Who Used Doping?

In the stadium's press area, Duke hesitated briefly before dialing a phone number. After a moment, the call connected, and Duke spoke cautiously: "Editor, it's Duke."

"Damn it, Duke, do you know what time it is here in the U.S.? You interrupted my dream! I was just about to get into bed with Britney!" The editor's voice was angry and continued: "If you can't give me a good reason, I'm going to fire you!"

"I'm sorry, Editor, but something unusual happened here," Duke cleared his throat and continued, "The Chinese guy, Zhang Guan, he broke the world record!"

The editor on the other end was silent for a few seconds before cursing: "Damn it, Duke, you idiot! Of course I know that the Chinese guy broke the world record. I also know he won the Olympic gold medal! Are you still living in the Middle Ages? I don't need you to tell me about something that happened a month ago! I swear, I'm going to fire you!"

"Editor, no, it's not the Olympics. I mean just now. I'm talking about just now, at the IAAF All-Star Meet. That Chinese guy, Zhang Guan, broke the 100-meter world record again! The time is 9.76 seconds!" Duke hurriedly explained.

"You said what? You said 'again'? Did I hear that right? My God! It's only been a month! That Chinese guy broke the world record twice in one month! How is that possible? No one in the world can do that!" The editor seemed wide awake now, muttering to himself.

A minute later, the editor finally stopped rambling and scolded Duke again: "Duke, why are you still standing there? Go and do the interview! A new world record for the men's 100 meters, that's the headline. Yes, we're going to make this the headline!"

"Editor, what about the doping scandal? You promised me that the Hungarian doping scandal would be the top sports headline!" Duke said.

"Hungarian doping scandal? To hell with the doping scandal! The U.S. has several doping scandals every year! What's so special about it? It's just the same story with a different name! What I need now is the world record report, Duke. Listen carefully, it's the world record report! In the face of a new 100-meter world record, no one will care about that damned hammer thrower's doping scandal! Who cares about that Hungarian who took steroids, or that Japanese guy who got the gold by default? I don't even know who they are, and I don't want to know! I need the news about 'the fastest man in the world'!" The editor paused to catch his breath and continued: "Duke, a doping scandal might make it to the sports section, but a new 100-meter world record can be the front page headline! Front page headline, Duke! Your report could be the front page headline of our newspaper!"

"Front page headline!" Duke was suddenly excited. As a sports reporter, he envied those covering politics who could easily land on the front page. In political news, even the handshake between the Japanese Prime Minister's and the U.S. President's dogs could make it to the front page. Meanwhile, his hard-earned interviews were buried deep in the sports section.

The temptation of a front-page headline overwhelmed Duke. He said, "Okay, Editor, I understand. I'll go interview Zhang right away!"

"Good, Duke. Forget about that damn doping scandal and go interview Zhang. Breaking the world record twice in such a short time, no one has ever done that before! You're a reporter; you need to cover what the audience wants to see. That's how you prove your value," the editor began to ramble again.

"Editor, I get it. Please stop talking. You should go back to sleep; Britney is still waiting for you in your dream!"

...

By the time Duke hurried over to where Zhang Guan was, Zhang was already surrounded by a crowd of reporters.

Breaking the men's 100-meter world record twice in one month was unprecedented. At the world record level, advancing by even 0.01 seconds could take years.

"Congratulations, Zhang Guan! You broke the world record again! You created another miracle!" a reporter exclaimed.

"Miracle? No! I said at the Olympics a month ago, this is not a miracle!" Zhang waved his hand dismissively. "I have the ability. I am the fastest person in the world, so of course it's up to me to break the world record!"

The reporter who asked the question blushed. He didn't expect Zhang to respond like this. Usually, athletes who break the world record act as if they were kissed by the goddess of luck. No one ever made it seem so matter-of-fact like Zhang did.

At this moment, Zhang continued: "I've seen people say that my Olympic victory and world record were a fluke, just luck. So today, I broke the world record again. If you still think it's a coincidence, there will be a third time, a fourth time... So, don't talk about coincidence, luck, or miracles. I only believe in ability! In the near future, the world will get used to me constantly setting new world records!"

"Oh... What is this? A statement for breaking the world record? How can anyone say something like that? It's so arrogant! But it's so unique! I like this kind of personality!" Duke was taken aback and then realized that young people in America would absolutely love such a bold star. Pursuing individuality and self-expression was the mainstream culture among young people in the U.S. and around the world.

...

At Kondo's laboratory.

This All-Star Meet was different from the Olympics; the organizers collected samples from all the athletes. At the moment, urine samples from the eight 100-meter runners were being tested.

"Are the results out yet? Is there a doping reaction?" Kondo Kamezo asked anxiously.

"They're about to be ready," the assistant replied, carefully watching the computer screen, waiting for the results.

"It has to come out, it has to come out!" Kondo Kamezo started to pray. He was deeply concerned that if they found no traces of doping, it would not only be a failure but also a blow to his confidence.

"It's out!" The assistant pointed to the computer screen showing the test results and shouted, "We detected it! There's a reaction in one of the samples!"

"We really detected it! What is it?" Kondo Kamezo asked immediately.

"Judging by the molecular structure, it's a steroid," the assistant said.

Kondo Kamezo immediately went forward to check and said, "This is tetrahydroethylestradiol (THES), a very complex substance, likely the latest type of steroid. No wonder it wasn't detected at the Olympics. We can't even produce this in Japan. I thought only Americans could develop such advanced steroids. I didn't expect Chinese technology to progress so quickly!"

After speaking, Kondo Kamezo immediately picked up the phone and called the office of the vice-minister. Within a minute, he was connected.

"Vice Minister, this is Kondo Kamezo."

"Dr. Kondo, what's the situation? Did you detect anything?" the vice-minister asked.

"Yes, we detected a doping reaction. It's tetrahydroethylestradiol, a very complex and advanced steroid. Even the Americans might not be able to detect this," Kondo Kamezo said proudly.

"Excellent, Dr. Kondo. Prepare the test report immediately. We're going to hold a press conference to announce this scandal to the world!" The vice-minister's voice was filled with excitement.

"Don't worry, Vice Minister. I'll prepare the test report right away," Kondo Kamezo hung up the phone and said, "Prepare a detailed test report."

"Yes, Doctor. Should I prepare all of them?" the assistant asked.

"Of course. Wait, what do you mean by 'all of them'?" Kondo Kamezo asked.

"I mean all the reports. We tested eight samples in total, and we found doping in the fourth sample. So, I'm asking if you need reports for the other seven samples as well," the assistant explained.

"Just prepare the report for Zhang Guan," Kondo Kamezo said.

"Okay." The assistant cross-checked the athlete list and said, "Prepare the report for sample number five."

"Wait!" Kondo Kamezo shouted suddenly. "Didn't you say the problem was with sample number four?"

The assistant nodded, checked the list again, and said, "Yes, Zhang Guan is sample number five, and he's clean. The issue is with sample number four, which belongs to Justin Gatlin..."

"What!" Kondo Kamezo almost jumped out of his skin. He ran to the computer to check the results himself, and what he saw almost made him cry. Zhang Guan's urine sample was completely clean, and the steroid detected was from Justin Gatlin.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier that the problem was with Gatlin? I don't need Gatlin; I need Zhang Guan!" Kondo Kamezo roared.

"Professor, our equipment processes samples by number, and the computer only shows numbers. Matching numbers to athletes needs to be done manually. We just detected a reaction, and we didn't have time to match the numbers to the athletes yet," the assistant said, feeling wronged.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Kondo Kamezo suddenly felt like committing seppuku. He had intended to catch Zhang Guan, but ended up catching Japan's American "father." If this result was made public, it would be like slapping America in the face.

The Japanese could offend the whole world but could never afford to offend the Americans.

"Maybe we could swap the test results of Zhang Guan and Gatlin!" Kondo Kamezo felt a sudden impulse but immediately dismissed the idea. The urine samples were stored in two parts. If the first sample showed a problem, a second independent lab would test the other sample, and coaches and athletes could supervise the process. If the results differed, the truth would quickly come to light. Swapping the results would be pointless.

"I need to call the Vice Minister right away to stop the press conference!" Kondo Kamezo hastily picked up the phone...