After having dinner with his family, Bai Yu did not return to the Olympic Village, but stayed at his father's place instead.
He didn't leave until early the next morning and returned to the Olympic Village. After changing his clothes, he followed Coach Li and others to the stadium.
On the 1st, Bai Yu didn't have any new matches, so he could take a short rest and recover from his injuries.
Although Bai Yu broke a new record in yesterday's match, it was also extremely taxing on him, and he performed beyond his usual level.
The main issue is that Bai Yu himself is unsure whether he will participate in the next Olympic Games. If this is his last, he hopes to leave a significant mark on Olympic history.
After all, in Bai Yu's initial thoughts, being an athlete was not the first choice, especially after Tongzi Ge came along, being an athlete was even less of a first choice.
The reason he still does this is simply because it's a quick way to make money. A large portion of the cost of Bai Yu's first fishing boat came from the prize money from the competition.
Bai Yu is a man of principle. Since he has entered this industry and with the help of Brother Tongzi, he has the potential to win various competitions and refresh people's understanding of yellow people, so why wouldn't he do it?
Although he improved his talent with the help of Brother Tongzi, it's possible that in the future, people of Asian descent may never be able to achieve such results again.
However, as long as we leave a mark on the history of track and field as people of Asian descent and Chinese people, Bai Yu feels it is still very worthwhile.
And then he ran for five years, from the end of the last Olympic Games to the beginning of this one.
Because of this success, Bai Yu not only achieved a Grand Slam, but also gained a huge boost in his popularity on the Internet.
Last night, after finishing the 10,000-meter race, it was already 9 p.m. At that time, many young people would not be watching the Olympic Games live.
While there were quite a few news clips released and many people saw them, the proportion was actually not very large compared to the total population of our country.
However, after a night of fermentation, and with extensive reposting and promotion by various news media outlets and individual social media accounts,
This morning, the buzz surrounding Bai Yu's victory reached its peak.
In particular, Bai Yu posted a plan on his personal account before the competition, expressing his confidence in the competition and outlining his marriage proposal plans after the competition.
The entire competition process, how Bai Yu won the championship with an overwhelming score, the enthusiastic response from the audience, the entire proposal process, and all the videos were compiled together.
Bai Yu's account experienced a massive surge in popularity, a truly significant one.
Before coming to the UK to participate in the Olympics, Bai Yu's personal account had more than 76 million followers. After he won the championship, his account had already exceeded 80 million followers by midnight that night.
After midnight, a video that their company had worked overtime to record and edit in advance, as well as film and edit on-site, was released.
After a night of fermentation, the video had already received over ten million likes, and Bai Yu gained over ten million followers overnight, jumping from eighty million to ninety million.
And this wasn't the end. When Bai Yu arrived at the competition venue and found Li Shuang, the latter had already told him the news: his fan base was still steadily increasing.
The main reason is that Bai Yu won the championship, broke the world record, and achieved the Grand Slam, becoming the first Asian to achieve a Grand Slam in long-distance running. All these titles combined generate a lot of buzz.
According to some relevant people's assessments, the popularity and influence that Bai Yu has generated is no less than that of Liu Xiang winning the Grand Slam.
Moreover, Bai Yu doesn't only have one project this time; he has two more projects that haven't even started yet.
Most importantly, Bai Yu is only one Olympic gold medal away from achieving a Grand Slam in her other two events.
Bai Yu's achievements are truly astounding; you won't believe it until you dig deeper, and the more you dig, the more frightening it becomes.
Some even trace Bai Yu's career back to his first competition in China, from city high school champion to provincial high school champion, provincial high school champion, national university champion, national youth champion, national champion, global university champion, Asian Championship champion, Asian Games champion, World Cup champion, IAAF Diamond League champion, IAAF Invitational Tournament champion, and so on.
With all these titles combined, many netizens wondered if they hadn't been connected to the internet before, wondering how they could have won so many competitions they had never heard of before.
This is why, as more and more of Bai Yu's identity and experiences are revealed, the sense of shock and the level of attention it generates increase.
Even the official Douyin (TikTok) platform is fueling this movement, pushing massive amounts of traffic to videos about Bai Yu.
The more Douyin officially promotes it, the more people share it, and the higher the popularity of Bai Yu becomes, as if it has fallen into a cycle.
Actually, this can't be blamed on Douyin's official channels. The main reason is that Bai Yu currently only has accounts on two platforms: Douyin and his competitor, Kuaishou.
Every video Bai Yu posts is simultaneously released on both platforms.
Although Bai Yu's videos are mainly focused on Douyin, his total number of followers on Kuaishou has already exceeded 100 million.
Although Bai Yu has never streamed on either platform or accepted any advertisements, this account has not brought any benefits to either platform.
However, neither of these two companies dared to arbitrarily limit Bai Yu's traffic or suppress him in any way, mainly because he treated everyone equally, and neither side benefited from it.
If either of these two platforms were to suppress him, they would genuinely fear that it would push Bai Yu completely to the opponent's side, at which point they would suffer a greater loss than gain.
That's why, when Bai Yu won the championship and made history, both sides gave Bai Yu more exposure at the same time, and they were even competing with each other to see who was better.
Bai Yu had a brief chat with Li Shuang, but before he could finish, Coach Li called him away, saying there was an interview waiting for him.
After winning the championship yesterday, Bai Yu's interview was very perfunctory. The reporters, seeing that Bai Yu had just won the championship and had just successfully proposed to his wife, wisely did not bother him too much.
But it's already the next day, and he can't avoid what's coming, so he might as well just accept the interview honestly.
Bai Yu then followed Coach Li and found a large group of reporters inside the stadium. These reporters included people from our country and people from other countries, numbering more than a dozen.
If a passerby who was unaware of the situation saw this scene, they might think that a press conference was about to be held.
After all, where reporters appear, there can't be just one reporter; there must be at least one cameraman. If there are more than ten reporters, there are more than ten cameramen—a huge group of people.
Then the interview session began. The first question was asked by our own reporter, who immediately asked Bai Yu how her night was.
Bai Yu naturally answered the questions she could.
Otherwise, you could have Bai Yu tell them what he ate and what drinks he had last night.
The interview lasted for half an hour, with questions ranging from Bai Yu's training methods and the strategies he adopted in the competition, to his expectations for the next two events and whether he could set new records.
Just as Bai Yu finished the interview and was about to catch his breath, Coach Li told him something else.
"Xiaoyu, you've now become a Grand Slam champion, and the number one long-distance runner in our country. You've achieved great success."
Since you won the championship last night, I've received calls from multiple brands wanting to collaborate with you and have you as their spokesperson. I'm wondering what your thoughts are on that.
"Hmm? Another endorsement offer? What kind of price are they offering? I'm a Grand Slam winner now, I can't keep offering the same low prices as before."
The reason Bai Yu hadn't accepted endorsement deals before was mainly because the prices offered by various domestic brands weren't high enough.
Although he was a world champion, there aren't many people in China who follow long-distance running, so his endorsement fees are naturally not very high. The highest price offered by a brand was eight million a year, and it had to be exclusive.
"Absolutely. I currently have three sports brands approaching me. The lowest offer is ten million a year, and the highest is twenty million a year."
"Wow, the endorsement fees for shooting commercials are really high! The highest is 20 million a year. If you add a little more, it's enough for me to buy a ship."
Wow, these people are really rich. But I'm not in a hurry. Coach, wait until the Olympics are over before giving them a reply. Just tell them I'm busy with the competition right now.
Once I win three gold medals and achieve three Grand Slams, do you believe my endorsement fee will increase even further?
Also, you should talk to the leaders in the team and tell them not to rush to agree as soon as they see money. I know that our track and field team is not valued by the higher-ups and does not have much funding. We urgently need endorsements to supplement our income.
But can't we take a longer-term view? Once I win three Grand Slams, I'll maximize his value. The more I earn then, the higher the team's share will be.
Looking at Coach Li's excited expression, Bai Yu didn't need to think much to guess that Coach Li was very satisfied with the advertising fees offered by these brands.
However, Bai Yu was not satisfied. Twenty million a year was indeed not low, but for some popular celebrities, twenty million a year was just a starting price. His high price was much more than that.
It's important to understand that these celebrities, at most, have a higher level of popularity and recognition in China, yet they can command such high endorsement fees.
Although Bai Yu is not a celebrity now, his global fame is in no way inferior to that of any international star.
Although its popularity won't last very long, that's exactly what the brand wants – a period of hype.
Moreover, the brands that approached Bai Yu to have him endorse their products must be sporting goods brands, which are a perfect match for Bai Yu's identity.
In this situation, signing an exclusive endorsement deal for 20 million a year is really not high. If he wins two more championships and achieves a triple Grand Slam, he is confident that he can negotiate the endorsement fee to 50 million a year.
Therefore, Bai Yu is not in a hurry about this matter, just as he was not in a hurry to accept advertisements before. He does not want to waste his own value.
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