Chapter 202: Some Rise and Some Retire
The Yokohama International Stadium was filled with more than 73,000 seats, and the enthusiasm of the local people for the sporting event was always high, and the ceremony before the Games to replace the Olympic gold medal was completely warm.
Sho Fujiwara and Yu Nakamura were in the audience as they watched the ceremony where Hiroji Murofushi was awarded a retroactive Olympic gold medal, applauding and applauding as the rest of the Japanese audience around him.
"This gold medal of Murofushi-kun is too hard-won." Yu Nakamura clapped his hands and laughed stupidly.
"yes, this time I just wanted to see what the athlete who could break Koji Ito's predecessors looked like, but I didn't expect to run into this scene." Sho Fujiwara was also in a stirring mood.
After the award ceremony, the atmosphere gradually calmed down.
Yu Nakamura looked at the runway of the Yokohama International Arena and said with some emotion: "Senior Fujiwara, do you think this is the fastest duel on land, what will be the result?" ”
"I don't know now, but it may be Chinese in the future." Fujiwara Sho spoke in a somewhat lost tone, looking up at the sky above the arena.
"Why do you say that, Fujiwara-senpai?" Yu Nakamura asked suspiciously.
"Didn't you read Su Zu's information? He's a few months younger than you, he's not at his peak yet, and I really don't know what kind of results he'll run when he's in his twenties. I hope that the participating Asahara-kun and Sue-kun can have a good ranking. ”
As the organizer of the event, it is the default rule that some athletes can participate, and Fujiwara Sho also understands that it is not easy for his country's sprinters to stand on the same track as the top three in the Olympic Games, and his understanding of track and field events is much deeper than that of ordinary people, and at this time, he only hopes that the athletes of his country will not lose too ugly.
In a few minutes, there were already people in the stadium at this time. Yu Nakamura looked at the staff on the straight track measuring the distance and placing railings on each lane, and suddenly said strangely: "Hey, is it an obstacle race?" ”
"Stupid, didn't you look at the schedule, the first to start was the men's 110m hurdles." Sho Fujiwara patted Yu Nakamura's head, "It's a duel between Liu Yangyu and Alan Johnson of the United States." ”
Before Liu Yangyu appeared in the 110-meter hurdles event, most people in China were still relatively unfamiliar with this event, and Alan Johnson's name was gradually widely known after Liu Yangyu won the Olympic championship.
But in Japan, Alan Johnson still knows a lot of people, although it is not the most popular sport, but because of the direct influence of the United States on Japan, as well as the popularity of Alan Johnson Atlanta Olympic champion and several world champions, there are still a considerable number of people in Japan who know it.
Alan Johnson's unexpected exit at the Olympics this time not only sighed in the Western media, but even many people in Japan felt that it was because he did not participate in the final that Liu Yangyu easily won the gold medal. So in all the games of the entire All-Star, the level of attention is also one of the best.
After the start of the 110m hurdles, the race was really a bit of a twist and turn, with athletes running three times in a row, and finally two penalties in succession, before the race really started after the fourth gunshot.
In the end, Liu Yangyu won the championship in 13.31 seconds, and Jamaica's Vignall finished second in 13.33 seconds. And Alan Johnson, a hurdle star who once "stumbled" at the Athens Olympics, even though he ran 13.16 seconds in the previous track and field finals, only ran 13.41 seconds this time and finished third.
……
One of the most important events in the afternoon was the 100m Flyer Battle, and the event organizers were clever enough to schedule the two attractive races in the morning and afternoon to avoid crowd fatigue.
Compared with the duel between Liu Yangyu and Alan Johnson in the morning, the gimmick of the champion, runner-up and third runner-up of the afternoon Olympics competing on the same stage again is not weak at all. It's also very attractive to be able to watch the world's best players compete in real action, compared to what you see on TV. There will also be several sprinters from Japan who will participate in the competition, which is enough to sell out all the tickets.
Before the competition, Su Zu almost became the focus of the media, and he was one of the athletes who were at the forefront of the limelight.
Former Japanese sprinter Koji Ito said in an interview before the race: "I am very happy that Su Zu broke my Asian record, the 10-second mark has always been a threshold to limit our Asian athletes, it is a pity that I was not able to break it at the beginning, and now Su from China has broken it, and improved this time to 9.90 seconds, won the bronze medal in the Olympic Games." This is a huge step forward. It proves that we yellow people and we Asian sprinters are also strong. I hope that our athletes in the Japanese team can take Suzu as a challenge, nothing is impossible. ”
Shingo Suesu, who will participate in the 100-meter event of the Invitational Championships, also said in an interview, "Only as a sprinter can you understand how difficult it is to run 10 seconds in the 100 meters and 20 seconds in the 200 meters. Japan has been the number one sprinter in Asia for many years, but now that we are lagging behind, we should be playing catch-up. We also have a chance in the 4×100m relay event. ”
Five-time Japanese national 100m champion Nobuharu Asahara, said: "I have known Su Zu since last year's Asian Championships, and I have studied him more than the American giants, and my coaches have a lot of videos about him. Because he is Asian, like us, he has more reference value. His skills and talent are top-notch, and I learned a lot from his videos, and the media should focus on his training so that more of us young people who are interested in athletics can see it. ”
The 100m third place, the 200m runner-up, the 4×100m champion, as strong as the United States' Gatlin and Morris Green also said before the race that Suzu is a strong opponent and needs to be taken seriously.
Not to mention a Japanese sprinter, sometimes I really don't want to praise others, but compared with players at this level, the difference in strength is heaven and earth, if you don't lift others up, don't you say you can't do it? It's not that we don't work hard, but that the enemy has a Gundam.
In TBS TV's various pre-game warm-up analysis reports such as "Red Lightning" and "China Su", the men's 100-meter flyer battle officially began at 15 o'clock in the afternoon.
This is the IAAF All-Star Game, which itself is a competition for promotion and entertainment, and there are not many preliminary rounds and rematches, that is, eight athletes, one shot to determine the winner.
Su Zu stood in the sixth lane and looked at the other athletes in this competition, the first of which was Tsuchie Kanhiro, one of the Japanese athletes in the men's 100 meters in the Athens Olympics, with a best time of 10.21 seconds;
The second lane is Morris Green, the third lane is veteran Fredericks, the fourth lane is Nobuharu Asahara, the fifth lane is Justin Gatlin, the seventh lane is Shinogo Suesu, and the eighth lane is Leonard Scott.
Of the seven players in the same field, only Nobuharu Asahara, Leonard Scott, were competing for the first time. Naturally, there is no need to say that he is a five-time all-Japan 100-meter champion, with a best time of 10.02 seconds, and his sprinting strength in Asia is also one of the best.
Standing on the runway, Justin Gatlin, Morris Green and veteran Fredericks are more relaxed, after all, it is only a star game, and the gains and losses are relatively not so heavy.
The other three Japanese athletes will be under more pressure, after all, they are at their own doorstep, although their strength is not as good as others, but at least they don't want to lose too ugly.
Also worth mentioning is Leonard Scott in the eighth lane.
The American sprinter had an interesting experience, he was a track and field star at Tennessee State University, trained with Justin Gatlin, and then became a soccer player in '02, but was cut by the U.S. soccer team in '03 and returned to the track and field.
This All-Star Game was also played with Gatlin's light, and after all, it was a more important event after his comeback, so he was still a little cautious in his heart.
Probably for this reason, as soon as the gun rang out in the game, Leonard Scott ran away.
The game started again.
Suzu walked back to the starting line and took a light breath, and although the All-Star Game may not be particularly serious for every athlete, he still maintained his maximum focus.
Since there are opponents like Gatlin and Green in the same group, you have to go all out and aim for the championship.
With the first shot, everyone was much more cautious this time, after all, although it was an all-star game, it would be embarrassing to send two people in a row like the 110-meter hurdles in the morning.
After a pop of gunshots.
Su Zu reacted quickly, stepped on the starting block with his legs, and suddenly exerted force. At the same time, the eight athletes moved extremely neatly, swinging their arms quickly and pushing their legs hard.
Although he didn't see the start reaction in time, Su Zu could tell that his starting reaction should be within 0.15 seconds. 100 meters is not better than 200 meters, and the emphasis is on starting fast, fast response, and the fault tolerance rate is far less than that of 200 meters. It is ideal to have an advantage at the start.
Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters......
Bow your head, swing your arms, your stride is large and powerful, in the acceleration stage of the previous thirty years, Su Zu's speed is very fast, compared to other athletes, after the Olympic Games, he has a system, the state of the body is maintained better, as long as you pay attention to the fatigue of the negative state, the body can be kept in a peak state.
In the first 30 meters, Suzu had already snatched the advantage from Morris Green and Gatlin, but it was Leonard Scott in the eighth lane, who was half a body faster than Suzu in the first half of the race.
Su Zu was a little surprised, he had little impression of Leonard Scott, but the strength of the opponent exceeded expectations.
Forty meters, fifty meters, sixty meters......
Entering the highest-speed stage of the run, Suzu and Scott were almost neck-to-neck, and the two were always on the same level.
And Justin Gatlin, Asahara, and Fredericks in the back gradually gained strength and began to catch up. In particular, Gatlin, the 100-meter champion, can run under 9.90 seconds, and is very fast after running on the way.
Morris Green, on the other hand, didn't do well in this group, falling behind a few guys.
The sound of footsteps sounded quickly, and the Japanese people who came to watch the scene cheered enthusiastically.
In particular, the speed of Asahara's Xuanzhi has been biting several world-class celebrities, which has caused everyone to shout and cheer.
After sixty meters, Su Zu still maintained the ultra-high-speed stage, but at this time, Scott next to him was still slowing down, this is a player similar to Shen Yunbao's strength in the first half of the race, starting fast and accelerating fast, but the ability to maintain speed is not enough.
On the contrary, Gatlin slowly caught up, he didn't start fast, and he didn't attach so much importance to this invitational tournament, it was completely after getting on the track, seeing Suzu and Scott rushing forward, which drove his competitive spirit.
Seventy meters, eighty meters, ninety meters......
At this time, Suzu was already in the lead, Suzu was in first place, Gatling was nearly two positions behind him, third was Scott, followed by Senji Asahara, and Fredericks.
The arena was boiling, not only because Su Zu ran to the first position, but also because Su Zu ran too fast, except for Gatlin who bit Su Zu tightly at this time, the other players had been pulled away several meters.
The commentator in charge of the TBS TV broadcast of the All-Star Game was almost amazed and stammered, "Sue, lightning of the Red Empire, he ran to the first position, he is faster than Gatling!" ”
Countless cheers rang out, and this fierce cheer was loud and loud regardless of nationality, men and women, young and old, just the speed shown by the first place in the speeding electric race on the field, which was enough to make people want to shout loudly.
The last ten meters.
Su Zu's goal was firmly locked on the finish line, and his speed increased to the extreme.
At this time, Justin Gatlin was still struggling to catch up with Su Zu, but by this time, it was no longer possible.
Finish line!
9.89 seconds!
The moment Su Zu crossed the finish line, the audience once again erupted in earth-shattering applause. This result almost dumbfounded many Japanese spectators, not only for first place, but also for the Olympic champion and runner-up. This is a yellow achievement.
As for saying that holding Su Zu was doping to run such a result, he was speechless for a long time at the moment. The test of this all-star game was done by their Japanese side, and the athletes who dared to come to the game were obviously not afraid of inspection, and this result was real.
"Senior Fujiwara, that Su Zu, he ran like lightning." In the audience, Yu Nakamura watched Su Zu gallop across the finish line, and he was speechless.
"That's amazing!"
Fujiwara Sho rubbed his eyes and made sure he didn't seem to be wrong before clapping desperately.
The host of the live commentary on TBS TV was also dumbfounded at the moment, and it took a long time to explain again: "Red Lightning, Su Zu, won the championship!" In this competition for the top three in the 100 meters in Athens, in the end, the third runner-up Su Zu won the victory. In 9.89 seconds, Su Zu broke his own Asian record and set a new Asian record. ”
After finishing speaking, the host of TBS TV seemed to remember something, and then said again: "Nobuji Asahara, a very good result, faster than Morris Green!" Tsuchie Kanyu and Suesue Shingo were seven or eight respectively. ”
Su Zu held his knees and looked at the big screen of the Yokohama International Arena, and at this time, the results of the eight players had all come out.
Suzu finished first with a time of 9.89 seconds, breaking his own Asian and national records held in the final of the Athens Olympics.
Second place was Justin Gatlin, who clocked 9.94 seconds, and he was not at his best in this All-Star Game, both in terms of concentration and the first half of the start.
Third place went to Leonard Scott, who ran 10.14 seconds with his superior first half of the race.
Fourth place went to Nobuharu Asahara, who clocked 10.19 seconds;
Fifth place went to veteran Fredericks with a time of 10.24 seconds
Sixth place was Morris Green, 10.33 seconds, the former 100-meter overlord was clearly out of shape, and the run was too bad to run.
The seventh and eighth places were Shingo Sueji and Tsuchie Kanhiro, both of whom had not recovered from the Olympics and had mediocre results.
"Hey, Sue, you're in very good shape!"
After the match, Gatlin walked over and hugged Su Zu lightly and shook hands. He is good friends with Sean Crawford, and he also has a good impression of Su Zu. There are competitors on the field, and there is no such opposition at the end of the game, and athletes also need to have opponents in order to constantly push themselves not to relax and keep improving.
The Chinese teenager in front of him, who has made a splash since the Olympics, is an opponent who really rises and deserves his attention.
At this moment, the broadcast of the whole stadium suddenly sounded, in addition to the results of the game, there was also a bombshell news, Namibian veteran Fredericks officially announced his retirement after this All-Star Game.
Fredericks stood on the runway, smiling and with tears in his eyes. Although he failed to end his career with a championship, at the age of 37, he really had to leave the runway.
The audience saluted him with applause and cheers, and Suzu and Gatlin, as well as other athletes, walked over to shake hands and hug Fredericks.
In 1987, Frankie Fredericks was awarded a scholarship at Brigham Young University. During his collegiate career, Fredericks won three NCAA championships.
After Namibia's independence from South Africa in 1990, Fredericks was able to compete in international athletics for the first time.
In 1992 and 1996, he won four silver medals in the men's 100m and 200m at the Olympic Games.
He was the 200m champion at the 1993 World Athletics Championships and the 200m at the 1999 World Indoor Championships.
He has run more than 10 meters in 10 seconds for 27 times, and has won countless championships, runners-up and third places in various international and continental competitions.
And now, it's finally over.