Orc Undead Sports Warrior

Chapter 208 The Birth of the Sprinting Demon King

As May arrived, many athletes made different choices regarding their Olympic preparations. While Chinese audiences were engrossed in Lu Wei's sports advertisements, a surprising event occurred in the track and field world. On May 31st, Tyson Gay, the 100-meter champion at the Osaka World Championships, faced off against Usain Bolt, who had just set a personal best of 9.76 seconds. Although Bolt's recent performances were excellent—he first ran 9.76 seconds at the Jamaican International Athletics Invitational, just 0.02 seconds slower than his compatriot Asafa Powell's world record, and then broke the 10-second barrier again at the Hamptons meet on May 18th—this encounter between the Jamaican sprinter and American star Gay at the New York Grand Prix attracted considerable attention. Despite his impressive results, Gay didn't seem to take the young man seriously. In fact, he didn't consider any of the Jamaican sprinters particularly impressive. Last year, Gay, despite initially being at a disadvantage, defeated Powell in the final, completely reversing public opinion about their relative abilities. Powell's subpar performance in the final was witnessed by the world, instantly branding him as fragile. Therefore, everyone held a wait-and-see attitude towards Bolt, even though they were currently the closest to the world record. There wasn't the same wave of praise as last year. While most of China was asleep, the two clashed for the first time since the World Championships. "Coach Jiang, you were right. When you talked about Bolt last year, we didn't pay much attention. After all, he's so big, and his legs clearly lacked power. We didn't expect him to rise so quickly." The next day, during training with the athletes, Wang Qiao's face showed surprise. "I didn't expect him to break the world record so quickly either. This kid, like our Lu Wei, is a prodigy. Today, Gay was still the same Gay from the World Championships, even his time was exactly the same. But this Bolt is just amazing, running 9.72 seconds! It seems that no one can say for sure where the limits of humanity are!" Jiang Jianjun wasn't just boasting; an athlete's talent is evident, but no one can guarantee how far they will develop. "I heard that Bolt is a rather lazy athlete. He trains as little as possible and doesn't seem very ambitious. The 1.7 meters per second wind speed he had today, which helped him break the world record, certainly laid the foundation for his success." As they spoke, the two men turned their attention to Lu Wei. Perhaps they were both wondering what Lu Wei would be like at the Olympics. Lu Wei was now the busiest person on the field. He trained for at least two individual events every day, and also practiced the 4x100m relay with his teammates. Except for his evenings, he spent all his time training. "What's surprising is that this kid doesn't show any signs of fatigue at all. He's like a tireless bull!" Wang Qiao exclaimed. In his memory, since Lu Wei appeared at the Ningcheng Championships, he had never heard him complain of being tired. In the past year or so, Lu Wei and Wang Qiao's previous impression of the lazy guy had undergone a complete transformation. Liu Xiang, whose training volume during winter training wasn't much less than Lu Wei's, is now undergoing maintenance-style training every day. Coach Sun is hesitant to push him to increase the intensity. With the Olympics approaching, Liu Xiang's physical condition is his biggest instability factor. Faced with this situation, even the two head coaches of the Chinese track and field team are undecided. Liu Xiang has a plethora of endorsement contracts, and considering the reputation of the Track and Field Management Center and the athlete's own brand, no one dares to make a definitive statement. If Liu Xiang participates in the competition, everyone will likely only accept one outcome: the championship. Under these circumstances, Feng Yong, as the helmsman of Chinese track and field, naturally doesn't want major fluctuations in the team's performance. However, the cost of this might be that Liu Xiang's physical condition won't meet the requirements to compete for the championship at the Olympics. He prefers to reduce Liu Xiang's training volume, allowing him to complete the Olympics with a combination of training and rest. Compared to Feng Yong, Yu Wei leans towards a more aggressive training approach. In his view, an athlete's greatest glory is standing on the highest podium at the Olympics held on home soil, and even the slightest chance is worth trying. Coach Sun takes Liu Xiang for checkups almost every three days, sometimes spending up to four hours a day on strength training. Liu Xiang can move around normally without any problems, and his training isn't significantly affected. However, the difference between the intensity of his training and his daily activities is too great; if even a small detail isn't handled properly, it could lead to irreversible consequences. Compared to the Chinese track and field team, the American team isn't much better off. Tyson Gay gave it his all in the Grand Prix, but after watching the race, everyone agrees that while Gay is still the same Gay after a year, Bolt has the ability to challenge the world record at any time. In this race, Bolt gave Gay no chance whatsoever, not even gaining an advantage during Gay's strongest start. The American team is now starting to feel lost. Losing their sprint dominance could mean losing the 100m and 200m. Furthermore, Jamaica has Powell, who is already a contender for the championship in those events, and relays haven't traditionally been a strong suit for the American team. In many international competitions, the athletes' performance during baton exchanges has shown a lack of training, often resulting in basic errors. If the US team falters in all three events, they may struggle to recover for a considerable period, especially considering Powell is only a 22-year-old. Seeing Bolt's current level of performance, the Japanese media is filled with lamentations. If a country has two athletes capable of reaching world record levels, then in the 4x100m relay, a team like Japan, relying heavily on teamwork, will have little chance of winning, provided they perform normally. Even if they establish an advantage through their baton exchanges in the early stages, it's difficult to maintain that lead in Bolt and Powell's legs. These two have become beasts in the eyes of the Japanese media. The reason why international media praise Powell so much in sprinting is entirely due to his 1.96-meter height and world-class starting ability. Such an athlete seems to have no weaknesses; the only criticism is his lack of experience in major competitions. However, everyone knows that Bolt's ability is now that of a formidable force.