After Leaving the Sports Circle, I Became a Cooking God (Completed BL)

Chapter 161-162

Translator: dapotaturs

Release Date: 10/01/2023

Chapter 161 World Relay Championships, Men's 4x400m Preliminaries

In the second preliminary group where the Chinese team is competing, there are 5 other participating teams from Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Bahamas. Among these six teams, the Chinese men's 4x400m relay team currently holds the best performance of the season.

The time of 3 minutes and 1.67 seconds that the Chinese team ran at the Asian Championships is, as of now, the current season's world best in this event.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the Chinese team can easily dominate this competition. In this group, the team with the best historical performance should be from Trinidad and Tobago. They have the ability to break the 3-minute mark and are regular contenders in the World Championships' men's 4x400m relay final. They were even the world champions in this event at the 2017 World Championships.

At this moment, the first leg runners from all 6 teams are crouched on the starting blocks. After the starting gun goes off, on the curved track, these 6 figures shoot out like bullets, vying for the top 2 spots that lead to qualification.

"The race has started!"

In the sports channel commentary booth, Shao Minyi calmly said, "In this competition, apart from Trinidad and Tobago, we should not underestimate the strength of teams like South Africa and Poland. While the Chinese team has made rapid progress over the past year, facing these experienced and strong teams that often reach the finals of World Championships and Olympics, we still need to be cautious."

Shao Minyi's words were accurate, but from his stable calmness and objectivity, one could sense that he wasn't as nervous about these preliminaries as he had portrayed.

Even many viewers in front of their televisions felt the same way. Compared to the tension they experienced while watching the women's team compete earlier, they now observed Zhang Ziyi on the track with a sense of nervous anticipation, but it wasn't like building a castle in the air.

Just by watching Zhang Ziyi on the track, there was an inexplicable sense of trust.

Zhang Ziyi on the track was no longer the runner who once stubbornly adhered to a regular rhythm. He had incorporated an ambitious sense of speed into his natural rhythm. His explosiveness at the start was much stronger than before, yet he could maintain a pace that he could control.

With both speed and strength, and the ability to efficiently balance his physical capabilities throughout the race, Zhang Ziyi's strength had indeed quietly transformed over the past year, making a leap distinct from his previous performance.

In this race, the Chinese relay team was placed in the fifth lane. To Zhang Ziyi's right were the Polish and Bahamian teams.

The first leg runner from the Bahamas, positioned in the outermost lane, appeared to be unusually nervous. When the starting gun went off, he made a significant reaction time error, taking 0.263 seconds to react.

As for Trinidad and Tobago, theoretically the strongest team, their first leg runner seemed to perform adequately or perhaps a bit average in this race, with a reaction time of only 0.207 seconds, which couldn't be considered outstanding.

However, among all the teams on the track, the fastest reaction time in the start wasn't from the Chinese team. It was the first leg runner from South Africa, with a reaction time of 0.142 seconds. It was clear that this South African first leg runner had a very strong start and excelled not only in the initial burst but also in the subsequent curved section of the race. It was evident that he had a strong ambition and desire for the two qualification spots in this group.