World Championship Standard

"But, Coach," Qu Chi asked again, "my body has this ability to subconsciously coordinate its limbs. Doesn't my regular training weaken this ability?"

The purpose of long-term training for athletes is to integrate some technical movement details into their bodies, just like idol artists whose bodies start dancing before their brains react when they hear the singing. Athletes are required to repeat the technical movements that have been integrated into their bones through previous training the moment they hear the starting gun.

This is a practice that goes against the body's instincts and is more like cultivating another instinct.

He Yang patted her shoulder, smiling but speaking earnestly:

"So, this is the difficulty of our training. How can we make your body learn the correct techniques without affecting your talent?"

He Yang sighed. It takes great care to mine beautiful jade from its raw stone. The more precious the jade is, the more carefully it has to be ground to remove the stone skin. Any damage will cost a fortune.

Qu Chi nodded to show that he understood, and then said, "So, coach, can we start the test?"

He Yang's melancholy immediately subsided and he adopted a professional attitude.

In the first group, she demonstrated a starting posture, and Qu Chi learned it immediately. He ran to the end of the bend before being called back by He Yang. This happened three times. After a short rest, Qu Chi was asked to learn Filia's Qi running.

This time, Qu Chi's movement on the starting blocks was a moment slower, although still fast, but both of them knew that this was the impact of the two different postures on Qu Chi. Her body subconsciously wanted to choose the more familiar way, but Qu Chi controlled it to change to another one.

Qu Chi walked back from the bend, calmly prepared to accept criticism:

"Sorry, Coach, I hesitated."

In a sprint race where every millisecond counts, she actually hesitated at the start. If it was a formal competition, her hesitation would have cost her 0.2 to 0.3 seconds.

He Yang patted her shoulder and said, "It's okay. Run two more times. For the final third round, you don't have to follow Filia's posture. When you hear the start instruction, don't think about anything else, and don't imitate anyone. Can you do it?"

Qu Chi nodded and did the same.

On the second run of the second group, Filia's running form had become ingrained in her. This time, she kicked off with a clean kick, her explosive power astonishing. On the third run, from the start to the acceleration, there was almost no trace of her previous form.

The third group, after a short rest at Quchi, closed their eyes and jumped a few times on the spot before the starting line to relax their body muscles and clear their minds.

She didn't think about anything. This time, she relied on her body's instinct to release the bow and took off. After two steps, she felt the change in this start. She didn't know which posture she subconsciously used this time, but it was very smooth, and there was no sense of stagnation in the acceleration. The moment her body stretched, she almost didn't feel the pull of centrifugal force. The angle of her body was perfect, and her steps were leaping and flowing.

Back to the starting point, He Yang called up the records of her tests. On the screen, there were 8 lines of images, each of which was a continuous motion capture of a skeleton figure.

The first one is He Yang, followed by several tests of Qu Chi.

Qu Chi breathed slightly steadily, feeling a little tired after several consecutive tests close to the 100-meter mark.

Whenever He Yang clicked on something, Qu Chi saw two rows of little people representing herself overlapping. The movements of the two groups were almost identical, but she was not a robot, so of course they could not overlap completely every time. Occasionally, there would be misalignment due to different speeds.

He Yang analyzed that, after previous training, her body had mastered a running form from the start, resulting in a small speed difference between each run. After the second run, her body was momentarily unsteady, but quickly adjusted. The only slight difference in speed at the start was a slight error, and the final speed difference was largely due to the initial misstep. In the two subsequent tests with the same group, her form was smooth, but her speed was not as fast as the first run.

The last one is when she ran freely. This time, after overlapping with the previous two sets of images, the difference was quite obvious. In just one test, her posture changed from the "He Yang version" to the "Filia version" and then to neither. There seemed to be some overlap, but they were all different.

Qu Chi frowned and told He Yang his feelings honestly: "During the third test, I felt very comfortable running, but it seems that the results did not improve much."

At least in terms of speed, the positions of the two groups of figures roughly overlap.

He Yang smiled. "That's normal. After a few rounds of trial runs, you're not physically exhausted. Doesn't that just mean your body has found the starting position that's best for you? Maybe the one you started with wasn't bad, but as you learn a better one, your body will subconsciously adjust, and eventually, you'll develop a running form that's uniquely yours."

When Qu Chi heard her conclusion, he hadn't had time to feel happy yet, when he heard He Yang's announcement.

"Alright! Now that we've confirmed that your abilities are not to be underestimated, we must treat you with even greater caution! Qu Chi, are you ready to accept my devilish training?"

Qu Chi was startled, and immediately straightened his chest and raised his head: "Yes, coach."

He Yang chuckled, raised his hand and rubbed her head, and as they looked at each other, He Yang said softly:

"Qu Chi, what are your thoughts on the upcoming game?"

Qu Chi: "Hmm?"

She hasn't even started training yet, so why is she already thinking about next year's competition? This year's competitions have all ended, and even if she wants to participate in some low-level competitions, it's too late to sign up.

"You mean, next year's competition?"

She recalled over and over again in her mind that if it was a competition like the Grand Prix, there would be no need for He Yang's attitude. The competition she mentioned should be more special.

"You mean, the U20 Track and Field Championships?"

This event, also known as the National Youth Track and Field Championships, is held every June. The age limit for participants is 16 to 19 years old. It also serves as a qualifier for the World Youth Championships.

This year, she also participated in the 100m event and won first place. Although she broke her personal best, she failed to reach the World Youth Championship's entry standard of 11.75 seconds, only 0.02 seconds short, so she was not qualified to participate in the World Youth Championship.

The World Youth Championships are held every two years. She missed it this time, but she didn't expect it would be forever. She couldn't compete in the World Youth Championships as a 100m runner anymore, but the 400m...

"Next year's National Youth Championship will not serve as a qualifier for the World Youth Championship. Besides, with my performance, will participating in such a competition cause me to lose my mental balance?"

Qu Chi's current PB is 52.19 seconds, and the qualifying score for this year's World Youth Championship is 54.40 seconds... It can be said that if time could be reversed, Qu Chi would have been able to make a name for himself in the World Youth Championship, but unfortunately there is no if.

With her current results, "torturing" those players with a time of 54 or 55 seconds, or even some domestic young players who are still hovering around 1 minute, will not only make her lose her form, but will also be a huge psychological blow to these players.

There is no benefit for either side.

If this were the World Youth Championship qualifiers, she might be willing to participate, after all, it would be a competition for honor.

He Yang poked her forehead to stop her from imagining a scene of college students beating up elementary school students, and then said:

"It's the World Championships."

"World, World Championships?" She's not even bringing the youth along? She's going to battle all the top masters in the world in a duel in Xiong Yali?

He Yang saw her look of disbelief and laughed again, "The entry standards for the World Championships will be announced in August. Do you know what the women's qualifying score is?"

"How many?"

"Women's 51.00, men's 45.00." He Yang's tone became heavy, and this score line also made Qu Chi silent.

After a while, she finally spoke with difficulty: "Is this too high?"

According to this standard, the Chinese team will definitely not reach the standard line, and her current result is still 1.19 seconds away.

Qu Chi believed she had enough confidence in herself to stand on the World Championship stage one day. However, in one year... one second and nineteen...

This isn't long-distance running, where an occasional exceptional performance can improve your time by a few seconds. This is sprinting! Her previous rapid improvement was because she had just started training and had no previous results. So, at first glance, it seemed like she was flying at the seams with every race. That was simply the legacy of years of track and field training.

If she had not trained seriously for the 100 meters before, she would not have achieved the 400-meter results she has today.

He Yang looked at her seriously, fixing Qu Chi's originally subconsciously suspicious eyes. She saw trust and determination in those eyes.

"Coach, do you think I can do it?"

She could hardly believe He Yang's expectations of her.