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

Chapter 269-270

Translator: dapotaturs

Release Date: 10/16/2023

Chapter 269 Zhang Ziyi's Result & Public Discussion

Almost neck and neck.

Just the word "almost" ultimately said it all.

From the live broadcast on the sports channel, it was clear that the distance between Zhang Ziyi and McNair was very close, but when McNair crossed the finish line, he was still half a body length ahead of Zhang Ziyi.

That final half-body length marked the distinction between fourth and fifth place, the position that brought an end to any hopes.

As Zhang Ziyi crossed the finish line, both Shao Minyi and Li Sen fell silent for a few seconds, seemingly caught in a momentary speechlessness by the regrettable scene before them.

On the track, Zhang Ziyi and McNair, positioned in adjacent lanes eight and nine, respectively, were able to discern each other's positions as they crossed the line.

While McNair was only in fourth place, the strength of the results among the athletes in the three groups of the semi-finals today was well known to everyone.

As long as they could secure a top-four position in the first group of the semi-finals, they were likely to qualify for the finals!

At this moment, the half-body length between McNair and Zhang Ziyi represented a stark distance between hope and hopelessness.

After crossing the finish line, Zhang Ziyi was already aware of this fact. He realized it clearly and could only cover his face with both hands. After a long silence, he sighed lightly, released his hands, and turned to embrace McNair with a smile.

McNair  was undoubtedly surprised. In fact, his performance had been fluctuating over the past two or three years, and his results had not been very stable. Especially when facing the Chinese team's Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, his performance and ranking often fell short of expectations.

In tonight's race, the only thing he was grateful for was that he didn't have to compete with that terrifying guy, Qiu Wen.

Just like in sports like tennis, where certain players always seem to counter each other, McNair felt that Qiu Wen from the Chinese team was the one who completely restrained him on the field.

Whenever he competed with Qiu Wen, his state, mentality, and even rhythm control would often become involuntary.

For some reason, McNair was absolutely certain in his heart—if the person he had just competed with in the semi-finals was Qiu Wen, then the one to advance to the top four would definitely not be him.

In any case, this semi-final was over.

In the audience stands, Su Bai was also standing in front of his seat, frowning and staring at Zhang Ziyi in the field. In the end, he could only sigh with a bitter smile.

Pei Jin'an was also standing beside Su Bai. He patted Su Bai's shoulder and said, "It's okay. Although there is regret, Ziyi's performance has been impressive enough."

Listening to Pei Jin'an's words, Su Bai finally shook his head.

As a coach who was too young, no matter how calm and composed he appeared, he couldn't help but feel regret for the athletes he coached. Over the past two years, he had devoted countless efforts to the athletes in the 400-meter sprint project of the national team, especially Zhang Ziyi. Starting from the moment when Zhang Ziyi showed his determination that might lead to overstrain, he had firmly supported him in his pursuit of the Olympics. His attention to Zhang Ziyi had indeed climbed to the forefront among many athletes.