IBABS Chapter 76 — Public Opinion & 60m Semifinals

This year’s Indoor Championships was held domestically, and the sports channel naturally provided full live coverage.

On March 1st, the first day of competition, which happened to fall on a Sunday, many users on the Track and Field Kingdom forum who couldn’t watch the competition in person were watching the live broadcast in real time to stay updated on the latest results.

When Su Zhe crossed the finish line first with overwHilming dominance, the forum immediately erupted in celebration.

[Zhe-shao is awesome!!! I bet 5 yuan, he’s definitely making it to the finals!]

[Damn, Zhe-shao’s… winter training really paid off, huh? When he was in Japan before, he barely managed 6.60 in the finals, but this time he even held back in the last few meters and still ran 6.54???]

[I think it’s time to bet on his final ranking!]

[Any experts here? How about analyzing what time Su Zhe can run in his current condition???]

Su Zhe’s 6.54 in the preliminaries got everyone on the forum incredibly excited. His performance completely put everyone’s slightly anxious hearts at ease.

On Weibo, many casual fans were also following the first day’s competition. But compared to outdoor events, where most people knew breaking 10 seconds in the men’s 100m was impressive, most regular viewers were pretty unclear about what constituted good or bad times in the 60m event.

[#World Indoor Track and Field Championships Day 1# Su Zhe looked like he was running really easily! He quickly crushed all the other athletes in his heat, but how good is this 6.54 time exactly? Can some expert explain this for us??]

[Following for an explanation too. I looked it up and the current 60m world record is 6.34? Couldn’t really find what the national record is…]

As they say, interest breeds curiosity, and curiosity is the first step into entering any circle.

When these casual audience asked questions, it was the perfect opportunity to guide them into understanding track and field events.

Therefore, track and field enthusiasts were more than happy to answer their questions. Many track and field fans mobilized, becoming enthusiastic commentators on Weibo, answering all sorts of questions for everyone.

[Put it this way, Japan’s current men’s 60m sprint national record is 6.53. For our country, the national record is 6.45, set by the Chen Dashen two years ago at the Birmingham stop of the World Indoor Track and Field Tour. If you watched the race, you should have noticed that Su Zhe eased up a bit in the last 4 or 5 meters. Under those circumstances, running 6.54 shows he has the strength to run 6.51, 6.52, or even better times.]

[The expert above is right. Let me add another piece of data. Currently worldwide, there are fewer than 10 active athletes who can run under 6.50 in the 60m. With Zhe-shao’s current performance, I can confidently say he’s definitely locked in for the world’s top 20 ranking this year in the 60m event!]

If the first response might have made some people think “well, this time didn’t even break the national record,” the second response shocked all the casual audience.

[Wait, did I read that wrong? This is just the first competition of the year, right? This preliminary time already locks him into this year’s world top 20??? Dude, that’s not how you brag…]

[I also think it’s a bit… I admit Su Zhe is awesome, but seeing how relaxed he looked running today, it didn’t seem like his best condition, right? If this performance already locks him into this year’s world top 20, then with tonight’s and tomorrow’s semifinals and finals, are you guys expecting him to take this year’s world number one spot?]

The track and field fans originally wanted to share this data to let casual audience more directly and clearly feel how impressive Su Zhe’s performance today was. The ironic result was that it made the casual audience think they were just bragging.

Compared to the somewhat frustrated track and field fans, Su Zhe’s fans, the “Philosophers,” took a more direct approach. The big V account “Track and Field for Beginners¹” managed by the Philosopher fan group directly compiled data from the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) website, listing the top 20 performances each season from 2010 to 2019. They even included a tutorial on how to verify the data on the IAAF site, proving their sources were legit.

The IAAF records track each athlete’s single best performance per season. In the data screenshots provided by the Philosophers, the 6.54 time wouldn’t just make the world top 20, it could even occupy a top 10 spot in many annual seasons. In fact, since 2010, the number of athletes breaking 6.54 in a single season had never exceeded 20.

After this data came out, casual audience who thought they were just eating some bragging melon from track and field fans were all left completely shocked.

[??? Wait, so Su Zhe just casually ran a time that solidly puts him in the world’s top 20 this year??? Is he really that strong now?]

[People above, think about it carefully. Su Zhe made it to the finals at last year’s World Championships and finished fifth in the world! Do you guys have some misunderstanding about his strength??]

[I was also wondering why something felt off. It seems like everyone knows Su Zhe is strong, but they don’t have a clear grasp of where he stands globally. Let me put it this way: even though his PB in the 100m is 10.02 seconds, which only ranked around top 30 last season, his consistency is freakishly good. It’s absolutely rare even among elite sprinters!]

After all this explanation, the casual audience who had just casually questioned things were shocked and had their worldviews refreshed after being fed a wave of new knowledge.

[_(:з」∠)_ I’m kneeling to boss Su Zhe. I knew he was already a top domestic athlete, but I always felt like he was still a bit short of world-class level… Now seeing how easily he ran this world top 20 level performance, doesn’t that mean he’s already solidly world-class???]

[Sigh, looking at it now, it’s probably just because Su Zhe’s strength is so awesome that he made running this time look so easy, which made us think this performance was just okay… It’s actually just because he’s that strong, right?]

[I feel like we all misunderstood something before. I went back to watch the race replay, and the two athletes in his heat were really giving their all, but after reaching the finish line, they looked at Su Zhe with shock. They also seemed stunned by Su Zhe’s strength…]

Throughout the entire day, discussions about Su Zhe’s performance on Weibo never stopped, and there was even a trending topic that appeared – #How good is 6.54 in 60m#.

Countless people clicked into the topic out of curiosity, only to leave wide-eyed, while gaining a bunch of track and field knowledge.

After understanding what Su Zhe’s performance represented, the bystanders grew even more interested in the upcoming semifinals that evening.

[Can some expert analyze this? If Su Zhe can run this time in the preliminaries, what level can we expect from him in the semifinals???]

This topic wasn’t just questioned on Weibo. Many people in the Track and Field Kingdom also shared their views on this. Someone immediately posted the discussions from Track and Field Kingdom to Weibo to answer people’s questions.

[Although tonight’s semifinal groupings haven’t come out yet, the semifinals will definitely have stronger competition than the preliminaries with all the top athletes gathered. But actually, given Su Zhe’s consistency, as long as he runs under 6.54 again tonight, his spot in the finals is basically secured. Now it’s just a matter of seeing if he’ll meet top-level opponents in tonight’s semifinal groups who will force Su Zhe to show his full strength so we can see what his current best 60m time is.]

This explanation was widely shared by many netizens, who said they were preparing to watch tonight’s semifinals to see how Su Zhe performs.

On Weibo, the only ones still being cautious and restrained were probably Su Zhe’s Philosopher fans. Many of them expressed that “competitive sports have many factors affecting final results, we hope everyone watches rationally and doesn’t put too much pressure on the athletes.”

While everyone was chatting and discussing, March 1st’s schedule quickly progressed to the men’s 60m semifinals at 8:50 PM.

In these semifinals, the 24 participating athletes were divided into 3 heats. Su Zhe was in the third heat, and his group included strong competitors from Spain, Ivory Coast, Britain, Poland, Jamaica and other countries.

Among them, Barrigan from Britain and Hilm from Jamaica were both elite athletes who could run under 10 seconds in the 100m. Although their 60m PBs weren’t record-breaking, they were still under 6.50 seconds.

If Su Zhe wanted to advance directly as one of the top two finishers in his heat, then Barrigan and Hilm would be his biggest opponents in this group.

Just before the semifinals began, commentators Zhang Jing and Wang Miaochuan chatted with Su Yinsheng, discussing whether tonight’s grouping was favorable for Su Zhe.

Su Yinsheng frowned slightly. “This grouping, at least from my perspective, doesn’t have any problems. At least he didn’t end up with monsters like Gates or Evanson. Like you just said, Su Zhe’s main competitors tonight should be between Hilm and Barrigan. Although these two currently have better 60m PB than Su Zhe, in terms of actual strength, they’re currently at a similar level. Tonight’s race will mainly depend on how well each of them performs.”

He paused, then added, “Just like at last year’s World Championships, Barrigan was slightly stronger than Su Zhe at the time, but he ended up eliminated in the semifinals without even making the finals. In competitive sports, an athlete’s individual performance on the day has a very high impact on results, especially in world-class competitions like this. If you lose focus even slightly or have minor technical errors or mistakes, athletes who were originally not as strong as you might already be running ahead of you.”

His explanation was very clear, and Zhang Jing and Wang Miaochuan both nodded in agreement.

Wang Miaochuan sighed, “Yes, just like we often say, anything is possible on the track, and that’s where the charm of competitive sports lies!”

As they wrapped up their discussion, the race time approached. The first heat’s athletes stepped onto the track, and Zhang Jing and Wang Miaochuan shifted to introducing the competitors in this group.

In this group, the most noteworthy athletes were Evanson from the United States and Carlos from Spain. Evanson had a PB of 6.43 in the 60m, while Spain’s Carlos was very special. His 100m times weren’t impressive, but his 60m PB was 6.41. Moreover, he was very consistent in the 60m, almost always running under 6.48 in every competition. He was one of the few athletes in the world with a real shot at breaking the 6.40 barrier.

Carlos’s amazing front-end strength in the first half of the race was something that shocked many people, but at the same time, his back-end strength after 60 meters would even drag him down so much that he couldn’t make it into the World Championships semifinals. This contrast made many people feel sorry for him.

After a brief introduction, the first group of athletes on the track had already prepared for the race. The cheering crowd in the stands fell silent, holding their breath as they waited for the race to begin.

“On your marks.”

“Set.”

“Bang.”

With the sharp crack of the starter’s pistol, the first group of men’s 60-meter semifinalists exploded off the blocks, and began sprinting toward the finish line!

On the 60-meter track, this competition full of speed and power was tense and exciting. In less than 10 seconds, the world’s top athletes had already decided the final outcome among themselves.

Amid the enthusiastic cheers from the audience in the stands, the one who crossed the finish line first was indeed Carlos from Spain, followed closely by Evanson from the American team.

These two athletes ran 6.47 seconds and 6.50 seconds respectively in the semifinals, which represented the current world standard for top 60-meter athletes.

Later, in the second semifinal heat, Gates, also from the American team, easily won first place in his group with a time of 6.51 seconds. Hassan from Iran won the second direct qualification spot for the finals with a time of 6.53 seconds.

After two consecutive heats, the stadium erupted once more in thunderous applause and cheers as the third group of semifinalists took the track.

Because among them was *Su Zhe*!

The spectators had either watched Su Zhe’s stellar performance in the morning preliminaries live or watched the replay

Those short six-plus seconds were an unforgettable exciting moment for every Chinese spectator present. And at this moment, the scene that everyone was looking forward to was about to happen again!

“Su Zhe, jiayou! Team China, jiayou!”

These shouts rang out again, carrying everyone’s deep hopes.

In the commentary booth, Zhang Jing said, “Viewers at home, as you can hear, the stadium has reached its peak excitement with Su Zhe’s appearance. Everyone is cheering for him with all their might.”

After all the athletes stood on their respective lanes, Zhang Jing and Wang Miaochuan began introducing the nationality, names, and other information of all the athletes in the third group to everyone.

Among them, besides Barrigan and Hilm, Su Zhe was probably most familiar with Japan’s Minamiyama Yuki. In the morning preliminaries, Minamiyama Yuki performed decently, advancing to the semifinals with a time of 6.59 seconds. In the evening semifinals, his target was to get third place in this group and compete for one of the top 2 remaining spots to enter the finals.

After standing in his lane, Su Zhe found that Minamiyama Yuki was in lane 6 to his left. The two made eye contact, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then each lowered their heads to do their pre-race preparations without continuing any further conversation.

At this moment, on the track that would determine whether he could enter the finals, no one was in the mood to chat before the race.

After Su Zhe adjusted his starting blocks, he stood up, put his hands on his hips, and took two deep breaths to relax his state.

The audience at the venue was continuously shouting encouragement. While this cheering brought him inspiration, it also brought him a hint of pressure and nervousness. He clenched his fists and used deep breathing to put himself into an excited state while maintaining a bit of tension and pressure.

Tension and pressure were originally states that brought forward momentum. As long as they could be reasonably controlled and used, they could potentially improve an athlete’s competitive state.

When the cheering almost reached its peak, on the track, the starter began raising his hand to signal that the race was about to begin!

The audience’s cheers froze at this moment. From boiling excitement to silence, it took less than 5 seconds. Everyone began staring at the track, looking forward for the most thrilling moment to come!

On the track, the 8 athletes crouched down at the starter’s signal, placed both hands on the ground, and stepped their feet onto their starting blocks.

Everyone began holding their breath in concentration, waiting for the moment when the starting gun would fire.

“On your marks, set.”

The starter’s voice was calm and indifferent. After these brief words, the starting gun fired right on cue.

“Bang!”

That single shot marked the beginning of the battle!

At the starting line of the track, all the athletes reacted quickly and stood up at the same moment the gun fired, using their maximum explosive power as drive to sprint forward as fast as possible!

Hearing the gun, reacting, launching into the sprint, transitioning into acceleration – all these steps had to be completed in the shortest possible time!

A mere 60-meter track and less than 7 seconds of do-or-die time allowed no room for any mistakes or delays!

All these steps had been imprinted into Su Zhe’s body through endless hours of training, becoming one of his body’s deepest instincts.

His reaction ability ranked among the top of all athletes. In this race, his gun reaction took only 0.124 seconds. After adjusting his ready position and starting stance, he also improved somewhat in effectively converting his starting explosive power. This improvement won him about a 0.02-second speed boost in the starting phase.

Run!

Give it everything!

He had to win his direct qualification spot in this semifinal!

After Su Zhe’s quick explosive start, he smoothly transitioned into the acceleration phase. He pushed off powerfully, using his own explosive strength to enter his top running speed as fast as he possibly could.

Beside him, Minamiyama Yuki had already fallen slightly behind Su Zhe during the gun start phase. When Su Zhe exploded and accelerated, Minamiyama Yuki was quickly left behind by more than half a body length.

What?!

This speed?!

Is this Su’s current strength?!

Minamiyama Yuki couldn’t believe it for a moment. At Japan’s indoor invitational, he had personally confirmed Su Zhe’s 60m ability. The gap in strength between Su Zhe then and Su Zhe now was more than just significant!

In lanes 4 and 3, Barrigan and Hilm were running neck and neck with Su Zhe, fighting for the lead!

“Su Zhe! Go! Come on!”

In the audience stands, whether they were grown men or young girls, everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs to cheer Su Zhe on. Even ordinary uncles and aunties who had no concept of track and field at all contributed their own strength to the venue’s excitement in this heated atmosphere.

On the track, Barrigan, Hilm, and Su Zhe were locked in a tight battle. When the acceleration phase ended, although Su Zhe hadn’t clearly surpassed the two, he already had a slight lead, just a fraction of a body length!

Damn it, how is this possible?

To Su Zhe’s right, Hilm felt shocked. The slight lag behind the Chinese boy only fueled his determination. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to pick up the pace, determined to overtake him.

The mid-race phase!

This is my chance!

Hilm firmly believed this – the mid-race phase had never been a strong point for Asian athletes. Even though the 60-meter track didn’t have that long of a mid-race section, it was still enough to leave Asians with weaker speed maintenance abilities behind him!

Unfortunately, all of this was just Barrigan’s own thinking. Since the World Championships, he had basically entered the off-season and hadn’t paid attention to Su Zhe’s later results.

Although he knew Su Zhe was strong and would be a powerful opponent on future 100-meter tracks, Su Zhe’s previous effective data was still too limited to form enough research material. Su Zhe’s 100-meter results were already scarce in data, let alone 60-meter events.

Right now, Su Zhe’s performance had completely shattered his imagination.

While he was accelerating, Su Zhe was also accelerating. After entering the mid-race phase, Su Zhe’s maximum speed maintenance ability also shocked him.

Was this the level of an Asian athlete?

Hilm suppressed his inner amazement and began sprinting forward with all his might.

At about the 30-meter mark of the race, Su Zhe confirmed he only had a slight lead. In the following section, he began gritting his teeth, constantly battling with Hilm and Barrigan, all to finally establish his absolute advantage!

Hold on!

Can’t lose!

Su Zhe warned himself mentally, while the audience on site was also thrilled by this heart-stopping fight for first place.

“Su Zhe!!! Go for it!!!”

From the commentary booth, Wang Miaochuan shouted excitedly but restrainedly, “Su Zhe has a chance! He’s in the absolute leading group, he and Hilm are fighting for first place!!! Su Zhe, go for it!!!”

Can’t slack off, can’t relax!

Go!!!

Su Zhe’s eyes were fixed tightly on the front. His heart was pounding violently.

Almost there!

Victory belongs to me!

When entering the final sprint phase, Su Zhe leaned his body slightly forward and rushed ahead in a sprinting posture. In recent training, he had gradually mastered the method and technique of making his late-race acceleration ability come slightly earlier on the 60-meter track.

With the explosive power and momentum he had built up before, he dove across the finish line!

The overly strong follow-through force made Su Zhe continue rushing toward the crash barrier at high speed. He finally slammed into the padded crash wall with a bang, and only then did he finally stop.

When he crossed the finish line, he no longer had the energy to notice whether he or Hilm had finished first. The audience on site also couldn’t see clearly in that final moment who was the ultimate winner.

The on-site director understood the audience’s anxious feelings very well. Even the director himself was anxiously waiting for the final answer.

Who was the first runner to cross the finish line?

Soon, the slow-motion replay of the final sprint appeared on the big screen at the venue. When Su Zhe crossed the finish line in the footage, all the audience on site let out earth-shaking cheers.

“Holy shit!!!! Zhe-shao is awesome!!!!”

From the commentary booth, Zhang Jing also shouted excitedly, “Men’s 60m semifinal, our country’s athlete Su Zhe finished first and directly advanced to the finals!!!”