they still felt powerless.
Although they hadn't faced Qiu Wen in previous 400m individual races, both the Trinidad and Tobago athlete and the South African athlete had already developed a sense of caution about him.
The referee team didn't make the teams wait for too long, and soon, the final results for all teams in the second group of preliminaries were displayed on the screen.
World Athletics Relay Championships Men's 4x400m Relay Preliminaries, Second Group Final Results:
1st Place: China (3 minutes 2.07 seconds), Q (Directly qualified);
2nd Place: Trinidad and Tobago (3 minutes 2.63 seconds), SB, Q (Directly qualified);
3rd Place: South Africa (3 minutes 2.79 seconds);
4th Place: Belgium (3 minutes 4.26 seconds), SB...
At the moment the results were announced, the South African team visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to France's time of 3 minutes 4.19 seconds, they had a clear advantage in their performance. Now, they only needed to see how the fourth-placed athlete from the third group of preliminaries performed. If that athlete's time didn't exceed 3 minutes 2.79 seconds, then they would smoothly advance to the finals.
"You can see that the South African team's athletes, while relieved, are still not completely relaxed," Li Sen observed, pointing out their current anxious state. "But this is understandable. After all, their team's fate is not in their own hands right now. It's like they're at the mercy of the teams in the third group of preliminaries, and that's the cause of their anxiety."
"Exactly," Shao Minyi nodded. "In sports competitions, stable performance is the athletes' greatest reliance. If they want to avoid the feeling of having their fate controlled by other teams, they can only bring out overwhelming strength, stand at the very top, and avoid encountering such situations."
"In the same event, every team, every athlete is climbing the same peak. In the process of this climb, there will always be various cruel but realistic scenarios," Shao Minyi said with a smile. "This cruelty of competitive sports is also one of the exciting aspects of the competition."
On the field, the members of the Chinese team, upon seeing the results, turned and followed the guidance of the staff to exit the field. Among them, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, along with the later mixed 4x400m relay, were preparing for their upcoming races—those were going to be real tough battles.
Back in China, track and field enthusiasts breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the final preliminary results of the men's 4x400m relay. Regardless of how the later races would go, at least they didn't need to worry about the men's 4x400m relay today.
As Zhang Ziyi and his teammates returned to the backstage area, the members of the women's 4x100m relay team had just come back from the warm-up area, ready to compete after the men's 4x400m relay preliminaries in the third group concluded. Meanwhile, the members of the men's 4x100m relay team, including Fang Yu, were preparing to head to the warm-up area.
When Fang Yu saw Zhang Ziyi and the others, he greeted them with a smile.
"Congrats, Old Zhang!"
Fang Yu's congratulations were naturally about the near certainty of Zhang Ziyi and his team securing a spot in the Olympics. After exchanging greetings with Fang Yu, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen entered the men's team's rest area. The massage therapists were ready, waiting for the two of them to return, so they could quickly relax their bodies, recover their physical condition, and prepare for the later mixed-gender 4x400m relay preliminaries.
Back on the field, after Zhang Ziyi and his team had left, the final group of preliminaries stepped onto the track.
If the previous two rounds, featuring Japan and China, each had only one or two top athletes, then the third round of preliminaries wasn't like that at all.
It could be said that in this round of preliminaries for the men's 4x400m relay, Group 3 was a death group.
In this group, there were the United States, Italy, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Czech Republic. Among these six teams, the top four had all reached the finals of the men's 4x400m relay event at the World Championships.
Exaggerating a bit, after the addition of these teams in the preliminary rounds of the relay race, there was a hint of the Men's 4x400m World Championship final in the air.
On the live chat of the sports channel's online broadcast, when track and field enthusiasts saw the complete list of teams in this group, they couldn't help but be amazed.
【...Enough said, let's light a candle for the Australian team and the Czech team. Safe travels.】
【Brothers, let's not underestimate them; both of these teams have competed in the World Championships and have some strong abilities.】
【Oh man, it depends on how you compare strengths. If it were me, I'd probably want to go home before even starting in this group.】
【Agreed... So, we can only send comments from here while they get to compete against the top teams on-site!】
【Speaking of which, thank goodness our team wasn't placed in this death group. If we were in there, it would be like running until our hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, and kidneys all burst, and we might not even make it to the finals, right?】
It's not just the online audience saying this. In the Yokohama TV studio, the host, Naomura Hiroshi, was also lamenting the terrifying nature of the last preliminary group.
"It's truly an unimaginably tough death group," Naomura Hiroshi said with emotion. "Even sitting in the studio, my heart is starting to race. The strength of these superstars is beyond what ordinary teams can imagine. In a competition like this, there's absolutely no room for the slightest mistake, right? Perhaps what initially seems like a small mistake could ultimately become the source of failure."
...
Next to him, Su Bai had already adapted to the broadcast mode of the television station by now. He finished writing on the third whiteboard and placed it upside down on the desk.
This is a prediction bet between him and Ryuunosuke Arakawa regarding the three preliminary groups of the men's 4x400m relay. During this time, when the Japanese team secured first place in their preliminary group, Ryuunosuke Arakawa visibly relaxed. However, after the Chinese team also secured first place in their preliminary group, his brow furrowed once again.
Su Bai understood that Ryuunosuke Arakawa might have initially thought that the Japanese team's ranking, the atmosphere at the venue, and the pressure of competing against Trinidad and Tobago would have some impact on the Chinese team's performance. However, he didn't expect that all the conditions he thought should have an effect on the Chinese team's performance had not affected them at all.
When the Chinese team secured first place in their group, and their final result was even better than that of the Japanese team, his brow visibly furrowed again.
Although Su Bai could see Ryuunosuke Arakawa's state of mind, he didn't pay much attention to it. He had joined this broadcast not to make friends with Ryuunosuke Arakawa but had accepted Arakawa's challenge. Between the two of them, there was never meant to be a harmonious relationship.
As a result, the entire broadcast room had a strange split effect. With two tables placed side by side, Ryuunosuke Arakawa had a serious expression, while Su Bai didn't show any particular emotions, at most giving a polite smile when Naomura Hiroshi mentioned him.
As the host, Naomura Hiroshi served as a buffer between Su Bai and Ryuunosuke Arakawa. Regardless of his true preferences, his professional demeanor as a host allowed him to make harmless jokes that maintained a friendly atmosphere while preserving the professional authority befitting their roles as coaches.
In this atmosphere, the competition in the third preliminary group on the field officially began.
From the beginning of this match, it appeared to be much more intense than the previous two preliminary groups. Both the American and Jamaican teams had reaction times at the starting stage within the 0.13-second range, which was essentially the reaction time seen in a 100m sprint.
The reaction time at the start of a race also depends on the current competitive condition of the athletes, and this rapid reaction time indirectly confirmed that the first leg runners of both teams were in excellent shape!
It wasn't just the USA and Jamaica in this race; the teams from the UK and Italy also had excellent starts in the preliminary heats.
As for the Australian and Czech Republic teams, who were not part of these four teams, they might have seemed like underdogs compared to the USA and others. However, their athletes may have been determined to stage a comeback or simply refused to be outdone.
In any case, both the Australian and Czech teams showed competitive speed at the start, not lagging behind the other teams.
This was a dazzling and exciting race. Even though it was just a preliminary heat, the atmosphere of fierce competition and the high level of performance made the spectators feel an adrenaline rush. Even if there were no teams from their own countries competing, the audience couldn't help but cheer and get excited for the athletes on the field.
In the venue, Japanese spectators, in particular, were immersed in the atmosphere, their cheers echoing through the stadium as they passionately cheered on every team.
Originally, the speed of these six teams seemed to match the initial impressions of their strength. The USA and Jamaica were neck and neck, with Italy and the UK closely trailing behind, and Australia and the Czech Republic falling behind and desperately trying to catch up.
However, during the second baton exchange, there were some unexpected mishaps. Italy's second and third runners made some mistakes during the baton exchange. When Italy's third runner finally received the relay baton, the inner lane that should have been theirs had already been taken over.
Accidents on the race track always come so unexpectedly. Following the baton exchange mishap between Italy's second and third runners, the Czech team seized the opportunity to overtake. Not only did they claim the position that originally belonged to Italy, but during the latter part of the third leg, after transitioning from the curve to the straight path, they managed to overtake the Australian runner in the outer lane!
The Czech team's intentions were quickly noticed by the Australian athlete, but the third leg runner of the Czech team unexpectedly displayed strong performance in the latter part of the race. While navigating the second curve, they took advantage of a gap that appeared due to the inattention of the Australian and British athletes in front and decisively moved past the British runner. They firmly held onto this position, preventing the athletes from the two teams behind from overtaking.
The Czech team maintained this fourth position thanks to the overtaking move during the third leg, and despite Italy having a chance to at least overtake Australia, they made another mistake during the baton exchange between the third and fourth legs.
In the end, this race concluded with the following order: USA, Jamaica, UK, Czech Republic, Australia, and Italy.
Towards the end of this race, both the USA and Jamaica had maintained significant leads. As a result, during the final sprint phase, the fourth-leg runners from the USA and Jamaica relaxed their pace and did not sprint at full speed across the finish line.
Even so, both the USA and Jamaica managed to finish under the 3 minutes and 2 seconds mark. The UK team that followed them recorded a time of 3 minutes and 2.96 seconds, while the fourth-placed Czech team finished with a time of 3 minutes and 3.53 seconds.
At this point, all the preliminary heats of the men's 4x400m relay have concluded. Apart from the top two teams from each of the three preliminary groups directly advancing to the finals, the other two teams that secured the top positions are South Africa with a time of 3 minutes and 2.79 seconds and the UK with a time of 3 minutes and 2.96 seconds.
"What an exciting event!" Naomura Hiroshi exclaimed with admiration in his voice, and he joyfully imagined the scene when the Japanese men's 4x400m relay team would compete at the pinnacle of the Tokyo Olympics next year on their home turf.
After discussing all of this, Naomura Hiroshi finally turned the conversation to the pre-race bet made by Ryuunosuke Arakawa and Su Bai regarding the men's 4x400m relay.
"Oh dear, ladies and gentlemen, the men's 4x400m relay preliminary heats have all concluded now. So, let's take a look at the showdown between the two young genius coaches in the context of their extraordinary pre-race prediction abilities. Who do you think has emerged victorious in the end?"
Su Bai didn't pay much attention to the lengthy and flowery phrases being narrated by the translator. Over the course of the broadcast, he had learned to calmly extract the key information from the Japanese's elaborate rhetoric.
Upon hearing the translator's words, Su Bai calmly translated it in his mind, and the direct meaning was: "You guys can reveal the boards now."
So, after mentally translating it, Su Bai simply and straightforwardly flipped over the three boards, each displaying his final predictions for the rankings of the three groups.
Naomura Hiroshi was momentarily surprised when he saw Su Bai's actions. He had expected Su Bai and Ryuunosuke Arakawa to take turns flipping the whiteboards in the order of the three preliminary groups. However, Su Bai's action was surprisingly efficient and straightforward, which slightly diminished the element of surprise in the live broadcast.
However, Naomura Hiroshi quickly realized that the live competition was still ongoing, and they didn't have much time for the announcement and discussion of the rankings.
So, Ryunosuke Arakawa swiftly flipped open his three whiteboards as well.
When a total of six whiteboards were revealed, Naomura Hiroshi looked around and couldn't help but quietly exclaim when he saw Su Bai's whiteboard: "...This is truly amazing!"
On Su Bai's displayed whiteboard, you could clearly and directly see his performance predictions for all the teams. The level of accuracy in these predictions was astonishing, completely exceeding Naomura Hiroshi 's expectations and surprising many Japanese viewers.
"How is this even possible?" Many people widened their eyes in amazement upon seeing Su Bai's whiteboard.
"This coach from China... this level of precision... How did he... do it???"
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