Chapter 24: Olympic Semifinals
Originally, Director Guo could go to the athletes' dormitory to read out the punishment decision, but Director Guo felt that that was not enough, so Director Guo came to the restaurant, and he decided to wait here, as long as Zhang Guan came to the restaurant to eat, he would read out the punishment decision in front of the public, so that the entire national team would know. This can bring Zhang Guan a fierce sense of humiliation, while Director Guo will enjoy unparalleled pleasure.
It's really the bad guys who get old!
"Zhang Guan, a few days ago, you were so arrogant in front of me, you still spoke one set at a time, asked you to write a check, and pushed back and forth, this time it is not a check that can be solved! As long as I'm still in the position, it's not easy for you to be a little athlete! Director Guo thought excitedly in his heart, he seemed to have returned to the special era when he was young, and he found the pleasure of criticizing others when he was young!
At this time, Director Zhao's voice interrupted Director Guo's thoughts, he carefully looked at every member of the track and field team who entered the restaurant, and then said, "Director Guo, Zhang Guan didn't come." β
"Didn't come?" Director Guo took a closer look, but he really didn't see Zhang Guan.
"Let's go up and ask." Director Guo stepped forward, stopped an athlete, and asked, "What about Zhang Guan?" Why didn't you see Zhang Guan? Didn't he train with you? β
The athlete shook his head: "No, he has a game today, and he got on the bus not long ago and went to the arena." β
"He's got a game today? Didn't you just compare it yesterday? Director Guo asked.
"That's right, but Zhang Guan made the cut in yesterday's game! That's why I'm going to the semi-finals today. The athlete spoke.
"I actually made the cut! What shit luck! Director Guo's face suddenly became gloomy.
Officer Zhao next to him came up and said, "Director Guo, why don't we go back first, and come to Zhang Guan tomorrow to read out the punishment decision." You see, it may be dark in a while, and maybe Zhang Guan's game will start very late. β
"Nope! No matter how late it is, you have to wait! Director Guo took out the indomitable energy of the sports back then, and then said: "Let's eat first, and after eating, go to the parking lot of the shuttle bus and wait for him!" As soon as he gets out of the car, we will immediately go and read out the punishment decision! β
"This old guy who has passed menopause! If you don't rest, others will have to rest! Perverted! Officer Zhao scolded in his heart, but he still had to show obedience on his face.
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At 9 p.m. on August 22, Athens time, the semifinals of the men's 100-meter dash finally kicked off.
There are a total of 16 athletes competing in the semi-finals, so the semi-finals are played in two groups, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the finals. As for the fifth place in the group, even if it is faster than the first place in the other group, the fifth place will not be eligible for the next round.
Being able to enter the semi-finals are all world-class sprinters, coupled with the elimination mechanism of the top four promotions, which makes the competition more and more fierce, and in this case, many players will inevitably feel nervous, affecting the normal performance, and therefore the uncertainty of the competition has increased a lot.
American Sean Crawford and Justin Gatlin were both placed in the first group. However, considering that the men's 100m final will be held in two hours, neither American athlete did his best, but chose to conserve his physical strength appropriately, so neither of them made a time of less than 10 seconds. Crawford, who finished first in the group, clocked 10.07 seconds, while Gatlin, who finished second, finished in 10.09 seconds. This result is not even as good as in the rematch.
The semi-finals were not as exciting as the semi-finals, which made the crowd very unhappy, but the professional sports commentators did not show much surprise. After all, there are only two hours before the final, and it is normal for star athletes who are aiming to win the championship to have reservations. And the uneventful semi-finals mean that even more dangerous and intense finals are about to take place!
The other two qualifying spots in Group 1 were secured by Ghana's Aziz Zachary and Barbados' Obadley Thompson.
In the second group of the semi-finals, in addition to Maurice Green and Zhang Guan, Jamaican flyer Powell and European champion Obikwiru are also in this group. In addition, St. Kitts and Nevis athlete Kim Collins and British star Jason Gardner have the strength to make it to the next round, so on paper, the second group is stronger than the first, and the competition is bound to be fiercer.
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Powell stole a glance at Kim Collins next to him, knowing that the 100m champion at the Paris World Championships would have to go all out to secure a qualifying spot. This is not good news for Powell. With only two hours to go before the semi-finals, Powell clearly doesn't want to expend too much energy in the semi-finals, and he still wants to win a medal in the final.
Also thinking about Powell is Portuguese Obikviru.
A native of Nigeria, Obikwiru won both the 100m and 200m World Junior Championships before naturalizing to Portugal in 2001 and has since won a series of events such as the Golden League and the Athletics Grand Prix, making him arguably Europe's fastest runner.
As an African athlete, he has long been very eager to live in Europe, and in Nigeria, it is very common for athletes to go to Europe, for example, in the European football league, there are many Nigerian football players. But the Nigerian government didn't want Obikwiru to become a naturalized European country, so Obikewiru found an excuse to get hurt and stayed in Europe. He then hoped to be able to naturalize in European countries and eventually be accepted into Portugal.
For Obikviru, the only skill he relies on to survive is sprinting, and the Portuguese are willing to naturalize him because of his sprinting skills. So he has to do well in the tournament to show his worth, but if he can't even make it to the final, Obikviru is worthless to Portugal. It is not easy for a naturalized athlete from Africa who has no value to survive in Europe. So for Obikviru, it's his battle for survival.
Another player, Kim Collins, who hails from the small island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, is undoubtedly a big sports star in such a small and sparsely populated country. His best result was winning the World Championships in Paris last year, but the big names at that tournament didn't show up. In fact, Kim Collins only ran 9.97 seconds that time, which can be said to have won a World Championships in Paris.
Although this championship is very watery, it is still a championship anyway, and even if no one sees Kim Collins as a favorite, there is no problem with him reaching the final if there are no surprises in the pre-match predictions. But an accident happened, and a crown suddenly appeared, and he could run within 9.9 seconds, which was tantamount to stealing a promotion place from Collins. So in the next semi-finals, Collins is ready, he will do his best, desperate to fight for a place in the final.
Morris Green looked at Zhang Guan with a provocative face, he always felt that he was the boss of the American track and field team, the 100-meter championship was already in his bag in his opinion, and those eyeless spinach companies actually listed the Chinese as the first favorite to win the championship! So Green decided to have some appetizers before winning the championship, to teach this Chinese a good lesson, and at the same time let those analysts of the spinach company know who is the strongest 100-meter flyer!
At this time, Zhang Guan was in a good mood, and he didn't notice Green's provocative gaze at all. After he returned to the Olympic Village yesterday, he got the good news that in the men's football competition, the Iraqi pair reached the semi-finals!
Iraq, who have never been favourites, beat Portugal 4-2 in the group stage before beating Costa Rica 2-0 to qualify. This was followed by a 1-2 loss to Morocco in the third game. But what everyone didn't expect was that in the other game in the same group, the Portuguese team lost to Costa Rica 2:4, and as a result, the Iraqi team and the Costa Rica team in this group qualified side by side, and the Iraqi team was still the first in the group.
In the quarterfinals held on the 21st, Iraq played against Australia, the second place team in Group C, and Iraq defeated Australia 1:0 and miraculously entered the semifinals.
Zhang Guan also made a lot of money because of this, about 1 to 80 odds, so that Zhang Guan earned three million euros, although he has not yet gone to claim the prize, but Zhang Guan is still in a good mood.
"As long as you win the 100-meter championship tonight, there will be a bonus of more than 10 million euros, which is equivalent to more than 100 million national dollars, which is to become rich overnight!"
Money is undoubtedly the most direct stimulus, thinking of the more than 10 million euros, Zhang Guan's body can't help but get excited, and at this moment he can't wait for the game to start as soon as possible.
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All eight athletes on the track are ready to start.
Due to the poor performance of the athletes in the first group, the audience seemed to lack interest in the semi-finals of the second group, and everyone was focusing on the men's high jump and men's triple jump finals. As for the 100-meter sprint, let's wait for the final in two hours!
The high jump had risen to 2.34 metres and six athletes were still trying, and the crowd sighed as Sweden's Stephen Holm failed to attempt 2.34 metres on his second attempt. There is a lot of discussion that the former World Champion is about to collapse at this height.
At this moment, on the course of the 100-meter dash, the starter reminded the athletes to get ready for the start and then pulled the trigger for the start of the race.
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