Inside the stadium,
The 100-meter sprint elimination rounds are about to begin.
Zhou Chen headed to the competition venue amidst the anticipation of Lu Guoliang and others.
The knockout stage consists of two rounds, with the top five from each round advancing. All the participants are currently warming up and preparing.
As soon as Zhou Chen appeared, he immediately felt the attention from the other contestants.
He knew that Ma Dong wasn't in this round of eliminations, and just now he heard that Ma Dong had been placed in the second round of eliminations.
In other words, he doesn't need to directly compare himself with Ma Dong.
But Zhou Chen knew that the comparison between the two would still exist, and some people would analyze who would win the final championship based on their 100-meter time.
Besides Ma Dong, there are actually quite a few other impressive contestants.
For example, Xu Wei from Liushi,
For example, Meng Xiaohai from Jiang City,
Both of them have run times in the 13-second range. Nobody knows the latest data, but it is highly likely that they will break into the 13-second range, and their strength should not be underestimated.
Most importantly, these two people were assigned to the first round with him.
"Zhou Chen, I hope you won't hold back because of the elimination rounds. I will surpass you in this match."
"My name is Meng Xiaohai!"
To Zhou Chen's amusement and exasperation, the tall young man running next to him turned out to be Meng Xiaohai, who had also issued a challenge to him.
"And also, there's me, Xu Wei."
Before Zhou Chen could respond, another voice came from the other side, sounding somewhat aloof. It was also a formidable opponent that Lu Guoliang had mentioned as someone to watch out for in the knockout stage.
He glanced at the two men on either side and realized, to his goodness' sake, he was surrounded. Both of them were experts who wanted to defeat him.
I look forward to your performance!
Zhou Chen responded calmly and then fell silent. Just then, the whistle for preparation sounded, and he immediately stood at the starting position and assumed the starting stance.
Meng Xiaohai and Xu Wei bent down one after the other, placing their hands on the rubber track.
With a loud bang,
The first round of eliminations began, and everyone rushed out instantly.
Meng Xiaohai and Xu Wei quickly took the lead, occupying first and second place respectively, with less than a body length apart.
Zhou Chen is ranked fourth; there is one person ahead of him.
Shortly after, the results of the first round of elimination matches were announced.
The first place went to Meng Xiaohai, the second to Xu Wei, the third to an unfamiliar name, and Zhou Chen ranked fourth.
Zhou Chen was very satisfied with this result, because he only needed to get a ticket to the finals, and he didn't need to go all out in the knockout rounds.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
“I’ve watched your race videos. You could definitely run faster; you were holding back.”
Meng Xiaohai, who won first place in the first round of the elimination tournament, did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he came to Zhou Chen and exposed the fact that Zhou Chen was just going through the motions in the competition.
This is also why Meng Xiaohai was not happy to win first place, because Zhou Chen did not compete at all, which was equivalent to giving it to him, making him feel that the victory was unfair.
"You've held back, and so have I. Zhou Chen, Meng Xiaohai, let's meet in the finals and see who's the real champion." Xu Wei said to Zhou Chen, glanced at Meng Xiaohai, and then turned and left.
Meng Xiaohai revealed a hint of apprehension. He knew that not only Zhou Chen hadn't used his full strength, but Xu Wei, who had just been evenly matched with him, had as well.
"The final battle won't just be between the three of us; there's an even more terrifying guy," Meng Xiaodong murmured, then looked at a figure walking from the rest area to the starting line.
Zhou Chen also looked over, because he knew that this person was Ma Dong, who was over 1.8 meters tall and had a pair of long legs, comparable to the thighs of a giraffe. No wonder he could run so fast; those legs were a natural advantage.
Zhou Chen's legs aren't as long as others, but he's not afraid because he has explosive power.
Back at the resting place of Lu Guoliang and the others, Lu Guoliang was very satisfied. Hearing that no one was injured, he was even more relieved. He knew that Zhou Chen had deliberately not run too fast, in order to save his energy for tomorrow's final.
The second round of elimination matches began soon after.
Zhou Chen stared at Ma Dong. The moment the starting gun fired, he saw Ma Dong rush to the front like a gust of wind, leaving all the other runners at least seven body lengths behind at the finish line.
To become the undisputed number one,
Moreover, his time was the shortest in both rounds of elimination.
"If he can still achieve this time with everything in place, I wonder how much he will shorten the time in tomorrow's final."
A serious expression appeared on Lu Guoliang's face. He knew that Ma Dong was in first place, but it was still a result of him holding back. According to the information he had, Ma Dong could be even faster, but even so, he still didn't know what Ma Dong's limit was.
In short, Ma Dong's performance makes him Zhou Chen's most formidable opponent.
"Brother Chen, this guy is too strong, you have to be careful."
"Yes, that's all. They're still holding back. It's hard to imagine how fast they would go if they didn't hold back."
"No matter how amazing Ma Dong is, in my heart, the title of 'Flying Man' belongs only to Brother Chen."
While Liu He and the others were worried, they began to cheer Zhou Chen on.
Zhou Chen smiled but didn't say anything. However, he was looking forward to tomorrow's final even more, wondering if Ma Dong could force him to give it his all.
Since the long jump competition is also scheduled for tomorrow, Zhou Chen has no other events scheduled. He can simply stay in the rest area and watch the other members of the school team compete.
In a certain area of the audience seats,
Su Jiajia watched the entire competition with Zhou Chen and found that Zhou Chen's overall ranking was sixth. She felt that Zhou Chen was not that great. Sure enough, just as she judged, Zhou Chen was able to get first place in Fengcheng City because the scope was small. But now there are four more cities, and there are outstanding athletes from other cities. Zhou Chen does not seem to stand out or be outstanding.
They didn't even make the top three, how can they win the championship in tomorrow's finals?
The probability is too low!
Su Jiajia was unaware that Zhou Chen had deliberately held back to conserve his strength. She knew very little about sports competitions and assumed that Zhou Chen's strength was just as he had demonstrated.
She decided to share the news with Sun Wanying immediately.
This would reduce Sun Wanying's appreciation for Zhou Chen.
at the same time,
In a restaurant in Fanjia County,
Zhou Ling and others watched Zhou Chen's sprint competition and his ranking on a live television broadcast.
At first, Zhou Ling was quite worried, fearing that Zhou Chen would achieve good results, but when she saw that Zhou Chen was only ranked sixth, she was instantly relieved.
The only thing that disappointed her was that she couldn't eliminate Zhou Chen in the knockout stage; otherwise, the outcome would have been even more certain.
"Now ranked sixth, I don't think I'll make any waves in tomorrow's final. I'll just be a supporting character, playing a green leaf role."
Zhou Ling thought to herself with secret smug satisfaction.
...
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