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

Chapter 259-260

Translator: dapotaturs

Release Date: 10/11/2023

Chapter 259: Post-Match Public Opinion & Mixed Relay Finals About to Begin

In the audience seats, after the excitement, Jiang Wentao finally remembered that the 400m head coach, Su Bai, was sitting next to him. He turned his face, full of joy, and anyone could see the triumphant look on his face.

"Xiaobai, before you made the substitutions, did you already guess that even with the changes, they could advance to the finals?" Jiang Wentao was so excited that his face turned red, and when he turned to Su Bai, that excited expression was hard to conceal.

Su Bai looked at Zhang Jiale and Lin Yao, who were already so happy they were jumping, and smiled, shaking his head. "Of course not. In today's competition, Zhang Jiale, Chen Yadan, Lin Yao, and Li Junhao all performed beyond expectations. They did much better than I anticipated. I originally expected a time outside of 3 minutes and 15.90 seconds. Whether they could make it to the finals would still require some luck. They achieved this great result today solely based on their abilities."

At this moment, Pei Jin'an also applauded from the side, and happiness couldn't be concealed on his face. He interjected, "To form a relay team like this is your credit. To bring the athletes in the team to this level of achievement is also your credit!"

Hearing Pei Jin'an's words, Jiang Wentao laughed heartily. "Alright, alright, athletes have their credit, and coaches certainly have their credit too. In any case, everyone in the athletics team's 400m event is doing great!"

Today's preliminary round was undoubtedly a strong response to the previous online criticism. The athletes in the men's and women's mixed 4x400m relay had such a performance, not only creating the "first-time finals qualification for the 400m event" at the Olympics but also providing a shot in the arm to all the spectators.

The 400m sprint event in China is truly making progress!

In just three years, China's 400m sprint event has come a long way. It has transformed from the embarrassing situation of not even reaching the finals at the Asian Games into a historic appearance at the Olympic stage, securing a place in the finals.

Although today's competition was only the mixed relay, it was evident that not just the top-tier Chinese relay team could perform this well. This has raised expectations for the upcoming individual performances of China's strongest contenders in the 400m, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen.

At the end of the race, Zhang Jiale was so excited that he nearly hugged Li Junhao, who was still on the track.

For Zhang Jiale, the pressure in today's competition was substantial. He was a non-traditional athlete who entered the national team trial at the age limit's edge, transitioning from a local team to the national team, and within the first year of joining the national team, he earned the opportunity to compete at the Olympic level.

This experience was something Zhang Jiale had never dreamed of in the past. He wasn't particularly young; at 23 years old, he was similar in age to veteran teammates like Qiu Wen and Li Junhao. However, his training experience was much shorter.

Without the opportunity with the trial team, Zhang Jiale believed he wouldn't have had the chance to join the national team, let alone stand on the Olympic stage.

Four years ago, during the Rio Olympics, he had never imagined he would stand alongside world-class athletes in such a prestigious competition.

Since joining the national team, despite his family's encouragement to train diligently, he always had a lingering sense of unreality in his heart.