Turmoil Arises Again

Inside the BBC broadcasting studio, Edwards asked, "What a remarkable race! An Asian man breaking the world record for the men's 100 meters—it's incredible. This must be the first track and field gold medal for China at this Olympics, right?"

The host flipped through the documents in his hand and replied, "Yes, this is indeed the first gold medal for China in track and field at these Olympics. Track and field has never been a strength for the Chinese, and even in past Olympics, their gold medals in this category have been very few."

"Oh! When will the award ceremony take place?" Edwards asked further.

The host continued flipping through the documents and said, "The award ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow. According to the schedule, it will take place after the second round of the women's 200 meters tomorrow."

"Still have to wait until tomorrow!" Edwards sighed, then explained, "But that's normal. According to the rules, the Fair Competition Committee needs to conduct a urine test on the medalists. Isn't that right, Mr. Erikson?"

Edwards suddenly turned and directed the question to Erikson on the other side.

"Right!" Erikson replied through gritted teeth.

A day ago, Erikson had hinted that Zhang Guan might be using performance-enhancing drugs. At that time, he and Edwards had discussed the issue of urine tests, and Erikson had confidently claimed that Zhang Guan wouldn't even finish in the top three to warrant a post-race urine test. Today, Edwards brought up the issue deliberately to embarrass Erikson.

Edwards and Erikson held different views. Erikson, besides being a track and field coach, was also a sports commentator known for his sharp and controversial opinions. He often criticized others to highlight his own expertise, a common tactic among commentators to gain notoriety. Moreover, being an older Briton with a mindset full of "British Empire" superiority, Erikson's disdain for the Chinese was both a cognitive bias and a traditional attitude.

Edwards had no personal feelings towards Zhang Guan, but as a former athlete, he spoke more from the perspective of an athlete. He knew that every bit of improvement in an athlete's performance came with immense hard work. It was unacceptable to Edwards that sports commentators could so easily dismiss the athletes' efforts with a few casual remarks. Therefore, he naturally stood on Zhang Guan's side.

"However, the results can only be confirmed after the urine test. If an athlete fails the test, they will be disqualified and could even face a ban!" Erikson said.

Edwards quickly responded, "So far, there have been no failed urine tests in the track and field events at this Olympics. I believe that athletes will compete fairly and that the Fair Competition Committee is highly professional."

"Not necessarily; the Chinese might be using some unknown methods that can't be detected," Erikson said, realizing halfway that he might have said something inappropriate and abruptly stopped talking.

Across from him, Edwards smiled knowingly at Erikson, understanding that Erikson had crossed a line.

The International Olympic Committee has a dedicated anti-doping committee, and each Olympics hires major biomedical testing companies to handle doping tests. Erikson's remarks not only questioned the fairness of the Olympic Committee but also the competence of those biomedical testing companies, which rely on their technology for credibility. A commentator publicly questioning their capabilities on a TV program could potentially lead to legal issues.

…

In a café near the Olympic Village parking lot, Director Guo stared intently through the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching every arriving vehicle.

The café's television was showing the men's rings final in gymnastics, because a Greek athlete, Tampakis, was competing. The competition was nearing its end, and the Greek athlete currently had the highest score and a good chance of winning a gold medal.

Although the 100-meter dash was a very popular event, there were no Greek athletes competing in it. The rings event not only had Greek participation but also a potential gold medalist, so naturally, the Greek audience preferred to watch the rings competition. As a result, Director Guo remained unaware of the 100-meter final results.

"Why isn't the competition over yet?" Director Guo complained, while beside him, Officer Zhao was grumbling internally about having to accompany him.

Director Guo was looking to make trouble for Zhang Guan, and Officer Zhao didn't object since Zhang Guan had previously shown no respect for Director Guo. While Officer Zhao understood Director Guo's actions, having to wait here late into the night made him a bit resentful. Director Guo, being older, needed less sleep and was still quite energetic, but Officer Zhao was already feeling very sleepy, struggling to stay awake with the help of coffee.

"It's just a notice of penalty. It could be announced tomorrow. Why insist on doing it today at midnight? These people who are about to retire are just perverse and insane," Officer Zhao thought to himself.

Just then, several buses slowly drove into the parking lot.

"They're here!" Director Guo alerted Officer Zhao as he stood up, adjusting his collar in preparation to leave the café.

However, some people were clearly faster than Director Guo's group, and those were the journalists. While Director Guo's group was waiting inside the café, the journalists had been staking out the parking lot outside.

Not every journalist could get into the main Olympic venues for interviews. Particularly for the emerging online media from China, their journalists lacked the credentials of state-run media reporters, operated on tight budgets, and even had to carefully manage travel expenses between various sports venues. For these journalists, staying in the Olympic Village was a good strategy. Athletes would return to the Olympic Village after their competitions, and catching a prominent athlete for an interview or snapping a few photos would make the hours of waiting worthwhile. Unlike Director Guo, who could wait leisurely in a café, they had to seize every moment to get first-hand information, so they opted to stake out the parking lot.

The biggest advantage of online media was speed. While traditional newspapers took a day to publish news, online media could do so in seconds. As soon as Zhang Guan won the Olympic gold, the long-distance calls from the home offices of Chinese online media were made to their reporters in Athens, urging them to get an interview with Zhang Guan. If they couldn't get an interview, even a few photos of Zhang Guan returning to the Olympic Village would suffice for an exclusive report.

There were only about ten journalists staking out, but they rushed forward in a chaotic manner, which immediately drew disdain and dissatisfaction from Director Guo.

"No sense of order; don't they know to let the leaders go first?" Director Guo muttered to himself. The "leaders" he referred to were, of course, himself, but the journalists paid him no mind as they quickly approached the just-arrived bus.

"Zhang Guan! It's Zhang Guan! Take the picture quickly!" a journalist shouted, pointing at Zhang Guan, who had just stood up inside the bus. The nearby photographer began snapping photos excitedly, despite the poor lighting inside the bus and the thick glass window, unaffected by any obstacles. In no time, flashes lit up like fireworks on Lantern Festival.

As Zhang Guan got off the bus, several journalists immediately surrounded him, bombarding him with questions that he couldn't make out amid the commotion. Smiling, Zhang Guan waved at the cameras, while Coach Yu stepped forward, saying, "Everyone, please don't push. Let the athletes get off the bus first, then we can move to the side, and you can ask your questions, okay?"

The journalists realized that the current chaos made interviews impossible, so they moved aside to let the athletes disembark, but kept their cameras and flashes focused on Zhang Guan, who was constantly illuminated by the lights.

"There are a lot of journalists! That's perfect," Director Guo thought, smiling with satisfaction as he approached the crowd. He relished the idea of announcing the penalty decision in front of so many journalists, feeling a sense of exhilaration reminiscent of public denunciation rallies from the past.

In the next moment, Director Guo swiftly pushed his way into the bustling crowd.