Chapter 158: 20.00 Seconds
Having Usain chase you from behind is a terrifying feeling.
It is roughly akin to encountering a wild boar in the forest.
He might not run with a threatening aura, but he can persistently linger right behind you. If you lose focus for even a split second, he will breeze right past you.
And once he passes you, Usain has a terribly annoying habit: he slows down just a fraction and jogs right in front of you, swaying lazily, highly irritating to anyone behind him.
Yet sometimes habits are vulnerabilities. In the semifinals of the 200-meter event, Luo Suo's second-half "burst" had caught Usain off guard. Now, Usain realized he was facing an opponent of equal caliber and dared not be careless again.
Therefore, overtake whenever possible.
Right after the start and through the bend, Usain began preparing to pass Luo Suo.
Luo Suo held an advantage in the acceleration phase, maintaining it until the end of the first straightaway.
As they entered the curve, relying on his "Keenness," Luo Suo sensed the mounting pressure from behind, feeling like an impending volcanic eruption that could no longer be contained.
Bolstered by "Balance" and "Acceleration" in the "Meteor" state, Luo Suo tried his utmost to preserve his lead, but halfway through the curve—with a swift whoosh—Usain pulled shoulder-to-shoulder and then surged ahead, his long strides putting him in front of Luo Suo within moments.
Aha...
This truly could not be held back anymore...
Luo Suo gritted his teeth and pressed on.
From the trial run the day before yesterday to today's preliminary and final, these three races marked the hardest Luo Suo had ever pushed himself in the 200 meters over the past few months. Ever since the East Asian Games, he had never exerted himself to this absolute limit. With his attributes continuously improving, what on earth was his performance in the 200 meters?
Today was the day to test it!
Entering the final straightaway of the 200-meter race, Luo Suo unleashed his second "Burst."
...
After overtaking Luo Suo, Usain fell into his habitual daydreaming.
Perhaps because his second-half endurance was simply too dominant and he had rarely encountered any formidable opponents, he always tended to lose focus after passing someone. His coach was currently trying to correct this bad habit, but it was deeply rooted.
After passing this friend from the mainland at the second bend, Usain thought he was quite impressive—likely the most threatening 200-meter opponent he had faced thus far—yet, in the end, he had still won...
Huh?
Suddenly, Usain sensed pressure pressing in from behind.
Surprised, he glanced sideways and saw Luo Suo executing an entirely unreasonable, sudden surge in speed. With his stride length and frequency increasing by several notches, Luo Suo was charging forward under immense pressure, threatening to catch him immediately!
It was happening again... Usain instantly recalled the scene of his defeat in the preliminary round, and he immediately accelerated as well.
...
Seeing Usain zone out while Luo Suo began his pursuit, Usain's coach slammed his towel down in frustration. Usain's habit of losing concentration really was happening over and over again...
...
Seeing Luo Suo suddenly erupt with power in the final stretch, chasing and attempting an overtake, Lu Jinrong clenched his fists tightly!
This time, he was truly fast!
Luo Suo's 200-meter run this time was genuinely fast!
He had a faint premonition that this would be a new personal record for Luo Suo!
...
"Push! Go, Luo Suo!"
Zhu Nuo and Tian Shiwei shouted at the top of their lungs.
...
Go for it!
Spectators across the stadium clapped and cheered for the brilliant performance of these two relatively unknown sprinters!
It was rare to witness such a neck-and-neck athletic showdown in track and field!
...
As Luo Suo crossed the finish line with his head down, he realized he had lost.
Usain, beside him, had crossed the line a fraction of a step earlier.
...
After the race, Usain appeared much more relaxed than Luo Suo, but he was immediately summoned by his coach for a scolding. It happened in the heats, and it happened again in the final—would he ever break the habit of daydreaming the moment he took the lead?
...
Lu Jinrong rushed up to meet Luo Suo as he was jogging back. Catching Luo Suo, Lu Jinrong realized the young athlete had given his absolute all; his body was trembling slightly, yet a smile hung on his face because this was the best and most exhilarating 200-meter race Luo Suo had run in months.
As expected, one truly needs a rival.
...
Soon, the results appeared on the giant screen.
The moment the times were displayed, everyone in the People's Stadium began to applaud.
The officiating judges on the field started clapping as well.
Xiao Mingzhe and Gong Aiyuan waved their red flags and shouted, "Awesome!"
Because the two most dazzling results were:
"Usain Bolt, Jamaica, 19.98."
"Luo Suo, China, 20.00."
...
One must remember that the champion of the 2003 World Championships clocked a mere 20.30 seconds in the 200 meters.
Of course, it was also true that because many sprinting superstars skipped the 200-meter event that year, the 2003 World Championships yielded the slowest winning time in the history of the tournament.
Regardless, at this modest bronze-level Continental Tour event held in Budapest, two prodigies had emerged simultaneously, producing a performance worthy of winning gold at the World Athletics Championships. Wasn't that nothing short of a miraculous spectacle?
...
He broke into the 20 seconds range.
Staring at the time on the big screen, Lu Jinrong felt almost incredulous, for this happiness had arrived far too suddenly. While Luo Suo was still painstakingly chasing the ultimate 10-second barrier in the 100 meters, his 200 meters had already reached this milestone ahead of time.
This was the first time an Asian male sprinter had ever clocked this time in an official public competition... Luo Suo was finally beginning to forge history...
Lu Jinrong was overwhelmed with a myriad of emotions.
...
The very next second, he felt a sudden weight on his neck as Tian Shiwei lunged onto his back from behind.
"Old Luo broke 20 seconds! Old Luo broke 20 seconds! Old Luo broke 20 seconds!" Tian Shiwei roared directly into Lu Jinrong's ear.
Though Lu Jinrong was equally overjoyed, he felt certain his eardrums were about to burst.
"Get the hell down right now!" Lu Jinrong yelled.
"I won't! Old Luo broke 20 seconds!" Tian Shiwei howled toward the sky like an excited husky.
...
Zhu Nuo was equally ecstatic.
Her excitement overflowed from her heart like a field in full bloom.
She knew all too well the monumental significance of creating history for an athlete.
"Luo Suo, you were amazing!"
She shouted toward the field, her excitement bringing tears welling up in her eyes.
...
Luo Suo looked at the time displayed, then glanced around.
Seeing his coach and good friends shouting out to him, Luo Suo felt thrilled, yet not overwhelmingly so.
Even though he broke the 20-second barrier, he had still lost, hadn't he?
"LU, congratulations~" Usain jogged over to congratulate Luo Suo. "You broke 20 seconds!"
"But you were already there," Luo Suo replied. "I need to go even faster, until I'm faster than you."
"I'm still improving. Let's see who breaks 19.32 first," Usain said. "My coach says you might become my formidable rival in the future, so that makes us friends and rivals, just like Powell and Gatlin."
Powell, the 100-meter world record holder.
Gatlin, the 100-meter Olympic champion.
Crack!
Luo Suo and Usain slapped hands in a high-five.
Both 19-year-old sprinters born in 1986, their chase and entanglement for victory would likely continue for a very, very long time.
...
After the race.
As Luo Suo walked off the track, he headed toward Zhu Nuo and Tian Shiwei.
Zhu Nuo rushed forward first to embrace Luo Suo. Tian Shiwei felt momentarily unsure of where to place his hands, but being veteran Tian, he wrapped his arms around both of them in a group hug.
You guys didn't even win, what are you so excited about... Though this thought crossed Luo Suo's mind, he knew precisely why they were thrilled—this was another steady, dazzling, and resolute step taken by Chinese sprinters onto the international stage.