Xinhua News Agency, Feng Shuyong, head coach of the Chinese track and field training team, said that 11 top Chinese athletes will compete in the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Vienna, the capital of Hungary, to compete in six events, in order to compete with the world's masters. In the just-concluded Levin Indoor Championships in France, all athletes performed well, Liu Yangyu won gold in the 50m and 60m hurdles, and Su Zu also won the gold medal in the men's 60m sprint. Feng Shuyong said that this is just a warm-up before the competition, and the purpose of training with competition is to let Chinese track and field athletes who are accustomed to "burying their heads in hard training" get training in actual combat and better prepare for the Olympic Games. ”

In the morning news column of CCTV, an interstitial sports news was transmitted to thousands of households in front of the TV through the host's voice.

The 11th World Indoor Athletics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary from March 5 to March 7 was the first major event in international athletics in 2004.

The World Indoor Athletics Championships are held every two years, once in 2003, and according to common sense, the next one should be held in 2005. However, the reason for the 2004 move was that the IAAF had brought the event forward by one year, so that it could alternate with the World Athletics Championships every other year.

With less than half a year to go before the Athens Olympics, this competition is both a test of strength and a rare opportunity to warm up. The number of participating countries and regions in this indoor competition has risen from 133 in the ninth edition to nearly 150 this time, creating the highest number of indoor world championships.

As in previous editions, the high prize money is also one of the reasons for attracting many athletes to participate. The top six finishers at this year's Indoor World Athletics Championships will also receive generous prize money. Among them, the champion is $40,000, the runner-up is $20,000, the third place is $10,000, and the fourth to sixth places are $8,000, $6,000, and $4,000 respectively; The world record prize is as high as $50,000.

Only 11 track and field athletes of the Chinese team participated in the World Indoor Championships, and after the end of the competition in Levin, France, like the indoor competition in Vienna last year, the athletes who met the standards traveled to Budapest, Hungary to prepare for the indoor world track and field events, and the other part of the athletes and coaches who only participated in the IAAF Invitational Tournament returned to China first.

In addition to the athletes, the Chinese delegation now has a team of elite troops, with only the head coach Feng Shuyong and the head coaches of the participating athletes, as well as two interpreters and a foreign affairs liaison staff.

After finishing the indoor competition in Levin, France on March 1, the delegation moved directly to Budapest, Hungary, because the start time was on March 5, there were still a few days to go, under the arrangement of the tournament organizers, in a small training ground not far from the competition venue for simple training.

"The bonus is not bad."

Su Zu got a booklet about the introduction of this indoor competition, looked at the prize money of the competition on it, smashed his mouth, and sighed a little. At this time, the exchange rate between the RMB and the US dollar is still 8 to 1, which is still a lot of money if you win the championship or even break the record.

"Okay, don't look at it, prepare to warm up, do a few sets of training, I just learned a trick from Liu Yangyu's coach, stretching muscles, which is very helpful before the game." Li Zhizhong watched Su Zu talking to himself about the prize money in the event brochure, and immediately walked over and took away the brochure in Su Zu's hand.

"Coach, let me see again, you don't want to make money?" Su Zu watched Li Zhizhong take away the booklet, and immediately scolded him with a smile.

The prize money of this kind of prize competition is different from the personal prize money given to him by the Education Bureau of the Sports Bureau in the past, and the distribution method is that one-third is handed over to the association as a sports fund, one-third is given to coaches and other meritorious personnel, and the remaining one-third is for athletes, of which the sports fund will be distributed proportionally by the management center and local associations.

"Hey, don't your tail, you can't be a champion of an invitational tournament." Li Zhizhong ignored Su Zu and directly drove him to the field for training.

"Two." Su Zu raised his fingers, "Vienna also took one last year." ”

"What's the use of winning more championships in this kind of small competition, if you can win a championship at the World Indoor Championships this time, it can really be regarded as entering the international vision." Li Zhizhong rolled up the event introduction manual in his hand, pointed at Su Zu, and hit him unceremoniously, "Don't be careless, now you are competing with real famous players." ”

Over the past year or so, with the improvement of Su Zu's grades, the honor on his body has gradually increased, and he is also afraid that Su Zu will be complacent when he is young. From life to training, as well as his psychological state, he needs to take care of it.

Although Su Zu has always maintained a very self-disciplined and cautious training attitude, no one dares to guarantee that one day he will suddenly be presumptuous. From Li Zhizhong's point of view, it is necessary not only to protect, but also to occasionally and appropriately beat.

Of course, Su Zu didn't know Li Zhizhong's thoughts, even if he knew, he would only smile, not to mention that he hadn't run 10 seconds in 100 meters now, even if he won an Olympic championship, there was still the big demon king of 08 years behind, where would he dare to have any contempt now.

"Is it Green or Montgomery coming?" Hearing Li Zhizhong say that a famous general was coming, the first thing that came to Su Zu's mind was the names of these two people.

"Green is the record holder in the 60m indoors, and the indoors don't appeal to him anymore and he's definitely not coming back. Montgomery, now that there is a lawsuit, not to mention it, these black athletes' ideas are too peculiar. Li Zhizhong shook his head and continued, "In addition to Grimes and Francis Obikviru, who played against you last time in Levin, France, there are also American star Crawford and Britain's Jason Gardner. ”

Speaking of this, Li Zhizhong then explained a few more words, "Crawford is the 200m champion at the 2001 World Indoor Championships and the champion at the World Track and Field Finals. You may not have heard of Jason Gardner, who is undefeated in all indoor competitions in 2000. ”

For many people in later generations, many outstanding sprinters in world athletics during this time period are really few people have heard of them. But in fact, the people introduced by Li Zhizhong are all top athletes who have the strength to stand on the Olympic finals.

It's just that the glory of the Olympic champion is too great, and then after 04 years, all kinds of track and field players emerge in an endless stream, and these people are gradually covered up.

"By the way, Coach, is there an American player named Gatlin?" Su Zu listened to Li Zhizhong's introduction of the current series of outstanding athletes, and suddenly remembered the Athens Olympics in the next few months.

"Gatling? You mean Justin Gatlin? Li Zhizhong rejected the name again, "This is the new rising sprint rookie in the United States, I have checked the information compiled by the team, 2003 was simply a shining year, this is the top 100-meter athlete." However, like Green, he won the 60m at the World Indoor Championships last year, and it is not attractive for him to compete again. ”

"I'm going to train."

Su Zu took a light breath, and suddenly lost the interest in continuing to chat with Li Zhizhong. The moment I ran towards the arena, I felt only an invisible pressure.

Green, Crawford, Grimes, Francis Obikveru, Jason Gardner, these top athletes are not old at this time.

Gatlin was already making his mark in world athletics at this time, Asafa Powell was on the verge of breaking the Jamaican men's 100m record, and Tyson Gay was set to fire his first shot in athletics a year later. These three were born in the same year and are known as the 82-year three tigers in the 100-meter sprint, and they have appeared in people's field of vision one by one.

Unconsciously, Su Zu was already standing on the same field as the world's top sprinter at this time.