Easily Winning the Championship

Zhang Guan leaned quietly against the chair, looking extremely tired.

"The 400-meter sprint really consumes a lot of energy. Although I didn't give my all just now, the energy consumption was almost the same as running at full capacity. I should be much stronger now compared to the Athens Olympics, but still, I can't hold on." Zhang Guan decided to directly use an energy potion to restore his energy to over 80 points.

Coach Yu walked over and asked, "How are you feeling? There's another 60-meter final later. Can you handle it?"

"No problem. Fortunately, it's only 60 meters. It's over in a little over six seconds, so it doesn't require too much speed endurance. If it were a 100-meter race next, I probably couldn't handle it," Zhang Guan replied.

"Alright, then stay still and rest. Let me tell you about the opponents in the upcoming race. Just listen quietly," Coach Yu continued, "Currently, your biggest opponent in the 60-meter final is the American athlete Leonard Scott. His 6.50 seconds was the best time in the semifinals, slightly faster than your time in the semifinals. You should pay attention because he might run even faster in the final."

"That's indeed quite fast," Zhang Guan nodded. If it were this time last year, hearing a time like 6.50 seconds might have prompted him to use some state-enhancing potions, but now Zhang Guan was much stronger than a year ago, so he wasn't too worried.

Coach Yu looked at the information in his hand and continued, "Additionally, Tremell performed well in the semifinals. Tremell is a 110-meter hurdler with a strong early burst capability. He has had several competitions with Liu Feiren before, and as you've seen, Liu Feiren rarely wins in the start, but usually catches up after the third hurdle."

"Then there's Andrei Yepishin from Russia, who performed well in the heats and semifinals. Yepishin participated in the Athens Olympics and was second in the 100 meters with the top ten additional best scores. Do you remember this athlete?" Coach Yu asked.

Zhang Guan shook his head, "I have no impression at all. During the Athens Olympics, I was a rookie. Before the race, I didn't even know people like Greene or Gatlin, so how would I remember a Russian athlete?"

"Fair enough, but you should still pay attention to Yepishin later. After all, he's competing on home ground, and as they say, he has timing, location, and people on his side," Coach Yu concluded.

...

After the men's 400-meter heats, there were heats for the women's 400 meters, the men's shot put finals, the men's 1500-meter heats, and the women's 60-meter sprint finals. It was not until 10 PM Moscow time that the men's 60-meter final began, which was also the last event of the day.

Standing at the starting blocks, Leonard Scott seemed extremely excited. At this moment, he felt his heart beating fast and was very nervous. He was eagerly anticipating the upcoming race.

"Let's start the race already! Don't give Zhang Guan any more time to recover. In a moment, I will become the first person in the world to defeat Zhang Guan! Maurice Greene, Shawn Crawford, Justin Gatlin, Asafa Powell, Obikwelu... Among you are world champions, Olympic champions, Pan American champions, European champions, African champions, but none of you have defeated Zhang Guan! You are all just also-rans under Zhang Guan. But today, I will defeat Zhang Guan. I will tell the world that I am stronger than all of you! I am the most powerful sprinter in America." Scott turned his head to look at Zhang Guan, continuing to envision a bright future.

On the other side, Tremell quietly prepared for the start, occasionally lifting his head to look at Zhang Guan and then at Scott.

"Scott must be thinking about defeating Zhang Guan! He probably thinks Zhang Guan has consumed a lot of energy! However, the upcoming race is only 60 meters, lasting only a little over six seconds. After two hours of rest, Zhang Guan might have recovered some strength. I need to run seriously in the final and not be careless." Tremell thought to himself.

At this moment, the starter signaled for everyone to get on their marks.

The starter's gun went off, and Zhang Guan's start was very good, launching himself out of the blocks.

"Zhang Guan started so fast. Did he false start?" Scott was slightly surprised. Then he realized that his teammate Tremell and the Russian Yepishin had also started faster than himself. It was then that Scott realized it wasn't Zhang Guan who false started, but rather, he had started slow.

"I was thinking too much before the race, and my concentration was off. But even if he started well, what can it do? Even if I give him some time, he's already out of energy. Once I accelerate, I will overtake him!" Scott began to accelerate.

Acceleration in the 60-meter sprint is more intense than in the 100 meters, so athletes with a quick acceleration after the start have an advantage, such as Tremell, who is a 110-meter hurdler. His speed endurance might not be the best, but his acceleration after the start is very fast, allowing him to compete in the indoor 60-meter sprint.

In today's race, Tremell continued to perfectly demonstrate his fast acceleration after the start. However, he still trailed behind Zhang Guan.

Because Zhang Guan's start and acceleration were faster than Tremell's.

The first thirty meters were a process of acceleration for the athletes, during which Zhang Guan maintained his lead. Tremell was in second place, Russian Yepishin in third, and the pre-race favorite Scott was only fifth.

"Zhang Guan's acceleration is still so fast? His explosive power is stronger than last year! But with just two hours of recovery, can his energy support this burst? Next, it's my turn to shine!" Scott thought, overtaking the athlete in front of him at the 40-meter mark, then keeping pace with Yepishin.

Zhang Guan continued to lead, and his speed did not slow down. Scott, however, became increasingly anxious.

"We're almost at the finish line, and Zhang Guan is still running so fast? His energy should be almost depleted by now. It's been just two hours; did he really recover his strength so quickly? I don't believe it! Maybe he's on his last legs, and when he takes the next step, he'll slow down." Scott hoped with a bit of luck, desperately trying to catch up.

As they passed the 50-meter mark, with less than 10 meters to go, it was the moment when athletes gave their last effort.

Scott could feel that the gap between him and Zhang Guan had not decreased. At this point, there was about a 0.1-second difference between them.

"Come on! I must defeat Zhang Guan. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I miss it, I'm afraid I'll never have such a good chance again! He should be out of energy by now, right? Oh God, make him slow down!" Scott silently prayed, his eyes fixed on Zhang Guan.

At this moment, Zhang Guan seemed to slow down a bit. Encouraged, Scott believed that God had heard his prayer.

"Zhang Guan's stamina is finally exhausted. I'm going to surpass him!" Scott was inspired and seemed to accelerate again.

Next, Scott caught up with Zhang Guan and then passed him!

"I won, I won! I finally won!" Scott jumped up suddenly, raising both hands. However, just as he was about to celebrate, he seemed to remember something and abruptly stopped, looking towards the finish line.

"When I passed Zhang Guan just now, had he already crossed the finish line?" Scott took a sharp breath. Moments ago, his attention had been solely focused on comparing their positions, without paying attention to whether Zhang Guan had already crossed the finish line when he overtook him.

The timer displayed the athletes' results: Zhang Guan finished in 6.47 seconds, Scott in 6.50 seconds, and Yepishin from Russia in third place.

Scott looked up at the big screen on the sidelines, which was replaying the race. The replay showed that just before the finish line, Zhang Guan's speed had slowed slightly, and his head had crossed the line first. Immediately after that, Scott caught up and overtook him, meaning Scott had overtaken Zhang Guan after the race had ended.

Failing to accurately gauge the finish line's position was a huge embarrassment for any athlete. However, Scott had just made such a colossal blunder today. Even a primary school sports coach would often emphasize that runners should focus on the finish line, not their opponents' positions.

By the 50-meter mark, Scott was already 0.1 seconds behind, and catching up by 0.1 seconds in the final 10 meters was virtually impossible in theory. Under normal circumstances, Scott might have realized by the 50-meter mark that he couldn't catch up with Zhang Guan. But today, Scott, blinded by the prospect of victory, was not in his normal state of judgment.

Now, as Scott calmed down, he regretfully shook his head and carefully recalled the entire race.

"Energy! Zhang Guan's energy is still very abundant. It seems like the 400 meters didn't affect him much. The 400 meters should be very exhausting for athletes. Did he recover his energy so quickly in such a short time? Or is it because the 60-meter sprint is too short, so Zhang Guan could recover his energy in such a short time?" Scott nodded silently to himself.

"Yes, that must be it. It must be! If this were 100 meters instead of 60 meters, I would have won!" Scott forcefully comforted himself, feeling much better.

...

As the world record holder in the indoor 60-meter sprint, it was only natural for Zhang Guan to win the championship. However, the upcoming 400-meter semifinals and finals were not something everyone was optimistic about for Zhang Guan.