IBABS Chapter 51

He did it!

Su Yinsheng sat in the competitors’ area with his fists clenched tightly, watching Su Zhe celebrating at the finish line with raised fists. He couldn’t help the slight redness in his eyes as moisture welled up at the corners.

He did it.

He achieved his goal and fulfilled his one-sided, stubborn desire to share the burden of glory that weighed on Chen Zhi.

Thinking about this, Su Yinsheng finally couldn’t help wiping away the tears of excitement from his eyes.

Before the end of the World Championships training camp, or even before today, he never imagined Su Zhe could actually run under 10.05 seconds during the Olympic qualification period.

The time after the Provincial Games ended was his most difficult period. His beloved disciple Chen Zhi had been injured due to rushing his training. After recovering from the injury, no one knew what kind of condition he would be in, or whether he could meet the Olympic qualifying standard of 10.05 seconds in time.

As the leading figure among domestic sprinters, Chen Zhi’s injury immediately caused a magnitude 10 earthquake in China’s track and field circle – the once almost-guaranteed qualification for the men’s 100-meter sprint was now uncertain.

What was the state of the 100-meter event domestically at that time? Among all male 100-meter sprinters in the country, including Su Zhe after the Provincial Games, only 6 people could run under 10.20 seconds.

The World Championships qualification required running under 10.10 seconds.

The Tokyo Olympics qualification required running under 10.05 seconds.

These two major competitions had the most stringent qualifying standards in history.

And at that time, Chen Zhi was the only person in the country who had ever run under 10.10 seconds.

As the strongest runner not only in China but throughout Asia, Chen Zhi was known throughout Asian sporting circles as “the pride of the yellow race.” In Asian sprint events gradually dominated by naturalized athletes, Chen Zhi was the only one who could overpower these naturalized competitors and reclaim the Asian record from them.

At the 2017 Asian Championships, the then 26-year-old Chen Zhi overwhelmed all naturalized athletes, breaking the Asian record with a time of 9.90 seconds and becoming the king standing at the peak of Asian sprinting.

That battle marked Chen Zhi’s historical peak, and although he tried countless times afterward to surpass his own record, he never succeeded.

In subsequent training and competitions, Chen Zhi could still occasionally break the 10-second barrier, but he remained a certain distance from breaking his personal best.

To overcome his bottleneck and peak, after discussions with the foreign coach hired by the national team and the coaching staff, he resolutely chose to follow the foreign coach’s plan to adjust his mature but difficult-to-improve technical habits.

The process of technical adjustment was difficult and tortuous. To fully commit to training and complete his technical transformation as quickly as possible, he temporarily withdrew from all competitions until just before the World Championships opened and the Tokyo Olympic standards were officially announced.

The responsibility and pressure from the Track and Field Administration Center, the national team, and even the entire track and field community, along with the eager expectations from fans – all these factors began to pour down on Chen Zhi, especially when no new athletes could hold up the men’s 100-meter sprint in China.

His sense of responsibility and mission as an athlete led him to persistently request increased training intensity.

In the end, this tremendous pressure caused Chen Zhi, who had already accumulated many injuries from years of training, to break down again.

It could be said that the day Xu Zhi announced Chen Zhi’s injury was a gray day for China’s track and field community.

As the gold medal coach for the domestic men’s sprint program, Su Yinsheng soon received inquiries from the Track and Field Administration Center after that day – besides Chen Zhi, who else had hope of running under 10.10 seconds?

At that time, everyone at the Administration Center was filled with urgency.

But how could this be easy?

Even without Chen Zhi’s injury, the Administration Center had been keeping an eye on domestic sprinters for years, but it was really too difficult.

Chen Zhi’s ability, compared to all other domestic athletes, was on an entirely different level.

At that time, the only person Su Yinsheng believed might reach Chen Zhi’s level was Zhao Zhixuan, but although Zhao Zhixuan’s performance was improving rapidly, he was still far from being able to replace Chen Zhi.

In fact, although the Administration Center had been screening key domestic sprinters during that period, they were just doing their best and leaving the rest to fate. Everyone was in a state of gloom then, and they had even prepared for the possibility that no one would meet the Tokyo Olympic qualifying standard.

Back then, Su Zhe had just returned to the sports world.

During the trending topic #Get Su Zhe Out of the Sports Circle#, he was still someone everyone attacked, and no one believed that he, who had just returned to sports, was qualified to stand on the Provincial Games field.

Until he silenced everyone with his record-breaking victory.

And that guy who had just run a 10.18 was trying to share the burden for the nation’s top athlete because he was worried about Chen Zhi.

Su Yinsheng still remembered asking him – “Do you know how many people spend their entire lives unable to cross the gap between 10.18 and 10.05 seconds?”

How much time had passed since then?

He even remembered what this unfortunate kid looked like when his psychological state was unbalanced after his injury.

And now…

Su Yinsheng leaned back against his seat at the venue, watching the jubilant atmosphere around him, and let out a long breath.

In China, at the Track and Field Administration Center meeting room.

On the first day of the World Championships, from Director Sun Zhihai down to ordinary staff members, no one at the Track and Field Administration Center could calmly leave work on time.

Everyone voluntarily stayed until late night, gathering together in the conference room to follow the key events of the day through the sports channel’s World Championships livestream.

At 11 PM, when Su Zhe crossed the finish line in first place in the third heat of the preliminaries, the meeting room erupted with excited cheers from everyone!

Zheng Wensheng, who was at the venue, sent back real-time information – Su Zhe had advanced by finishing first in his preliminary group.

Just this good news was enough to make everyone cheer excitedly.

No one expected that the real surprise was still to come.

While Sun Zhihai and Chen Guangzhi were happily congratulating each other and praising Su Zhe’s excellent condition, the on-site commentator began announcing the results for the third preliminary heat.

When Su Zhe’s time of 10.05 seconds was announced by the commentator, the previously enthusiastic and excited meeting room suddenly fell into complete silence.

Everyone looked at the livestream screen with disbelief.

“Gulp.”

Someone swallowed hard, staring at the result displayed on the screen – Su Zhe (China): 10.05 seconds (+0.6).

…10.05 seconds?

Damn, was it really 10.05 seconds?

“Is that… the Olympic qualifying standard?”

Someone tentatively asked this question, and immediately afterward, Sun Zhihai and Chen Guangzhi both jumped to their feet, staring intently at the livestream screen.

“Holy shit!!! It’s really the fucking Olympic qualifying standard! Su Zhe ran under the Olympic qualifying standard!!!”

Instantly, the meeting room exploded with noise ten times, a hundred times louder than before!

Every person present was so excited their faces turned red. Even Sun Zhihai and Chen Guangzhi could barely contain their excitement, their voices choked with emotion.

“Good, good…! Su Zhe, well done!”

Sun Zhihai repeatedly praised Su Zhe, but his excited state of mind left him unable to think of more elaborate compliments, so he just kept repeating the same praise over and over.

The ecstatic atmosphere and mood infected everyone present. Only after a long while did the staff member responsible for media information remember that they should immediately announce this important good news!

Not only the Track and Field Administration Center, but at this very moment, everyone in sports circle who was following the track and field events had been shocked by this news.

As the sports channel’s on-site reporter dispatched to the capital of Country D, Xu Zhi immediately transmitted on-site photos and an urgently written press release back to China after getting the first-hand information.

After seeing the news brief, the domestic on-duty editor at the sports channel made a decisive call, sending it directly to the official social media staff for immediate publication.

Sports Channel Official Weibo: [#Country D World Athletics# On the first day of the World Athletics Championships, in the men’s 100-meter preliminary race, Su Zhe easily took first place in the third preliminary heat with a time of 10.05 seconds (+0.6), winning a precious Tokyo Olympic men’s 100-meter qualification for our country! #Su Zhe First In World Championships Prelims# #Su Zhe Qualifies For Tokyo Olympic Men’s 100 Meters#]

Along with this Weibo news brief, Xu Zhi’s more detailed report from the scene was also released, but after this news brief was posted, everyone who saw the news momentarily had no interest in paying attention to anything more.

On the Track and Field Kingdom forum, it was already boiling with excitement.

Those on the forum were sports enthusiasts who cared about track and field events, so they naturally wouldn’t miss the grand opening of the World Championships.

Originally, before the men’s 100-meter preliminaries began, many enthusiasts were posting discussions on the forum.

[Discussion: Can Su Zhe advance to the semifinals tonight? I think it’s a bit uncertain…]

Floor¹ 1: [It depends on his condition. He ran 10.12 seconds during previous training tests, which is pretty good. If he can maintain this form during the competition, as long as he achieves this time, he has a good chance to enter the semifinals.]

Floor 2: [This is only his second world-class competition and it’s at the World Championships level… I just hope he doesn’t panic.]

Floor 5: [Say what you will, but since his debut, Zhe-shao’s form has been extremely stable, with minimal fluctuations in his results. If this isn’t because he’s competed too rarely and there’s insufficient reference data, then I’m quite optimistic about him advancing to the semifinals in this competition.]

Floor 10: [Don’t be too optimistic. The World Championships field is full of strong competitors. Even in the preliminaries, how could it be easy to get through? I’m actually a bit worried…]

The discussion threads from not long ago were still fresh in memory, but when everyone returned from the sports channel’s live broadcast, all previous discussion threads were buried in the corners by various celebratory posts.

[Damn damn damn damn damn! Long live Zhe-shao!!! The men’s 100-meter Olympic qualification is secured!]

[I got so excited I almost smashed my display screen. Damn, Zhe-shao is awesome!!!!]

[Late at night, I, a grown man, got misty-eyed at home, and my wife asked what happened… Someone has taken up the banner of the 100-meter event again, I’m so excited! Zhe-shao is awesome!!!]

[My mom asked why I was watching the competition on my knees. It’s because there’s an awesome boss in the race, and only by dropping to my knees can I show my respect and sincerity…]

On Weibo, sports enthusiasts were already in the midst of wild celebration.

The topic #Su Zhe Qualifies For Tokyo Olympic Men’s 100 Meters# shot up the trending list at lightning speed, pushed by track and field fans, and showed no signs of slowing down.

Various influential accounts forwarded the Sports Channel’s news, with a celebratory atmosphere that felt like a New Year’s festival.

As Su Zhe’s number one devoted fan, Teacher² Tao Sheng posted 10 consecutive Weibo messages after the race ended, each one displaying his uncontrollable excitement.

[Su Zhe advances to semifinals in first place! Well done!!!]

[!!! 10.05 seconds?!!!]

[Su Zhe ran 10.05 in the World Championships preliminaries!! Did he secure Tokyo Olympic qualification?!!!]

…
……

[I can’t believe it… I’m still so excited that I feel a bit dazed, as if I’m dreaming…]

[I pinched myself hard and confirmed I’m not dreaming… The men’s 100-meter Olympic qualification is secured! Su Zhe has created a miracle!!]

After posting 10 consecutive Weibo messages, Tao Sheng finally forced himself to calm down, but after struggling to organize his thoughts for a while, he found that besides cheering for Su Zhe, he couldn’t muster any cool-headed analysis of the race performance.

In the end, Tao Sheng still posted a Weibo message that seemed like rainbow fart³: [I won’t be able to sleep tonight! Since Chen Zhi’s injury, the gloom hanging over the men’s 100-meter sprint event has finally been blown away by a fierce wind. In just a few months, @Su Zhe has grown from an overlooked athlete to become a new standard-bearer in the men’s 100-meter event! Thank you for being here, your arrival must be a miracle bestowed upon us by heaven!]

Not a single sports enthusiast found this flattering Weibo post distasteful. Everyone enthusiastically shared all content from sports influencers related to Su Zhe’s preliminary race, celebrating wildly on Weibo with joy.

This is wonderful.

Everyone shared the same feeling in their hearts.

Even casual spectators who only started following the World Championships because of the Sports Channel broadcast joined in the celebration, driven by the sports enthusiasts.

If there were still people who didn’t know the importance of the World Championships in track and field events, then Su Zhe securing Olympic qualification was a national celebration that even bystanders couldn’t help but admire.

Just as everyone was cheering, the Pear public account published a brand new piece by Zhuo Siming.

[#Entertainment Circle Welcomes Su Zhe Back# #Get Su Zhe Out of the Sports Circle# From nationwide contempt to national hero, on Su Zhe’s path to becoming a champion, did you contribute any obstacles?]

The article delved into the verbal abuse incident that had swept the nation, detailing how the sports community had rejected Su Zhe. Its progressive analysis was so thorough that everyone reading the public account’s content could feel just how unwelcoming the sports world had been toward Su Zhe at the time.

Afterward, Zhuo Siming further marked out all the previous difficulties faced by men’s 100-meter sprint in the track and field circle, with special emphasis placed on Chen Zhi’s injury.

Then, each of Su Zhe’s competitions and every bit of progress he made were clearly listed by Zhuo Siming.

Competitions, competing while injured, earning two qualification spots for the World Championships; Training, being suddenly drafted into the 4×100 meter relay team, becoming an unexpected core member of the relay team.

Each and every incident made people’s blood boil with excitement, unable to help but marvel at Su Zhe’s genius and strength.

Finally, the timeline shifted to tonight, when Su Zhe, by his own efforts, advanced from the preliminary group in first place at the World Championships and secured his qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.

Su Zhe’s short athletic career alone was enough to be called legendary.

Many casual followers who read Zhuo Siming’s article felt their blood rushing to their heads – what kind of divine figure was this? True genius was really breathtaking.

And after seeing the topic attached to the Pear public account, these followers burst into laughter.

[Hahaha, what the hell? The entertainment industry welcomes Su Zhe back? Your topic is too daring! But you’re right, if Su Zhe wants to return to the entertainment industry, I’d welcome him with both hands and feet raised!]

Obviously, the contrast between these two topics was actually the typical belittling tactic used in the entertainment industry. The only difference was that this time, the objects being compared were the massive sports and entertainment circles, but the core spirit of the operation remained the same.

Various casual followers and big influencers from the entertainment industry also laughed themselves after seeing this news. In the spirit of entertainment, they all reposted to boost the topic’s popularity.

As a result, after #Su Zhe Qualifies For Tokyo Olympics Men’s 100 Meters# rushed into the top ten trending topics, #Entertainment Circle Welcomes Su Zhe Back# and #Get Su Zhe Out of the Sports Circle# followed closely behind, climbing to the top thirty positions on the trending list.

This wave of trending topics, sparked by Su Zhe’s qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, completely exploded across Weibo.

After seeing Zhuo Siming’s article and headline, professionals couldn’t help but admire his unique perspective – using entertainment industry thinking to write about a sports news hotspot. Even more brilliantly, the subject was now a rising star in the sports world who had indeed previously come from the entertainment industry.

Whether it was the subject, the angle, or the exquisite writing technique, Zhuo Siming’s article was already quite perfect. With just two articles about Su Zhe, Zhuo Siming had firmly established himself at the Pear public account editorial department and even received a large bonus.

The carnival of entertainment gossip topics naturally quickly spread back to the sports circle through tags from casual followers.

Although people in the sports circle understood that these topics received so much attention and sharing merely for their entertainment value, could sports fans’ attitudes be diminished because of this?

Certainly not!

What would happen if Su Zhe saw that topic inviting him back to the entertainment industry when he returned, and he actually became interested?

After someone raised this dangerous hypothesis, sports fans began spreading the word and flooding other Su Zhe-related topics, determined to bury both “Entertainment Circle Welcomes Su Zhe Back” and “Get Su Zhe Out of the Sports Circle” until nothing remained.

The uproar on China’s internet had little to do with Su Zhe, who was currently in Country D.

After confirming his time was 10.05 seconds, Su Zhe finally pumped both fists in the air, celebrating his success.

He had dreamed countless times over these past few months about meeting the Olympic qualifying standard.

Even with the system’s help, he experienced many setbacks on the road toward this dream. Whether on the actual training field or in the system’s training space, he used every minute of his time to the fullest.

Besides pushing himself to the limit in training, his lack of competition experience also nearly bogged him down.

Fortunately, he succeeded!

Looking toward the stands, everyone in the Chinese athletes’ section was excitedly waving to him. Looking further up, the Chinese spectators in the audience were frantically waving their small national flags. Even across that great distance, he could feel their intense pride and joy.

Taking it all in, Su Zhe couldn’t help but break into a carefree smile.

Being able to run on the track felt amazing.

Being able to represent his country, racing on the track for all his compatriots back home – it felt incredible!

At this foreign competition, lifting his head to see a sea of red always supporting him – it felt wonderful!

After friendly goodbyes with all the athletes on the field, Su Zhe left the track and headed to the Chinese athletes’ section.

When Su Yinsheng saw him, he waved and promptly handed over the phone he’d been using for a video call.

On the other end of the video, Chen Zhi was smiling at him from what was clearly a hospital rehabilitation center. Although his gentle face was smiling, his eyes were slightly red, and there seemed to be traces of tears at the corners.

Seeing Chen Zhi on video, Su Zhe’s eyes first lit up, but upon noticing that Chen Zhi hadn’t fully recovered from surgery, a hint of worry crossed his face. “Xiao Zhi-ge…”

“Why that expression? Don’t worry, my surgery was very successful.” Chen Zhi first greeted Su Zhe with a smile, then quickly grew serious. “Xiao Zhe, I just watched your race. You were amazing.”

Before Su Zhe could respond, Chen Zhi suddenly asked, “Does it feel good to chase speed on the track?”

Hearing this question, Su Zhe was momentarily stunned, then immediately understood what Chen Zhi meant.

Fourteen years of brotherly friendship meant that without explanation, Chen Zhi already understood that Su Zhe had been pursuing Olympic qualification partly with the mindset of sharing the burden of pressure.

He remembered something Chen Zhi had once told him: [“I love running. I love chasing speed. When I’m on the track, even though I carry a heavy responsibility, what I want to grab first is still that pursuit of speed in my heart.”]

He understood that Chen Zhi was worried that if he focused too much on sharing the pressure, he might forget what he was truly chasing on the track. If that happened, over time, he would lose his competitive spirit.

Looking at Chen Zhi on the other end of the video call, Su Zhe smiled and said, “Xiao Zhi-ge, don’t worry. I really enjoy the feeling of racing on the track… I still remember what you said: ‘As long as the blood runs hot, the running never stops.'”

In the video, hearing Su Zhe’s words, Chen Zhi also showed a relieved smile. “As long as the blood runs hot, the running never stops. Xiao Zhe, I’m already looking forward to the day we meet on the track.”

Seeing Chen Zhi’s confident and dazzling smile in the video call, Su Zhe also broke into a grin. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to the day we meet on the track too!”

Surely, the day they would compete against each other on the track wouldn’t be too far away!