Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 10/16/2023
Chapter 265: Olympic - Men's 100m Sprint Battle & Results
It should be said that, as expected by Jiang Wentao and others before the Olympics, once someone in the track and field team could clinch a gold medal, it would greatly boost the morale of the entire track and field team.
Therefore, whether it was for the honor of the country or simply for the sake of the Chinese team's performance, in the past two days since the start of the track and field events, everyone had been eagerly anticipating the moment when the Chinese team would secure a gold medal.
When the moment of the gold medal truly arrived, the impact and surge of seeing one's teammate win the gold undoubtedly brought new aspirations to Fang Yu, who was about to compete on the field.
Victory and gold medal.
What wonderful words they were.
Since he was already standing on the stage of this final, how could he not anticipate these two words?
Fang Yu took a deep breath and suppressed the intense anticipation that had already become substantial in his heart.
Before the starting signal of the race had officially sounded, in the spectator stands, many Chinese spectators were still immersed in the excitement of the previous high jump victory. Now, as the most thrilling sprint battle in the track and field event was about to begin, their enthusiasm, carried over from the previous final, burst out even more intensely.
Go for it!
Go for it!!
In this stadium, which accommodated 90,000 people, whether they were spectators from China, Japan, or other countries, countless eyes were firmly fixed on the 100-meter track on the field at this moment.
"Ten seconds! The next race will be the most crucial ten seconds of the Olympic track and field events tonight!"
At this moment, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were also extremely nervous. They hoped that Fang Yu could also achieve a miraculous medal in tonight's competition, but they were restraining themselves, not letting their expectations weigh too heavily on the athletes.
They were afraid that too much anticipation before the race would put too much burden on the athletes.
"No matter what the result is tonight, Fang Yu is already the most brilliant flying star in all of Asia! He has achieved unprecedented breakthroughs," Li Sen said solemnly. "Now, all Fang Yu needs to do is to maintain his composure and perform at his best... that is our greatest expectation of him!"
In the sports channel's online live broadcast room, due to the previous discussions about Wang Shen's competition and gold medal, a large number of new viewers flooded into the live broadcast room.
As they saw that Fang Yu's event was about to begin, the audience in the live broadcast room was bustling with nervous anticipation, all eagerly awaiting the start of this battle of the sprinters.
【Ah ah ah, no matter what, Brother Yu, go for it!!】
【Go, Brother Yu!!】
In this tense atmosphere, as if the whole world was collectively nervous, a voice that made one's spirits tense began to emanate from the broadcast on the field: "On your marks."
In an instant, the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, which had previously been very lively, fell silent.
The suddenly quiet stadium seemed to allow the spectators to hear their own pounding heartbeats and the breathing of the people around them.
The competition was about to begin!
On the track, with athletes like Bassett, Galen, and Florence at the center, the 8 competitors were already crouched on their starting blocks, assuming their respective starting positions as the "set" command was given. They all positioned their hips high, ready to explode into action at the sound of the gun.
Following that was the sharp sound of the gun - "bang!"
"The race has begun!!!"
Li Sen only had time to shout this sentence. At the same time, all 8 athletes on the track responded to the gunshot and burst into action!
Among the 8 athletes on the track, Galen from the United States was considered the strongest. His personal best for the 100 meters was 9.71 seconds. He was still in his prime, and many predicted that Galen was likely to break the 9.70 barrier in his career.
Similarly, Bassett from Jamaica was also a strong contender. His 100-meter personal best was 9.76 seconds, making him another athlete to have broken the 9.80 barrier.
Apart from Galen and Bassett, who had both broken the 9.80-second barrier, the remaining 4 athletes on the field had all achieved sub-9.90-second times, with only Fang Yu and another Italian athlete having personal bests just under 10 seconds.
Fang Yu, holding the Asian 100-meter record, was one of the athletes in the final with one of the slower personal bests for the event tonight.
This was the stage of the Olympic men's 100-meter race, one of the most elite athletic stages in the world.
On this stage, which attracted the attention of the entire world, every athlete wanted to produce their best performance. Consequently, the eight competitors displayed almost stunning performances in the starting phase.
Among the eight competitors, one had a reaction time of 0.147 seconds, while the fastest was Florence, whose reaction time was a mere 0.119 seconds.
This was already an almost lightning-fast reaction time, and following Florence, Galen and Fang Yu had reaction times of 0.122 and 0.127 seconds, respectively.
"Good! A very good start! Fang Yu's explosive start is very advantageous!" Shao Minyi's voice was nervous and rapid as he attempted to quickly analyze the situation on the field for the viewers.
At this moment, as Shao Minyi had said, Fang Yu's explosive starting phase seemed to be quite advantageous!
The starting phase was indeed Fang Yu's strong suit. Compared to Galen and Bassett, Fang Yu did not have the advantage of height. He was a clearly stride-frequency-oriented athlete, compensating for his shorter stride with an exceptionally high stride frequency.
At the same time, his explosive starting power was extremely strong, but his speed endurance was relatively poor. In situations where he needed to compensate for his shorter stride with a high stride frequency, his energy consumption was also relatively high.
Therefore, his personal advantage had always been concentrated in the first half of the race — just like now!
As a global sporting event, foreign television stations were also broadcasting the men's 100-meter showdown at this time.
At this moment, under the gaze of the world, everyone could see a Chinese figure among the top three athletes in the starting phase connecting to the acceleration run on the track?!
【My God... what am I seeing? A Chinese man running as fast as a black person?!】
【Unbelievable, am I really not mistaken? Why can an Asian run so fast?!】
【Oh my God, his speed... his speed is almost on par with Galen...】
On the track, Fang Yu could fully feel that he had already brought his speed and explosiveness to the extreme in the starting phase. Perhaps in his career, there were few moments where he had such an excellent performance.
Perfect reaction to the gun, perfect explosive power, perfect three-step start...!
At the moment when his right foot pushed off the starting block, he could already feel that he had perfectly utilized the explosive force from the push-off throughout his starting phase.
In the first three steps of the starting action, with each push-off, Fang Yu's body gained forward momentum using the initial explosive force, smoothly transitioning from the start to the rhythm of the acceleration run in this perfect forward state!
The time his foot spent on the ground with each step was very short, but in this brief moment, he perfectly utilized the force feedback from the track at the moment of contact to make his speed even faster!
If someone were to measure Fang Yu's left and right foot contact times and compare the time his body spent in the air, they would come up with a stunning data point.
Fang Yu's step frequency was distinctly higher than that of Galen and Bassett. Therefore, theoretically, Fang Yu's total ground contact time should be much higher than that of his competitors. However, in reality, his current ground contact time was only slightly longer than these two athletes.
If the spectators at the scene were to describe the feeling of watching Fang Yu's race at this moment, they might say, "Watching Fang Yu feels like he's flying!"
On the track, Fang Yu's current state was undoubtedly "flying." Astonishingly, he was almost neck and neck with Galen at this stage, and his speed was even slightly faster than that of Bassett!
"Fang Yu!!!"
"Fang Yu's speed is excellent! Keep it up, keep it up!!!"
In the online live broadcast room of the sports channel, both Shao Minyi and Li Sen couldn't contain their excitement when they saw the scene in front of them.
This was the final of the 100-meter sprint showdown, the final!!
This was not the stage of the preliminaries or the semi-finals, where athletes would still be holding back their energy and competitive edge, saving themselves for the final.
At this moment, it could be said that every athlete on the track was running at full throttle. No one would hold back on the Olympic final stage. They all hoped that they could perform above their usual level in the Olympic final.
And it was precisely on this Olympic final stage that Fang Yu's performance was already enough to make people's pupils shake—he had almost caught up with the current world number one, American athlete Galen, in the first fifty meters! The Jamaican sprinter Bassett was slightly behind at this stage!
Shao Minyi and Li Sen were well aware that Fang Yu's advantage was originally in this stage, but until now, Fang Yu had never been able to achieve such an astonishing lead in the first half of the race.
To the extent that this level of advantage made people feel as if Fang Yu had a chance to sprint for the gold medal.
On the track, both the Jamaican athlete Bassett and the American Galen had noticed Fang Yu's current state. Fang Yu's performance made them shiver. Almost at the same time, Bassett and Galen both unleashed their most dominant states. As they entered the middle stage of the race, both of them were still maintaining their top speeds with all their might!
Fang Yu understood that his maximum speed was probably in the segment around 50 meters. After that, beyond the 60-meter mark, his speed would start to decline uncontrollably.
Even though Su Bai had already conducted various training adjustments for him, this innate characteristic of his body's abilities was not something that training could completely reverse.
Since the speed would decline after 60 meters, Fang Yu's task was to elevate his speed to the maximum while he still had the advantage in speed.
At the current stage of the race, Galen, Bassett, and Fang Yu undoubtedly formed the first group on the track. This was a scene that almost no one had imagined—who would have thought? In this world's most elite arena, in this field that was once a forbidden zone for people of Asian descent, there would be a pure Chinese athlete who could leave behind opponents who were originally supposed to be far stronger than him!
The Chinese audience at the scene and the viewers watching the competition in China had once again plunged into a frenzy. The tingling sensation on their scalps and the exhilarating feeling of not daring to breathe while watching the race were completely different from the experience of watching the high jump final earlier.
In the sports channel's commentary room, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were so nervous that they couldn't say anything else—【Come on!!! Fang Yu, come on!!!】
Shao Minyi's voice sounded almost like a hoarse shout, completely inconsistent with the professional standard that a sports commentator should have. However, the director in the control room of the sports channel did not have the mood to remind Shao Minyi about maintaining professional standards. The staff of the sports channel in the control room were also nervous to the point of not daring to breathe.
On the track, the race was now in the final 40-meter segment!
Here it comes!
This was the segment where Fang Yu would gradually slow down!
In the spectator stands, Jiang Wentao and Pei Jin'an had already stood up—not only them, but from the beginning of the men's 100-meter showdown, no one in the stands could sit still and watch the competition. Everyone nervously stared at the short 100-meter track, tearing their voices and shouting loudly for them.
"Come on! Hold on!!! Hold on!!!" Pei Jin'an was now shouting loudly, hoping that his shouts could reach Fang Yu's ears and help him maintain the current advantage.
On the track, starting from the 60-meter stage, Galen's speed was completely opposite to Fang Yu's. It was getting faster and faster. Not only Galen, but also Bassett, Florence, and several other athletes. Their speed had increased in the latter half of the race.
Florence, who was originally in the leading position of the second group behind Galen, Fang Yu, and Bassett, noticed that Fang Yu's speed was showing signs of fatigue. He began to look for an opportunity to surpass the Chinese athlete ahead of him!
From the moment when Bassett caught up with the half-body position that Fang Yu had dropped, all the Chinese spectators watching the match felt a jolt in their hearts—Not good! Fang Yu's position was in danger!!!
But even though they knew this, they couldn't do anything about the current match in front of them.
On the track, Fang Yu had clearly felt his muscles sinking into the heavy and sour pain of hypoxia due to continuous anaerobic exercise. The rapid accumulation of lactic acid in his body made him feel that his limbs were gradually becoming uncontrollable.
Fang Yu was well aware that the rapid depletion of physical energy leading to the deformation of his technical movements would be a fatal blow to the last 30-meter segment.
So...
No matter what, he must maintain his current state!
Fang Yu controlled his breathing frequency, relying on his willpower to prevent his technical movements from deforming. He could feel that, in the first half of the race, due to his extraordinary performance, his speed indeed exceeded his usual limits, but his physical energy consumption had also exceeded his expectations.
This unexpected physical energy consumption might cause his speed to drop more than anticipated.
He couldn't, and wouldn't allow his speed to decline beyond his expectations!
The feeling of exhaustion in his body was rushing in frantically. The closer he got to the final stage, the more intense the sensation of his body being as heavy as lead became.
But even so, Fang Yu had no intention of giving up—he understood that this state today was a rare opportunity. He could even clearly sense in his mind that if he could maintain this speed until the end, what awaited him might be a breakthrough of his limits!
Give it his all!
For whatever reason, he had to give it his all!
Even though his body was so heavy, even though his limbs seemed to be gradually unresponsive—final 20 meters!
Fang Yu gazed at the track ahead—I can do it!
No matter how difficult the current physical sensations were, he would not take even half a step back!
【Fang Yu!!! Fang Yu!!!!】
【Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!!!】
In the sports channel's live chat room, there were no longer any rational comments on the screen—after all, in less than 10 seconds, who could possibly post a rational comment at a time like this?
On the track, in the stands, in the sports channel's live chat room, and in front of millions of televisions across the country, everyone at that moment exhibited the most frenzied state. What all hearts simultaneously converged on was a common will—Fang Yu, go for it!
On the track, the athlete from Britain, Florence, initially thought that the Chinese athlete ahead had completely exhausted his physical strength. He thought he had a chance to overtake, but the Chinese athlete seemed like a weathered stone that seemed about to collapse at any moment. Although it seemed that a slight breeze could make it sway, even a severe Category 5 hurricane could not make it fall.
It was in this feeling that Florence, step by step, watched the Chinese athlete ahead approaching the finish line.
The last 20 meters, 10 meters, 5 meters!!!
Then... the finish line!!!
"He crossed the finish line!!! Fang Yu successfully crossed the finish line!!!"
"Congratulations, congratulations to Fang Yu!!!"
Almost at the moment when Fang Yu successfully crossed the finish line in third place, the Chinese audience at the venue erupted in astonishing cheers and shouts!
In the sports channel's commentary box, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were both on the verge of jumping out of their seats!
"The bronze medal!"
"Fang Yu has won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics men's 100-meter sprint!!! Fang Yu is the first Asian in history to win a medal in the 100-meter sprint at the Olympic Games!!!"
"At this moment, we can proudly say that Fang Yu is the well-deserved pride of Asia!!!"
Li Sen's voice was hoarse as he shouted these words: "At this moment, Fang Yu brings glory to China, brings glory to Asia!!!"
In the unseen broadcast room, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were both excited, their faces flushed. At the venue, in the stands, when the members of the Chinese track and field team saw Fang Yu cross the finish line, they also erupted in earth-shattering cheers. A huge national flag began to wave in the area where the track and field team was located. Everyone's faces were filled with excitement and flushed with red!
Even someone as composed as Su Bai couldn't help but look at Fang Yu, who was roaring with disbelief as he covered his face, and his eyes were filled with a hint of tears.
The 100-meter sprint had been a project that Su Bai had fought for many years. He didn't have enough talent in the 100-meter event, but he still harbored the initial and pure love for the sport deep in his heart.
At this moment, he was able to be at the venue, witnessing a competitor from his own country break the once forbidden territory and win a medal that was once unimaginable. Just this scene alone was enough to make him feel happy and gratified.
"Fang Yu did great!" Tears were already welling up in Jiang Wentao's eyes. He fervently praised Fang Yu, praised Pei Jin'an, and praised Su Bai.
"Xiao Bai, it's all thanks to Xiao Bai!" Pei Jin'an spoke firmly without hesitation.
Initially, after Fang Yu broke the 10-second barrier for the first time, he fell into a low period for a long time. Although the national team sent Fang Yu to learn from a renowned foreign coach, his state of adjustment was still quite limited.
Even at the national track and field championships that year, Fang Yu almost lost to Zhao Shu.
Looking back at these past events now still made Pei Jin'an shudder.
If it weren't for Su Bai's insistence on withstanding his blame and handing Fang Yu's training program to him, it's very likely that Fang Yu wouldn't have been able to achieve such results on the Olympic stage today.
Jiang Wentao also knew about the past. He looked at Fang Yu, who was covering his face in excitement at the end of the track, and then looked at Pei Jin'an and Su Bai, saying, "Thanks to Xiao Bai, and thanks to you too."
Su Bai also nodded, saying, "Coach Pei, if it weren't for you being willing to accept my proposal, my plan wouldn't have been able to be executed effectively."
Su Bai was well aware that if it weren't for a leader like Pei Jin'an who was willing to accept others' good ideas, his plan would have been futile. So, just as Jiang Wentao had said, Pei Jin'an was also indispensable in Fang Yu's achievements.
By the side of the track, sports journalists from China and even from various countries around the world were frantically capturing the scene of Fang Yu covering his face with both hands and kneeling down to shout to the sky. A competitor from China had unbelievably secured the bronze medal in the Olympic 100-meter sprint. This crazy scene after achieving the result would undoubtedly be the classic image of the night.
At the same time, after a brief wait, the panel of judges at the venue also displayed the final results of the men's 100-meter sprint battle on the large screen.
The final results of the Tokyo Olympics men's 100-meter sprint final were as follows:
First place: Galen (United States), 9.7 seconds, wind speed 0.8m/s;
Second place: Bassett (Jamaica), 9.83 seconds, wind speed 0.8m/s;
Third place: Fang Yu (China), 9.88 seconds, wind speed 0.8m/s (Asian record)!
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Chapter 266: Post-match Award Ceremony & Supper & 'Noodle Guy?'
"9.88 seconds, a new Asian record!!!"
Everyone, already extremely excited by Fang Yu's medal-winning performance, felt like screaming on the spot upon seeing Fang Yu's final result. The spectators at the venue, unconstrained by the considerations of TV viewers, screamed out at the sight of this result, each one feeling their voice wasn't loud enough to let Fang Yu hear their cheers.
"Nine point eight eight, it's nine point eight eight!" Jiang Wentao's expression couldn't be described as purely joyful.
Fang Yu's ability to secure a medal in tonight's race was already good news enough to make people happy, but running in 9.88 seconds was completely beyond their expectations.
"This is breaking the 9.90 barrier!" Jiang Wentao clapped excitedly.
This time, Fang Yu not only refreshed his own personal best, but the 9.88 seconds also broke his previous Asian record of 9.90. At the same time, this performance, which broke the 9.90 barrier, once again embarrassed many so-called 'international experts.'
Even before Fang Yu broke the 10-second barrier, there were various expert arguments internationally that Asians couldn't break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters. For a long time, the national record in China was stuck at 10.00 seconds. Some pessimistic people in China truly believed in this so-called 10.00-second limit theory.
Until Fang Yu broke the 10-second barrier for the first time, bringing his result under ten seconds, that legendary moment, even now when Jiang Wentao thought about it, he could still recall the trembling excitement.
After that incident, the international theory about the limit of ten seconds for Asians in the 100 meters was broken. Still, some so-called 'international experts' changed their tune and recalculated the new limit for Asians, and the data was set at 9.90 seconds.
Last year, Fang Yu broke the Asian record and brought his result to the 9.90-second mark, which once again 'supported' the arguments of some 'international experts' from the side.
【Asian athlete's 100-meter limit is 9.90 seconds!】
Thinking of this, Jiang Wentao couldn't help but smile. He suddenly turned to Su Bai and asked, "Xiao Bai, what do you think the limit for Asians in the 100 meters would be?"
Su Bai was taken aback. He didn't expect Jiang Wentao to ask such a question when everyone was clearly still in the midst of celebration.
After considering for a moment, he answered seriously, "It's hard to say. It depends on the individual's talents and whether the athletes receive timely training, among other factors. As long as we can discover good talents in time, breaking through barriers like 9.80 or 9.70 seconds is not impossible."
As he spoke, Su Bai thought of Su Qian, the coquettish genius in his system space. According to the system, Su Qian was a pure Chinese person who could realistically exist in the world. However, his physical talents, including muscle proportion, strength, speed, and endurance, were not much inferior to those of Clark, another randomly generated mixed-race person in the system space.
The time flow for simulating the growth of athletes in the system's training space was different from reality. Over the years, Su Bai had been observing Su Qian's growth. He often felt in his heart that if there could really be a talent like Su Qian in reality, he would undoubtedly be a diamond son shining in the world athletics circle — of course, his personality couldn't be as troublesome as that coquettish genius.
Upon hearing Su Bai's words, Jiang Wentao also smiled proudly. "Exactly! The overall average talent of foreign athletes is stronger than that of Asian people, but that doesn't mean we don't have top talents ! As long as we dig out good talents, what those international experts say about the limits of Asians will be a pure joke!"
Only after Jiang Wentao said this did Su Bai and Pei Jin'an finally understand what Jiang Wentao meant earlier.
In the online live broadcast room of the sports channel, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were also brimming with joy.
"Tonight, in the men's high jump and the men's 100 meters sprint, our country's athletes have demonstrated astonishing strength. In just one day, the track and field events have won a gold, a silver, and a bronze. Moreover, the events that won the gold and bronze medals are genuine unexpected delights!"
"Not bad." Li Sen's eyes were also full of smiles. "With these three medals as a foundation, I believe the Chinese national track and field team will definitely achieve their pre-match ambitions—comprehensively surpassing the results of the Rio Olympics four years ago in the number of track and field medals!"
This night was undoubtedly an exciting sleepless night for track and field enthusiasts in the country.
The men's high jump broke the national record that had been sealed for 36 years, with Wang Shen raising the record from 2.39 meters to 2.42 meters, only one centimeter away from equalling the Asian record.
Wang Shen had been dormant for a year, and in the Olympic finals, he directly improved his season's best result from 2.33 meters to the current world's best result of 2.42 meters.
When the results of this competition came out, those old track and field fans in the kingdom of athletics almost went crazy on the spot. They were confident in Wang Shen, but they had never expected that Wang Shen could achieve such a height.
If Wang Shen's performance was already shocking, then Fang Yu's performance afterwards... left the track and field fans at a loss for words about their feelings.
Many of the usually serious and dignified old men were already in tears the moment they saw Fang Yu's bronze medal.
Track and field was a significant event, but in the years before, the track and field project was truly cold. These track and field enthusiasts who had been watching the competitions day after day since the early years had experienced various lows, including a shortage of talent, which made the atmosphere dull.
They had been amazed by the rise of young talents and lamented the downfall of some "Zhongyong." Through ups and downs, even if a certain project had disappointed them beyond measure, they could not let go of their heartfelt attention.
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dapotaturs note:
Zhongyong is a character in the story from the "Zuo Zhuan," an ancient Chinese narrative history. The story revolves around the tragic fate of this character , who was unjustly punished and ultimately died for a crime he did not commit. Zhongyong symbolizes the tragic fate or downfall of individuals due to unfair circumstances.
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Finally, they watched the Chinese team go from the embarrassment of never being able to break through from the Olympic trials or even the qualifiers to now... the World Championships and the Olympic men's 100-meter double bronze!
For these track and field enthusiasts who had accompanied the Chinese track and field team through thick and thin, who could hold back their tears at this result?
After the end of the men's 100-meter sprint final, the staff quickly set up the podium for tonight's event. The award-winning athletes in several events, including women's shot put, men's high jump, women's triple jump, and men's 100 meters, would take turns to receive their awards at the ceremony.
As the award ceremony began, all the viewers watching the live broadcast of the competition couldn't help but stir.
——【Damn it, there were a total of four final events today, and the Chinese team won medals in three of them?!】
——【=口=Wow, the Chinese team is awesome!!!】
——【Ah ah ah, say it again, Wang Shen is awesome!!! I want to marry you, Wang Shen!!! Sob sob sob, did anyone see Old Wang's profile when he looked up during the flag-raising? qvq Infinitely moved...】
——【What? Who are you going to marry in front of me? Wang Shen is my husband! Sisters, draw your swords!】
During the men's high jump award ceremony, Wang Shen had already returned to his usual calm and smiling appearance. He held the bouquet and commemorative doll in his hand, wearing the national team uniform, quietly watching the slowly rising national flag, listening to the familiar national anthem in his ears. The smile on his face remained unchanged, but through the close-up shot given to him by the on-site camera, it could be seen that his eyes were faintly shining with tears, as if filled with stars.
After the award ceremony, Wang Shen's Weibo had another update.
Wang Shen: 【^^ I will continue to strive for higher skies. Thank you all.】
The post is accompanied by three images. The first two images depict him receiving the gold medal and the bouquet during the award ceremony. The third image portrays a starry sky.
Initially, many athletics fans and netizens who came to congratulate Wang Shen did not understand the significance of the third image. Considering his caption, some presumed that the third image represented the 'higher skies' he mentioned. Some were puzzled by why Wang Shen chose a starry sky rather than a regular sky or an image of the high jump pole.
Later on, someone posted a screenshot from Wang Shen's previous interview where he mentioned, "My grandfather should be watching me," along with the news from a sports expert that Wang Shen's grandfather had passed away.
They deduced, 【I think Wang Shen's meaning is probably that his grandfather is watching him from heaven, bringing glory to the country.】
That evening, after the award ceremony, when the national team members returned to the Chinese building in the Olympic Village by bus, Su Bai suddenly saw Qiu Wen, that poor kid, squatting in the lobby on the first floor, as if waiting for someone. Upon noticing Su Bai, Qiu Wen's eyes immediately brightened, and he quickly shuffled over in three quick steps.
Not just Qiu Wen, Cui Luoheng was also standing in the lobby, but he didn't rush forward like Qiu Wen did. Su Bai glanced at Qiu Wen and then glanced at Cui Luoheng, who seemed to want to come over but was standing still in the same place.
"What's going on?" Su Bai smiled and looked at Qiu Wen.
Actually, he probably didn't need to ask to know the answer. Sure enough, upon hearing his question, Qiu Wen immediately exclaimed, "qvq Xiaobai, I want to eat the meal you make!" At this point, perhaps feeling that he alone was not convincing enough, he pointed to Cui Luoheng behind him and Wang Shen, who had just come in from outside, and continued, "Not just me, Ah Heng and Lao Wang also want to eat!"
Wang Shen had just come in and was immediately caught up in the conversation. He raised an eyebrow at Qiu Wen, then turned to Su Bai with a smiling face, "Ah, I do miss your cooking, ^^ I want to eat a full bowl of beef noodle soup right away tonight, and then go to bed full and satisfied."
?
???
When Qiu Wen first heard Wang Shen's words, he thought to himself - Lao Wang is really on the right track, immediately providing support, Lao Wang is awesome!
However, upon hearing Wang Shen's full statement, he suddenly felt that something was not quite right.
What did Lao Wang just say?
A full bowl of beef noodle soup... and go to bed full and satisfied?
Finally realizing what was wrong, Qiu Wen froze on the spot.
Qiu Wen finally remembered that Wang Shen's race had already ended. For the next period of time, including his body fat percentage and physical condition, he no longer needed to maintain the most stringent standards. Moreover, he had just finished his race tonight, and for the next week, he could be more relaxed in his diet, as he needed to replenish nutrients for recovery.
But he was different.
On August 2nd, which was tomorrow, the only key event for the Chinese team was the men's 400-meter sprint semifinals. His 400-meter race was scheduled for tomorrow night. Considering his athletic condition, his diet in the 24 hours before the race needed to be controlled to a certain extent.
Qiu Wen looked up at Wang Shen and then turned to look at Cui Luoheng. He had just thought about changing his words to Su Bai and say, "How about we eat in a couple of days," but then he saw Su Bai smiling at him, "Ah, everyone did well today. How about this, if anyone wants a late-night snack, I'll make some beef noodle soup."
Qiu Wen: ...How come he hadn't seen Su Bai being so accommodating before?
Although Su Bai's cooking skills were well-known throughout the track and field national team, Su Bai was now a busy gold medal coach. Apart from Qiu Wen, who else could casually ask Su Bai to cook for them like this?
Therefore, even though everyone knew that Su Bai was a good cook, there were still very few people who had tasted his cooking. Within the national team, "Su Bai's delicacies" had become a legend due to these reasons.
Now that they heard Su Bai was going to make a late-night snack, many people who had a decent relationship with Su Bai, or at least were on good terms with him, came over to try to get a bite - if not, getting some soup was also an option.
Although they were currently in Japan and not in China, the kitchen in the Chinese building was fully stocked with various ingredients provided by the Japanese quarantine-approved suppliers, and the kitchen was bustling with chefs accompanying the team.
The chef accompanying the team was a disciple of the head chef of the national team, Jin Manjiang. He was also very familiar with Su Bai, and at the moment, he was following behind Su Bai, helping to prepare various ingredients according to Su Bai's requests. However, beef noodle soup for a late-night snack was actually quite simple. The key was still Su Bai's skill in kneading the dough and his delicate control of various seasonings and cooking temperatures to create the fragrant and unforgettable taste.
Jin Manjiang had long instructed his disciple that if he had the opportunity to assist Su Bai, he should learn as much as he could and observe carefully. Being clever, he could learn a few things.
At this moment, after preparing the ingredients, he watched Su Bai's skilled hands swiftly turning the dough into long, slender, and elastic silver noodles. He couldn't help but admire the dexterity of Su Bai's hands.
While he knew how to knead and make noodles, the noodles that Su Bai made were like silver threads, yet still robust. Paired with the well-cooked broth, these silver noodles only needed a simple blanching to quickly cook. Because of their fine texture, they could absorb the delicious broth well. Ultimately, they not only had a good texture but also an excellent flavor.
In front of Qiu Wen was a bowl of silver noodle "beef soup" - that's right, this bowl of fragrant soup had only a small amount of silver noodles, followed by beef broth and a modest amount of blanched greens. At most, there was an egg with a runny yolk, perhaps representing Su Bai's last bit of conscience.
What about the bowls of the others around him?
Clearly, everyone else had beef in their bowls besides the soup! And their portions of noodles were much larger than his!
Qiu Wen cradled his own beef noodle soup, compared it with the servings of Wang Shen and Cui Luoheng, and felt that his own bowl could only be called mini!
Qiu Wen: QAQ So aggrieved! But he didn't have the courage to ask Su Bai for more late-night snacks...
In the cafeteria of the Olympic Village Chinese building, about ten people happily held their own bowls of silver beef noodle soup, taking a sip of the rich and pure beef broth, followed by a mouthful of the chewy silver noodles, occasionally nibbling on the beef and eating the greens.
Oh my, they were all so blissful.
Watching everyone happily enjoy their late-night snacks, Qiu Wen ate his mini bowl with a mixture of indignation and caution, deeply feeling that he had prepared the wedding clothes for everyone without reason.
Among the people present, there were those like Pei Jin'an who, rarely in a good mood, took a playful photo of Su Bai making noodles in the cafeteria kitchen, then took a picture of their silver beef noodle soup and posted it on Weibo.
Pei Jin'an: 【^^ Everyone in the track and field team did well today. When we got back at night, Chef Su Bai cooked silver beef noodle soup to reward everyone. The silver noodles were thin and chewy, and the soup was delicious. The 'team chef' of the track and field national team is really amazing! (Attached with three pictures)】
After Pei Jin'an posted on Weibo, everyone who was having a late-night snack, including Wang Shen and Fang Yu, among others, happily reposted Pei Jin'an's Weibo and thanked "Chef Xiao Bai."
With the exceptional performance of the track and field team today, it could be said that the entire track and field team, especially Fang Yu and Wang Shen, were under intense scrutiny from all media and netizens.
After everyone posted this Weibo, they didn't pay much attention to it, as it was just an ordinary Weibo that at most teased the "Chef Xiao Bai" joke.
However, unexpectedly, due to Wang Shen's outstanding looks today, it attracted the attention of many entertainment gossip public accounts. Although these entertainment gossip accounts had hastily familiarized themselves with a lot of information related to the track and field team, it was still somewhat out of their usual scope of interest. Therefore, while they knew that the track and field team had an amazing coach named Su Bai, they couldn't quite remember Su Bai's appearance.
The photo taken by Pei Jin'an was pretty good. Su Bai was shown bowing slightly while pulling the noodles in his hand, dressed in a chef's uniform. He appeared to be quite attractive, and anyone could see at first glance that this chef in his uniform was part of the visually appealing group.
Seeing a bunch of bigwigs from the track and field team, including tonight's award-winning Wang Shen and Fang Yu, all reposting the "Chef Xiao Bai" post, many of the entertainment gossip accounts, who were worried about not having any gossip to write about at the moment, quickly jumped on the opportunity.
So...
What were they waiting for?!
Quickly, go for it!
In just the blink of an eye, various gossip marketing accounts began to crazily spread the new topic.
——【Surprise! Even the chef of the national track and field team is a visual idol comparable to entertainment industry stars?!】——【The most handsome noodle guy is born! The noodles he makes are praised by Wang Shen and Fang Yu!】——【What kind of treasure trove is the national track and field team? How come there's such a handsome noodle guy? I really want to know how delicious his noodles are!】
......
............
_(:3)∠)_
Tonight, due to the continuous hot topics in the track and field events, both the public opinion monitoring teams of the national track and field team and the Athletics Management Center were all working overtime and fully online with enthusiasm.
Originally, all the public opinion content was normal, but at midnight, someone noticed that the popularity of the national team's entry suddenly exploded again. When they went to check it out, they were surprised. Huh? The chef of the national team is comparable to an idol in the entertainment industry?
At first, even these public opinion monitoring personnel didn't react, especially the public opinion team of the national team. They knew their own people and the number of chefs in the canteen. How could they not be clear about it?
Moreover, this time the accompanying team chef was Jin Manjiang's disciple. Although Jin's disciple was younger than Jin, his physique was gradually heading in the direction of Jin's. Where did this visual equivalent to an entertainment industry young heartthrob come from?
With such doubts, everyone clicked on the photo to take a closer look.
?
Hmm.
This noodle guy is quite handsome, and he looks familiar.
...
............
Wait a minute.
Who's this noodle guy! Isn't this Su Bai, the big shot Su Bai?!
While the public opinion staff were figuring out whether this issue needed to be reported to their superiors for assessment, there were also quite a few internet users who remembered Su Bai, the big shot, underneath various entertainment marketing accounts.
Therefore, under various entertainment marketing accounts, there was already a lot of laughter.
【Hahahahahaha, Noodle Guy!!!】【Hahahahaha, please help, is earning good KPIs so easy, blogger? Did you really check who this noodle guy is?】
Of course, there were also passersby who were genuinely confused because they hadn't been following athletics or sports at all -
【Uh, can someone explain? Why are so many people laughing? What's wrong with this noodle guy?】
Then, someone quickly replied to this bewildered passerby.
【Hahahahahaha, above commenter, friendly reminder, you can go check the official website of the national track and field team. There's a head coach for the 400m event named Su Bai.】
Passerby: 【......!!!!!!】
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