Tonight's men's 400m sprint semi-final will undoubtedly be a heart-pounding battle.
In the afternoon, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen were called away by Su Bai separately and had a private conversation with them.
After Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen came to Su Bai respectively, the first thing Su Bai did was to hand them the grouping table for the evening, and then waited quietly for them to finish looking at the grouping of their evening games.
In tonight's match, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen belong to the first and third groups of the semi-finals respectively. Looking closely at the list of the first group of the semi-finals where Zhang Ziyi is, there are strong players such as Morris from Grenada, Gardenel from the Bahamas, Hernandez from the United States, Le Clos from South Africa, etc.
If we have to describe what this group of athletes is like, then including Zhang Ziyi, four of the top six athletes in last year's World Championships are in this group, and Gardener and Hernandez are the winners and runners-up of the 400m in last year's World Athletics Championships.
It was the first time that Zhang Ziyi saw this grouping table in Su Bai's hand. After seeing this grouping table, Zhang Ziyi took a breath slightly, but he didn't say anything else in the end. He just said to Su Bai, "I know."
After finishing the conversation with Su Bai, before leaving the meeting room, Zhang Ziyi smiled and said to Su Bai: "Coach, don't worry, don't worry about me."
On the contrary, after Qiu Wen met Su Bai in the conference room alone, he looked at the grouping table in his hand and frowned again and again.
"Lao Zhang's grouping..."
Qiu Wen opened his mouth to say half a sentence, but after looking at Su Bai, he swallowed the second half of the sentence he was about to say, "It would be nice if Lao Zhang's group was switched with mine."
Even though Qiu Wen was usually a fool who didn't like to think, he still knew clearly that such words were not only disrespectful to Zhang Ziyi, but also disrespectful to himself.
No matter how good their relationship is as teammates off the court, on the court, they will be opponents who fight for victory with all their strength.
However, even though he knew it in his heart, Qiu Wen still felt a dull pain whenever he thought of Zhang Ziyi's determination to complete Su Bai's training plan for the sake of the Olympics and was willing to sacrifice his own professional life.
Although Qiu Wen didn't say it out loud, Su Bai knew what he was thinking just by looking at his expression.
"Qiu Wen, what you can and should do now is to go all out in the competition and get a good result." After a pause, Su Bai said, "This is what I mean, and it must be what Ziyi thinks as well."
After Su Bai finished talking with Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen respectively, Zhang Ziyi's aura became even stronger. Although he would be facing a group of opponents who might very likely prevent him from making it to the 400m final, when he really knew that he would be facing a strong enemy, Zhang Ziyi's aura of giving his all for glory made it completely impossible to tell that he was about to participate in a battle with very likely no hope of victory.
Between Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, it was Qiu Wen who was a little listless at first. On the way to the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, the main venue of track and field, Qiu Wen kept looking carefully in the direction of Zhang Ziyi, then glanced at Lao Zhang, and shrank back in his seat, seeming a little absent-minded.
Wang Shen's Olympic competition mission has been completed. He is now sitting in the car. He turned his head and looked at the silly boy Qiu Wen beside him. After laughing twice, he simply raised his hand and rubbed Qiu Wen's head madly, making Qiu Wen, who was originally a little depressed, almost jump up from his seat.
"Ahhh, ahhh, what are you doing, Lao Wang! My head can be broken and blood can flow but my hair can't be messed up, okay!" Qiu Wen screamed, then raised his hand and carefully tidied his hair without anyone seeing.
Wang Shen raised his eyebrows, took another look at Qiu Wen's hair, and said with a smile: "So this is why you gave yourself an iron bangs?" Then Wang Shen said disdainfully: "Don't do it next time, it feels too bad."
"???"
Qiu Wen looked at Wang Shen in confusion: "Nonsense! My head is not meant to be rubbed! What does the bad feel have to do with me? If you don't rub it, it will be over, right?"
"Ah, this, it seems that what you said makes sense." Wang Shen replied with a smile.
Qiu Wen was about to nod, but Wang Shen said with a genuine look of distress: "^^ But I really want to rua, what should I do?"
Then, Wang Shen, who had just been named one of the top ten handsome men of the year by Internet geeks and face addicts, looked at the simple-minded Erha with a sincere look: "^^ As good friends, shouldn't we help each other, for example..."
Qiu·No-Brain·Erha·Wen was led astray by Wang Shen with a bewildered look on his face: "For example, let me rub your head?"
Wang Shen nodded with a satisfied smile: "^^Ah, is that so? Thank you so much!"
Qiu Wen: “???????”
no……
He really didn't mean that!
etc……
So what does it mean if he doesn't mean this?
Qiu Wen, who was originally still worried about Zhang Ziyi's semi-final group situation, was led astray by Wang Shen.
While Qiu Wen was confused, Wang Shen glanced at the message sent by Su Bai on his phone.
Su Bai: [Thank you, you’ve worked hard. 】
Wang Shen: [^^Ah, it’s okay. It’s still fun to tease the Husky. 】
Besides, this Husky is indeed his good friend, and he doesn’t want to see Qiu Wen fail to perform to his full potential in the competition due to his mentality problems.
It was not until Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen had already arrived at the backcourt athletes' locker room to change their clothes and prepare for warm-up and competition that Qiu Wen finally reacted. The incident that Wang Shen caused in the car made him get rid of his initial panic.
When the two changed into their competition uniforms and spikes, the women's discus final was being broadcast on the TV in the lounge. In the women's discus competition, the Chinese team performed well. Although they did not win the championship, they still won a silver medal, which excited many Chinese audiences.
After the women's discus competition, it was time for the men's 400m warm-up competition.
Before heading to the warm-up venue, Zhang Ziyi suddenly stopped and said softly: "Qiu Wen, remember, we are pursuing higher, faster, and stronger. In tonight's competition, I can compete with the world's top players in the Olympic arena. No matter what the result is, I am very happy."
After a pause, Zhang Ziyi said: "On the field, we are each other's opponents, and we cheer each other on."
Hearing Zhang Ziyi's words, Qiu Wen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly responded seriously: "Okay!"
Zhang Ziyi was in the first group of the semi-finals. When he finished warming up and was about to enter the competition field, Qiu Wen saw his back not far away and shouted to him: "Old Zhang! Come on!!!"
Zhang Ziyi paused slightly. He didn't look back. He just smiled, raised his right hand and waved in the direction of the sound coming from behind.
In the live broadcast room of the sports channel, Shao Minyi and Li Sen had been discussing tonight's men's 400m semi-final before the game, but even now, they were still full of nervousness about the upcoming competition.
In the discussion thread on the Athletics Kingdom forum the day before, many people were worried about whether Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen could break through in today's men's 400m sprint semi-final.
After the national track and field team officially announced the grouping of Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen this evening, the mood of these track and field fans became even more depressed.
——【It’s amazing. How can we compare Zhang Shuai’s group? 】
——【7 opponents, 3 of them finished within 44 seconds, and another 3 finished within 44.50 seconds...】
——[I don’t dare to watch the live broadcast anymore. After watching the live broadcast, please help report Zhang Shuai’s results to the forum. 】
——[Zhang Shuai's group is really a complete death group. What a pity. However, Erha's group looks okay. If Erha and Zhang Shuai switched groups, Zhang Shuai might have a chance to advance. 】
——[Hey, brother in front, although we feel sorry for her, please don’t bring Erha with you. It would be great if Zhang Shuai was originally in Erha’s group. But if Erha and Zhang Shuai were to switch groups, does Erha deserve to be in Zhang Shuai’s group? 】
——[…No, I didn’t mean that. I just think Erha is still young, and it’s a pity for Zhang Shuai to be like this now…]
…
In the forum of Track and Field Kingdom, many people are not only pure fans of track and field, but also have their own favorite athletes. At this moment, because of the grouping of the 400-meter sprint semi-final and the concerns about the two games of Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, some track and field fans started arguing while chatting, which aggravated the anxiety and pressure brought about by the upcoming game.
In the end, what stopped the quarrel was just one sentence: "Stop quarreling. Zhang Shuai's group is on the court. 】
Tokyo, Olympic Stadium
Zhang Ziyi has now arrived at the competition venue with his opponents. His track is in the eighth lane. Although it is not the golden track, it is definitely not the worst lane.
On the field, the players in the middle lanes of 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th are the four strongest players on the field. Among them, in the fourth and sixth lanes are Gardenel and Hernandez, who won the men's 400m sprint championship and runner-up at the World Championships last year. In lanes 5 and 7 are South African player Le Clos and Grenadian player Morris.
Some of the contestants in the other lanes are already old acquaintances to Zhang Ziyi. In the ninth lane is Bahrain's Mike Knight, and in the third and second lanes are Cuba's Ramirez and Botswana's Walcott respectively.
This semi-final will ultimately determine who is qualified to enter the top and most glorious arena in the Olympic Games held every four years.
"From the current lane arrangement, Zhang Ziyi's lane position is acceptable, but the four positions from the fourth to the seventh lane are all top players that cannot be ignored."
Shao Minyi has already introduced the eight athletes on the field one by one. At this time, the names of the eight athletes and their pb, sb and other results have been hung at the bottom of the TV screen to help viewers who are not familiar with track and field events to understand the performance gap between these athletes.
Including Shao Minyi and Li Sen, they also very clearly introduced the significance of the different results of each player.
Of course, what passers-by can understand most intuitively is the ranking of results from last year's World Athletics Championships.
"We have said it again and again. Tonight's semi-final will be a tough battle for Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen. The only thing we can do to support them is to hope that they can let go of the pressure, go all out, and not leave any regrets on the field."
The meaning of Shao Minyi and Li Sen's words was very clear. Looking at the atmosphere in the stadium at this time and listening to what Shao Minyi and Li Sen said, even ordinary track and field novice viewers in front of the TV felt the pressure from this top-level stadium.
In the audience, in the seats in the Chinese player area, Jiang Wentao, Pei Jinan, Su Bai and others did not even bother with the pre-match chat. They just sat quietly in the audience, anxiously waiting for the game to start.
Among all the people, when the camera scanned Zhang Ziyi on the court, one could see that his face looked the calmest. Or perhaps, it was not just calmness, but a kind of fearless determination.
The audience had already been cheering loudly for the players on the field, and when the starter's voice sounded on the radio, the scene once again entered the tense and stressful pre-match mode.
The first group of the men's 400m sprint semi-finals is about to begin!
The contestants on site had already been waiting at their respective starting blocks. When the starter shouted "on your marks", all the contestants squatted on their respective starting blocks, supported themselves with their hands, raised their hips, and began to wait for the final sound of the starting gun.
"Everyone, take your positions."
"preparation."
"Bang!"
The moment the starting gun sounded, the Tokyo Olympic Stadium once again turned into a boiling ocean. The cheers and shouts in various languages from the audience gathered together, forming a powerful force and rushing into the arena!
On the track, the eight runners in the first group of the semi-finals had already burst forward frantically the moment the gun was fired - oh, no, among them, Walcott, the runner from Botswana on the second track, had an obviously wrong starting state. Not only did it take him 0.193 seconds to react to the gunshot, but after the start, he also showed an obvious unbalanced sway as he stood up at the bend.
This famous athlete from Botswana was so nervous that his defeat in the semi-final was basically announced in the first second.
On the track, Zhang Ziyi's reaction speed at the start was average, with a reaction time of 0.159 seconds, ranking fourth in the field. The reaction speeds of the top three and fifth place were basically in this range, with no obvious difference between them.
From the moment the game started, Zhang Ziyi was like a beast out of a cage, launching his fierce attack forward without hesitation!
He knew very clearly in his heart that in this semi-final, he might have little hope and chance of advancing, but this did not affect his desire to pursue victory and reach the limit in this semi-final.
In front of him and around him were powerful enemies with whom he had never dreamed of competing.
Yes.
Before Su Bai appeared, although he carried the banner and label of China's No. 1 men's 400-meter sprinter, his heart was also hollow and confused.
Is there really hope for China's men's 400m sprint to rise?
Will China's men's 400-meter sprint really break the national record one day?
Can China's men's 400m sprint really break the 45-second barrier?
Or maybe…
Does he really have talent in the 400-meter sprint?
Once upon a time, he could only compete with top players from all over the world as a wildcard player during the annual Diamond League held in S City, China.
At that time, facing those top players, he could only barely stay at the back, with a number starting with 45 or 46 seconds, and ranked eighth in the whole field.
At that time, qualifying for the World Championships was just a luxury, and he could only dream of the glory of competing in the Olympics.
Perhaps some people don’t know how China’s 400-meter event has been able to rise step by step with great difficulty, or perhaps some people once knew it but have forgotten it.
But Zhang Ziyi will never forget.
He is perhaps the person in China who has the deepest understanding of the rise of the men's 400-meter sprint. He will never forget the disbelief and surprise in his heart when Su Bai told him, "You have the opportunity to participate in the Olympics."
These past events have already settled bit by bit in Zhang Ziyi's heart. He is not used to saying much, but in his heart, he will never forget these details that are condensed from bit by bit.
When he stepped onto what might be his last Olympic event, all those details of the past had filled in and transformed into the most solid support and strength in his heart.
Let’s run!
Give it your all in this final and highest competition!
This will be the most precious and regretless moment in your life!
On the track, the power around Zhang Ziyi was stronger than ever before. The determination and remembrance in his heart seemed to have transformed into an endless supply of power in his body, making his steps on the track more solid and explosive.
Almost every step he takes can give his body a stronger and faster driving force!
Faster, faster!
The wind on the field blew across Zhang Ziyi's face, and he seemed to be able to feel the sense of separation brought by the wind, and the wind blowing his hair seemed to be the proof that he was tearing through the wind barrier in front of him.
"Zhang Ziyi! Zhang Ziyi is in excellent form right now!" Shao Min stared at Zhang Ziyi who was running at full speed on the track. He said without hesitation, "This is his best performance this season! Even when facing a strong enemy that seems completely invincible, he still goes all out and breaks through himself!"
"This is the spirit of competitive sports and the spirit of the Olympics!"
"No matter what Zhang Ziyi's ranking is today, his performance and his spirit are his medals of victory!"
Shao Minyi and Li Sen stared at Zhang Ziyi on the court. With their rich experience, they could see that Zhang Ziyi's condition today was indeed as excellent as they said.
However, Zhang Ziyi was not the only one who performed well on the field.
Morris, a player from Grenada, almost had a burst of form in today's semi-final. He even left behind the top control flow star Hernandez and quickly rushed to the first place at the moment of passing the second corner.
As a top control flow expert, Hernandez's condition today was still perfectly under his control. On the track, Hernandez was second only to Morris, while Le Clos from South Africa was closely following the ones in front.
Mike Knight from Bahrain was also in excellent form tonight. Perhaps without the interference of Qiu Wen, the Bahraini star ran in his best form this season. At this moment, he was in a stalemate with Zhang Ziyi on the track.
Among the eight runners on the track, in addition to Botswana's Walcott who made a mistake at the start, last year's World Championship champion Gardener also made a clear mistake in the middle, so that he is now clearly behind the last few.
"Come on!! Zhang Ziyi, come on!!!"
The competition has entered the final stage. The top five players have turned the second corner and entered the straight for the final sprint.
Morris and Hernandez were already far ahead, while Le Clos fell to third place and tried to catch up with Hernandez who was in second place.
After these top three players, in fourth and fifth place are Mike Knight and Zhang Ziyi from Bahrain!
"Charge! Zhang Shuai, charge! Charge!"
"Zhang Shuai!!! Come on!!"
In the audience seats, the cheers from the Chinese audience were deafening.
On the track, Zhang Ziyi ran at a level he had never run before in today's race. He could feel that he was running very fast, but the desire in his heart was still urging him on, telling him - it was not enough, this was not enough!
Zhang Ziyi could see that the three players in front of him were already quite far away from him, but this was by no means a reason for him to give up.
Run, using up the last bit of strength in your body.
Zhang Ziyi’s eyes were fixed on the finish line in front of him - he wanted to go faster, faster.
Just like he said.
Surpass yourself and surpass your limits!
"Zhang Ziyi!!! Come on!!!"
“The last 50 meters!!”
“30 meters!!!”
Even though they already knew that there was no chance of advancing in this match, even though they already knew that Zhang Ziyi had lost the chance of winning, all the Chinese spectators still watched this final moment of the match seriously and nervously.
They watched Zhang Ziyi's speed increase in the final sprint, and then...he crossed the finish line almost neck and neck with Mike Knight who was in fourth place!
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