Chapter 130 (Four in One)
Although everyone had higher expectations for Su Yu's final result before the start of this game, when this expectation was actually realized, everyone couldn't help but marvel at Su Yu's performance once again!
In the live broadcast room of Jigu Video, Tian Ruhui and Zhou Jiming could hardly remember how many times they had praised Su Yu's performance. Although Su Yu is still a player who has only started competing for less than three seasons, he has left a legendary mark on Chinese track and field in the four events of 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters that is enough to be recorded in the history of track and field!
This is truly an amazing player, and also a player that makes people happy.
In the audience, when Han Yiqing and Sui Feng saw Su Yu successfully get the fourth place in the men's 400m final, the two grown men hugged each other tightly and screamed in excitement.
In the Chinese player zone seat, Liu Qinlong enthusiastically hugged the Chinese team staff around him, and the equally happy Chinese team staff around him, as well as Zheng Sheng, Sun Gaoshu and others, kept hugging and celebrating.
Carnival, joy, happiness, excitement...
Various emotions flowed freely in the Chinese contestant area seats at the scene, and the happy atmosphere infected everyone present.
In the live commentary room of Jigu Video, the track and field fans and spectators who were still watching the live broadcast room late at night in China were now screaming and celebrating excitedly.
[Ahhhhh, Su Yu Niu Boyi! ! ! 】
[Great, great, great, great, we are fourth in the Asian Championships! Oh my god, I can't believe that I can actually see the men's 400m sprint make it to the Asian Championships final... and not even last place! ! ! 】
[Ahhh, Su Yu Su Yu Su Yu Su Yu! ! 】
[Help, I want to see the final result right now... In the semi-finals, Su Yu's result was 45.67 seconds, right? Although the main camera was on Abdulaziz and Marino in the final, from the occasional scans, if I am not mistaken, Su Yu's speed was even faster than in the semi-finals, mainly because Qian Cheng's speed was significantly improved compared to the semi-finals...】
[Improvement, improvement, there is definitely improvement, just look at Su Yu's reaction speed when he starts running and you will know... I am really impressed by this point, the information conveyed by Su Yu's reaction when he starts running is so accurate, if you say he is letting it go, he is letting it go, if you say he is going all out, he is going all out...]
[Ahhh, I wonder what the final score will be for Su Yu who will give his all in tonight's final? 】
[SOS, my heart is already racing, what about the results? The results will be out soon...】
In addition to these Chinese audiences, there is actually another group of audiences who are also paying attention to the performance of Su Yu of the Chinese team. They are the Japanese audiences who also have two players participating in the finals.
At this time, the commentator of the live broadcast of the Asian Championships in Japan, Kohei Matsumoto, had just finished passionately commentating on the men's 400-meter sprint final. However, the direction of Matsumoto's "passionate commentary" was obviously a little wrong.
——"Oh, Wolf Son! Wolf Son is in excellent condition tonight as well!"
——"A reaction time of 0.122 seconds at the start, this is what a wolf son should have on the field!"
——"A very strong start, just as strong as Miyamoto and Ishikawa!"
——"Oh, Miyamoto lost control of his rhythm due to the influence of Abdulaziz and Marino Dotolic, but the Wolf Son in the eighth lane still maintained a very good state. Marino Dotolic's approach did not seem to have much impact on him..."
As one of the most loyal fans of Japanese sprinting, Taichi Shimayama originally believed that although the Japanese team's 100m and 200m events, from new generation athletes to famous athletes, have been impacted by the Chinese team, at least Japan still has an absolute leading advantage in the 400m sprint when facing the Chinese team.
It was not until the new season that Taichi Shimayama saw the Chinese team's Wolf Son participate in the men's 400-meter sprint event in the first stop of the new season.
But although Taichi Shimayama saw Su Yu participating in the 400-meter sprint, he still believed that the Chinese team's training technology for the 400-meter event was still immature. After all, the 400-meter sprint is the most technically demanding and complex event in the sprint. Even the appearance of the Wolf Son would not have much impact on the Chinese team's 400-meter sprint in a short period of time.
This is what Taichi Shimayama thought - and he thought his idea was not unreasonable.
Then, he saw Wolf Son run continuously in the men's 400-meter sprint events in China, achieving results beyond what his age should have achieved, and quickly broke the Chinese team's U18 record for the men's 400-meter sprint.
But until then, Taichi Shimayama still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.
After all, although Wolf Son's 400-meter sprint result is indeed good, it has not yet broken the 46-second mark, and there is still a full 1 second gap between him and Miyamoto Mirai and Ishikawa Hiroki.
A full 1 second difference!
Taichi Shimayama thought, with such a big gap in performance, it would be impossible for problems like those in the World Youth Championships and Asian Games to occur again, right?
But when Taichi Shimayama saw the results of the preliminaries and semi-finals of the Asian Championships in Suyu, his heart felt like it had sunk into an ice cave - Oh no, it happened, it was that terrible feeling again.
The danger had already appeared, but the Japanese players and spectators were unaware of it.
This description may be a bit exaggerated, but before watching the final, Taichi Shimayama had a unique premonition about the outcome of the game in his heart - although the Chinese team's lane position is not ideal, the two famous players of the Japanese team may have a poor final result.
When Shimayama Taichi saw Miyamoto Mirai's mistake, he felt a complex feeling of "as expected". Even after Ishikawa Hiroki also made a mistake, it seemed as if the other shoe in Shimayama Taichi's heart had finally fallen to the ground.
Son of the Wolf...
For the Japanese team, it is almost like a metaphysical existence!
And what will be the final result of this wolf son in the 400m final?
Under Shimayama Taichi's numb but subtly expectant gaze, the electronic screen at the scene finally switched from the exciting footage of the athletes crossing the finish line one after another to the final results display in white letters on a blue background -
2019 Qatar Doha Asian Championships Men's 400m sprint final final results:
First place: Abdul Aziz (Kewell), 44.84 seconds;
Second place: Marino Dotolic (Bahrain), 44.98 seconds;
Third place: Sergey Kasper (Kazakhstan), 45.21 seconds;
Fourth place: Su Yu (China), 45.39 seconds, NR (national record);
Fifth place: Harjit Kuhlmann (India), 45.47 seconds;
6th place: Hiroki Ishikawa (Japan), 45.55 seconds;
Seventh place: Lin Zekai (China), 45.93 seconds, PB (personal best);
8th place: Miyamoto Mirai (Japan), 45.96 seconds
…
In China, in the Jigu video live broadcast commentary room, even veteran commentators like Tian Ruhui and Zhou Jiming, who have been "battle-hardened", could not help but be stunned for a few seconds when they actually saw the final results of the men's 400m sprint final of the Asian Championships.
From Abdulaziz's 44.84 seconds to the last place Miyamoto Mirai's 45.96 seconds... Even Miyamoto Mirai, who completely lost his chance due to the collapse of his own rhythm at the beginning of the game, actually ran under 46 seconds in this final.
In other words, the last competitor in this competition also scored 45.96 seconds! !
All players finished within 46 seconds, and even the top two players ran within 45 seconds...!
Seeing this, Tian Ruhui and Zhou Jiming couldn't help but feel excited.
Tian Ruhui said: "Tonight's Asian Championships final in Doha, Qatar, presented us with a truly high-level, top-level men's 400-meter sprint battle in Asia!"
"In this game, players from Cowell, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, China, India and Japan all brought us this exciting competition with their strong strength and outstanding performance!"
"And... it was also during this wonderful competition... that China's men's 400-meter sprint event reached a whole new level!"
"Su Yu! From the Chinese track and field team, the youngest athlete in the Asian Championships delegation - after he broke the world U18 record in the men's 100m sprint, the Chinese U20 record in the men's 200m, the Chinese U18 record in the men's 400m, and created countless brilliant achievements..."
"Today, on this legendary night!"
"Su Yu officially achieved his first national record in his career!!!"
“45.39 seconds!”
"Just today, Su Yu broke the Chinese men's 400-meter sprint record that had been unbroken for 32 years! He updated the Chinese men's 400-meter sprint record from 45.50 to 45.39!"
“Dear audience members, this is a night that deserves to be recorded in the history of Chinese track and field. A new miracle is born before our eyes, and a new record is rising!”
"China's men's 400-meter sprint has finally entered a new era... We also believe that the result of 45.39 seconds is just a new starting point for the Chinese team and Su Yu!"
"After today, in the next decade of Su Yu's professional career, the result of 45.39 seconds will only be a solid footprint in the early stage of Su Yu's career - we can fully believe that in the future, Su Yu can create more surprising and wonderful miracles for us one after another!"
While speaking these words, Tian Ruhui's voice was filled with excitement, as well as audible sobs and pauses. It seemed that through his slightly hoarse voice, one could clearly understand the commentator's love for Chinese track and field and his joy for the miracle created by Su Yu.
oh!
That’s right!
It’s not just Su Yu!
When everyone was still excited and ecstatic about Su Yu's results, someone saw on the scene that after seeing his own results on the electronic screen, Lin Zekai of the Chinese team turned around like crazy and rushed towards Su Yu's position, then hugged Su Yu!
Su Yu at the scene was obviously also startled, but he did not stop Lin Zekai's actions. Instead, he patted Lin Zekai on the shoulder.
The camera was a bit far away, and the audience should have been able to see the scene clearly, but the director of Jigu Video apparently noticed the situation and immediately cut the camera footage of Su Yu and Lin Zekai directly to the main screen. As a result, the Chinese audience soon saw Lin Zekai hugging Su Yu and crying loudly.
This young contestant, who was about 1.8 meters tall, hugged Su Yu, who was a head shorter than him, and cried heartily. Compared with Su Yu or the friends around Su Yu, Lin Zekai was not really good-looking. He could only be described as having an honest face with a straight and clear shape. When he cried, he had no expression control at all, which looked very ugly, but also very real.
Lin Zekai has always been aware of his disadvantage in the 400m event. His coach Wang Yujun is a famous coach who can bring out the best in Zhan Youming. He has advised him countless times not to be obsessed with the 400m anymore, as his talent is more suitable for the 200m event.
But he is a stubborn man. An honest man who gets stuck in a dead end is much harder to persuade than an ordinary person, and he is just that honest man who gets stuck in a dead end.
He just wanted to run 400 meters. Even though he knew his problem was difficult to correct, he still wanted to give this event he loved so much a try to see if he had a chance to achieve a better result.
But he tried again and again, but failed again and again.
He has been trying hard to sum up his experience again and again, and his coach has repeatedly told him that he should use his brain when training and feel the rhythm himself.
But he was born without that string, and when there was no one to lead him, he couldn't feel the existence of that rhythm or how to control it.
In the end, both he and his coach had given up on training and mastering rhythm control.
It was not until this season that he was unexpectedly selected into the national team for the Asian Championships, where he met the two people he was most grateful to in his life so far - Pei Dingshan and Su Yu.
Just now, when everyone's attention was probably focused on Su Yu's result of 45.39 seconds, Lin Zekai was also excited about Su Yu's result. However, after seeing his own result of ranking seventh, his originally excited and joyful mood suddenly froze on the spot.
He couldn't believe the result he saw.
45.93 seconds.
45…He broke the 46-second mark? !
Regarding today's final, he had originally prepared to completely sacrifice his own results. After all, he could not allow himself to have a bad influence on Su Yu because of his chaotic and unbalanced rhythm in the outermost lane.
But he didn't expect that Coach Pei and Xiaoyu would give him such advice - run at his own pace in the front, and in the last 200 meters, after alternating positions with Su Yu, start to follow Su Yu's rhythm in the second half of the race!
This idea had never been put into practice in the team before.
For him, this is an opportunity, but at the same time, this opportunity also carries with it great operational difficulties and dangers. Once he consumes too much energy in the early stages, he may not be able to keep up with Su Yu's pace in the second half. Or, because of the difference in strength between him and Su Yu, in the second half, Su Yu's slowing pace may be enough to force him to sprint at full speed...
All of this has not been tested, and it is extremely tempting but also extremely dangerous for him.
But he agreed decisively only after confirming that his future would not affect Su Yu.
He believed in the advice of Coach Pei and Su Yu, and he was willing to give it a try!
Although he almost couldn't keep up with Su Yu's changing rhythm in the second half of the game, he finally managed to persevere!
And now, looking at his result of 45.93 seconds on the electronic screen, he knew that he had succeeded!
He really couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. He couldn't help but find Su Yu's location, hugged Su Yu, and cried loudly to this contestant who was 6 years younger than him.
It really looked a bit embarrassing, but it was indeed a true reflection of his mood at that moment.
"Thank you..." Lin Zekai kept saying thank you to Su Yu while crying loudly.
Although Su Yu felt a little stiff in Lin Zekai's hug, he still raised his hand and patted his teammate - his own emotional ups and downs were relatively calm, but it did not mean that Su Yu could not understand the emotional ups and downs of his friends around him.
Su Yu patted Lin Zekai on the shoulder and said to him seriously: "You are great."
Around Su Yu and Lin Zekai, Miyamoto Mirai and Ishikawa Hiroki of the Japanese team were looking at them. Both of them looked unhappy, and there were complex emotions in their eyes that were difficult to distinguish.
Marino Dotolic, who was in the same group with Su Yu in the preliminary stage, also found Su Yu on the spot after seeing Su Yu's results and gave him a friendly hug.
“Amazing result my friend – I look forward to seeing you in more competitions in the future!”
Su Yu also hugged him, responding to Marino's kindness.
At the same time, in the Chinese player zone seat, Liu Qinlong's eyes were already red from crying. Zheng Sheng, who was standing next to him, looked at Liu Qinlong and couldn't help but recall his own crying appearance when he led the team in the World Youth Championship. So, with a sour heart, he patted Liu Qinlong's shoulder to comfort his old comrade.
Liu Qinlong cried and laughed at the same time, and then said to Zheng Sheng and Sun Gaoshu beside him: "45.39 seconds! Hiccup... With this result, maybe the result that Su Yu will first get the invitation letter is our 400m?"
Zheng Sheng and Sun Gaoshu on the side were originally trying to comfort Liu Qinlong, hoping to calm their old comrade down a little. It was a great thing that Su Yu had achieved such a good result!
As a result, these were the first words Liu Qinlong said. Zheng Sheng originally wanted to pat Liu Qinlong's shoulder gently, but the pair of big hands with a soothing meaning hit Liu Qinlong's back fiercely the next second, and then he rolled his eyes on the spot.
"Hey, you old fellow!"
"Just wait for me. Today is your home 400m race, but Su Yu's time of 45.39 is not even within the qualifying range. There is still so much time until the qualifying window in mid-September. Su Yu won't have any 400m races next."
"But what about our 200m? The 200m race starts tomorrow! Ha, just wait and see. With Su Yu's current form, he might be able to meet the standard in 20.40 seconds in the first race of the season!"
Liu Qinlong sneered at Zheng Sheng's childish speech. "Oh, do you think I believe you? Tomorrow is your 200m preliminaries and semifinals. Su Yu consumed a lot of energy in today's 400m final. He will definitely adjust and control himself well tomorrow. It is very likely that he will advance by just barely. You wait for him to adjust and see how the final will go the day after tomorrow!"
The two coaches were arguing with each other.
But as the fight went on, the two of them really became nervous again. After all, what Liu Qinlong said was true. At the end of today's 400-meter race, Su Yu's physical energy consumption was obviously a lot more serious, and his face looked pale for the first time this season.
Based on Su Yu's current situation and performance, plus he has two shots in the men's 200m tomorrow...can Su Yu maintain his excellent form by the time of the men's 200m final the day after tomorrow? !
Thinking of this, Zheng Sheng couldn't help but curse: "Damn it, I shouldn't have been soft-hearted and let Su Yu sign up for the 400m... With his current condition, he should have kept him for the 200m finals. He would definitely be able to break the 20.40 mark!"
Liu Qinlong stopped arguing with Zheng Sheng at this moment. He was also quite worried about Su Yu's situation, fearing that Su Yu's schedule for the next two days would be affected.
***
While Liu Qinlong and Zheng Sheng were extremely nervous, Sui Feng and Han Yiqing, who were also present at the scene, finally managed to stop the tears in their eyes. However, as long as they recalled Su Yu's 45.39 seconds and Lin Zekai's 45.93 seconds in this game, they both felt deeply that their hard work to rush to the scene to watch the game was worth it!
Not only was it worth it, but it far exceeded their initial expectations!
Han Yiqing originally guessed that it would be a very good result for Su Yu to get into the top six in the final and break the 45.50 mark - or, even if he failed to break the 45.50 mark, as long as he could get into the top six and get a result closer to 45.50, that would be enough to satisfy him.
As it turned out, Han Yiqing's prediction of the final results was basically accurate. Hiroki Ishikawa, who finished sixth in the race, had a time of 45.55 seconds, which was indeed within the range that Han Yiqing had originally envisioned.
As a result, although Han Yiqing guessed the cruelty and difficulty of the men's 400m final, he failed to guess the strength that Su Yu would show in this game!
45.39 seconds!
Fourth place in the final!
A result and ranking that has completely exceeded his best expectations!
When Han Yiqing and Sui Feng saw this result, they both thought for a moment that this was an illusion caused by being too tired - perhaps it was because they had too many and too beautiful expectations for Su Yu's results, so they had such a beautiful dream?
It was not until they pinched themselves fiercely that they began to hug each other and cry and laugh.
45.39 seconds!
This result was much better than the 45.50 seconds they had expected. At the same time, Han Yiqing suddenly said viciously: "I will set a reminder. When the time comes in mid-August, I will apply for a Qatar visa!"
Sui Feng immediately understood what Han Yiqing meant.
Although the result of 45.39 seconds has not reached the qualifying score for the men's 400m sprint at the 2019 Qatar World Championships, this result is definitely on the invitation line threshold for the World Championships. In other words, Su Yu has a great probability of getting an invitation to the men's 400m sprint at the Qatar World Championships.
Thinking of this, Sui Feng calculated the time: "I don't know if I will still be on business in Saudi Arabia by then, I will also set a reminder, and then we can come together!"
In fact, they are not the only ones who have made this decision.
In their 400-meter sprint fan group, after watching the 400-meter final of the Asian Championships, all the group members went crazy.
Monk Guo Debiao: [Ahhh, why! Why don't I have a visa for Qatar? ! Damn, Han Yiqing is such a cunning guy! I should have watched this game live! ! ! 】
Lao Ma Shi Tu: [You regret it, but I regret it more than you... When Lao Han went to apply for a Qatar visa, he mentioned it to me, but I hesitated and didn't apply for it. Because of this hesitation, I missed the opportunity to watch this game on the spot...]
It’s Lao Hu, not the tiger: [I have made up my mind! I will keep a close eye on Su Yu's schedule in the future. I will apply for a visa for wherever Su Yu goes to compete... Live streaming on the Internet is still not as exciting as the live show. Damn, look at how Lao Han and Sui Feng screamed at the scene! I also want to scream together at the scene! ! 】
The stars see me: [Who isn’t? 45.39 seconds, this result... If I were there, I could take off directly from the stands! ! ! So awesome, so awesome, so awesome! ! ! 】
Lao Ma Shi Tu: [I really didn’t expect this… Last year, our group was still vomiting blood at Zhang Mingliang, Li Mingzhou and the others. They ran such a bad race… I almost wanted to rush into the stadium and give them a good scolding! Those matches made me feel sick just by watching them. I really didn’t have any mood to watch them live. Who could have thought of the result? At the beginning of this year's new season, Yu Di appeared out of nowhere! 】
It’s Lao Hu, not Lao Hu: [Hey, what do you mean? Our Yu Di has been in the third season. It should be said that after experiencing the two events of 100 meters and 200 meters, our Yu Di finally came to favor our 400 meters this year! 】
An experienced man: […Look at what you said. 】
Lao Monk Guo Debiao: [Lao Ma is right. Considering the level of the domestic competitions last year, I really didn’t want to watch them live. Who could have thought of the result? New season, new style, mainly because of the sudden arrival of Su Yu... He has brought the level of men's 400m in our country to a rapid rise! 】
Monk Guo Debiao: [Let’s not talk about anything else. Last season, who could have thought that the Reckless King Lin Zekai could run under 46 seconds? Judging from Lao Wang's energy, I felt that he wanted to lead the King to the 200-meter mark. I guess Lao Wang had completely given up hope on Lin Zekai's 400 meters, and was just waiting for Lin Zekai to give up, and then he would turn around and lead him directly to the 200-meter mark...】
As soon as Guo Debiao said this, there was another wave of emotion in the group.
Yeah, who could have thought of that?
Regarding today's final, many of them conceded that Lin Zekai would probably be the last one. After all, the original results were there, and it was a miracle that Lin Zekai could make it to the finals. So even if he was the last one in the finals, it was definitely acceptable to track and field fans. Unexpectedly, Lin Zekai actually made it to seventh place!
Not only did he make it to seventh place, but his result was also under 46 seconds, making him the second active 400-meter sprinter besides Su Yu to successfully break the 46-second mark!
Before this, Zhang Mingliang, who was generally considered to have the greatest hope of breaking the 46-second mark, currently has his personal best in history stuck at 46.03 seconds.
After the G Province Z City race this season, which was also a day or two before the start of the Asian Championships, the domestic Grand Prix race had already entered the second race. Originally, many 400-meter enthusiasts went to watch the race on site with great interest. As a result, Zhang Mingliang, Li Mingzhou and other players started posing again, and the players watching the race on site could be seen going crazy.
And now, it can be said that after the Asian Championships, the original ranking of the strength of domestic men's 400-meter runners has completely changed - Su Yu has truly become the current domestic, or in other words, the number one men's 400-meter sprinter in the country in the past 32 years. After Su Yu, Lin Zekai, who follows closely in his footsteps, can be regarded as the current number two men's 400-meter sprinter in China!
***
At the scene, after looking at their final results, Su Yu and Lin Zekai quickly walked together from the players' exit channel back to the Chinese team's lounge in the backcourt, and also to make room on the field for subsequent games.
When Su Yu and Lin Zekai passed through the backcourt passage this time, Liu Yu certainly couldn't get over them, so he kept waving at them.
"Su Yu, Ze Kai, are you available for an interview?"
Su Yu looked at Liu Yu and blinked. Although he wanted to complain in his heart, "Even if it's inconvenient, Mr. Liu, you can't let us go," he still stood there obediently and didn't really say such troublesome words.
When Liu Yu saw Su Yu and Lin Zekai standing in front of him, his face was full of excitement, and then he stuffed the interview microphone into the hands of Su Yu and Lin Zekai.
Liu Yu: "First of all, I want to congratulate Xiaoyu and Zekai for both achieving their best results in history in the final of this Asian Championships and breaking through themselves! Then I want to congratulate Xiaoyu for breaking the Chinese men's 400-meter sprint national record that had been sealed for 32 years. This is also Xiaoyu's first real individual national record. At the age of 16, you have become the holder of the Chinese men's 400-meter sprint record. How do you feel now?"
After hearing this question, Su Yu pondered for a while and said seriously: "I am very happy, but I also feel a little regretful."
When Liu Yu heard Su Yu say "very happy", he thought Su Yu was just going to be perfunctory with him again, but he didn't expect that he would say the following sentence.
Liu Yu asked: "Why do you feel regretful?"
Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "45.50 seconds, this shouldn't be a very difficult record to break. China's men's 400-meter sprint strength shouldn't be limited to this."
It is true that China still lacks technical accumulation in the 400-meter event, and China also lacks the accumulation of 400-meter sprint talents. However, after participating in 400-meter sprint training since the beginning of winter training, Su Yu learned a lot about the domestic 400-meter sprint from Liu Qinlong and Pei Dingshan.
China does have limited sprint talent, and the current main policy is to first further increase the talent pool of 100-meter and 200-meter runners, and then consider improving the 400-meter strength after a certain amount of talent has been accumulated.
This major policy will indeed affect China's progress in improving its 400m strength.
But is it really true that there is no talent in the 400-meter event?
Actually, it’s not.
I won’t talk about Lin Zekai as his situation is special, but what about Zhang Mingliang? Where is Li Mingzhou?
These are all athletes who have every chance of breaking the 46-second mark. Even if they cannot refresh the national record of 45.50, their strength should not remain at their previous level.
What's more, there are their performances in the National Track and Field Grand Prix and some international competitions in the past... Su Yu watched a series of their competition videos, and after watching them, he frowned and was angry for a long time.
This is not the attitude a professional player should have.
It can be said that what really determines the achievements and career ceiling of Li Mingzhou and Zhang Mingliang is not their talents, but their attitudes.
There are many similar players in China.
Li Mingzhou and Zhang Mingliang are just two of the most typical players among these players.
In fact, the talents of these two players are comparable to Lin Zekai. Lin Zekai's failure to break the 46-second mark was due to his personal ability deficiencies, while for Li Mingzhou and Zhang Mingliang it was purely a matter of personal attitude.
For Su Yu, there was no need for him to ask this question on the day when he broke the national record. His answer was bound to offend a large number of domestic 400-meter individual athletes, but he still stubbornly and resolutely expressed his feelings and thoughts in the interview.
Liu Yu was silent for a while after hearing Su Yu's answer.
As the most famous reporter in the field of track and field in China, doesn't Liu Yu know about this situation? Of course he understands it, and there are many people in China who understand this matter, but there are very few people in China who are really willing to talk about this matter openly.
Liu Yu originally didn't want Su Yu to say these words to others as it would be too offensive.
But at this time, Lin Zekai beside him suddenly spoke up: "Xiaoyu is right - China's 400-meter sprint should not be at the current level. I have practiced 400 meters for much longer than Xiaoyu. I have seen many athletes with better talents than me. They may not be unwilling to continue training for the 400-meter sprint, but because there are too many people with a lax attitude among the predecessors, the efforts of the younger generation of athletes seem like an outlier."
Compared to what Su Yu said, Lin Zekai's words seemed sharper and more offensive because of his own professional background and the length of his career.
Lin Zekai said to the interview camera: "Originally, 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters are all sprint events. If you want to run 400 meters well, you must have good speed. But the ecological environment of 400 meters is like this. Those talented athletes, even if they like 400 meters in their hearts, but the smart ones know that there are problems with the ecological environment of 400 meters. They are also capable of running 100 and 200. In this case, why not give 100 and 200 a try?"
"At least in the 100- and 200-meter events, runners who sprint hard don't look so stupid."
Liu Yu also didn't expect that Su Yu dared to speak, but Lin Zekai dared to speak even more than Su Yu.
But it is precisely this naked truth that is even more shocking, and makes people feel more deeply where the problems of the project lie.
Originally, everyone thought that the Chinese team should first give up the 400m event temporarily, and then lead the 400m after their 100m and 200m performances improved.
However, can everything really proceed smoothly in the direction they want?
By the time we really followed this original idea and laid a solid foundation for the 100m and 200m events, the 400m athletes had already gotten used to being abandoned, and all the players from top to bottom were in a slump. At that time, could this rotten-to-the-roots 400m environment really be successfully saved as everyone had originally envisioned?
Even if it can be saved, how much will it cost?
After hearing what Lin Zekai said, Liu Yu was suddenly shocked. He felt that the current plan of the General Administration of Sports and the Athletics Administration Center for the 400-meter sprint might be based on good expectations, but in the process of implementation, there might have been some major problems.
After a moment of silence, Liu Yu asked Su Yu and Lin Zekai a few more questions, turning the topic back to celebrating their competition.
When asked about his mood, Lin Zekai very frankly used three "too excited" to describe his mood, and then thanked Su Yu and Pei Dingshan on the spot.
Then Liu Yu asked Su Yu about his thoughts on tomorrow's 200-meter race. This time, Su Yu finally used his "perfunctory" approach and gave a very routine standard answer of "I will try my best and hope to be in better shape in each race."
After the interview, Liu Yu looked at Su Yu and Lin Zekai, smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"You two have given me a big problem."
Su Yu thought about it and understood what Liu Yu meant, so he said bluntly: "If it is inconvenient to publish, Liu Ji, you can edit out that part of my speech."
Lin Zekai standing next to him nodded immediately, indicating that it was okay if all of his speech was edited out.
Liu Yu looked at the two people's attitudes and shook his head helplessly: "You two, you handed such a big news to me, and asked me to edit it?"
"Have you two ever thought about how many people would point fingers at you and scold you if I gave you any bad guidance when you said these things in front of the camera?"
Su Yu looked at Liu Yu and said seriously: "Liu Ji, you are not that kind of person." After a moment, he paused again and said: "And what I said is the truth, I am not afraid."
Liu Yu knew that with Su Yu's current talent and achievements, he was destined to be the number one sprinter in the country in the future. He didn't need to worry too much about his personal remarks - just look at Sun Yuhang in the high jump. He made remarks every day without thinking, but it did not affect his status as the number one high jumper in the country and a series of honors.
The same situation applies to Su Yu. The only difference may be that he will offend more people in the industry, especially the 400-meter runners.
But the same thing goes, Su Yu has the ability, so he is not at a disadvantage.
To be honest, between Su Yu and Lin Zekai, Lin Zekai has offended more people. If this interview is really sent out, Lin Zekai may encounter more difficulties.
In the end, I don’t know whether Lin Zekai didn’t understand or what, but he still had a calm expression on his face.
Liu Yu looked at the fearless faces of the two people in front of him and shook his head helplessly: "Okay, okay, as long as you are not afraid."
Having said that, Liu Yu sent Su Yu and Lin Zekai away, asking them to go back to the backcourt lounge to rest and adjust, as Su Yu still had a game tomorrow.
After driving the two away, the cameraman who was working with Liu Yu asked Liu Yu, "Liu Ji, what are you going to do about this?"
Liu Yu listened to this and sighed: "What should I do? Just let it go!"
It was impossible for him to release the news without saying anything, but if he really had to keep the news secret, he would feel really uncomfortable.
So after thinking it over again and again, he made a direct phone call to his leader in China, as well as Pei Yongsheng and a series of relevant leaders of the Athletics Administration Center and the General Administration of Sport, and repeated the key points of the interview tonight.
Asking this question is just to pass the buck, and I also want to test the attitudes and thoughts of these leaders and the national team to see if they have any ideas on making changes in the 400-meter event.
If there is, then the speeches made by Su Yu and Lin Zekai after the Asian Championships final are very suitable to be used as the fuse that opens the way.
He just couldn't believe it. With these two eye-opening answers from Su Yu and Lin Zekai, how could anyone not realize the problem?
Sure enough, the calls he made soon received a reply of "I will continue to report it", and before reporting it to higher levels, Liu Yu could hear that the leaders were wavering.
In other words, the country's achievements and performance in the 400-meter event in recent years have actually brought enough reflection to the leaders of the sports system. It's just that before this time, no one could find a suitable opportunity to solve this problem.
And now, the emergence of Su Yu has brought new changes and hope to the 400m event. Athletes like Lin Zekai, who were born and raised and struggled in the 400m event, also make people see the future and dawn of 400m athletes besides Su Yu.
To put it bluntly, even Lin Zekai's previous poor rhythm was reversed by the national team, and he made it to the final of the Asian Championships, running a time of 45.93 seconds.
Then...after watching this, wouldn’t contestants like Zhang Mingliang and Li Mingzhou be tempted?
Do they really hope that their achievements will not change at all, and finally sink into ruin with these achievements and retire silently?
Liu Yu believed that even a veteran like Li Mingzhou would not think this way, and he would definitely hope that he could retire with better results.
With this thought in mind, Liu Yu contacted everyone he could before finally hanging up the phone.
That’s it. Next, it depends on the leaders of the General Administration of Sports, the Track and Field Administration Center, and the national team, whether they really want to save the 400-meter event!
***
That night, after Su Yu returned to the official hotel, he thought about it and decided to honestly repeat to Pei Dingshan what he and Lin Zekai said when they were interviewed by Liu Yu.
Finally, he asked Pei Dingshan: "Coach, do you think I was wrong?"
Pei Dingshan didn't expect Su Yu to say this during the interview, but while he was surprised, he had already raised his hand to touch Su Yu's head, and said seriously to the kid who had just won a breakthrough and glory for the Chinese team in the men's 400m sprint at the Asian Championships tonight: "You are right."
Aren’t Su Yu’s thoughts the same as his thoughts?
He once wanted to try to promote changes in the 400-meter event, but compared with the 100-meter and 200-meter events, the 400-meter event seemed to have some long-standing problems that were difficult to change. Moreover, Su Yu was already busy popularizing and promoting some training techniques and scientific training methods for the 100-meter and 200-meter events, so he did not have the extra energy to try to promote the 400-meter event for the time being.
He thought that if he had enough ability and energy one day, he would not be willing to watch the 400 meters continue to rot to the core.
So after thinking about it, he said to Su Yu: "Go to sleep and have a good rest. There are 200m preliminaries and semi-finals waiting for you tomorrow. Your answer to the interview tonight was correct."
Su Yu saw Pei Dingshan's intention to comfort him, but he also believed that he was not wrong, so he nodded seriously, then lay down and fell asleep.
However, after Su Yu lay down and fell asleep, Pei Dingshan received many messages from various parties on WeChat, all about the issue that Su Yu was interviewed about tonight.
Pei Dingshan saw that the most common comment about Su Yu was - he is a good kid, you have brought in a good player.
It's either irony or a straightforward compliment.
This is an acknowledgement of Su Yu's attitude, his thoughts and expressions, as well as an acknowledgement of Su Yu's character as a contestant. After all, not everyone is willing to burst the abscess while winning after seeing such a problem. This requires enough courage and determination.
Pei Dingshan looked at Su Yu who was sleeping soundly on the bed by the window not far away. The sleeping child looked quiet and beautiful under the moonlight shining through the curtains.
He thought, yes, he did bring a good player.
He was glad that he had made a decisive choice during the summer camp of the S Province Sports Team. He thought that this was one of the best choices he had made in his life so far.
While Pei Dingshan was thinking this, he received a message from his uncle Pei Yongsheng on WeChat:
Pei Yongsheng: [We held an emergency meeting here in China late at night. We all think that what Su Yu and Lin Zekai said is very right, so Liu Yu’s interview will be released as usual tomorrow - it’s time to cut off the roots and be reborn while the roots of the 400 meters are not rotten! 】
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