HCB Chapter 221 Unstoppable Momentum
Chapter 221 Unstoppable Momentum
After a simple core muscle relaxation session, 6Wei walked from the rest area to the stadium.
The moment he stepped into the stadium through the athletes' tunnel, the sunlight shone directly on his face, just like the feeling of opening his eyes for the first time when he first arrived in this world.
For Liu Wei, the sunshine in this world means vitality and new life.
Liu Wei walked along the sidelines towards the shot put area. At first, everyone was only focused on the athletes. Gradually, people started to notice Liu Wei, and then screams and cheers erupted.
Gradually, the scattered cheers gathered together, and suddenly the entire audience erupted in cheers. On the field, the women's hammer throwers stopped to look for the source of the applause, but after searching for a long time, they couldn't find it. It wasn't until Liu Wei's image appeared on the big screen and the audience cheered again that they continued the competition with envious eyes.
The feeling of 90,000 spectators cheering for them in unison is something they probably never imagined in their lives, but this year they truly witnessed it on the field.
At the athletes' tunnel exit, Zou Zhen, Jiang Jianjun, and Wang Qiao all looked at that tall figure with hope in their eyes. They had accompanied him for a long time; the rest of the journey was up to him alone.
"Our hope for the first gold medal is actually a 2-year-old boy. Heroes emerge from among the young!"
As Jiang Jianjun watched Liu Wei's departing figure, he couldn't help but sigh.
At this time, Director Liu had already arrived at the stadium. Before the game started, Director Liu shook hands with everyone in the stadium. Afterwards, he sat on the rostrum with Cui Dayong, Feng Yong, Yu Wei and a few others.
"Things went pretty well across all the events today. We won three gold medals in weightlifting and judo, but swimming was a bit of a disappointment, with only silver medals in both events. Tonight we have two more chances to win gold, in men's shot put and badminton. Li Yongbo wanted to invite me to watch, but I thought I'd come first, since today is our first chance to win gold in track and field. Is that tall young man Liu Wei?"
After receiving an affirmative answer from Feng Yong, Director Liu nodded: "I didn't expect him to be so young! It seems that your team's rejuvenation efforts over the past two years have been very successful! Liu Wei also made it to the semifinals in the 100-meter race today. This young man is really good. It looks like he has great potential for development. Let's watch the race first!"
On the track in the distance, the 12 athletes participating in the finals stood in a row, waving to the audience one by one as the announcer introduced them.
"Good evening, viewers! Welcome back to the track and field arena. The men's shot put final is about to begin. In the qualifying round this morning, our athlete Liu Wei qualified for the final tonight with the best result. Judging from the overall performance, Liu Wei's other competitors generally seemed to be holding back when they threw. Among the other competitors, only Poland's Majewski exceeded 21 meters. None of the other athletes managed to reach that distance."
Just as the shot put competition was about to begin, the broadcast switched back to the track and field stadium.
"Why did you only switch back after introducing the team members? If you missed our son, that would be incredibly amateurish!"
6. Mom was very anxious when she saw that the athletes who entered the finals had already introduced themselves and were clearly not starting from the beginning.
"Don't worry, we won't miss your son. There are too many different people in track and field competitions; we can't possibly point a camera at just one person!"
As soon as Dad finished speaking, a close-up shot of Liu Wei appeared on the TV screen.
"Dear viewers, you can tell from the reaction in the arena that we are introducing Liu Wei. The cheers are noticeably louder than when the names of other athletes are mentioned! Liu Wei's result this morning was 21.45 meters. If he wants to win the championship in tonight's competition, he will probably need to do even better. But progress is made step by step. Let's wait and see in this competition that will determine China's first gold medal in track and field!"
As soon as commentator Yang Li finished speaking, the competition shifted to the women's hammer throw qualifying rounds.
"Why is the game feed jumping around like this?! Can't a person even watch the game in peace?!"
When the broadcast suddenly switched to another location, 6's mother became unhappy.
This scene almost made Dad spit out the tea he had just drunk: "Do you think the TV station is your private property?! In a shot put competition, there needs to be a break between the two throwers, and some athletes aren't strong enough to win. You can't expect to be running around one person's field for the entire competition! You haven't watched enough competitions, haha!"
At this moment, the television broadcast switched back to the shot put arena: "Dear viewers, the first to compete is Belarusian athlete Belov. He qualified for the final with a throw of 20.48 meters in the morning's competition. As the first athlete to compete, we can see from Belov's expression that he is nervous. He started to slide, and his release was a bit rushed. It's clear that he was very tense on his first throw!"
Although Belov's result was valid, he only managed a throw of 20.06 meters.
Next up was Russian athlete Yushkov, whose time was even worse than the first athlete's, at only 19.67 seconds.
"You could tell that the two athletes who just came out were very nervous. In such a high-level final, it is extremely rare for a men's competition to throw less than 2 meters!"
Host Yang Li lamented the poor performance of the players on the field.
After the first six athletes took to the field, the best result was only 20.63 meters. The first athlete to compete was Nelson from the United States.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the seventh athlete to compete in the men's shot put is our American teammate, Nelson. The American team has a total of three athletes in the shot put final of this competition. Our American colleagues jokingly say that this is like having 'triple insurance' for the shot put competition. Let's see how Nelson, the first athlete to compete, performs."
Nelson is a burly man who is over 1.9 meters tall. When he stood in the middle of the field, his face was flushed red, and it was clear from his preparatory movements that he was not at peace.
Sure enough, his first throw was too forceful, and his right foot accidentally stepped on the upper edge of the throwing area barrier. According to the competition rules, athletes are not allowed to touch the upper edge of the barrier during the shot put throw; even a slight touch will result in a foul.
The tension spread like a contagious disease across the shot put arena, and the subsequent performances of the team members were generally unsatisfactory.
Hoffa, one of 6 Westbrook's main rivals, committed a foul on his first throw, while Cantwell, who has been in very strong form this year, only managed 20.39 meters on his first throw. This result is quite different from their usual performance in the Grand Prix.
In the blink of an eye, 10 athletes have already taken the field. Currently, the Ukrainian athlete Bilonog is ranked first with a distance of only 20.63 meters.
Polish athlete Majewski, who followed, threw 20.8 meters, performing at his normal level compared to the other athletes.
"It's our turn for Wei to go out. If he can get a good score on his first pitch, based on today's situation, he has a good chance of winning the championship."
When Jiang Jianjun spoke, his eyes never left the arena; it was as if he were talking to himself.
When Liu Wei appeared, the entire audience erupted in loud applause.
Even as Liu Wei stood at the center of the throwing arc, the roar of the audience could not be suppressed.
"Shh..."
The room finally quieted down after the radio host reminded them.
"Liu Wei is about to throw. He takes a deep breath, and you can tell he's nervous in this atmosphere. Liu Wei places the shot put around his neck, spins it, and releases it—beautiful! Judging from the broadcast, it went well past the 21-meter mark. Looking at the referee's reaction—white flag—no problem, this throw is valid!"
After Liu Wei's first throw, Feng Yong in the stands let out a long sigh of relief, his body involuntarily leaning back in his seat. Today's competition was crucial for whether Chinese athletics could win a gold medal, and Feng Yong had barely slept a wink last night, only managing to doze off around 5 a.m.
The moment Liu Wei threw the ball, he felt as if he had experienced a judgment by fate.
Fortunately, the verdict seems to be quite good.
Soon, the electronic screen displayed the score of 6-Williams' first throw.
"Great! Wei's first throw was 21.67 meters, more than 80 centimeters more than the second-place Mayevski. This is an ideal start."
After the first throw result was announced, the broadcast camera immediately switched to Wei, who was smiling as he walked towards his rest area, as if enjoying the moment.
"Judging from Liu Wei's expression, his mentality is obviously much better than that of the other players. Of course, the competition has only gone through one round, and he still needs to solidify his results with better performance!"
Before Yang Li finished speaking, the broadcast switched to American player Cantwell. He was looking up with his hands behind his head.
In such a tense situation, it was a huge shock to the other team members when an opponent suddenly threw a high score.
"A good start!"
Seeing Mom's excited expression, Dad spoke, then picked up his teacup and took a big gulp. This time, his movements were much slower than usual; although he was trying his best to suppress his emotions, his hand control was still much worse than usual.
“Based on past performances, Liu Wei’s throw should have earned him at least one medal. However, we have only completed the first throw so far, and we certainly will not be satisfied with just one medal. We hope that Liu Wei can continue to perform strongly in the competition.”
You could tell from the tone of the commentator that the commentator's voice became cheerful as 6-West's first throw was excellent.
However, the overall results of the second round were far worse than the first. Of the first 1 players to take the field, 6 failed to score due to fouls.
Wei's old rival, Osaka World Championships champion Hofa, only managed a throw of 19.81 meters on his second attempt. After his second throw, the broadcast cameras followed him.
Upon reaching his resting spot, he slammed his sports bag onto the ground with a thud. The bag wasn't zipped up, and his belongings were scattered all over the floor. This scene made the other team members around him even more depressed. Hofa sat in a chair, covering his face with his hands; it was clear that he had lost control of his emotions.
很快又轮到6威出场，前面11位队员只有加拿大的戴兰.阿姆斯特朗投出了过21米的成绩，不过也仅仅是21米o4，和6威依然有6o厘米以上的差距。
Cantwell's second throw was 20.98 meters, but it's clear he still hasn't found his rhythm today.
Liu Wei stood at the center of the throwing arc, this time closing his eyes and silently going over the motion in his mind. Then, he rested the shot put on his chin for a moment of cushioning, spun around, switched feet, and just as his body was about to face the throwing area, he suddenly exerted force.
"Although the movements don't look very aggressive, the rhythm is excellent, and the good score on the first throw gave Liu Wei a lot of confidence."
This throw, with a distance of 21.96 meters, was almost 30 centimeters further than the first throw.
"Liu Wei's second throw was even better than his first. He is truly an athlete born for big competitions. In such a tense atmosphere, he still performed at his normal level, which is really commendable. Perhaps many athletes have the ability to reach 21 meters during training, but they will probably have to compromise in competition. In big competitions, the phenomenon of performance decline will be even more serious, and today's competition is the most accurate description."
Yang Li's voice sounded excited; his tone didn't sound like he was in the midst of a very tense track and field competition.
Do you think Nelson's game will end with three fouls?
Coach Sun's words made everyone laugh. Under normal circumstances, such a remark might not be funny, but in that moment, it put everyone at ease. Once relaxed, a sense of joy naturally arises, leading to the desire to express happiness.
Beside him, Liu Feiren sat in the area designated for the Chinese track and field team: "Regardless of how others perform, as long as Liu Wei can achieve his best today, the championship will definitely not fall into anyone else's hands!"
It's still Liu Feiren's rhythm.
In the third throw, the situation remained unchanged. Among the first 11 athletes, only Polish athlete Majewski threw 21.21 meters, temporarily ranking second.
After three rounds, only three team members had a score over 21 meters. American team member Nelson committed fouls in all three of his attempts and did not have a valid score at the end of the competition.
"The results of the first three rounds are basically complete, with only Liu Wei remaining to throw. Based on Liu Wei's usual competition habits, he often strives for a good result in the third round. Having achieved such good results in the first two rounds a few years ago, let's see what Liu Wei's choice will be in the third round!"
At this moment, Liu Wei was already standing in the throwing arc. His expression was no longer as relaxed as it had been in the first two rounds; he looked as if he was in a losing position.
"Judging from Liu Wei's expression, he's definitely going all out in this round of throwing. If he gets another good result, the championship race is basically over. Even if he doesn't win, he still has the confidence to play steadily in the last three rounds. Liu Wei starts spinning, wow, the shot put is released! Liu Wei's movement was so fast this time... beautiful! Liu Wei's throw easily cleared 22 meters, the distance was more than just a little. The referee in the arena raised the white flag. Let's wait and see how Liu Wei's throw goes!"
Less than a minute later, the electronic screen displayed the result of Liu Wei's third throw: 22.53 meters.
"Congratulations to Liu Wei and the Chinese Athletics Team! Although the competition isn't over yet, judging from today's results, the battle for the championship can basically be declared over. Liu Wei's performance has broken the national record, the Asian record, and the Olympic record. From now on, Liu Wei will have made his mark in Olympic history! At only 20 years old, he has already broken the Olympic record. The shot put arena will be your sky for the next five years, where you can soar freely!"
As the commentator's narration teetered on the brink of losing control, 6's mother wiped away her tears of emotion.
"Your son has such good grades, why are you crying!"
This time, Dad didn't reach for the teacup; his hands were already trembling uncontrollably.
The audience erupted in the loudest cheers since the start of the competition, and on the podium, Feng Yong finally smiled. Jiang Jianjun and Wang Qiao gave each other a resounding high five.
To achieve such an outstanding result amidst such a pre-match atmosphere is a wonderful moment for everyone in the Chinese sports community.