Chapter 636 5,000-meter preliminaries

"Link, where have you been? Why did you come back so late?"

On the corridor of the dormitory, Link was about to enter the door when he met Tian Liang who came out of the opposite room. Tian Liang looked at him with a gossipy look on his face.

"I was eating outside."

Link opened the door and walked into the dormitory.

"Just eating?"

"What else?"

"Just now Yang Jinghui said that he saw you going out with two foreign beauties with good figures. Hehe, are you dating outside?"

Tian Liang asked with a smile.

"No, we just chatted for a few words."

Link took out two boxes of pure milk and handed one to Tian Liang.

Tian Liang took the milk and persuaded him in the tone of a senior not to mess around during the game, be careful not to have weak legs and perform abnormally.

Link thanked him for his advice and said he would pay attention later.

But he would not worry about weak legs. After dating Kabaeva and Hasina, he only felt refreshed and transparent, and he was more motivated during the game.

——

There was no competition the next day, so Link got up early to train, ran in the stadium of the Olympic Village, and worked out in the fitness area. When he saw the men's basketball team training on the court, he was invited to join them and played two games.

He was in a group with Dayao and played several aerial relays in a row.

At noon, he watched the video of Aragon's game in the conference room and listened to several coaches discussing how to play against Aragon.

Most of these coaches were not boxers, and they had more theoretical knowledge than practical experience. The tactics they proposed were relatively vague and of little practical use.

However, everyone did this out of good intentions, and he couldn't help but appreciate it.

In addition, the track and field coaches also discussed tomorrow's 5,000-meter long-distance running preliminaries. The coaches asked him to do his best and not to be too stressed.

In the afternoon, Link drove to the Galati Olympic Sports Center in the northwest of Athens to watch the rhythmic gymnastics individual competition, in which Kabaeva and Hasina also participated.

There are four events in the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics individual competition, including hoop, ball, club and ribbon. Because the female athletes have good figures and wear sexy clothes in the competition, this competition is also a popular event in previous Olympic Games.

When Link went there, the 4,200 seats were almost full.

After two rounds of competition, Kabaeva won a gold medal for the Russian delegation with a total score of 108.40 points, her teammate Hasina ranked second with 107.325 points, and Ukrainian player Bessonova won the bronze medal with 106.700 points.

Chinese player Zhong Ling ranked 17th in the preliminaries and unfortunately failed to enter the finals.

Kabaeva showed a graceful figure and a series of difficult movements in the competition, which also attracted the attention of the media after the game and was named one of the most beautiful athletes in this Olympic Games.

After a day of rest, Link followed the coaching team to the Olympic Sports Complex in the northern suburbs of Athens the next morning to participate in the men's 5000m event preliminaries.

A total of 42 people participated in the preliminary round of this event. Link was the only Chinese athlete and one of the five Asian athletes participating.

When he appeared on the 5,000-meter track, he caused a heated discussion on the scene, and the cameras of media from all over the world were all turned to him.

After he unexpectedly won the gold medal in the shot put event, the silver medal in the javelin event, and unexpectedly advanced to the 69kg boxing final, he has become one of the most popular athletes in this Olympic Games. In China and Asia, his popularity is overwhelming, and he is more popular than Liu Xiang who entered the 110-meter men's hurdles final.

His every move on the field is the focus of attention of media from all over the world.

The men's 5,000-meter preliminary round is divided into two groups, each with 21 people. Link was divided into the second group.

After 20 minutes of competition, the results of the 21 long-distance runners in the first group were released.

The long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia won the first place in the group with a score of 13 minutes 21 seconds 16.

This man is also the current holder of the 5000m world record.

On May 31, at the Hengelo Grand Prix, he broke the 5000m world record held by Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie with a time of 12 minutes 37.35 seconds, setting a new world record.

In addition, Bekele is also the holder of the men's 10,000m world record, and his strength is very strong.

In the first group, the second place was Bekele's teammate Gebremalim, with a time of 13 minutes 21.20 seconds.

In the third place was the track and field athlete Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco, with a time of 13 minutes 21.87 seconds. He won the men's 1500m championship on the 20th.

The first group of races ended, the second group of races began, and Link and 20 track and field athletes in the same group entered the venue.

After the start of the race, Link took the lead in sprinting, ran to the front of the team, and became the leader of the second group.

But there are also many long-distance running masters in this group.

For example, Algerian runner Saidi Siyef, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge, Ethiopian runner Degeni Berhanu, etc., all have run results within 13 minutes and 30 seconds.

After seeing Link running in front, several people were unwilling to be outdone and launched waves of attacks towards Link's position.

The speed of these people is much faster than that of domestic athletes, and they are also very fast in catching up.

Link led for less than 200 meters and was overtaken by Saidi, Eliud and others.

Link was unwilling to admit defeat and followed Saidi Siyef, who ranked first, closely, and tried to overtake whenever he had the chance.

From the first lap to the tenth lap, Link overtook Saidi Siyef, Eliud Kipchoge and others more than ten times.

In the last two laps, he gradually slowed down and stayed closely behind the three people. He finally completed the race in 13 minutes, 21 seconds and 41 seconds, ranking fourth in the second group.

Saidi Siev won the first place with a time of 13 minutes, 18 seconds and 94 seconds, which was also the first in the preliminaries.

Eliud Kipchogo finished second with a time of 13 minutes, 19 seconds and 01 seconds.

Dejeni Bohanu was third with a time of 13 minutes, 20 seconds and 38 seconds.

Compared with the first group, the results of the second group were better. DeGeneres, who ranked third, had better results than Bekele, who ranked first in the first group.

Link also entered the 5,000-meter finals with sixth place in the preliminaries. This was the first time for an Asian male athlete to stand on the 5,000-meter final track.

When the results of the 5,000-meter preliminaries were released, almost all national TV stations in Asia broadcast the race.

In these broadcast videos, Link, a yellow man among many black people, shines brighter than the sun in the sky.

Link's fame also skyrocketed.

According to media reports, he is not only handsome, but also a popular singer in China. He can play the piano, guitar, and speak multiple languages. He is also the first athlete in Asia to win the gold medal in the shot put event at the Olympics, and the first athlete in the history of Chinese track and field to win the gold medal. Olympic champion male athlete.

Now he has entered the finals of the 5,000-meter event, and his results are not bad. Many Asian TV stations have changed their broadcast plans and are preparing to broadcast the men's 5,000-meter final as a key program.

——

After the men's 5,000-meter preliminaries, Link did not leave immediately. He sat in the stands with coach Feng Shuye and others, chatting, and watched the women's 10,000-meter race. Two athletes from the Chinese team participated in this competition, namely Xing Huina. and Sun Yingjie.

On the 19th, Xing Huina also participated in the women's 5000m final, but she used the wrong competition tactics and ultimately failed to win a medal.

Today she stood on the 10,000-meter track again.

"How do you feel after the game just now?"

Coach Feng Shuye asked as he handed him a bottle of water.

"This group of black men have good endurance and can withstand hardships. They also like to use double-teaming tactics to hinder their opponents' progress. It is not easy to deal with them."

Link thought for a moment and said.

In domestic competitions, although there is not much pressure, there is also not much resistance. The athletes competing together will not get in the way.

In competitions with black people, many of them are teammates. In order to keep their medals, they will join forces to double-team athletes from other countries, sometimes even using foul tactics and exchanging one for one at the extreme.

These are all things to pay attention to.

Also in the preliminaries just now, the first group of athletes obviously did not show their full strength. For example, the 5000-meter world record holder Bekele, his best time was 12 minutes and 37 seconds, and he only ran 13 minutes and 21 seconds just now. score.

There is also Quiroy, who is ranked third. Like Link, he took the initiative to slow down in the final sprint stage, also hiding his strength.

Therefore, the situation in the men's 5000m final is definitely more intense than the preliminaries.

“It’s nice that you can see that.”

Coach Feng Shuye nodded in agreement, "One more thing, after the game just now, do you think it is more advantageous for you to always be in the leading position, or is it more advantageous to suddenly exert force during the sprint phase? You must determine this before you can work out a suitable Your tactics."

Link thought for a moment, "I will try my best to get the leading position in the finals."

"Okay, then you should work hard in the finals and try to get a medal."

Coach Feng Shuye patted him on the shoulder.

Link nodded.

Under the stands, the women's 10,000-meter race began.

A total of 31 athletes participated, more than half of whom were black athletes from Africa, Latin America, and the United States. Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie, wearing red competition uniforms, looked conspicuous on the track.

After the game started, four athletes from Ethiopia including Eyegayehu Dibaba and Delartu Tulu ran in the first echelon.

Three athletes from the Italian team, the Netherlands team, and the American team are in the second echelon, and Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie are in the third echelon.

During this period, Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie tried to rush to the front many times, but their opponents occupied the inner circle track and prevented them from advancing.

In the first 20 laps, Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie could only stay behind the first and second tiers.

On the 20th lap, Xing Huina began to accelerate, passing the players from the Italian team and the American team. On the 23rd lap, she passed the two players from the Dutch team and Ethiopia. On the 24th lap, she rushed to the top three. Only Eyegayehu was in the top three. ·Behind Dibaba and Delartu Tulu.

In the last lap, Xing Huina started sprinting, passing Delartu Tulu in the last 50 meters, and Eyegayehu Dibaba in the last 10 meters, crossing the finish line first.

"Xing Huina wins!!"

"marvelous!"

When Xing Huina crossed the finish line, the surrounding Chinese team athletes stood up excitedly, clapped vigorously, and let out bursts of excited cheers.

Link also stood up and clapped his hands.

In fact, the Chinese team is not weak at all in the women's long-distance running event.

In the 1990s, Ma Jiajun won world championships in many track and field events such as 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and marathon.

The current world record holder for the women's 10,000 meters is still Wang Junxia, ​​with a time of 29 minutes, 31 seconds and 78. She is also the first athlete in the world to break the '30-minute mark' for the women's 10,000 meters.

In this women's 10,000-meter race, Xing Huina's score was 30 minutes 24 seconds 37, and the second place Dibaba's score was 30 minutes 24 seconds 98.

There was a small episode in the final sprint stage. The second place Dibaba also raised his hands when he crossed the line, thinking that he had won. When he heard the radio say that Xing Huina was the champion, Dibaba showed an incredible expression.

After the game, Link returned to the Olympic Village to rest. The next afternoon, he came to the Calaiskaky Sports Center to participate in the men's 69 kg final held here.

The opponent in this game was Cuban boxer Lorenzo Aragon.

Because Cuban boxers are the undefeated generals in the Olympics and World Championships.

In this Olympics, the Cuban boxing team has currently won 5 boxing gold medals, including men's boxing 48 kg, 51 kg, 54 kg, 60 kg, and 91 kg, accounting for half of the men's boxing events.

This also made the Cuban team's game quite popular.

And Link is a star athlete who has emerged in this Olympics.

This also made this game attract a lot of media attention.

On the day of the match, the auditorium of the Kaleskaki Stadium was packed with more than 10,000 people.

After the match started, Link walked onto the boxing ring in a red outfit, while his opponent, Aragon, wore a blue outfit and looked at him with hostility.

Compared with Aragon in 2008, Aragon now looks much younger and more energetic.

"Chinese, the champion must be mine."

Aragon bared his white teeth and said in very poor English.

Link smiled lightly and said in Spanish: "I'm going to KO you in 30 seconds, please be ready."

"What?!"

Aragon frowned, with a black question mark on his face.

Link shook his head and said nothing more.

The referee came over to announce the rules of the match to the two, then waved his arm and announced the start of the match.

"Boxing!"

Link and Aragon bumped fists.

Aragon stared at him fiercely and took the lead in attacking. His arms were relatively long, and his attack was more deterrent.

But Link's reaction speed was faster. Facing Aragorn's attack, he kept dodging and dodging Aragorn's fists again and again, making all of Aragorn's attacks in vain.

Seeing that he couldn't hit him, Aragorn's expression became even more angry, and his punches were faster, with a series of fist shadows shuttling back and forth around him.

Link looked at Aragorn on the opposite side. When Aragorn retracted a straight punch and prepared to punch again, he suddenly stopped dodging and faced Aragorn's fist. Aragorn was stunned for a moment, but swung his fist and hit him in the front at a faster speed.

"Be careful!!"

Suddenly, there was a roar in Spanish from the audience, like the voice of Saon.

Aragorn didn't understand what the coach suddenly shouted. Seeing that the fist was about to hit Link's nose, a red shadow suddenly appeared in his right eye, and before he could react.

Bang!

In an instant, Aragorn felt a huge impact force hit the right side of his face hard.