Hosting a Competition at Home

Just after Zhang Guan hung up the phone, there was a knock on the door. It was Coach Yu who had come in.

In recent days, Coach Yu had been accompanying Zhang Guan, traveling with him across various European cities to participate in competitions. For this reason, Coach Yu had even skipped the Asian Athletics Championships. Although Coach Yu was the deputy head coach of the national athletics team, he was primarily Zhang Guan's coach. Therefore, for Coach Yu, personally witnessing Zhang Guan win the ultimate prize in the Golden League was far more important than attending the Asian Athletics Championships.

Coach Yu sat down on the sofa chair and immediately started speaking: "Xiao Zhang, the six events of the Golden League are now over. I won't be accompanying you to the upcoming IAAF World Athletics Final in a couple of days. Director Ma has asked me to return as soon as possible."

"Is there something going on at the center?" Zhang Guan pondered the recent competition schedule. The Asian Athletics Championships had ended, and the National Games were more than a month away. The East Asian Games would be held after the National Games. By all accounts, Coach Yu shouldn't have any major obligations recently.

Coach Yu explained, "It's about the Huangpu International Athletics Golden Grand Prix. I remember mentioning it to you before. This year is its inaugural event, so I need to return to be involved in some related work."

Zhang Guan immediately recalled the event. Earlier, during the IAAF Osaka meet, Director Luo had been worried about this matter. Later, the IAAF finally approved it, and the event was set to take place.

In recent years, Huangpu City had been striving to become an international super metropolis, hosting a series of international competitions such as the Tennis Masters Cup and F1 races. Now, they were preparing to host a world-class athletics event—the International Athletics Golden Grand Prix.

This International Athletics Golden Grand Prix had no relation to the Golden League held in Europe, but it was still an official outdoor event approved by the IAAF. Since this year was its first edition and the approval came late, it hadn't even been included in the IAAF's schedule at the beginning of the year.

The Golden Grand Prix was scheduled for mid to late September, typically after the IAAF World Athletics Final. Therefore, it had a bit of an additional event feel to it.

Coach Yu continued, "The athletics federation places great importance on this event. Apart from Japan and Qatar, no other Asian countries host world-class athletics events. If we can keep organizing this International Athletics Golden Grand Prix, it will significantly boost public interest in athletics, promote the development of athletics, and improve the overall level of athletics in the country. They've even formed a special investment management company for the event and invited Jos Hermens, the president of the world's largest athletics management company GSC, to help run it."

"It looks like I'll need to participate as well," Zhang Guan remarked.

"Of course! You're not going to skip a competition held in our own country! Do you know how many people in China stay up late watching you compete in the Golden League on TV? Now there's no time difference, and if you don't participate, how will you face the national audience?" Coach Yu gave Zhang Guan a stern look and continued, "Besides, it's the first edition of our international athletics event. It would be embarrassing if all the gold medals were taken by foreign athletes."

Zhang Guan understood that there was no way he could avoid participating in such an event, nor did he intend to. The country's track and field level was already weak, and the general atmosphere for athletics wasn't strong. Hosting an international athletics series event was a rare opportunity, and Zhang Guan would have to compete even if it exhausted him.

"What are the participation criteria? Who else will be competing? For an event on our home turf, I assume domestic athletes will have some wildcard entries, right?" Zhang Guan asked.

Coach Yu nodded, "The qualification is for athletes ranked in the top 40 for the year. But since this is the first event, most athletes are being invited. For some events, even if we pay them, notable athletes are reluctant to come. For example, in your 100 meters event, apart from you, there are no well-known competitors. Currently, the wildcard spot for the 100 meters has been given to Hu Kai."

Zhang Guan pictured "Spectacled Man" Hu Kai in his mind and then joked, "See? They all know I'm competing and are too scared to come! In that case, I won't need an appearance fee."

"We wouldn't give you one even if you asked!" Coach Yu replied with a hint of melancholy and continued, "Besides you and Liu Feiren, the only confirmed world champion-level athletes participating are Yelena Isinbayeva, Nadzeya Ostapchuk, and Dwight Phillips. Our country's track and field are still too weak. We don't have much influence in athletics, so it's hard to attract top athletes."

As someone who had witnessed the future trends of sports development, Zhang Guan understood that the commercialization of sports could largely be driven by money alone. Without a certain level of competition and influence, even offering substantial appearance fees might not attract top athletes. In sports like table tennis or badminton, if a country hosts a master's tournament, foreign top athletes would be eager to participate, even if they might only play one round. This is due to the opportunity to compete against the world's best players, which is an important factor in sporting influence and competitiveness.

Suddenly, Zhang Guan thought of a question and asked, "The Golden League in Europe used to reward athletes with real gold. Are we also awarding gold in our Golden Grand Prix?"

Coach Yu smiled slightly and said, "You guessed it. This is currently confidential, and the participating athletes don't know yet. Generally, competitions reward a small gold-plated medal. This time, we're awarding real gold! A jewelry sponsor has crafted fourteen pure gold dragons for all fourteen events!"

"Gold dragons, huh? That's impressive. How much are they worth?" Zhang Guan asked eagerly.

"Each one is worth 24,000," Coach Yu said, indicating the amount with his fingers.

"Dollars?" Zhang Guan asked.

"RMB," Coach Yu replied, and then continued, "If you break a world record, there's a $100,000 prize and a diamond pendant."

"Breaking a world record earns you $100,000 from the IAAF! I already know that—I've won it twice this year," Zhang Guan said dismissively. "How big is the diamond pendant?"

Coach Yu extended a single finger: "It's a one-carat diamond, worth about 100,000 yuan!"

"That's stingy…" Zhang Guan muttered.

…

On September 9th, the IAAF World Athletics Final took place in Monaco.

For Zhang Guan, the main purpose of the IAAF World Athletics Final was to collect the $750,000 prize.

Since this was the final event, more athletes participated compared to previous competitions, and the main events spanned two days.

Notably, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell returned in this meet. However, having just returned to competition, his form was not yet back, and he barely managed to run under 10 seconds, posing no threat to Zhang Guan.

As for the other 100 meters athletes, they were all familiar faces with whom Zhang Guan had previously competed in various Golden League and Grand Prix events.

The entire 100 meters race went smoothly. All the participants knew they couldn't beat Zhang Guan and acted as if they were just there to accompany the prince in his studies. Zhang Guan didn't disappoint and won the race with a time of 9.92 seconds.

…

After the IAAF World Athletics Final ended, Zhang Guan left Monaco the next day and boarded a plane back home.

When Zhang Guan returned to the Xinzhuang Training Base, he saw Liu Feiren practicing on the track.

"How was it? Did you meet any enthusiastic fans in Korea? Any pretty girls interested in you? Why didn't you bring back a girl who's good with knives?" Zhang Guan joked as soon as they met.

Just two days before the IAAF Golden League Berlin meet, Liu Feiren had won the 110 meters hurdles at the Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon, South Korea, which is why Zhang Guan asked.

"A girl who's good with knives?" Liu Feiren was momentarily puzzled before understanding the joke. He laughed and said, "Stop teasing me. I should be congratulating you for winning the Golden League's million-dollar prize!"

"Just got lucky…" Zhang Guan replied modestly, then said, "The schedule was really tight. I haven't had any time to train recently, just traveling around. Unlike you, who's had almost a week to practice after returning!"

Liu Feiren shook his head, "Not quite a week! I've been participating in events since returning from Korea and have only been practicing for two days. Including today, I have four days left before the competition. I need to get back in shape quickly. Allen Johnson is coming again, and this time, it's a home game in my hometown. I can't afford to lose face in front of the local folks."

"I'm okay. There aren't many top competitors coming for the 100 meters," Zhang Guan said. "You and Allen Johnson are old rivals now. Since he's here, why not treat him to a meal?"

"There's probably no time for that. After the Golden Grand Prix, I'm flying to Yokohama the same night for the Yokohama Superstars meet we participated in last year, which starts on the 19th. Want to join?" Liu Feiren asked.

Zhang Guan immediately shook his head. The China Open tennis tournament was starting on the 19th, and Zhang Guan had to fly back to Beijing right after the Golden Grand Prix.

"I've already written my leave application. I need to rest for at least ten days to two weeks before the National Games. I've been running around Europe, competing in over a dozen events. If I don't take a break, my body might not hold up," Zhang Guan found a reasonable excuse.

"True, the schedule was brutal in early July with three events in one week. You competed in several more than I did, so you must be exhausted," Liu Feiren said, then leaned in closer to Zhang Guan and whispered, "Tell me honestly, how fast can you run now? Can you break another world record?"

This question caught Zhang Guan off guard, and he gave a somewhat ambiguous reply: "Breaking world records depends mainly on the condition on the day. If I'm in good shape, it's possible; if not, I'll just aim to run under 10 seconds. Why do you ask?"