Compared with many other contestants, Chen Yada's current state seems particularly calm and confident, giving people the illusion that she is "sure of winning".
But in fact, Chen Yada just didn't think too much about it.
Regardless of success or failure, she only regards it as the last battle of her career. Regardless of the results, what she pursues is to live up to her original intention.
Back home, in the coaching dormitory of the national track and field team, Zheng Xingguo was also sitting in front of the TV, quietly waiting for the women's 400m semi-final to begin.
Seeing Chen Yada appear on the TV screen, Zheng Xingguo's eyes were already a little red even though the game hadn't started yet.
"Alas, as people age, they tend to be sentimental." Zheng Xingguo murmured to himself, while his wife was sitting next to him, watching the live broadcast of the Olympics with him.
Zheng Xingguo has been in the national team for nearly 30 years, starting as an assistant coach and working his way up to a coach in charge of some training content, and then becoming the head coach of the national women's team.
Chen Yada was not actually the most talented player he had ever coached, but she was the one who was the most ruthless to herself.
Zheng Xingguo was originally a coach known for his strictness, but in the early years, he would still feel soft-hearted when he saw Chen Yada training. If she took a break, he would also advise her earnestly that training should be done in moderation, so that better results could be achieved.
"Thinking about it now, this girl was really stubborn back then..." Zheng Xingguo looked at the calm and determined Chen Yada on the live broadcast screen, and couldn't help but think of the young and stubborn Chen Yada back then.
Zheng Xingguo's wife still remembers how Chen Yada looked back then. She exuded a stubborn and sharp aura all over her body, and her personality seemed very unique. All year round, she was only wearing the sportswear sponsored by the team. She trained as if she was risking her life, and refused to tell anyone even though she was obviously injured, for fear that she would be sent back to her original team because of the injury.
Most of the girls on the track and field team come from difficult families, and many of the team members have their own scars. But perhaps after they get together, they are able to heal each other.
Zheng Xingguo has watched Chen Yada grow up step by step from her initial youth and stubbornness. In recent years, she has restrained her original sharp edges and become a trusted captain of the national women's 400-meter sprint team.
"It's not easy for this girl to get to this point." Zheng Xingguo sighed with a smile: "But she is lucky. She waited for Xiaobai and now she has made it to the Olympic Games."
"Who said it wasn't?" Zheng Xingguo's wife also nodded with a smile. She also accompanied her husband, watching the players being selected to the national team and then retiring one by one. Looking at these women's team members, she felt no different from looking at her own children.
Now that they see Chen Yada can compete in the Olympics, they are sincerely happy in their hearts. They also hope that this child who is about to retire can achieve a result that lives up to his or her own performance in the Olympics.
On the field, at the eight starting points at the start of the bend, the eight female athletes have already made their own preparations for the start - adjusting the starting blocks, trial runs, and adapting to the track.
After completing the preparations, eight contestants including Chen Yada have already stood behind their respective starting blocks, making their final wait.
In the live broadcast of the sports channel, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were introducing the eight players on the field at this time. Chen Yada was in the third track in today's semi-finals. This was a track closer to the inner circle. The position was good, but not too bad either.
"Chen Yadan's run is a test of the contestant's psychological stability. After all, she has been in the inner lane and has always been in a backward position at the start. This will give the contestant a psychological illusion that she is always falling behind. The contestant needs to stabilize her mentality and perform as well as possible. Only then will she have a chance to gradually catch up with her true position in the second half, especially after the second bend."
Shao Min glanced at Chen Yada's position and frowned slightly: "Of course, Chen Yada is a player with a very mature competition mentality. We believe that she should have been mentally prepared for this round. I hope that in the later competitions, she can keep a stable mentality and have an excellent performance!"
In the audience, Jiang Wentao and Pei Jinan were also worried as they watched Chen Yadan on the field. As leaders of the national team and the Athletics Management Center, they certainly knew that Chen Yadan had submitted her retirement application before the Olympics. They also understood that today's match might very well be the last match of Chen Yadan's career...
As long as they think of this, they still hope that Chen Yada can achieve an ideal result in this battle.
Chen Yada on the track may have also sensed the goodwill expectations from everyone. When the camera on the scene swept over her, she faced the camera, smiled slightly, and then waved at the camera.
[Ah, Sister Dan is laughing!] 】
【_(:3)∠】_Ah, ah, ah, Sister Dan’s smile is so beautiful, Sister Dan, marry me! 】
【? ? ? Friend in front, be careful, Zhang Shuai is here to say hello to you? ? ? 】
[I don’t know why, but when I saw Sister Dan’s smile, I felt less nervous! ~】
[Ah, I don’t know why, but when I see Sister Dan’s smile, I feel like I’m watching the ultimate battle? ? ? 】
In the live broadcast room of the sports channel, the audience were chattering on the public screen, but these idle chats quickly quieted down after hearing the prompt from the scene.
The scene has become quiet and the game is about to begin!
At the scene, after all the athletes were ready, the calm starting signal finally sounded over the radio. At the command of "on your marks", the athletes quickly squatted on their respective starting blocks. Then, at the sound of "set", the eight athletes on the field quickly made preparations for the start.
"Everyone, take your positions."
"preparation."
"Bang."
This series of starting commands and starting gunshots was like a cold and inorganic mechanical process, but the moment the gun went off, it was like igniting the hottest flame, exploding the entire stadium at that moment!
“The game begins!”
Shao Min loudly announced the start of the game, drawing the audience's attention to the stadium at that moment.
On the field, among the players in the same group with Chen Yada, the strongest one is Thompson from the United States. Her 400-meter sprint result is able to break the 50-second level. In addition, Williams of Jamaica and McAllen of the British team are also strong contenders for the qualification to the semi-finals of the women's 400-meter sprint.
Thompson, Williams and McAllen were in the fourth, fifth and sixth lanes respectively. From the moment the starting gun sounded and all the runners started, the competition between these three runners had already begun.
Judging from the reaction time at the start, Thompson, Williams and McAllen all responded within 0.150 seconds, which is a very fast speed for a 400-meter sprint start on a curve. From this alone, it can be seen that they all have an attitude of not giving in to the game.
In addition to these three people, Canadian athlete Carril in the seventh lane also rushed out with a thrilling momentum in the starting stage. Just from the outburst in the starting stage, it can be seen that the eight players on the field have tried their best and are fighting a do-or-die battle.
Among the eight players, Chen Yada does not seem to be very eye-catching. Her starting reaction time is 0.157 seconds, ranking fifth, and she does not seem to have any advantage. From the start, her starting burst and acceleration are very stable, and the technical transition from the corner to the straight is also very smooth.
But it seems that this is all there is to it?
Behind Chen Yada was only one runner from Australia, who was in the second track. Her starting condition was not very good, with a starting reaction time of only 0.189 seconds. During the explosive acceleration phase at the start, her performance was not very stable. So after the first bend, the Australian runner had already opened up a considerable gap between her and Chen Yada.
But……
So what?
Wasn't it the contestant's own mistake?
Some of the audience who were paying attention to Chen Yada saw that the distance between Chen Yada and the Australian player in the second lane had widened, and they felt a little relieved about Chen Yada's speed. However, after hearing Shao Min and Li Sen's comments on the Australian player's mistake, they became less reassured again.
what to do?
How is Sister Dan’s running condition?
The audience in front of the TV clenched their fists and silently cheered for Chen Yada, but at the same time they couldn't stop worrying and panicking in their hearts.
Sister Dan...
Sister Dan probably has no hope of advancing to the finals in today's competition, right?
But I still hope that Sister Dan can achieve a better result...!
At the scene, on the competition field, Chen Yada didn't know what the audience was thinking. Perhaps the audience felt that her relatively stable starting reaction and the explosive acceleration at the start that was not her best effort were not exciting enough.
But what does it matter?
She knew her goal clearly.
She knew clearly that she was not as talented a player as Qiu Wen, and at the age of 28, she was already considered old among the players in this competition.
Asian athletes' physical fitness and explosive power are not as good as those of black and white athletes. Her age is even more of a disadvantage. Therefore, she must not use her disadvantages to collide with the advantages of other athletes.
All she needs to do is to be stable, as stable as possible - and then use all her strength for the rest of her career in the final stage of the outburst and sprint!
This may be the last battle of her career, and she also wants to try to see to what extent she can sprint!
In the audience seats and in front of the TV, the audience may not be able to react at first, but after watching the middle of the game, some of them will eventually notice that something is wrong!
In the live broadcast room of the sports channel, Li Sen was the first to exclaim: "Yadan...Yadan is not behind!"
After the high-speed sprint on the first 100-meter straight, Chen Yada did not seem to have made up much of the gap in this sprint, but that also depends on who she is competing against!
After thinking about this, Li Sen suddenly realized that Chen Yada was in the third track, and to her right, there seemed to be a player who was far ahead of her...
It's Thompson from the American team.
Thompson is also recognized by everyone as the strongest player in this game!
Thompson not only widened the gap between herself and Chen Yada, but she also closed the gap with Jamaican star Williams on the fifth track.
In fact, if you look closely, the gap between Williams and Chen Yada is not that big. Most of the gap between the two is still due to the visual difference caused by the different inner and outer lanes they are in.
Shao Minyi and Li Sen looked at each other - they had said in the commentary before the game that they hoped Chen Yada would not develop a lagging mentality because of this visual gap.
As a result, those who were watching the game from the sidelines had the illusion that Chen Yada was falling far behind because of the visual gap and the distance comparison between Chen Yada and Thompson.
So, what is the actual situation of the game at present?
If we expand the perspective that originally focused only on Chen Yada and Thompson to the entire field, we can find that although the gap between Chen Yada and Thompson or Williams has not been effectively narrowed, the distance between Chen Yada and the players on the seventh track, the eighth track and the ninth track has been largely narrowed!
Chen Yada is not behind!
even……
Shao Minyi and Li Sen had a bold guess - the speed gap between Chen Yada and the top three players on the field might not be that big!
But……
Is this possible?
The top three players are Thompson, Williams and McCarron!
Among these three players, except Thompson, Williams and McCarron's PBs are all in the first half of 50 seconds, and in this competition, Chen Yada's speed is not behind them? !
No matter what Shao Minyi and the others thought, the game on the scene continued without stopping.
As the contestants entered the second bend, the contestants in the inner lane began to gradually make up for the visual gap between them and the contestants in the outer lane in the first half.
For example, Thompson, Williams and McAllen have completely made up for the visual gap between themselves and the players in lanes 7, 8 and 9. Among the three, Thompson is the leader.
Thompson is worthy of being the world's top female 400m champion with the ability to run under 50 seconds. Even though there is a gap between her and Chen Yada in the inner and outer lanes, she still relies on her speed advantage to firmly hold on to the first place in the second bend and straight stage!
The audience in front of the TV couldn't help but exclaim when they saw the second bend cut into the straight road - although Chen Yada was already behind Thompson at this stage, from the current situation, Chen Yada's position was not inferior to Williams and McAllen!
"Chen Yadan, Chen Yadan is currently between the third and fourth place!"
Shao Minyi let out a low cry.
It was originally thought that Chen Yada might not even be able to make it into the top four in this race, but now, the race has reached the last 100-meter stage. Chen Yada, who looked inconspicuous at the start, started a crazy sprint on the last 100-meter straight.
And her sprint obviously caused tension in both Williams and McCarron!
"Speed up! Chen Yada has returned to the third place from the fourth place! She is continuing to sprint, trying to close the gap with Williams in front!"
Li Sen's voice suddenly rose. He looked nervously at Chen Yada who was making the final sprint on the field, and could hardly believe his eyes.
Third place!
This is the third one! ! !
Chen Yada is sprinting for the second place. If successful, then... will she have a chance to enter the Olympic finals? !
Is this possible?
Li Sen once again asked this question from the bottom of his heart, but at the same time his heart was excited and excited, this excitement made his emotions and voice seem excited.
"Come on!! Come on Yadan!!!"
At this point, Shao Minyi and Li Sen had given up on further analysis and simply shouted at the top of their lungs to cheer for Chen Yada!
The audience in front of the TV were also a little confused when they saw this. They were originally cheering for Chen Yada sincerely, but they did not expect that Chen Yada, who had a mediocre performance in the initial stage, did not fall behind too much in the final sprint stage, but instead seemed to have a hope of sprinting for the final direct qualifying spot. !
Even if...
Even if there is no way to sprint for the final direct promotion spot, but if you are in third place... then there is still hope of being promoted as a substitute!
Once they thought of this possibility, all the audience's minds exploded, and their blood rushed to their heads, and their faces turned red.
come on!
Come on, Sister Dan! ! !
After watching the final sprint stage, the audience in front of the TV clenched their fists and waved them, intending to cheer for Chen Yada, hoping that she could rush to the front with their encouragement! ! !
In the final 50 meters of the competition, Chen Yada had already felt the limit of her body.
Although she had allocated and calculated her physical energy to the best of her ability, she still couldn't help but run beyond her limit in the final sprint. She could feel her physical energy quickly draining away, she could feel the soreness and stinging in her body due to the accumulation of lactic acid, and she could feel that her limbs were gradually slipping away from her control.
but……
Just gradually!
She can!
It’s just the last few dozen meters…perhaps, the last few dozen meters of her career!
Come on, use your last bit of willpower to break through the limits in front of you!
Looking at the last track in front of her, Chen Yada gritted her teeth. Regardless of the pain in her breathing and the difficulty in her body, she relied on her last bit of willpower to control her technical movements so that they would not be deformed.
Can.
you can!
Even though every step was like dancing on the edge of a knife, even though every step was so difficult that it seemed as if her muscles were about to be torn apart, even though every breath was so painful that it made people feel like swallowing blood, but she thought... she could do it!
The last fifty meters of the track seemed to be put into slow-motion effects in the eyes of the audience in front of the TV. Everyone watched as Britain's McLaren approached Chen Yada in the final stage, and overtook Chen Yada who had slowed down in the last forty meters. But before everyone had time to be alarmed, Chen Yada had overtaken McLaren again.
Even after she overtook McCarron, she was still making a full-strength final sprint - her eyes were fixed in the direction of Williams!
She also wants to surpass Williams in front of her!
"The last 30 meters!!! Yadan, be careful!"
Shao Minyi shouted nervously. From the live broadcast screen, everyone could see that not only was Chen Yada trying to overtake Williams in front of him, but McAllen also did not give up hope and was trying to overtake Chen Yada.
The last 30 meters, 20 meters, 10 meters...!
The stalemate between McAllen and Chen Yada never stopped until they finally crossed the finish line, with only a very slight difference of half a body length between the two!
"Third place!!! Congratulations to Yadan for finishing third in this semi-final! The ones ahead of her who qualified directly were the American star Thompson and the Jamaican star Williams!"
Shao Minyi's voice was full of excitement, which came not only from the thrill of the sprint in the final stage of the game, but also from the surprise at Chen Yada's result.
Third place!
This is the third place in the Olympic semi-finals!
In the live broadcast room of the sports channel, after seeing Chen Yada's result, all the track and field fans were so excited and ecstatic that they threw flowers.
Looking back at previous World Championships and Olympic semi-finals, the athletes who were able to finish third in their semi-final group rarely had a time of more than 51 seconds.
"That is to say, even if Chen Yada fails to successfully qualify, her result is likely to have already refreshed her PB!"
Li Sen introduced it to the audience in this way.
Back home, Zheng Xingguo was so nervous that he let out a long sigh of relief after watching the game.
"This girl..."
Zheng Xingguo looked at Chen Yadan, who finally knelt on the ground exhausted after reaching the finish line. He had both heartache and relief in his eyes: "This girl...she is running this race with the attitude of running her last race."
"In this game, she has improved again."
Zheng Xingguo looked at the live broadcast in front of him and sighed: "This girl, she told me at the beginning that even if she didn't run for a living, she still liked running. She wanted to run faster. Even if it was her last race before retirement, she would try her best and just wanted to leave the most glorious results..."
In front of the same TV, Zheng Xingguo's wife heard this and said with a smile: "She did it."
"Yeah, she did, good job!"
The final result of the game has been displayed on the TV screen.
Final results of the Tokyo Olympic women's 400m sprint semi-finals:
First place: Thompson (USA), 49.89 seconds;
Second place: Williams (Jamaica), 50.63 seconds;
Third place: Chen Yadan (China), 50.96 seconds;
Fourth place: McAllen (Britain), 51.03 seconds;
Fifth place: …
After seeing this result, the audience in front of the TV were all stunned - Chen Yada, in this semi-final, not only significantly improved her personal best in history, but also broke the 51-second mark for the first time in her career!
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