The semi-finals of the 100-meter dash were divided into two groups of six people each, and Chen Qiang was placed in the second group. According to the rules, the top three teams in the group can advance to the finals.

Naturally, all three Americans made it to the semi-finals, while all three Australians also made it to the semi-finals.

During World War II, Australia did not suffer very serious losses, and after the Battle of Midway, it was difficult for Japanese warships to get close to the Australian mainland, which also made Australia's sports development not seriously regress. On the contrary, the level of sports in European countries has regressed by more than 20 years, and Australia has become a sports powerhouse.

In the semifinals, Chen Qiang still ran a time of 10.4 seconds and easily advanced to the finals. Of the three Americans, one also ran 10.4 seconds, and the other two ran 10.5 seconds. The best time of the other non-American runners was only 10.6 seconds.

In the sprint event, the United States is still strong, and if it were not for the existence of Chen Qiang, the "opener", the United States would still monopolize this project.

With three U.S. athletes, two black and one white, it's rare for a white athlete to make it out of the U.S. domestic Olympic trials. What surprised Chen Qiang even more was that this white athlete was still the first place in the domestic selection competition in the United States!

The white athlete's name is Mel Barton, a name that Chen Qiang only has a slight impression of, as if he had seen it on the track and field Hall of Fame list.

Mel Barton was the "100-yard king" of the NCAA League, tying the 100-yard world record in 1947 and beating the 220-yard world record held by Jesse Owens in 1949. He will also compete in the 100m and 200m events at the Olympics and is the most likely of the U.S. trio to win.

The fact that a white athlete is more vocal than two other black athletes is proof that Mel Barton is not trivial. The 200m gold medalist at the 1948 London Olympics in history was none other than this Mel Button.

The rest of the U.S. team is made up of black athletes, one named Barney Ewell and the other Harrison Dillard.

Barney Ewell is thirty years old and an older sprinter. As early as the mid-thirties, he was a famous high school sprinter in the United States, and he should be regarded as an athlete in Chen Qiang's era. If it weren't for the world war that caused the Olympics to be suspended, perhaps he would have been on the Olympic stage long ago.

During World War II, Barney Ewell enlisted in the army, returned to college after being discharged from the army, and picked up sprinting again. The fact that a 30-year-old athlete can beat the younger lads and make it out of the qualifiers in the fiercely competitive environment of the United States is a testament to Barney Ivel's prowess.

Another black player, Harrison Dillard, like Jesse Owens, is a Cleveland native, and the reason why he embarked on the path of an athlete was also influenced by his fellow Jesse Owens, who was very popular in Cleveland back then, and countless black teenagers wanted to become a second Jesse Owens, and Harrison Dillard was one of them.

Harrison Dillard's best sport in college was hurdling, and he won more than a dozen U.S. collegiate league hurdle titles. However, at the 1948 Olympic trials, Harrison Dillard did not qualify for the 110m hurdles, but fortunately, the east did not shine and the west did not shine, and Harrison Dillard qualified for the 100m Olympics with a third place.

Harrison Dillard's 100-meter sprint champion at the London Olympics was taken away by Harrison Dillard, who defended his 100-meter sprint title again four years later at the Helsinki Olympics. After Harrison Dillard retired from football, he joined the Cleveland Indians in Major League Baseball MLB as a scout for the team.

……

All three American players made it to the finals, but they didn't have many smiles on their faces, as Chen Qiang also made it to the finals.

"10.4 seconds, shouldn't it be Chen Qiang's extreme result? I remember the Berlin Olympics that year, he could run the 10-second mark. Barney Iver spoke.

"Don't forget that Chen Qiang is 34 years old, I think it is a miracle that he can run 10.4 seconds at his age, and you still expect him to be able to run to the 10-second mark again like he did twelve years ago?" It was Harrison Dillard who spoke.

Barney-Ewell frowned very unhappily when he heard this, and then spoke; "I'm 30 years old, but my best time is 10.3 seconds!"

As an older athlete, the last thing Barney Ewell wants to talk about is age, even though he is four years younger than Chen Qiang, but when others talk about older athletes, Barney Ewell still can't help but think of himself.

"All three of us can run 10.3 seconds, or even faster. Mel, I'm right! Harrison Dillard said and looked at Mel Barton.

"Ah, yes." Mel Barton nodded hesitantly, as if he had something on his mind, as if he was not in a state.

"Mel, you look a little nervous!" Barney Ewell spoke.

"In the semi-finals in the morning, I was in a group with Chen Qiang, and I didn't think he did his best." Mel Barton spoke.

"Maybe Chen Qiang can be 0.1 seconds faster, then he can be as fast as us at most! But there are three of us, and one of us only needs to play better to beat him! Harrison Dillard said with an excited face.

For the sprinters of this era, defeating Chen Qiang is like a feat of slaughtering gods, and the temptation is too great. As a 100-meter sprinter, if he can defeat Chen Qiang in the Olympic Games, he can get everything he wants in terms of money, honor, and status!

And now Chen Qiang is 34 years old, no longer the invincible existence of twelve years ago, defeating Chen Qiang seems to have become a possible task, at least Harrison Dillard feels that he has a good chance.

……

The role of the 100-meter dash was the highlight of the day's race.

The British crowd showed a lot of enthusiasm for the match, as there was a British player who made it to the final and the British hoped that he could do well and at least add a medal to the tournament.

In fact, this athlete was not actually born in the United Kingdom, his name is McDonnell Bailey, born in Trinidad and Tobago, served in the British Army during World War II, so he became a British citizen, represented Britain in the Olympic Games, he ran a good time of 10.2 seconds in 1951, and won a bronze medal in the 100m dash at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

The six finalists took to the track, the first lane was Mel Barton, a white American, the second was 30-year-old American Barney Ewell, Panama's Lloedra was in the third lane, Chen Qiang was ranked in the fourth lane, the fifth lane was Britain's McDonnell Bailey, and the last American Harrison Dillard was in the sixth lane.

Chen Qiang doesn't know much about the five opponents around him, except for some impressions of Mel Barton's name, the deeds of the others are unknown. Mainly because the level of athletes in the 1948 London Olympics was relatively poor, the entire Olympic Games basically did not have a very outstanding place, and the championship results were not as good as the 1936 Berlin Olympics, so even Chen Qiang, a sports expert, did not pay special attention to the situation of the 1948 London Olympics.

"There is no such thing as Jesse Owens at this Olympics, and I think even if these three American athletes can run a 10.3 time at most, I can handle it. If it's 0.1 seconds faster, the outcome is still unknown. Chen Qiang said secretly in his heart.

At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, American runners Eddie Tolan and Ralph Metcalfe both ran 10.3 seconds. The level of American athletes today is similar to that of 1932, so Chen Qiang judged that the best time of these three American athletes should be 10.3 seconds, and it is unlikely to reach 10.2 seconds.

The starter gave instructions to prepare, and the six contestants stood on the starting line in unison.

The starting gun rang out, and the bodies of the six people moved almost simultaneously, rushing forward.

"Chen Qiang's reaction is faster!" The head coach of the American team frowned, this is a situation he did not expect, in his opinion, the 34-year-old Chen Qiang must be slower than the young man in terms of reaction, but in the start just now, the fastest reaction is still Chen Qiang.

"It seems that Chen Qiang is in good shape today." The head coach of the U.S. team secretly said in his heart that in his opinion, a fast start reaction is a symbol of good form.

Before the advent of electronic timing, sprinters did not pay much attention to the start reaction time, and there was no training for the start reaction. Chen Qiang did have a training method for starting, but it was not leaked, so the starting reaction became Chen Qiang's unique trick.

The advantages of a faster start are not visible at the beginning of the race, but when it comes to the acceleration stage, the faster start will show some advantages.

Acceleration relies on strength and muscle explosion, and now Chen Qiang's muscle explosiveness is definitely not as good as twelve years ago, but fortunately, Chen Qiang is not that kind of muscle stick type Tie Hanhan player, he was originally that kind of technical player, twelve years ago it was like this, and it is like this now.

Yellow people are at a disadvantage in sprinting, and even if Chen Qiang trains his body well, he can't compare to those top black athletes, and black athletes have a racial advantage in this regard. Chen Qiang is also very aware of this, and he has been using technology that does not belong to this era to win the game, and it can be said that technology is what Chen Qiang really relies on.

Twelve years ago, Chen Qiang still relied on technology to win, and now Chen Qiang, if he wants to win, he needs more technical support.

Kicking the ground and swinging his legs, Chen Qiang used the most advanced sprinting technology in the future, his body was in the air most of the time, and only the moment the forefoot kicked the ground, his body would come into contact with the ground. This running technique from the future is noticeably different from that of the 40s in terms of running posture.

Three seconds later, Chen Qiang had already taken the lead, although the lead was not large, but it was visible to the naked eye. Regarding this, the players on the two tracks adjacent to Chen Qiang have the most obvious perception.

Chen Qiang is in the fourth lane, with Panama's Lloedra on his left and Britain's McDonnell Bailey on his right, both of whom are not as strong as the Americans, so they can clearly perceive that Chen Qiang is running ahead of them.

"It's worthy of Chen Qiang, he runs so fast!" Britain's MacDonald Bailey couldn't help but sigh in his heart, realizing at this time that even if he was fighting at home, he would not be able to win the gold medal in the 100-meter dash for Britain.

However, the next second, McDonaldbale suddenly realized that he couldn't even get a medal, because to his right, Harrison Dillard, an American in lane six, also ran ahead of him.

Also out of contention for the medal was Panama's Lloydera, with the American Barney Ewell to his left, with the 30-year-old also putting in good form and Lloedra behind.

The last American player, Mel Barton, was the strongest player in the American team, but he played poorly today, and his speed was about the same as that of the British.

In the 50m position, Chen Qiang, Harrison Dillard and Barney Ewell are already in the lead, and if there are no surprises, the trio will take the medal in the 100m sprint.

Among the three, Chen Qiang is the leader, while the other two American players are neck-and-neck.

……

"I've done my best, why am I still behind!" Harrison Dillard's heart was a little impatient, he found that his judgment was a little wrong, and Chen Qiang was even more powerful than he thought.

"At 34 years old, he can still run so fast, no wonder Jesse Owens lost to him back then! Jesse Owens was at his peak, so he could run so fast! It's not good, if it goes on like this, I'm afraid I'll lose. Harrison Dillard said in his heart.

"Nope! It's already the final of the Olympics, I don't want to lose, I have to work harder! Chen Qiang is 34 years old, and I am only 25 years old, I don't believe that your body can compare to me, I don't believe that you can keep running like this until the end, and when you get to the back, you will definitely slow down! ”

Thinking of this, Harrison Dillard clenched his fists sharply and bit Chen Qiang's back, and he was still trying to continue to accelerate, he wanted to put pressure on Chen Qiang.

Facts have also proved that Harrison Dillard's judgment is correct, the older players cannot always maintain peak speed to the finish line, and they will definitely drop the chain in the second half, but it is not Chen Qiang who took the lead in dropping the chain, but another American player Barney Ivel.

At the 70-metre mark, Barney Ewell was visibly unable to follow up on the two in front of him, and he fell to third.

Barney Ewell is also 30 years old, and in the future, a 30-year-old sprinter can only be regarded as just past his peak and still has the strength to fight, but the track and field athletes of that era lacked scientific training, and the athletes could not continue to maintain excellent competitive condition at the age of 30.

As a result, Barney Ewell fell behind, and although he was still trying, he could no longer threaten the two in front of him.

"Barney has slowed down, Chen Qiang should also slow down, my chance has come!" Barney Iver was overjoyed, he felt that the opportunity had come, and he couldn't help but vent all his strength, wanting to complete the comeback at the last moment.

Chen Qiang did not slow down, Chen Qiang was trying his best to maintain his speed at this time.

Chen Qiang's speed is supported by technology, which also allows him to last longer, but after all, he is 34 years old, and his physical function is far inferior to that of young people in their twenties.

Fortunately, the end is just around the corner!

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Thank you for your support!

(End of chapter)