The Su God of the Reopening of the Sports Arena

Chapter 2478 Our country has never lacked geniuses; it's just a matter of who can seize the opp

Chapter 2478 Our country has never lacked geniuses; it's just a matter of who can seize the opportunity.

Aside from sprints, long-distance running is a bit tougher.

In the 20km race walk at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, the Chinese team's group advantage of Wang Zhen, Chen Ding, and Cai Zelin failed to materialize, and Spaniard Lopez surprisingly won the gold medal.

Wang Zhen of the Chinese team finished 15 seconds behind, taking the silver medal, while London Olympic champion Chen Ding finished 9th.

As a sport in which China has an advantage, the Chinese team, composed of London Olympic champion Chen Ding, Asian Games champion Wang Zhen, and London Olympic fourth-place finisher Cai Zelin, is striving to keep the World Championship gold medal in China. They hope to break the "curse" that "Asian athletes cannot win the World Championships".

The Chinese team is in a very favorable position in this competition, playing at home and having all the advantages of timing, location, and support.

All three players are seasoned veterans and are in the prime of their careers.

The strongest opponent, the Russian team, announced their withdrawal from the competition at the last minute.

The French star Diniz, who set a world record earlier this year, and Guatemalan veteran Barondo, a silver medalist at the London Olympics, were among the athletes who failed to participate.

With many of their main rivals unable to come to the Bird's Nest, the Chinese team, with its full roster, has a very high probability of winning gold.

After the start, the three Chinese runners surged to the front, with Chen Ding leading the pack initially, Cai Zelin taking over midway through the race, and Wang Zhen leading in the final 7 kilometers. While this allowed them to control the pace, it was extremely taxing on all three. In contrast, Lopez remained hidden within the peloton after the starting gun, never attempting to lead, thus conserving his energy to the fullest extent.

When the race reached 13 kilometers, Wang Zhen took the lead and broke away from the main group, but Chen Ding and Cai Zelin, who formed a "double insurance" or "triple insurance", failed to keep up. From then on, Wang Zhen was the only one left to win gold for the Chinese team. At this time, Wang Zhen had already accumulated two fouls, so he could not help but be more careful in his technical movements.

Lopez began to push hard at the 18-kilometer mark, quickly closing the 12-second gap with Wang Zhen. After a period of stalemate, he pushed hard again and pulled away from his opponent in the final kilometer to establish a winning position.

西班牙人最终以1小时19分14秒的个人最好成绩获得冠军。王震以1小时19分29秒获得亚军。蔡泽林以1小时20分42秒获得第五名，陈顶以1小时21分39秒获得第九名。

Post-match interview.

"The weather was quite hot today, and the athletes were all rather conservative, walking together in a group. Only the three Chinese athletes kept leading the way and slowing down the pace. Perhaps there are still some tactical issues," Chen Ding said after the race.

Wang Zhen, who won the silver medal, said after the race: "I rushed through the race and felt that my technique had changed somewhat. When Lopez overtook me, my stamina wasn't very good. I didn't follow the coach's plan and started running a bit too early. The coach told me to run the last five kilometers, but I sprinted out in the last seven kilometers. Lopez only caught up with me in the last two kilometers. If I had sprinted the last five kilometers... I was still a bit too hasty." He also said that the Chinese team didn't actually have a clear strategy for this race and just "went with the flow."

It wasn't just the events where they could have won gold that failed to produce gold medals.

The other projects also experienced varying degrees of fluctuation.

In the men's pole vault qualifying round, Chinese athlete Yao Jie jumped a personal best of 5.65 meters but still failed to advance to the final. Another Chinese athlete, Zhang Wei, also failed to qualify, with a jump of 5.55 meters.

Fortunately, in the women's pole vault qualifying round, Chinese athlete Li Ling cleared a height of 4.55 meters and secured her place in the final.

That's how they managed to save some face.

In the men's long jump, the finals had already begun during the break in the straight track events.

夺冠头号热门、美国选手亨德森第一跳虽然有8米40开外表现，却踏板犯规在先。中国三虎里先出场的是王嘉南，他第一跳就达到了8米14的高水准。高兴龙也不遑多让，他的第一跳也达到了8米14。

Li Jinzhe was the last of the three Chinese athletes to perform, but although his board-finding was accurate, his jump height was insufficient, resulting in a height of only 7.69 meters. Rutherford committed a foul on his first attempt.

After the first jump, China's two players are temporarily in first and second place, while Li Jin is in sixth.

In order to ensure that he could jump three more times, Henderson started jumping from a great distance away from the board, and ended up jumping 7.95 meters. Wang Jianan jumped 8.18 meters in his second jump.

The whole place was boiling.

Gao Xinglong, who was behind him, finished his second jump with a distance of 7.87 meters. London Olympic champion Rutherford then unleashed his power, jumping 8.29 meters to take the lead.

Li Jinzhe's second dive should have been at least 8.30 meters, but unfortunately he stepped over the line and committed a foul. After this dive, Li Jinzhe was ranked ninth. He must perform well in his third dive to secure a spot in the next three dives.

After the second jump, Rutherford came in first, Wang Jianan second, and Gao Xinglong third.

On his third jump, Wang Jianan was still incredibly powerful, jumping 8.08 meters.

Gao Xinglong's third dive was 7.85 meters. Henderson committed another foul by stepping over the line, but he was still in sixth place and had a chance to enter the last three dives. However, the athletes behind him then performed one by one.

Li Jinzhe seized the opportunity on his third jump, leaping 8.09 meters and moving up to fifth place. Overwhelmed with emotion, Li Jinzhe knelt in the sandpit to thank God.

His rise to fifth place also means that Henderson has fallen to ninth, thus eliminating the top favorite to win the championship.

American third-place swimmer Hatfield committed three consecutive fouls, and with Dundee eliminated in the preliminaries, the entire American contingent was wiped out.

The final three jumps began, and Rutherford delivered a spectacular fourth jump, clearing 8.41 meters.

An excited Rutherford had already started celebrating ahead of schedule.

Wang Jianan's fourth dive was about 8.30 meters, but unfortunately he stepped on the line and committed a foul, which was only about the length of his toes.

Gao Xinglong also fouled on his fourth jump. Li Jinzhe also fouled on his fourth jump, but he steadily improved on his fifth jump, jumping 8.10 meters and moving up to fourth place.

But then Australian athlete Lapere jumped 8.20 meters. Gao Xinglong jumped 7.95 meters, and Wang Jianan slightly stepped over the line, resulting in a foul. After five jumps, Rutherford was in first place.

Lapere finished second, while Chinese athletes Wang Jianan, Gao Xinglong, and Li Jinzhe ranked second through fifth, respectively.

As the final dive began, all three foreign divers committed fouls, and the focus shifted to the competition between the three Chinese divers and the two British and Australian divers.

Li Jinzhe, who went first, unfortunately stepped out of bounds by half a foot. Lapere, who went next, clearly had a strained right thigh, but he went all out and jumped 8.24 meters, setting a new record.

Gao Xinglong took to the field and made a perfect jump. It was obvious that he was far beyond the 8.10-meter mark, but the result showed that he only jumped 8.02 meters.

Gao Xinglong asked the judges to recheck, but slow-motion replays showed that his palm slightly touched the sandpit backward. Wang Jianan didn't find his rhythm in his last dive, only managing a little over 6 meters.

Rutherford, who ultimately forfeited his last two jumps, won the gold medal with a jump of 8.41 meters, while Lapere took silver with 8.24 meters.

Chinese athlete Wang Jianan won third place with a jump of 8.18 meters.

Yang Jian's exclamation "Beautiful!" and "Got it!" during the match commentary.

It has also become a classic.

The third jump, in particular, also had a classic commentary segment—

"Wang Jianan is really steady! So far, Li Jinzhe is ranked ninth, so the third dive is very important for Li Jinzhe."

"This jump was really important! Go for it! Think of something drastic! Take a run-up! Jump! Well done, Li Jinzhe! Thank God you made it! What a fantastic jump! The pressure was immense, you made history!"

"Three Chinese players made it to the top eight! Asian history! Goodbye Henderson!"

"All three Chinese players made it to the top eight, while all three Americans were eliminated! They've been making Asian history all along! The Chinese team has already succeeded!"

"Bronze medal! He paid tribute to his senior, Li Jinzhe!!!"

……

18-year-old Wang Jianan won the bronze medal, marking the second time an Asian athlete has won a medal in the men's long jump at the World Championships.

China set a record by having three players reach the finals in this event, ranking third through fifth respectively.

“Wang Jianan is only 18 years old, and it is not easy for him to achieve today’s results. After all, he has made Chinese history,” Huntington, affectionately known as “Randy” by his teammates, said after the competition. “When he first started practicing with me, his results were only around 7.90 meters. His progress has been really fast.”

Randy, from the United States, is a well-known figure, best known now as the coach of the men's sprint team. He is the head coach of Suarez and Zhao Haohuan.

It seems like everything is related to sprinting, but actually...

He was once the coach of Mike Powell, the world record holder in this event and a renowned American athlete. He came to China early on, and after arriving, Randy became the coach of the national men's sprint team. Then, in 2013, he also served as the foreign coach for the long jump team. Currently, his trainees include Wang Jianan, Gao Xinglong (who finished third to fifth on the day of the competition), national record holder Li Jinzhe, and Huang Changzhou, who did not participate this time. Huang Changzhou also met the qualifying standard for the World Championships this season, but unfortunately missed this competition because each representative association can only send three athletes to compete in one event.

“It’s unprecedented in World Championships history that all three of our male long jump athletes finished in the top eight of the finals, and all of them are coached by the same coach,” Randy said. “Furthermore, they all have a lot of room for improvement, and they can’t consistently maintain a high level of performance yet. I’m helping them change their perception of the long jump and teaching them how to win.”

In the competition that night, Li Jinzhe, who broke the national record last year with a height of 8.47 meters, was the biggest hope for the Chinese team to win a medal. However, Li Jinzhe, who came from the capital, failed to perform well in front of his hometown fans and finally finished fifth with a height of 8.10 meters. After the competition, Li Jinzhe also shed tears of regret.

"Li Jinzhe could have at least won a silver or bronze medal, but he didn't perform well tonight," Randy said in an interview. "But that's normal. In the long jump, anyone can make a mistake. Henderson from the United States was the biggest favorite, but he didn't even make the top eight."

"I think Li Jinzhe has the ability to jump 8.60 meters. Of course, I also think that 18-year-old Wang Jianan, who won the bronze medal, has a chance."

At this moment, Su Shen, who was on his way to the auxiliary field to warm up again, was asked this question by a reporter. His own athlete won the bronze medal, and he was an 18-year-old prodigy. Su Shen was naturally in the mood to praise him.

"What else can I say? Randy's words are the best standard. I think he's only 18 years old, and anything is possible."

"Do I think he can win a medal? No, no, no. Since he wants to win a medal, and since he's still young, why not aim higher?"

"I think he has the potential to win a gold medal in the future."

"Yes, that's what I said, I believe in him. He's only 18 years old, and maybe soon he can help us win our first gold medal in a world competition."

Hearing this, Wang Jianan felt only gratitude, appreciation, and even a bit overwhelmed. He didn't know why Randy thought so highly of him, and he was even more confused about why Su Shen...

Even the top-tier celebrity athlete in China right now would have such high hopes for him.

He simply took note of it and kept it in mind.

He thought to himself that two big names in the track and field world were endorsing him.

I must not let myself down.

He has now come to Ersha Island for training.

It has to be here.

Make a name for yourself in the practice.

……

There must be a reason why everyone is so optimistic about him.

Calling him a genius is perfectly reasonable.

Not just in the future, he will definitely win the gold medal.

Just look at how he went from specializing in the long jump to making history in just 4 years.

Then you can stand on the podium of the competition.

Is this something an ordinary person can do?
In February 2012, Wang Jianan was still participating in the National Indoor Men's Decathlon Competition. At that time, he was only 15 years old and was a decathlon athlete in the Jiangsu Provincial Team.

In July 2013, with Li Jinzhe, China's top long jumper, absent, Wang Jianan won the Asian Championships in Pune, India with a jump of 7.95 meters. He had never even competed in the World Junior Championships, and thus qualified for the Moscow World Championships.

In Moscow, 16-year-old Wang Jianan had a very poor performance, failing to reach 7.60 meters in any of her three qualifying dives, with a best result of 7.59 meters, and thus failing to qualify for the finals. In Feng Shuyong's words, although Wang Jianan performed terribly in Moscow, she still gained valuable experience in major competitions.

Sure enough, having experienced the big stage, he displayed exceptional strength at the World Junior Championships in Eugene the following year, winning the gold medal with a jump of 8.08 meters. In the final, Wang Jianan was the only athlete to clear 8 meters.

That year, Wang Jianan not only improved his personal best to 8.10 meters, but also defeated Li Jinzhe for the first time in an official competition, winning the championship at the IAAF World Athletics Challenge in Beijing.

Entering the 2015 season, Wang Jianan's performance improved by leaps and bounds. In May, he jumped 8.25 meters at the Shanghai Diamond League, ultimately winning third place and securing his qualification for the World Championships.

Then they went straight to the Bird's Nest competition and won a medal.

Who says we don't have geniuses?

He is a true genius.

Moreover, you should know that Wang Jianan injured his thigh again at the test match in Beijing at the end of June, which affected his performance. He only started to resume specialized training in mid-to-late July, which is only about a month ago.

The short preparation time had a certain impact on his technique.

Even with all that, he still managed to win a bronze medal.

What a cruel person.

Moreover, his birthday is approaching, and he will use a bronze medal from a major competition as his final gift to himself on his 18th birthday.

Being an athlete is simply the best thing ever.

Moreover, on this timeline, he had been with Randy for much longer.

Who knows what amazing results they might achieve?
Everything is continuing.

Suarez's influence on the entire domestic track and field community continues.

After the long jump event had briefly ended.

The main event is finally about to begin.

That is, the first one.

Men's 110m hurdles final.

This is also the first major competition in front of domestic audiences since Liu Xiang was absent.

As mentioned before, compared to the Olympics, the World Championships in Moscow don't actually attract as much attention.

This resulted in Xie Wenjun having already won a medal.

However, its brand awareness in China is still not high enough.

But this time the World Championships are being held on home soil.

If we can win a medal here.

The effect of this medal.

It will be far superior to the one in Moscow.

This idea is probably on the minds of all the athletes participating in the World Championships.

The coaching teams of all the athletes participating in the World Championships are also aware of this.

This is why Li Jinzhe burst into tears after a poor performance.

This gold medal is not just a regret, but also signifies a change in his entire career and even his future.

For us, it's a game played on home soil.

They won a medal.

It is more meaningful than winning a medal in other competitions.

Much larger.

At this point, most of the other Asian contestants had been eliminated, leaving only Xie Wenjun as the only Asian contestant to advance to the finals.

Then the signal sounded that the men's 110-meter hurdles final would begin in 10 minutes.

The whole thing was fueled by Wang Jianan's passion for winning a medal in the long jump.

It was ignited once again.

Even Liu Xiang.

Looking at this familiar track.

Looking at this familiar bird's nest.

Looking at that figure, also with black hair and yellow skin.

They couldn't help but slightly adjust their seats forward.

110m hurdles.

I never expected to participate in the 110-meter hurdles at the Bird's Nest again.

He was already working as a commentator.

but.