IBABS Chapter 69.2 — Japan Invitational 60m Heats & Final

This was Su Zhe’s first official indoor competition. The narrow, somewhat crowded track and the foam wall that seemed just a step away made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Standing in lane three, he could feel the oppressive presence of Bellman in lane two, whose tall, muscular build made the tight space feel even more confined, as if a collision might happen at any moment.

This indoor invitational was again being broadcast by Fuji TV, with Ishida Ippei from Fuji TV handling the commentary.

As the athletes entered their final preparation phase, Ishida Ippei completed his brief introduction of each competitor, saving time at the end for separate comments about Minamiyama Yuki and Su Zhe.

He remarked excitedly, “Here it is! The showdown I’ve been waiting for! After the 4x100m race at the World Championships, Minamiyama-kun and Su are once again on the same track! Although it’s just a preliminary heat, who will emerge victorious? Will it be our humble, cool-headed, once-in-a-century sprint king Minamiyama-kun? Or will it be the beautiful and agile snow leopard youth from China, Su?! Let’s watch and find out!!!”

As Ishida Ippei’s commentary trailed off, the assistant starter¹ beside the track signaled to the athletes that the competition was about to begin!

All the athletes crouched on their starting blocks, waiting for the starter’s commands.

“On your marks.”

At the starter’s voice, everyone assumed their ready positions. Su Zhe focused completely, taking the starting posture he had practiced throughout winter training.

“Set.”

At the “set” command, everyone remained perfectly still, waiting for the final starting gun – “Bang!”

The moment the gun fired, the athletes on all eight lanes burst forward simultaneously!

The race had begun!

The previously quiet spectator stands erupted with cheers as the audience shouted encouragement for the athletes on the track.

“Jiayou! Jiayou!!”

At the first instant of hearing the gun, Su Zhe executed with maximum speed the series of movements from leg drive, limb extension, to pushing off from the starting blocks.

Perhaps because it was winter, when all athletes are at their seasonal low point in competitive form, none of the eight competitors except Su Zhe had a reaction time under 0.145 seconds. With just a 0.143-second reaction time, Su Zhe claimed the first position in gun response.

After pushing off from the starting blocks, Su Zhe began to transition into acceleration at his maximum speed. Although he was still in the adaptation phase, his adjusted starting position had indeed provided a more effective angle and utilization efficiency for his explosive power during the start. He felt different sensations compared to his previous form as he gradually raised his body from the forward-leaning position and accelerated.

All of this allowed him to better utilize the explosive power at the start, making it easier and more effective for him to complete his acceleration process after entering the acceleration phase.

On the track, Su Zhe ran forward with quick, powerful strides. Within the first 13 meters, he had already completed his initial acceleration. Then, as his body position changed, he gradually increased his stride length, with stronger and more powerful ground contact propelling him into his maximum acceleration state!

“Ohhh!” In the commentary booth, Ishida Ippei exclaimed, “They’re neck and neck! Minamiyama-kun and Su are side by side in the starting phase! Now Minamiyama-kun is slightly ahead!”

In the stands, although the cheers for Minamiyama Yuki were louder, the support for Su Zhe was also strong, surprisingly so for a competition held on Japanese home ground.

“Jiayou!! Su!!!”

On the track, Su Zhe and Minamiyama Yuki were the two dominant figures on this narrow course. Although Minamiyama’s reaction to the gun was slightly slower than Su Zhe’s, his explosive power and starting acceleration were still marginally better. After briefly trailing, Minamiyama overtook Su Zhe with his superior starting acceleration ability.

Su Zhe keenly noticed Minamiyama’s move to pass him. Although his starting acceleration had improved since the World Championships, his training results hadn’t truly materialized yet.

Currently, the stage where he could best display his greatest advantage remained the final 30 meters of a 100m race. His speed now, while far superior to average competitors, was still slightly inferior compared to strong opponents like Minamiyama Yuki. Additionally, considering this was just a preliminary heat, Su Zhe subconsciously controlled his exertion, and did not fully consume his energy at this stage.

The runners behind had already formed a clear gap from Minamiyama and Su Zhe. Although they were still accelerating forward with their best effort, catching up to the front two had become nearly impossible.

Su Zhe and Minamiyama didn’t leave them any opportunity.

After completing their acceleration, both Su Zhe and Minamiyama entered their mid-race rhythm to maintain top speed. The two seemed to develop a trace of unspoken coordination on the track, with similarities in both running and arm-swinging rhythms.

Behind Su Zhe, Bellman was struggling to gradually close the gap, but before he could truly approach and overtake Su Zhe, the brief 60m track had already reached its final sprint stage.

Su Zhe’s center of gravity tilted slightly forward as he entered sprint state. The power he had been conserving began to release in the final sprint phase, helping him rush quickly across the finish line at the 60m mark.

To Su Zhe’s right, Minamiyama Yuki in lane five crossed the finish line slightly ahead of him.

After these two crossed the track, the runners behind also crossed the line one after another. Everyone, after about ten meters of deceleration, crashed into the cushioning foam wall at the edge of the track and was bounced back onto the ground.

In the commentary booth, Ishida Ippei commented admiringly, “The final result is in! Minamiyama-kun still holds the edge, while Su remains very strong, crossing the finish line with his agile stride almost simultaneously with Minamiyama-kun! However, it’s clear that neither Minamiyama-kun nor Su were giving their all in this preliminary heat. They’ve both reserved some strength and did not fight with full power!”

Ishida Ippei truly deserved his reputation as Fuji TV’s top athletics commentator. His sharp eye noticed that neither Minamiyama Yuki nor Su Zhe intended to sprint with all their might in the preliminary heat.

After crashing into the foam wall and bouncing back to the ground, Su Zhe rubbed his head in slight confusion, then turned to see Minamiyama Yuki’s extended hand. He took Minamiyama’s hand and shook his head, still a bit dazed.

This was his first experience of hitting a foam wall after sprinting sixty meters at high speed. It was quite a thrilling sensation.

“Thanks,” he said once the dizziness faded.

The results of this preliminary heat, after being compiled by the finish judges, were quickly delivered to Ishida Ippei.

“Hmm, the preliminary results have been submitted. Let’s take a look at the athletes’ performances!” Ishida Ippei looked at the data on the monitor and announced one by one, “First is our Minamiyama-kun with 6.73 seconds, then in second place, Su from China with 6.78 seconds, third place, Javier from Iran with 7.09 seconds…”

Just as Ishida Ippei said, during the preliminaries, neither Minamiyama Yuki nor Su Zhe had gone all out. These times were normal average for the 60m event.

Nevertheless, Ishida Ippei was full of praise for Minamiyama Yuki and Su Zhe’s performances. With the slow-motion replay of the race showing on screen, Ishida Ippei gave a simple analysis of the entire preliminary race.

“Look! Among all the competitors, Su has the sharpest reaction to the starting gun. He truly is like an agile and nimble snow leopard, possessing superhuman reflexes! In the initial phase, he had the biggest advantage over everyone! But our Minamiyama is also a powerhouse with absolute explosive strength. During acceleration, he quickly managed to overtake by utilizing his explosive power and excellent acceleration ability! Oh, what a breathtaking moment!”

“Although neither athlete gave their full effort, they still delivered an exciting moment for us!”

“Of course,” Ishida Ippei said with anticipation, “what I most want to see now is the final race, when Minamiyama-kun and the beautiful, agile snow leopard boy both unleash their full power. When all the strongest competitors gather together, what kind of amazing battle for supremacy will it be? Let’s wait and see!”

Without a doubt, in Ishida Ippei’s mind, both Minamiyama Yuki and Su Zhe possessed the ability to easily overcome the semi-final obstacle. He had no doubt about their qualification for the finals.

The 60m preliminaries that morning concluded quickly. From the Chinese team, both Su Zhe and Zhao Zhixuan successfully advanced to the semi-finals. Meng Hao, due to his slightly slow reaction to the starting gun and being in a competitive slump, did not perform as well as expected.

On the Japanese team, Shiraishi Shota’s muscle strain had not fully healed, which ultimately affected his condition. He also failed to advance to the semi-finals.

At 5:20 that afternoon, the men’s 60m semi-finals started. A total of 24 people divided into 3 groups participated in the semi-finals. Su Zhe competed against familiar strong competitors like Takeshita Hiroaki, Andrew, and Mohsan, but none of them posed any real challenge to him.

While maintaining his position as having the fastest reaction time to the starting gun, Su Zhe easily took first place in the semi-finals with a time of 6.68 seconds. Judging from his posture during the race, his condition seemed even more relaxed than during the preliminaries.

After the men’s 60m preliminaries and semi-finals on the first day, in the final lineup, the Japanese and Chinese teams each secured two spots. The remaining spots were divided among Mohsan from Iran, Norman from Bahrain, Faisal from Saudi Arabia, and others.

After completing the day’s competition and returning to the reception hotel in Japan, Zhao Zhixuan noticed that Su Zhe seemed to be frowning and thinking about something, as if troubled by something.

“What’s wrong?” Zhao Zhixuan patted Su Zhe’s shoulder.