As the starting gun fired, all the players shot off like arrows.
This time, all fifteen players on the field went all out, with the main strategy being either to crush them or to wear them down. Everyone was giving it their all.
After all, judging from today's performance, the least they've run is a 10,000-meter race, and the most they've run is a 10,000-meter preliminary race and two 5,000-meter races.
Therefore, all the players present were in different states of mind at this moment, as they had never experienced such a high-intensity competition before.
Because of this, the outcome of this match is full of unknowns, and no one knows who will ultimately win.
Bai Yu did the same. The moment the starting gun fired, he rushed out immediately and was incredibly fast, instantly taking the lead.
Behind Bai Yu was Liu Yu. Of course, Liu Yu wasn't there to compete with his senior for the championship; he knew the gap between them.
Liu Yu rushed out immediately to support his senior. As long as he was in the second position, he could restrict the players behind him.
For example, at the first bend, Liu Yu lightly applied the brakes, immediately slowing down his speed.
Liu Yu was in second place, occupying the innermost position. If he slowed down, the people behind him had to slow down as well, otherwise they would collide.
Even if you try to overtake others, your rhythm will be disrupted, and your sprint speed will be affected.
Of course, Bai Yu was unaware of what Liu Yu had done. He had not discussed these matters with Liu Yu beforehand. He was in the lead from the start of the competition, so he naturally couldn't see what was happening behind him.
Among the dozen or so contestants behind him, there were a few who were not affected. They did not follow Liu Yu from the beginning, but were slightly off-center.
So even if Liu Yu slows down, it won't affect them; they can simply pass him from the side.
Because of Liu Yu's actions, the situation on the field changed.
The first lap wasn't even finished yet, and the first and second groups had already appeared.
Bai Yu led four black men in the first echelon, while the remaining ten men, about five or six meters away, formed the second echelon.
Of the fifteen competitors in this competition, apart from Liu Yu and another junior runner, the rest are all top-notch long-distance runners.
Facing the final round of their specialty, none of these black athletes were willing to give up on the championship. They were all putting in their best effort and launching an attack on the title.
Moreover, these black guys aren't fighting alone; there are four Kenyan athletes among them.
During the second lap of the race, these four black men broke away from the second group and formed a small team to attack the first group.
At this moment, Bai Yu was still leading the way, but the gap between him and the other four old black men was not large, at most only two body lengths apart.
Such a slight lead, let alone in a 10,000-meter race, would mean being overtaken in an instant, even in some sprint events.
It wasn't that Bai Yu didn't want to shake off the people behind him, but rather that he simply couldn't.
Bai Yu chose to participate in the long-distance running event because his explosive power in a single moment is not very strong, and there is still a huge gap between him and those sprinters.
Although his short-range explosiveness is also good, how could there be any rookies among these veteran black players who have made it to the finals?
Moreover, Bai Yu is genuinely tired right now, and his explosive power has been declining, far from his peak condition.
So even if these old black guys behind him can't surpass Bai Yu, Bai Yu can't easily shake them off either.
Not to mention that the competition has only just begun, and these black guys behind us are all full of energy, making them a bit difficult to deal with.
But none of that matters. For Bai Yu, it doesn't matter whether they're chasing him from behind, as long as they don't get ahead of him, everything is fine.
Then Bai Yu competed in this state, running in first place, followed by four old black men.
One lap passed, and nothing changed on the field. Two laps passed, and three laps passed, and still nothing changed.
By the start of the fourth lap, the situation on the track had changed to four groups. Bai Yu was leading the pack with one black man, followed by seven black men forming the second group.
Liu Yu and four old black men ran in the third group, and a little notebook ran at the very back, serving as the fourth group.
Bai Yu glanced back at Lao Hei, who was still following behind her, with a completely expressionless look.
Bai Yu's original intention was to see who had such perseverance, as this was already the fourth lap and they were still following behind him.
But the black man behind him didn't think so; he felt he had been provoked.
After all, they are in a long-distance race, which is a very serious matter. How could Bai Yu have the leisure to turn around and look at him?
And this guy was looking at him while turning. What does that mean? Does it mean that even if he glances at him, it won't stop him from turning?
In that instant, the old black man was instantly fired up, unleashing his potential. He accelerated and prepared to overtake Bai Yu and become the leader.
However, as the current world number one player, how could Bai Yu possibly relinquish the leading position to her opponent?
Although he didn't know why the other party had suddenly unleashed their power at this moment, Bai Yu was determined not to let the other party have their way of trampling him underfoot.
Since he wanted to speed up, Bai Yu would speed up with him, and his speed would be even faster than his opponent's.
Then, in this chase, Bai Yu and the old black man ran four more laps. By the time Bai Yu entered the ninth lap, he was already running alone.
As for the old black man who used to compete with him, he has fallen behind, and not just from the first tier to the second tier, but directly to the third tier.
But judging from the increasingly heavy steps of that guy, the opponent is in danger this time, and it will be difficult for him to finish the race.
As for Bai Yu, he also slowed down a bit, but he had already created a huge gap between himself and the members of the second group. Even if he slowed down, the contestants behind him would not be able to catch up with him in a short time.
As the race entered the fifteenth lap, Bai Yu had already lapped the third group. Lao Hei, who had been following behind him, had long since been lapped and dropped to the fifth group.
At this moment, there were four black men and one Asian man on the sea near Baiyu. They were the four Kenyan athletes from the second team and Liu Yu. If Baiyu could surpass them, he could complete the lap of all the athletes.
By the time Bai Yu reached the seventeenth lap, he had already completed all the laps for all the competitors, and his pace was already very good, showing no signs of excessive exertion.
Instead, it gave the audience watching the game on-site and netizens online the illusion that Bai Yu seemed to be getting more and more energetic and even faster.
In fact, they did not feel anything was wrong; Bai Yu really did seem to be running more smoothly and faster as he ran.
He didn't know why, but his speed was getting faster and faster, and he didn't feel any strain at all. Instead, everything was as it should be.
As Bai Yu completed lap after lap, the atmosphere at the scene changed.
By the time they reached the twenty-third lap, all the spectators had stood up, and all they wanted to do was cheer for Bai Yu.
When Bai Yu reached the twenty-third lap, the time was only a little over twenty-two minutes, which was more than two minutes away from the world record he set.
Running three laps of 1200 meters in just over two minutes is a feat that many athletes can manage with a little effort.
But for Bai Yu now, that would be a bit difficult.
Because this 1,200 meters is the last 1,200 meters of a 10,000-meter race, and he has already run 8,800 meters before that.
It was precisely because it was so difficult that the audience cheered for Bai Yu, wanting to see if he could create this miracle.
Even if it can't be broken, it's okay, since the current world record holder is Bai Yu herself.
Moreover, this is just an invitational tournament, and even if Bai Yu breaks the record, it is highly unlikely that it will be recorded.
But that doesn't stop the audience, both online and offline, from getting excited. The person competing live right now is the world's best long-distance runner, and the result he's about to achieve will be the best in the country.
No matter how many minutes or seconds he runs, he will break the national long-distance running record.
As Bai Yu entered the twenty-fifth lap, Liu Yu appeared in front of him once more, followed by two older men.
Bai Yu is about to lap these three people twice. After lapping these two, all the contestants in the entire competition will be lapped twice by him, with the most lapped being four times.
This athlete was the same black guy who initially went head-to-head with Bai Yu. He was completely outmatched by Bai Yu, and he dropped out of the race on the eighteenth lap. Otherwise, Bai Yu could have lapped him even more times.
Bai Yu quickly rushed past Liu Yu. He didn't turn around or say anything to his junior brother, but he did give Liu Yu a thumbs up.
His junior brother is already quite good. When he first faced Lao Hei, he was able to stay close behind Lao Hei without falling behind, which is a very rare achievement.
If he can hold on for the last three laps, he might be able to fight for a top-three finish.
However, this is probably wishful thinking. Bai Yu can still see his junior brother's condition, which is that he is about to run out of energy.
It was already quite an achievement that he managed to finish the last three laps, but for the other older black runners, they would still have some energy left for the final sprint.
These black men are smart. When the race was one-fifth complete, they knew they couldn't compete for first place, so they saved their strength to compete for second place.
Liu Yu has given it his all, and his all-around performance in keeping up with the second tier is really too much to ask of him to compete for the top three.
After overtaking Liu Yu, Bai Yu then overtook the last two black men, and with his score of two laps completed, he began his assault on the finish line.
As Bai Yu got closer and closer to the finish line, the cheers from the crowd grew louder and louder, so loud that it was no exaggeration to say that they shook the heavens.
As for breaking the world record, I'd rather not think about that. Before Bai Yu even started crossing the finish line, the world record would already be behind him.
As Bai Yu crossed the finish line, the time reached twenty-five minutes. However, this time was ambiguous, leaving people unsure whether it was a little over twenty-five minutes or twenty-four minutes and fifty-eight or nine seconds.
However, apart from some professionals, no one cared about this at the moment; they were all sending their congratulations to Bai Yu.
After crossing the finish line, Bai Yu still celebrated by circling the track once, even though it was just an ordinary invitational tournament.
The celebration was mainly for taking photos with fans, since Bai Yu had just finished a match and was in a different state than before when he wasn't competing.
By the time everyone had finished the competition, five or six minutes had passed, and the results for the fifteen contestants were released.
Bai Yu ranked first with 24′59′46, and Liu Yu ranked fifth with 27′01′25.
Liu Yu's result is quite good; it's a result that qualifies him to participate in international competitions.
Unfortunately, the level of this competition was not high enough. Even if Liu Yu achieved good results in this competition, it would not be enough to qualify him for international competitions.
If he wants to compete internationally, he still needs to start domestically, then move to Asia, and finally enter world-class competitions.
That's how Bai Yu entered the international competition back then; otherwise, he would have been invited.
After the competition, the awards ceremony was held as scheduled, and Bai Yu received another medal worth 3.5 million yuan.
He won a total of seven million in prize money for this competition. After taxes, he will still receive more than five million.
He also has his own plans for using this prize money, which is to donate it.
However, this time the donation was not to an organization or an individual, but to his alma mater, Ocean University of China.
Ocean University played a significant role in ensuring the smooth running of this competition, and the expenses involved were also substantial.
Although Ocean University gained considerable recognition and served as free advertising for the school during this competition.
However, as an outstanding graduate of Ocean University, Bai Yu couldn't just leave without saying anything.
In response, Bai Yu stated that it was a donation to Ocean University of China, but not to any particular person or department within the university.
Instead, Bai Yu, on behalf of his company, signed an agreement with Haida University, under which his company would provide Haida University with 100 scholarships for impoverished students and 100 awards for outstanding students every year.
The term is ten years. If Yuxue Company exists for less than ten years, the subsequent expenses will be borne by Bai Yu personally.
One hundred poverty aid slots, plus one hundred scholarships for outstanding students, according to Bai Yu's estimate, would cost between five million and ten million yuan a year, and at most one hundred million yuan over ten years.
One hundred million is not a lot for Yuxue Company now. The real challenge is whether the company can continue operating for another ten years.
Moreover, although Bai Yu's company spent the money, they also gained something from it.
That means their company won't have to worry about talent reserves anymore; for the next ten years, the entire Ocean University will be their talent reserve base.
Especially the scholarships for 100 outstanding students every year. Do you think that after these students receive the scholarships provided by Yuxue Company, when they graduate and look for jobs, they will first consider the wealthy and powerful Yuxue Company?
Even if not all 100 people consider their company, as long as one-tenth or even one-twentieth of the students do, their company will make a profit.
Bai Yu planned to keep a low profile regarding this matter. After participating in the competition and signing the contract with the school, he returned to his apartment to rest.
However, the people at Ocean University don't think that way, especially the publicity staff, who are all born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. These are all Bai Yu's juniors!
After receiving the news from their teacher, they immediately posted it on the official account of Ocean University of China, followed by the university's official website, campus forum, and other major websites and social media platforms related to Ocean University of China.
Moreover, they don't just send messages; they also buy data traffic, and they pay for it out of their own pockets.
They won't buy trending topics, and they don't have the budget for that, but each person contributing a little traffic to push this issue to the top is no problem.
Moreover, these young people in the propaganda department are all very good at riding the wave of traffic. When they post messages on various platforms, they just jump on whatever is trending.
On Douyin, for example, their posts tagged Bai Yu's account, Yuxue Shipping Company's account, and included the hashtag for this invitational tournament.
Bai Yu's popularity needs no introduction; he's the number one influencer online. Anything involving him, no matter how small, will garner impressive viewership.
Needless to say, Yuxue Shipping Company is a top influencer in the live-streaming e-commerce industry, with annual sales figures in their live-streaming rooms being truly staggering. Placing an order with them is a sure way to make a profit.
If the product is genuine, you've made a profit; if the product is fake, you've made an even bigger profit!
Needless to say, this invitational tournament is also attracting a huge number of netizens due to its exceptionally high prize money, making it a very popular event.
Then include all this information, buy some traffic, and add the fact that it's about a major event, and the buzz surrounding it will be extremely high.
At least after Bai Yu saw the message, he took Wang Hai back to Sanya that very night, since they couldn't go to school anymore.
Otherwise, given his scholarships and grants to the younger students, if he dares to go to school tomorrow, his younger classmates will surround him and show him what true enthusiasm is.
So after Bai Yu greeted some people, he immediately took a car back to Sanya.
Even after returning to Sanya, Bai Yu was still surrounded by people when he took his wife to work the next day.
This time, however, it was his own employees who surrounded him. They had only one purpose in surrounding Bai Yu: to complain that he had graduated a little too early.
They were both students at Ocean University, so why did Bai Yu sponsor scholarships for the school after they graduated?
It's important to know that most of the employees who can work at Baiyu Company are outstanding students from Ocean University, the kind who excel in every aspect.
This is one of the advantages of being a graduate of Ocean University of China. Given Bai Yu's connection with Ocean University of China, coupled with the benefits their company can offer, outstanding students are definitely given priority in being recommended to their company.
He knew all too well what his employees were thinking: they just wanted to use the opportunity of complaining to see if they could get some benefits from Bai Yu.
In response, Bai Yu simply waved his hand and told all the employees that afternoon tea would be arranged for them. They could tell their supervisors what they wanted to eat or drink, and then the list would be compiled and sent to the logistics department for arrangements to be made that afternoon.
It's just afternoon tea, and even with some snacks, the cost won't be too high; the company paid for it.
Moreover, their company considers afternoon tea and snacks to be normal practices; they arrange these things frequently.
After achieving their goals, these employees left and returned to their respective posts to begin their day's work.
Bai Yu and Wang Hai, the only two people in the company who were not actively working, also went to the chairman's office and started watching the live stream on their computers.
Although he's back from Ocean University, we still need to keep watching the competition. Today is the last day of the competition, and once it's over, it'll be finished.
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