Chapter 135: The 200-Meter Final

Lu Xiaoyu’s voice had gone hoarse from shouting.

The old landlord had become so excited that he even took a fast-acting heart medication, though fortunately nothing serious happened.

All around them, thousands of people were shouting the name “Rousseau.”

Winning both the 100-meter and 400-meter events in succession had ignited the spectators’ pride in the young athlete from their province.

Rousseau jogged slowly around the track, waving to everyone. Although he had no national flag to drape over his shoulders this time, the pride and glory he had gained felt exactly the same. One could savor the taste of such victory ten thousand times and never grow tired of it~

After the medal ceremony, Rousseau now had two gold medals.

He was immediately dragged away for a urine test.

Rousseau was used to it by now.

Once the test was over, Lu Jinrong took him to see the doctor stationed at the National Games.

The doctor examined Rousseau’s injury and determined that it was not serious—only a minor strain, exactly as Rousseau had assessed himself. In principle, the doctor did not recommend that he continue competing, but there would be no major problem if he did, so long as he took care not to aggravate the injury. If absolutely necessary, he could receive a blocking injection. This doctor had seen too many athletes who valued their results above their lives. Compared with them, Rousseau’s injury was a minor matter.

Only then did Lu Jinrong finally relax.

When Rousseau left the medical room, he encountered someone unexpected at the door.

Pan Kai.

…

Rousseau and Pan Kai rested their arms over the railing on the third floor of Galaxy Stadium in exactly the same posture.

They watched the competitions below.

It was nearly eight in the evening, yet the stadium remained brilliantly illuminated. Various events were still under way, with athletes displaying their finest form. This should have been the greatest celebration in the nation’s sporting world. There should not have been so much filth and darkness mixed into it.

“You’re injured?” Pan Kai asked.

“I strained something slightly during the 100 meters,” Rousseau replied.

“And you still won the 400 meters. Impressive. And… I’m sorry. I never expected Li Yan’s reach to extend so far,” Pan Kai said. “I asked Chen Tianfu about it. Chen Tianfu said it was only an accident. I imagine he’ll say the same thing when the matter is investigated afterward. Things like this rarely lead to any real conclusion.”

“Whether there’s a conclusion or not isn’t up to you,” Rousseau said. “My coach will appeal the matter to the Sports Commission, and the commission will take it to the General Administration. This won’t simply be allowed to pass. Of course, don’t worry. I’m not going to beat Li Yan up. That would only play into his hands and give him leverage to threaten me with this matter.”

“You certainly looked ready to do it when the 100-meter final ended~” Pan Kai said with a laugh.

“I was too angry. I didn’t achieve the result I expected,” Rousseau said, then added, “I didn’t break the record. I was only a little short.”

“So you completely forgot I was even there.” Pan Kai continued laughing. “Young people these days are really arrogant.”

“You are indeed faster than me, but I’m curious. How did you manage to improve from 10.30 seconds to 10.15? What did you do to achieve that?” Rousseau asked.

“You think I took drugs?” Pan Kai shook his head. “Some of the training methods Li Yan provided really are very effective. Taking drugs was one option. I didn’t choose it, even though Li Yan guaranteed that I would never be caught.”

Rousseau neither agreed nor disagreed.

Pan Kai left. He had probably come to clarify that he had known nothing about Li Yan tripping Rousseau up through Chen Tianfu. Rousseau was only half convinced.

Before leaving, Pan Kai tossed out one final sentence:

“I lost the 100 meters, but I won’t lose the 200.”

Rousseau merely smiled at that. If making threats were useful, then the fastest runner in the world would be Tian Shiwei.

…

January 19.

At nine in the morning, the outdoor 200-meter preliminary heats were held.

Rousseau and Pan Kai faced each other for the second time.

They were assigned to different heats.

Rousseau advanced with ease in 20.35 seconds, while Pan Kai’s qualifying time was 20.28 seconds.

The outdoor 200-meter final was held at 6:30 in the evening.

Rousseau won the championship in 20.20 seconds, finishing 0.05 seconds ahead of Pan Kai and breaking the National Games record for the event.

As Rousseau once again seized the gold medal in the 200 meters, Galaxy Stadium erupted with another perfectly coordinated roar of cheers and encouragement.

The storm named “Rousseau” continued to sweep through the stadium.

…

For Rousseau’s sake, the provincial sports channel added both the 200-meter preliminary heats and the final to its live broadcast schedule. The ratings for those two races rose several percentage points above those of the other events, and were even comparable to the ratings for the 110-meter hurdles final.

After all, Liu Yu—a living legend in the nation’s sporting world—had competed in the 110-meter hurdles.

This was enough to show that Rousseau’s fame in South Yue Province had already become comparable to Liu Yu’s. After all, a homegrown athlete achieving such dominant results in the sprinting events was a tremendous source of pride for the people of the province.

…

That evening, Dafu Supermarket, which Rousseau endorsed, experienced a surge in sales.

The Lu Wang athletic-shoe counter, whose advertising campaign had been unveiled after Rousseau won the 100-meter gold medal, also found its inventory almost completely wiped out.

…

“Rousseau has now won National Games gold medals in the 100 meters, 400 meters, and 200 meters.”

After screaming himself hoarse while narrating Rousseau’s finish in the 200-meter race, the host’s voice was now somewhat raspy.

He took a sip of water and continued asking, “Whose achievements in the history of domestic sports can Rousseau’s results be compared with?”

The expert thought for a moment.

“There has never been a precedent like this among our nation’s track-and-field athletes—apart from Liu Yu, of course. But Liu Yu specializes only in the 110-meter hurdles and has never demonstrated such overwhelming dominance across multiple track-and-field events simultaneously.

“If I had to make a comparison, one table-tennis player comes to mind. She displayed the same kind of dominance in both the women’s singles and women’s doubles events.”

“You mean Zhang Nina? I agree with that comparison. She won both the women’s singles and women’s doubles championships at the Olympics, making her the most promising member of the new generation of domestic table-tennis players.” The host clearly approved of the expert’s comparison.

“But Rousseau still lacks results in major international competitions,” the expert said.

“That’s why we’re looking forward to next year’s Asian Games, as well as the 2008 Olympics,” the host said with a smile. “Rousseau has a promising future, and so does sprinting in our country.”

The First Evolution

…

The “promising future” Rousseau was currently sitting on a coach bus, playing with the third gold medal he had won at these National Games while studying the new “skill” he had just acquired.

Breaking the National Games record in the 200 meters had earned Rousseau a skill related to that event.

The skill was called “Acuteness.” Rather than a physical technique, it was more the result of training one’s instincts. Its description read:

“This skill allows you to perceive an opponent’s relative position and physical condition while moving at full intensity. You may even sense their every inhalation and exhalation.”

It was extremely useful during a race. There was no need to rely on one’s eyes. In fact, truly accomplished sprinters also used their bodies to sense the positions of their rivals, especially when an opponent drew close.

The skills provided by the status panel were all-purpose skills. “Explosiveness,” for example, was a high-jumping skill, yet it could also be used in sprinting. Still, there was no doubt that winning a particular type of competition awarded a skill better suited to that event.

Rousseau had yet to obtain a skill exclusive to the 100 meters.

He had thought there would be an excellent chance during these National Games.

But then Li Yan had interfered again.

…

At that moment, Tian Shiwei came over and sat down beside Rousseau. In a low voice, he said, “The coach’s hand is injured.”

Rousseau looked at him.

“This spot.” Tian Shiwei swung his fist once, indicating the knuckles.

“And then?” Rousseau asked, not understanding.

“Li Yan has been hospitalized,” Tian Shiwei said. “He was admitted yesterday.”

Rousseau’s eyes lit up.