Physical Exhaustion

At the finish line, technicians began to retrieve the footage from the finish line just now. For competitions at the level of the Olympics, the high-speed camera system at the finish line can be accurate to one thousandth of a second. According to the rules of the competition, if it is a comparison for qualifying places, only differences of one thousandth of a second are considered. It's only when comparing rankings that differences of one thousandth of a second are examined.

In a race, if the last qualifying spot has two athletes with the same result, then the comparison is made based on differences of one thousandth of a second, and the faster one advances. Even if the difference is the same in one thousandth of a second, the two can still advance, but there will be a ranking. So, in regular competitions, there will be nine lanes in the track and field, just in case there is a situation of simultaneous qualification, in which case an extra person can be accommodated in the ninth lane.

Morris Greene stared at the scoreboard intently. He knew that once the results were confirmed, the scoreboard would rank the athletes according to their rankings. "The first place must be mine!" Morris Greene provocatively stared at Zhang Guan, praying incessantly in his heart.

Zhang Guan's face was also somewhat gloomy. He finally experienced the level of the world's top athletes.

In the just-concluded race, Zhang Guan had already exerted all his strength. He thought that as long as he gave it his all, he would surely win. But the reality was not as he imagined; Greene's speed was faster than he thought.

"It seems that this is the limit of my master-level sprinting skills! This is just Greene! There are also Gatlin, Crawford, Powell, and even faster ones like Bolt in the future. It seems that with my current level, relying solely on master-level sprinting skills is not a hundred percent certain to defeat such world-class athletes," Zhang Guan thought anxiously.

The audience was also waiting for the final results, both at the venue and in front of their televisions.

The CCTV commentator was still trying to calm down his own emotions. The just-concluded race was too exciting, especially the contest between Zhang Guan and Greene at the end. It was absolutely world-class. This experienced commentator had once commented on many world-class sprinters' races, but had never been as nervous and excited as just now.

Because in the just-concluded race, a Chinese athlete appeared on the field, appearing in the final showdown!

"We still don't know who the final winner is between Zhang Guan and Greene, but regardless, Zhang Guan has entered the finals, and we must congratulate him! He has achieved a historic breakthrough for the national team, unprecedentedly entering the finals of the men's 100-meter sprint at the Olympics. For Zhang Guan, and for us, this can already be considered a great victory!" the commentator proclaimed while trying to find the victory.

At the same time, the final results of the athletes were announced!

G-Zhang, CHN, 9.83M-Greene, USA, 9.83

This ranking was based on the athletes' final results compared to one-thousandth of a second.

So, Zhang Guan won the first place!

"We won, Zhang Guan won, we won! Zhang Guan advanced as the first in the group! Zhang Guan defeated Morris Greene! Zhang Guan defeated defending champion Morris Greene! Morris Greene used to be the world record holder, but today Zhang Guan defeated him!" the commentator instantly turned into a roaring king.

"We won again! Still won! Hahaha..." Coach Yu and Director Ma looked at each other and burst into laughter.

The broadcast camera perfectly captured Morris Greene's back. Then it switched to the BBC studio.

Before the host could speak, Erickson started to comment incessantly, "A time of 9.83 seconds should be a normal performance for Morris Greene, but for that Chinese guy, it should be a miraculous performance. From the situation after the semifinals, Morris Greene is likely to withdraw from the title contention. Now, it seems that there is a greater chance for Shawn Crawford and Justin Gatlin to win."

"Why? In the semifinals, Morris Greene performed very well. If he could perform even better in the finals, he might break the world record," the host interjected.

Erickson seemed to anticipate that the host would ask this, and he smiled triumphantly, explaining, "If it were Morris Greene in his best condition, he could indeed break the world record, but in the semifinals, he expended too much energy. Half an hour is not enough time to recover. On the other hand, Shawn Crawford and Justin Gatlin did not exert themselves in the semifinals, so I'm more optimistic about their chances of winning."

"I think many viewers must be puzzled. Morris Greene was only 0.24 seconds faster than his teammate. Could there really be such a big difference in energy consumption?" the host paused for a moment before continuing, "Mr. Erickson, could you please explain this to our audience?"

Erickson nodded and began to speak, "In this kind of world-class competition, although it's just a brief 10 seconds, the energy expended by athletes is comparable to that of a morning of aerobic exercise for ordinary people. From the results, Morris Greene was only 0.24 seconds faster than his teammate, but he expended at least twice as much energy. The 100-meter sprint itself is an anaerobic exercise, which puts extreme pressure on the body's functions. In such high-speed movements close to the human body's limits, athletes' muscles, bones, organs, and various systems bear significant pressure. Moreover, the atmosphere of the live competition easily makes athletes nervous, which inevitably increases their energy consumption."

"If you don't believe it, you can look at that Chinese guy. He's leaving the field now, but look, his steps are very heavy. This is a sign of heavy energy consumption and muscle overload. Because the body's reactions take some time, this kind of consumption won't immediately show up right after the race, it usually takes a little time before the body shows signs of fatigue. I think to expend energy to this extent, it probably takes a good night's sleep to recover." Erickson pointed to the screen in front of him.

The broadcast immediately switched to the scene and focused on Zhang Guan.

At this moment, Zhang Guan was walking towards the athlete's tunnel. His pace was not fast, indicating that he was somewhat tired. Even his body involuntarily swayed with the rhythm of his steps.

"I've never run so fast before. Running like this consumes too much energy, and I only have 56 energy left. And in that situation just now, the burden on my muscles was also very heavy," Zhang Guan smiled bitterly and shook his head. With his current stamina, it was impossible for him to run within 9.90 seconds.

Zhang Guan carefully recalled Morris Greene's demeanor when he left the field just now, still lively and vigorous, indicating that the same expenditure had a much smaller impact on Morris Greene.

"In explosive short-distance sports, Asians do have a disadvantage in terms of physique. And I'm too young. For Asians, eighteen years old is not the age to accumulate muscles. It seems that I'll have to use that thing in the next final," Zhang Guan thought.

While thinking, Zhang Guan opened the system's mall.

"Purchase medium-level energy recovery potion, purchase medium-level status recovery potion. Confirm!"

Two skill points were instantly deducted, and Zhang Guan's inventory now had two types of items: six bottles of medium-level energy recovery potion and six bottles of medium-level status recovery potion.

In the distance, Coach Yu had already jogged over and supported Zhang Guan, saying, "It's only the semifinals. Why did you push yourself so hard? If you had saved that energy for the finals, you might have won a medal. Alas, what a pity..."

"No choice, the opponent was too strong," Zhang Guan pretended to be helpless and smiled, then continued, "Even the fourth in the group ran 9.97 seconds. If I had held back a bit, I might not have made it to the finals."

"Alright, don't say so much. Go in and rest. I'll give you a massage. I also brought some food. Hurry up and eat some, try to recover your energy as much as possible! Also, domestic reporters will come to interview you. I gave them three minutes," Coach Yu said.

...

This group was called the most brutal semifinals in Olympic history. Zhang Guan, who was first in the group, and Morris Greene, who was second, both ran 9.83 seconds. Yohan Blake, the Jamaican sprinter, ran 9.93 seconds for third place, and the fourth-place Portuguese runner, Obikweiru, ran 9.97 seconds. These four athletes will advance to the finals.

The fifth in the group was Kim Collins, with a time of 10.02 seconds. This time, if placed in the first group of the semifinals, would have ranked first in the group. However, in the fiercely competitive second group, he couldn't even make it to the finals.

The sixth in the group, Jason Gardner, ran 10.12 seconds, and the seventh, Leonard Mills, ran 10.22 seconds. These times would have placed them in the top four if they were in the first group, but unfortunately, they were in the second group.

At this time, Obaidi Thompson, who was fourth in the first group, was feeling very lucky. His time was also 10.22 seconds, which would have been the bottom of the second group, but in the first group, he ranked fourth and made it to the finals.

The Olympic rules are so cruel. If the top eight total scores were taken, Kim Collins and Jason Gardner could enter the finals, but with only the top four advancing from each group, they faced elimination.

Over an hour later, the most anticipated event of the Olympic track and field competition—the 100-meter dash final—was about to begin.