August 27th was the fourth day of the Asian Games in Jakarta. In addition to the men's 400-meter race, there were actually a large number of track and field events, including the women's marathon, the men's long jump final, the decathlon discus, the pole vault and other events.
On the evening of the 27th, the most anticipated events were the men's and women's 100m semi-finals held at 7:30 p.m. and the men's and women's 100m finals held at around 9:30 p.m.
Between the most exciting men's and women's 100m semifinals and finals are the men's and women's 400m sprint finals and a women's shot put final.
This arrangement makes the 400-meter race seem like a buffer zone between the two 100-meter sprint races. Indeed, the 100-meter sprint, as a benchmark for absolute speed in sprinting, has always been more popular and valued than the 200-meter and 400-meter races.
In the evening, the track and field team members who had already had their meal returned to the Chinese athletes area in the audience and sat down, waiting for the event to start.
As the game time got closer and closer on the Internet, the number of people in the live broadcast room of the sports channel continued to rise. There were two games tonight, which could be considered heavyweights for track and field enthusiasts - the first was the 100-meter sprint. Could Fang Yu successfully enter the final? Next, in the 400-meter sprint final, what kind of results can Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen achieve? Finally, in the 100-meter sprint final, can Fang Yu run a good result and write a glorious chapter in the Asian Games?
As the team leader of the Chinese team, Jiang Wentao, apart from some official negotiations, spends most of his time like he does now, sitting in the audience, waiting for the start of one game after another with a nervous and expectant mood.
"Old Pei."
As the time of 7:30 approached, Jiang Wentao turned to Pei Jinan and said, "Is Fang Yu's performance for tonight's game all right?"
Pei Jinan nodded: "Not bad, he was in good shape when he ran the preliminaries yesterday. When I went to see him today, he heard that we had the meal made by Coach Xiao Su last night, and he complained to me that I didn't bring him. He said that when he and Wu Yi were training some time ago, there were a few times when they happened to see Coach Xiao Su giving extra meals to the 400-meter runners, and he and Wu Yi were very greedy."
At this point, Pei Jinan laughed: "At this time, if you can joke and relax, there will be no problem in tonight's semi-finals. As for the finals, it will require strength and a little bit of luck."
Just as Pei Jinan said, Fang Yu was in pretty good shape today. In the semi-finals, he ranked first in the group with a score of 10.15 and successfully advanced to the final later. This performance made Jiang Wentao in the audience breathe a sigh of relief.
"Fang Yu's condition today was relatively stable. As long as he can maintain this condition in the 100m final later and give it his all, he should still have a chance of winning a medal." Pei Jinan is the head coach of the sprint group and also Fang Yu's head coach. He has a clear understanding of Fang Yu's condition.
Jiang Wentao nodded when he heard this, and then sighed slightly: "Fang Yu is a good guy, but it's a pity that after breaking the 10-second mark in 2015, he has not been able to break through it again. He is almost 28 this year, right? It will be more difficult for him to break through again after this..."
As the only athlete in China and even in Asia who has broken the men's 100-meter sprint barrier, Fang Yu in 2015 could be said to be a shining star. Both the Chinese and Asian track and field circles paid great attention and expectations to him. Unfortunately, since that time, Fang Yu's performance has not plummeted, but it can be said that he has not made any progress.
The National Track and Field Team and the Athletics Management Center have invested countless research efforts in Fang Yu, but unfortunately his results have never been able to break through again.
Apart from Fang Yu, it is even difficult to pick out a few outstanding talents to train in the men's 100-meter sprint in China. This problem has always been a pity for people who pay attention to the 100-meter sprint.
"Hey, look at me. Why are you saying these spoiling things at this time?" Jiang Wentao waved his hand, glanced at the women's 400m final going on in the arena, and said, "After this match, it will be the final between Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, right? I'm looking forward to their good results!"
On the Internet, track and field enthusiasts have gathered in the live broadcast room. Because there are currently no domestic athletes participating in the women's 400m final, everyone is chatting on the public screen.
[Zhang Shuai and Xiao Qiu are about to go on stage!] md, suddenly a little nervous! 】
[A bit nervous +1]
[Everyone, this time we have Zhang Shuai and Xiao Qiu entering the finals, so does that mean we also have hope of winning a medal in the 400 meters? 】
【? Anyone with a dream is great. To be honest, who doesn’t want a medal? But before thinking about it, let’s take a look at the personal PBs of the other naturalized players...】
The scale of the Asian Games is not as large as that of the Olympics. Although it is also the highest level event in Asia, the public attention it receives is countless times less than that of the Olympics, which are only one word different. In addition, only some of the popular events in the Asian Games with high attention will be broadcast live on TV. Therefore, it can be said that most of the people who gather in the live broadcast room to watch the live broadcast at this time are loyal track and field enthusiasts.
Because of this, when someone occasionally raises some expectations beyond the contestants' abilities, there will immediately be many comments from the audience. The main hope is that the audience's excessive expectations will not cause too much psychological pressure on the contestants.
As a die-hard track and field enthusiast, Huang Yiluan was of course watching the live broadcast at this moment. While watching the end of the women's 400m final on the live broadcast, he chatted with his friends in the group.
Huang is a serious Huang: [I don’t know how Zhang Shuai and Xiao Qiu are preparing, I hope they can be in good shape for tonight’s game! 】
Lao Yong doesn’t want to run: [Don’t worry, I think with Coach Xiao Su here, the two of them will be in good shape! 】
The horse doesn't eat grass: [Wow! Lao Yong, your camp has changed very quickly. I saw that you were quite skeptical about Coach Su before? 】
Lao Yong doesn’t want to run: [Don’t say that, who in our group hasn’t been like that before? But Coach Xiao Su is awesome. Look at the results of Zhang Shuai and Xiao Qiu. It’s really amazing and unexpected... If we don’t look at the results of Zhang Shuai and Xiao Qiu, but only look at what Coach Xiao Su did before, who could have imagined this result? I'm just thinking now, if Coach Su is more awesome, and he coaches the 100-meter race or something, do you think it would be possible for Brother Yu to break through in his 100-meter time? 】
Monkey Catches Eagle: [Lao Yong, you just watched Yu Ge’s semi-final match and are you going to have a hysterical episode? Coach Xiao Su is great at coaching 400 meters, but the technical focus of 400-meter runners and 100-meter runners is different. How do you want Coach Xiao Su to teach? 】
The content of the chat in the group was as vague as ever. Huang Yiluan took a look at the conversation in the group and was about to say something when he saw from the corner of his eye that the live broadcast screen had changed.
Huang is a serious Huang: [Okay, stop talking nonsense, the game is about to start brothers! 】
At the scene, after the women's 400-meter sprint final ended, the on-site staff had reorganized the stadium. After everything was ready, the eight athletes participating in the men's 400-meter final also came to the stadium under the guidance of the staff.
The eight players who won the places in the finals after a series of competitions gathered at the finals to compete for the highest honor of the men's 400m race in the Asian Games. Among these eight players, except Qiu Wen, Zhang Ziyi and Aso Yota, the remaining five are black naturalized players introduced from other countries. This makes it difficult for people to associate this with an "Asian" arena at the first sight after the players take to the field.
“Here it comes!”
In the audience, Jiang Wentao and others were excited when they saw the contestants come on stage.
Today's game is, no matter what, a milestone for China's 400-meter sprint in the Asian Games. Even though they know that Zhang Ziyi and his team are facing formidable opponents, everyone still has expectations in their hearts.
On the court, Qiu Wen thoroughly learned the lesson of the previous day. He shook his head and decided not to think too much about the problem. So in today's pre-match preparation stage, he seemed to have gotten rid of some source of trouble. He was full of energy and turned his head to look around - until his eyes caught Roger, the Qatari player in yesterday's game, he squinted and stared at him for a few more seconds.
Obviously, just one day was not enough to reduce Roger's "hatred value" in Qiu Wen's heart.
Qiu Wen is in the 7th track today. In front of him on the right is Japanese player Aso Yota in the 8th track. Apart from him, the remaining 6 players are behind him.
Theoretically, this position is not very suitable for competitions. Since the starting point is relatively forward, for a period of time after the start, the athletes have no way of seeing the starting status of most athletes, and have no idea what everyone's speed and rhythm are. This makes it difficult for some "follower-type athletes" who are accustomed to adjusting their own rhythm according to the speed of the crowd to perform well.
Fortunately, Qiu Wen is not this type of player. Considering his explosiveness and speed endurance, it is hard to say whether it is a blessing or a curse for other players that he is arranged to start in this position.
Compared with Qiu Wen, Zhang Ziyi's state is more tense, but for Zhang Ziyi, this relatively tense state has long been his habit.
For Zhang Ziyi, appropriate tension can stimulate his competitive state. Now standing on the field, the biggest difference compared to the past is that he no longer has too strong a fear of opponents from other countries on the field. He feels wary of these naturalized players who often shattered his confidence in the past, but he also has a feeling of eagerness to challenge and break through their speed limits. This feeling makes him gradually excited standing on the track!
In the live broadcast room of the sports channel, Shao Minyi and Li Sen introduced the eight players on the field as usual, and also focused on Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen who were on track 4 and track 7 respectively.
“Although the opponents were very strong, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen still made it to the finals. I hope they can also perform in such an outstanding state in today’s final and bring a new milestone for China’s 400-meter race!”
Shao Minyi's words imply his hope that Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen will win medals. This is also the expectation of all Chinese people who are paying attention to this game at this moment!
Shortly after Shao Min finished speaking, the referee's voice was heard over the on-site broadcast, reminding the contestants that the competition was about to begin. After the broadcast sounded, the originally noisy environment on the scene temporarily quieted down. In the audience seats, no matter which country the audience came from, everyone held the national flag in their hands, quieted down, and looked nervously at the starting point at the bend of the track.
When the broadcast prompt sounded, the eight contestants had already circled to the starting blocks and squatted on their own starting blocks.
On the seventh track, Qiu Wen squatted on his starting block, looking ahead with energy. The fact that there were no runners in front of him made him feel very relaxed, and he had a feeling that he could run wildly - and when this thought came up, Su Bai's warning also appeared, putting a tight ring around his head, reminding him in time not to indulge himself too much.
On the fourth track, Zhang Ziyi was closing his eyes, ignoring everything around him.
After closing his eyes, the sound of his heartbeat and breathing gradually merged together, and Zhang Ziyi once again felt a clear sense of control over his body. At the same time, the desire for a breakthrough in his heart became stronger.
For Zhang Ziyi, he never seemed to feel that those three medals representing the highest level in Asia were so dazzling... and yet seemed to be within reach.
Want to try it!
I want to break through my own limits!
Want to try... to win a dazzling medal!
Zhang Ziyi's heart was pounding and contracting, and with each beat, he could hear more clearly the desire in his heart - he wanted to win.
On the radio, the referee's voice was always cold and lifeless, as if it was separated from the passionate atmosphere of the entire stadium and the players, forming a feeling of two different dimensions.
When the runners were ready on their starting blocks, the second reminder finally came from the broadcast: "Ready."
After this reminder, all the contestants looked closely at the track in front of them, and then they heard the sound of the starting gun quickly - "Bang!"
The game has begun!
From the sound of the crisp starting gun, the audience seemed to be turned on, and various voices of "Come on" filled the stadium. Flags from Bahrain, Qatar, Indonesia, and China were fluttering in the stadium. Everyone waved and shook the flags in their hands vigorously, and shouted with all their might, cheering for the athletes from various countries on the field!
On the track, the eight players were in excellent condition. Even being in a curve did not have much impact on them at the start. Even for a player like Roger, his explosive acceleration at the start of a curve was not necessarily slower than the acceleration of some players on the 100-meter straight.
At almost the front, Qiu Wen didn't know how fast the other runners were accelerating at the start, but he didn't need to know. He only knew that the starting gun had sounded - burst out and start running!
Qiu Wen pushed the starting block with his right foot, his eyes sparkling at the moment he started. In front of him was the Japanese runner Aso Yota who was not far away from him. Aso Yota was not a leading runner, but the eighth track he was in was at the very front of the starting position. At this time, he could not sense the rhythm of other runners behind him. Therefore, the only way for him was to move forward with all his strength!
Qiu Wen is different. Today, he has completely gotten rid of all the unnecessary burdens. After the game started, he was very excited. Although his mind was still engraved with the tight curse left by Su Bai, it could not stop his excitement.
Run!
This was the only thought in his mind - if you run, you have to have a goal, so the first small goal is to overtake Aso Yota in front of him!
In the Chinese contestant section of the audience, Jiang Wentao looked at Qiu Wen and was a little flustered: "Little Qiu, why is he so excited at the beginning today?"
Su Bai heard the worry in Jiang Wentao's tone, so he said, "Don't worry, although he is excited, his speed and rhythm are still under control. This current state of excitement may not be a bad thing."
On the track, Qiu Wen in the front was running happily. Although he didn't do it on purpose, this kind of wild running could easily cause different kinds of psychological pressure to the players behind him. It might even make some of them wonder if they were running too slowly because of the rhythm control.
After Qiu Wen accelerated at the start, as he ran on the track, behind him, the condition of Mike Knight from Bahrain was affected again.
The day before, Qiu Wen's speed and endurance in the final stage left a deep impression on McNight, but because of this, McNight remembered that Qiu Wen suddenly accelerated in the middle and late stages, and left him behind with terrifying speed and endurance in the final stage.
But what is the situation now? !
Why is it that this guy's speed has increased to such an extent when it's only the first 100-meter stage? Doesn't he want to control his speed? Or is this the Chinese team's strategy, to have one of the athletes burst into the lead in the early stages, disrupt the speed and rhythm of other athletes behind, and then ensure that another athlete of the Chinese team achieves good results?
For a moment, McNight's mind was occupied by a chaotic thought, and whether to catch up with Qiu Wen's speed completely affected his normal rhythm. When McNight found out, his overall rhythm had actually been disrupted. Behind him, there were already players who had surpassed him, leaving him behind from the sixth track.
On the fourth track, Zhang Ziyi ignored Qiu Wen's speed, nor did he pay attention to Roger's powerful speed during the acceleration phase on his right. His speed was also very fast. Although not as sharp as those naturalized players, he was actually firmly behind Roger in front of him and was not left too far behind.
Anans, who was ranked first in the overall ranking in the semi-finals, seemed to be in poor condition at the start of today, but his reaction and remedies were very timely. As his condition adjusted, he was quickly narrowing the gap with the players in front of him.
After entering the straight from the first bend, the contestants all let go of their speed and started a speed competition on the straight!
Aso Yota, who was originally at the front, was quickly overtaken by Qiu Wen. Qiu Wen's explosive power and speed on the straight road made Aso Yota completely unable to resist.
Not far behind Qiu Wen, Roger's speed was also astonishing. From the perspective of the audience, it was obvious that the distance between Roger and Qiu Wen was gradually shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye!
And following closely behind Roger was Zhang Ziyi on the fourth track!
From the start of the race to now, the situation on the track has been beyond the expectations of most people. They did not expect that Qiu Wen would run so fast at the start. Many people thought that his speed was out of control, but the subtle thing was that his speed at the start seemed to be under control, especially when he reached the straight section of the second 100-meter stage. Qiu Wen was still able to maintain a high speed. This performance seemed to indicate that although his overall rhythm was crazy, it was still under control to the limit.
In addition to Qiu Wen, Zhang Ziyi, who originally looked inconspicuous, was also discovered by people with keen observation because he followed closely behind Roger.
At this time on the track, although there were some deviations in the positions and results among the players due to the different starting positions of the curves, Qiu Wen still managed to maintain the first position, which was enough to surprise people!
Throughout the entire competition, the situation that the naturalized players would dominate the field as many people had speculated did not occur. Even though Roger did have dominant strength on the track that was visible to the naked eye, except for him, the remaining naturalized players could not take advantage of Qiu Wen and Zhang Ziyi for a while!
“Unbelievable…!”
The tone of Shao Minyi and Li Sen's voices became excited again - they both noticed that when they were commenting on the track and field team's 400-meter event these two days, their emotions were always particularly easy to get excited.
This is not only because Qiu Wen and Zhang Ziyi are players of the Chinese team, but also because with the two of them in the game, it seems like there is a particularly strong force. This force and spirit are making them excited.
"At present, our players Qiu Wen and Zhang Ziyi are in excellent form! But Reginald, Annans and other players behind them are not far behind!
Enter the bend! The gap between Anansi and Zhang Ziyi is almost zero! At the second corner, Roger had overtaken Qiu Wen and officially came to the first position! ”
From the moment of entering the second bend, the ranking of the players on the field gradually changed. Roger from Qatar officially occupied the front position. Anans and Zhang Ziyi were in a tug-of-war on the bend, and Reginald followed closely behind them. Japanese player Aso Yota, who was in the eighth track, had fallen to the last place. Qiu Wen did not get left behind due to his early advantages, but he and Reginald were also competing for a higher ranking on both sides of the track!
Plop, plop...
On the track, the sound of his pounding heartbeat was echoing in Zhang Ziyi's ears. He still insisted on his own rhythm on the track. He knew that his technical characteristics were completely different from Qiu Wen's. Qiu Wen's previous experience in 100 meters and 200 meters, combined with his re-arranged speed rhythm and his speed endurance, allowed him to be competitive in the final sprint stage in the later stage despite a relatively fast burst in the early stage.
But he is different. His speed and endurance are not as good as Qiu Wen. If his speed rhythm collapses in the early stage, his results will be irreversible in the later stage.
But just because he can't run as excitingly and beautifully as Qiu Wen on the track doesn't mean he doesn't have the ability to compete in this race!
Zhang Ziyi tried his best to control his breathing rhythm and keep his breathing consistent with his speed. In front of him was Roger, who seemed to have already secured victory. On his right, on the inside bend, Anans had slightly surpassed him by half a body length. Reginald was still behind him, trying to overtake him!
The sound of footsteps, along with his heartbeat and breathing, echoed in his ears. The noise of the surrounding audience was noisy but full of exciting energy.
In the live broadcast room, the audience on the public screen were also anxiously watching every change on the field - when they saw Qiu Wen gradually being overtaken by the players behind, when they saw Anans overtaking Zhang Ziyi, every subtle change made the audience's hearts hang in the air, unable to fall back.
"come on!!"
"Come on Zhang Ziyi! Come on Qiu Wen!!"
Shao Minyi and Li Sen had already given up rational commentary at this stage. Both of them were cheering for Qiu Wen and Zhang Ziyi on the field. On the public screen, many people were too nervous to type. The few lines of comments that occasionally passed by were all crisp and clear "Come on!". These two words alone contained everyone's sincere thoughts!
On the track, after passing the last bend, the last straight and the 400-meter finish line are already in front!
Sprint!
The last 100-meter stage is the sprint stage where there is no need to control the speed and rhythm. For most people, at this stage, they have already lost the ability to control their speed and rhythm.
After turning from the last bend to the straight, the first group position belonged to Roger alone. Behind Roger, Anans was chasing with all his might, trying to overtake Roger. Zhang Ziyi was still following behind Anans, trying to impact Anans' position!
Behind the three of them, a tug-of-war is developing between Reginald and Qiu Wen. Lacasa, who lost in the first half of the race, is now trying his best to go further!
In this final sprint stage, all the players have tried their best, even Qiu Wen, who has excellent speed and endurance. Because the speed burst in the opening stage today was really too extreme, his endurance is now unable to support his further burst.
No matter who it is, once they reach this final stage, the fatigue, soreness in their muscles from lack of oxygen, and the heaviness from the loss of physical strength have already brought them a huge burden.
For all the contestants, don't let your speed collapse in the last few dozen meters. What you need is your strong will!
Can't relax!
Even if you collapse when you reach the finish line, just wait till you get there!
On the track, Zhang Ziyi gritted his teeth. He no longer had the energy to pay attention to his position. He only knew that he had to keep close to Anans in front of him - he could not fall behind, not even by half a step!
finally……!
As Roger was the first to cross the 400-meter finish line, Anans followed closely behind him and also crossed the finish line. After Anans, the one who crossed the finish line was Zhang Ziyi, who gritted his teeth and chased after him in the final sprint!
"The third one is... Zhang Ziyi!!!"
In the live broadcast room of the sports channel, Shao Minyi shouted excitedly: "Success!! Zhang Ziyi successfully won the third place in the men's 400-meter race!!"
At the same time, Qiu Wen, who had been in a tug of war with Reginald in the final stage, broke away from Reginald at the last moment and successfully crossed the finish line in fourth place.
In the audience, Jiang Wentao saw this scene, clenched his hands into fists and waved them excitedly - "Well done!!!"
Before the live broadcast on the sports channel, countless domestic track and field fans, after a brief moment of silence and disbelief, began to shout excitedly - well done! ! !
After the Chinese track and field team achieved the milestone of having two athletes enter the 400m final together for the first time, these two athletes who made it to the 400m final at the same time won the third and fourth place respectively in the final, firmly standing in the upper circle of the finalists!
"This is the first real milestone for the Chinese track and field team in the 400m event! Congratulations to Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen!"
While Shao Minyi, Li Sen and others were praising the performance of Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen in the live broadcast, Zhang Ziyi, who had finally crossed the finish line, took a few short steps to buffer the gap before kneeling on the track in exhaustion. Not until his lost strength was a little bit restored did Zhang Ziyi's empty mind finally have the energy to think. He reviewed his final results a little slowly, and after discovering that he seemed to have come in third place, an expression of disbelief gradually appeared on Zhang Ziyi's face.
He won... third place? !
With such doubts, Zhang Ziyi turned his eyes to the big screen on the scene where the results of the athletes were displayed. It clearly showed: first place, Roger (Qatar) 44.86 seconds (wind speed +0.7m/s), second place, Annans (Indonesia) 45.11 seconds (+0.7m/s), third place, Zhang Ziyi (China) 45.43 seconds (+0.7m/s) pb, fourth place, Qiu Wen (China) 45.85 seconds (+0.7m/s)...
The moment he saw his results clearly, Zhang Ziyi silently covered his eyes with his hands. A voice in his heart said loudly: He did it!
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