Chapter 8: Olympic Tickets

Currently in second place, Yin Hanzhao noticed that there was already a considerable gap between him and the leader, Shen Bao. However, Yin Hanzhao firmly believed that he had the opportunity to catch up, as he knew that in the latter half of the race, Shen Bao would slow down.

The same scene had occurred during the morning semifinals, when Hu Kai had just taken a half-body lead over Pang Guibin, only to be surpassed by Zhang Guanchao. However, Hu Kai never expected that in the afternoon semifinals, this scene would repeat itself. On the same day, in the same venue, he was overtaken twice by the same person in the same manner, leaving Hu Kai feeling extremely frustrated, yet he had no way to change the situation, as his own speed simply could not match that of Zhang Guan.

At the start of the race, the glasses-wearing hero Hu Kai was neck and neck with Jin Ke. One is a special enrollment student from Tsinghua University, while the other is a special enrollment student from Peking University. As students of the two highest institutions of higher learning in the country, they inherently carry the competitive spirit between Tsinghua and Peking University. Now, on the competition field, neither is willing to give way, both exerting their utmost effort to compete against each other. However, Hu Kai's condition is evidently better; after a brief stalemate, he has already taken a lead of half a body length over Jin Ke.

Old Chen was the first to grab Zhang Guan and said, "Zhang Guan, well done! You have finally secured this entry ticket for our country"

At this moment, Shen Bao is exerting all his strength with every meter he advances. He does not wish to lose, yet he despairingly realizes that with each meter he moves forward, he falls a little further behind. He watches helplessly as others surpass him, breaking through the finish line, while his desperate counterattack appears so futile.

The men's 100-meter event in the morning has concluded, and the semifinals for the men's 100 meters will take place later in the afternoon. The semifinals will consist of only two heats, after which the overall rankings will be determined, with the top eight advancing to the finals scheduled for the following morning

After 70 meters, the leading Shen Bao also noticed that two people were closing in from behind

What happened? Has everyone arrived? Why such a grand occasion? Zhang Guan was instead taken aback by this spectacle

The national team certainly looks down upon "taking shortcuts" to participate in competitions, yet over the past year, not a single athlete has achieved the Olympic B standard, which is quite embarrassing. Of course, domestic athletes' standards are certainly not content with merely meeting the B standard. However, today, Zhang Guan's time of 10.28 seconds can be considered as securing a guaranteed entry ticket for the national team

However, next, he entered Zhang Guan's usual sprinting rhythm, where his sprinting skills were effectively demonstrated, showcasing his extraordinary explosive power, rapidly elevating his speed to the utmost, and then began to overtake other competitors

As the gunshot rang out, everyone immediately rushed out, but Zhang Guan was a beat slower off the mark, falling behind to last place in an instant.

After 90 meters, Zhang Guan had already caught up with Shen Bao. At this point, neither Zhang Guan nor Shen Bao had any reason to give up. This was no longer a battle for advancement, but rather an honor battle as athletes.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Olympic A standard for the men's 100 meters event was 10.21 seconds, while the Olympic B standard was set at 10.28 seconds. The time of 10.28 seconds also represented the minimum qualification standard for athletes to participate in the Olympics. This standard remained in place until the 2008 Beijing Olympics. By the time of the 2012 London Olympics, the standards were raised to an A standard of 10.18 seconds and a B standard of 10.24 seconds

According to the regulations of the Olympic Organizing Committee, in individual athletics events, each National Olympic Committee may send a maximum of three athletes who have achieved the Olympic A standard for each event; if there are fewer than three athletes who meet the Olympic A standard, then the actual number of qualifying athletes will be registered for competition; if no athlete meets the Olympic A standard but at least one athlete meets the Olympic B standard, only one B standard athlete may compete; if neither the Olympic A nor the Olympic B standard is met, participation in the Olympic competition for that event is not permitted

He then glanced towards Chen Jian, the top long-distance runner in the country, and murmured to himself: "You should start putting in the effort too, or else you might be surpassed by this junior, and you might not even make it to the Olympics next year"

He then looked at the first place, which was Zhang Guan's score

Shen Bao rushed across the finish line, slowed his pace until he came to a stop, and then looked at the scoreboard, where he found his result. A final time of 10.31 seconds is a very satisfactory achievement in anyone's eyes, and this time would have ranked second in the annual standings last year

Among the other fifteen athletes, only Chen Jian and Shen Bao can be assured of reaching the finals based on their strength, as both of them have the capability to run within 10.3 seconds. The performance of the other competitors will depend on their respective on-site displays and performances

As the competition involves the top eight athletes based on their overall scores in the semifinals, the eight competitors at the starting line did not exhibit much tension; instead, they appeared very harmonious

From this moment on, Zhang Guan's name has truly entered the domestic athletics circle

At this moment, a figure rushed past Hu Kai, and it was none other than Zhang Guan

Shen Bao slightly tilted his head and happened to see the moment when Zhang Guan surpassed Yin Hanzhao.

Zhang Guan immediately understood.

This admission ticket can be considered as having changed hands. After waiting for a whole year, finally, an athlete has managed to achieve this result

The opportunity has arrived! Perhaps I can catch up with Shen Bao before the finish line! Wait, someone is closing in from behind! At this moment, Yin Hanzhao has already noticed Zhang Guan, who is approaching rapidly.

As Yin Hanzhao anticipated, after 50 meters, when many athletes reach their peak speed, Shen Bao did not accelerate as rapidly as before

On the podium, Yu Zhidao suddenly realized something and then excitedly clenched his fist

I was overtaken by someone, a feeling so familiar, this scene seems to have been experienced this morning, how is it again Zhang Guan

On the track, Zhang Guan felt quite helpless. His performance in the afternoon was still rather average, although it was slightly better than the second session in the morning. However, compared to the first session in the morning, where his reaction time at the start was within 0.3 seconds, he still fell short.

When the athletes all stood on the starting blocks, the referee raised the starting gun

Meanwhile, Old Chen and the other teammates who were watching all rushed over, and even the coaches from other teams came to offer their congratulations, all displaying a joyful demeanor

The start was as terrible as ever. The reaction time at the start was almost 0.4 seconds! It seems that this kid's start is genuinely poor, not just for show!" thought Coach Yu silently in the stands

The event organizers have placed the two strongest athletes, Chen Jian and Shen Bao, in different groups. Zhang Guan happens to be in the same group as Shen Bao, along with the men's 100-meter champion of the 9th National Games, Yin Hanzhao, the holder of the Guangxi Province 100-meter record, Gong Wei, the top 100-meter runner from Northeast China, Liu Dapeng, the special enrollment student from Peking University, Jin Ke, and the glasses-wearing competitor, Hu Kai, who has faced off in the semifinals.

Of course, the Olympic ticket!" Old Chen continued, "You ran 10.28 seconds, achieving the Olympic B standard!

Additionally, athletes who have not met the standards wishing to register for field events will be determined by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) based on the athletes' performance levels and the number of participants who have met the relevant standards. Registered athletes must achieve a certain level of international performance and demonstrate their capabilities by participating in international competitions recognized by the IAAF. In simple terms, it is akin to "pulling strings" to compete

The men's short-distance events in athletics have traditionally been a weak point for the national team, with athletes participating in the Olympics primarily qualifying based on the Olympic B standard. For the upcoming Athens Olympics, the recognition period for individual athletics events is from July 1, 2002, to the registration deadline in July 2004 (excluding marathon, race walking, and combined events). Achievements obtained in competitions at the national level or above during this period will be considered valid. The best performance by domestic athletes since July 1, 2002, is 10.32 seconds, which means that currently, no one in the country has reached the Olympic B standard of 10.28 seconds.

"It is Zhang Guan, he is really fast!" Gong Wei silently thought to himself. He had heard his teammate Pang Guibin mention it during lunch; at that time, Zhang Guan had surpassed him in an instant, a speed that was completely on a different level, causing Pang Guibin to give up on the chase entirely. Now, Gong Wei was experiencing this same realization deeply.

10.28 seconds is already the best performance in the domestic 100-meter event this year

... ...

At this stage of the competition, there are no weaker contestants left; those who have made it this far are all strong competitors. If there is an underdog, it is only Zhang Guanyi.

Subsequently, Zhang Guan caught up with the Northeast flying man Liu Dapeng, and he did not even give Liu Dapeng a chance to hold his ground before surpassing him. He then went on to catch up with the record holder from Guizhou Province, Gong Wei

Under these rules, if a country has only one athlete who meets the A standard, it is clearly the most disadvantaged situation, as the number of participants is the same as that of countries that only meet the B standard, both having only one participant. It can also be said that having only one A standard participant is equivalent to having a B standard participant in terms of the number of entries.

"Admission ticket? What admission ticket?" Zhang Guanqi asked in confusion.

The Olympic Games, as the highest level of sports competition in the world, have established qualifying standards to prevent athletes of lower caliber from participating and thereby affecting the overall level of the competition. The qualifying standards for athletics events are based on the official competition results from the past two years at the level of national Olympic committees and above, with the establishment of Olympic A and Olympic B standards.

The newcomer Zhang Guan has arrived! He must have started off much slower, how could he have caught up so quickly!" In Shen Bao's mind, the scene from the morning's semi-finals flashed by, where Zhang Guan surged from last place to first. He then looked ahead and saw the finish line right before him

After 80 meters, Zhang Guan completed the overtaking of Yin Hanzhao

In terms of strength, Shen Bao is undoubtedly the strongest. The other three, Yin Hanzhao, Gong Wei, and Liu Dapeng, are all experienced veterans with a chance to reach the finals. As for the younger competitors, Jin Ke and Hu Kai, their chances of making it to the finals are relatively slim

10 seconds 28! Shen gasped in surprise; he never expected that this suddenly appearing young man would actually break the 10.3 seconds barrier. This achievement is sufficient for Zhang Guan to qualify among the top competitors in the country

The finish line is just ahead, hold on! How can I lose to a newcomer! Shen Bao gritted his teeth and gave it his all

Shen Bao's strongest event is the indoor 60 meters. He won the bronze medal in the indoor 60 meters at the International Indoor Athletics Championships held in Vienna in March, which demonstrates that Shen Bao's indoor 60 meters is at a world-class level. Shen Bao is characterized by his quick reaction at the start, strong explosive power, and early burst point, allowing him to achieve excellent results in the indoor 60 meters. However, in the 100 meters event, it is impossible for Shen Bao to maintain the same level of explosive power as in the 60 meters, which is why he has consistently been unable to surpass Chen Jian in the 100 meters.