Attacked by a Sniper

Liu Feiren lowered his voice and continued, "A few days ago, I overheard my coach casually mention that the association hopes you can break a world record at this Golden Grand Prix. I heard that securing this event was not easy, with significant resistance from the IAAF. Many people doubt our country's athletics capabilities and whether we can host an event of this scale. This Golden Grand Prix is the first edition, and there are plans to hold four more in the future. If a world record can be broken during this competition, it would create a sensational impact, making it much easier to host future events."

"Breaking a world record isn't that easy. Do they think it's like ordering food at a restaurant, where you can just choose what you want? Such thinking is too unrealistic," Zhang Guan replied, though he understood the association's difficulties.

"Exactly, so the center pushed back on the idea, and Director Luo instructed us not to mention this to you to avoid unnecessary pressure," Liu Feiren glanced at Zhang Guan's expression and continued, "But I want to give it a try."

"Oh? You want to challenge the world record?" Zhang Guan became interested.

Liu Feiren nodded and said, "In recent years, I've participated in very few domestic competitions, especially after last year's Olympics. This time, it's our first time hosting such an international athletics event, and it's taking place in our own country with our own people as the audience. They have supported me all these years, so I want to give it a shot! However, my current form isn't there yet, and I'm afraid I can't even break 13 seconds, let alone set a world record."

"If you have a goal, then go for it!" Zhang Guan patted Liu Feiren on the shoulder and continued, "Give it a try. Even if you don't break the world record, no one will blame you!"

...

The Golden Grand Prix was held at the 80,000-seat stadium, which is also a venue for Chinese Super League matches. To accommodate the Golden Grand Prix, the originally scheduled match between Zhongbang and Guoan on the 17th was moved up to the 16th.

On the afternoon of September 17th, most of the events at the Golden Grand Prix had been completed. Pole vault queen Isinbayeva had failed to break the world record, and the diamond pendant prepared by the organizers had not yet been awarded.

At this moment, two headline events were still left: the 110-meter hurdles and the 100-meter dash.

Liu Feiren had not yet appeared, but the audience knew that the 110-meter hurdles was up next. Continuous applause and cheers erupted and lasted until Liu Feiren stepped onto the track.

This was Liu Feiren's hometown, and he enjoyed unparalleled popularity here. For this city, Liu Feiren was a flag-bearer; for its residents, Liu Feiren was like a family member.

The loudspeaker reminded everyone to be quiet so the athletes could hear the starting gun, and the audience complied, waiting silently for the starting gun to sound.

"Bang!" After the starting gun went off, the audience began to cheer, but the athletes, who had just started their run, stopped.

Someone had false-started!

The athletes returned to the starting line to prepare for a restart. After less than a minute of adjustment, the starter raised the gun again.

The gun went off, followed quickly by the whistle to pause the race again—another false start. The offender was the American star, Dominique Arnold.

Arnold was one of the big names in the 110-meter hurdles at this Golden Grand Prix, second only to Liu Feiren and Allen Johnson. Although not as famous as the former two, he was still a very capable athlete.

Under normal circumstances, after a false start, athletes tend to be more cautious at the second attempt, especially those with strong potential, as the risk of a second false start is too high. However, some athletes take the opposite approach, thinking that others will be conservative, so they choose to be aggressive to gain an advantage. Unfortunately, Arnold failed and was disqualified.

Da Shi, who was competing alongside Liu Feiren, was luckier. He was influenced by Arnold's false start and his body moved prematurely, but since his feet didn't leave the starting blocks, the sensor didn't detect his false start. Otherwise, he would have been disqualified too.

Zhang Guan glanced at Coach Sun, who was standing next to the 110-meter hurdles track. Coach Sun had a serious expression, intently watching the track, clearly indicating that Liu Feiren's path to victory in his hometown was not going to be easy.

This time, the adjustment period was much longer, lasting about three minutes before the athletes returned to the starting line. With Arnold disqualified, only seven athletes remained on the track.

"Set…" With the starter's call, the athletes held their breath, waiting for the gun to go off.

A gunshot rang out, followed by the whistle pausing the race again. For the third time, someone false-started!

The false starter was the Japanese athlete Masato Naito. With one athlete already disqualified, especially someone as strong as Arnold, it should have intimidated the others. Yet, some were still determined, using a gun-jumping tactic, which was very unusual.

"What's going on? Three consecutive false starts—is gun-jumping popular today? Repeated delays disrupt the athletes' rhythm. Or maybe they're targeting Liu Feiren!" This thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Guan's mind.

On the track, Liu Feiren's expression was far more serious now. He kept adjusting his state through breathing, showing signs of nervousness.

As the first Golden Grand Prix, held on home soil in his hometown, Liu Feiren was already under a lot of pressure. The repeated false starts and pauses only exacerbated his tension and disrupted his rhythm.

"Liu Feiren is being targeted by the foreigners! This looks intentional. Perhaps athletes from other countries have reached some sort of agreement? They don't want us to win at home! If we fail to win on our own turf, it would be quite demoralizing. There are many in the world who don't want to see our country rise in athletics!" Zhang Guan's eyes gleamed with a cold light. Having been blackened too many times before, Zhang Guan wasn't too angry; instead, he felt even more determined.

Then Zhang Guan looked at the six foreign athletes in the 100-meter dash and thought they might try to target him too. After all, in terms of fame and achievements, he was far more prominent than Liu Feiren.

"These troublemakers, if they bring their faces close, I won't hold back! Wait, if they're troublemakers, what does that make me…" Zhang Guan suddenly laughed at himself.

On the track, with two athletes disqualified, only six contestants remained.

Although Liu Feiren was somewhat affected, he became even more focused.

The starting gun went off again, and this time no one false-started. Liu Feiren demonstrated exceptional composure and was the first to take off from the starting blocks.

"Good job!" Coach Sun clenched his fist in excitement. Liu Feiren's reaction time was the quickest among the six remaining athletes, indicating that the previous false starts had not impacted him.

However, Liu Feiren encountered a minor issue: he knocked over the hurdle at the third barrier, allowing Allen Johnson to take the lead. Fortunately, Liu Feiren's strength was formidable; he quickly adjusted his stride and caught up with Allen Johnson at the last hurdle, winning with a time of 13.05 seconds.

Although the stadium was filled with cheers, Liu Feiren felt a bit disappointed. He had knocked over the third hurdle, significantly affecting his speed. Without that mistake, he might have had a chance to challenge the world record.

Next, the 100-meter dash was about to begin.

There were nine participants in the 100-meter dash, including Zhang Guan and two other Chinese athletes: Hu Kai and former national 100-meter record holder Zhou Wei, both of whom entered through wildcard spots.

Zhou Wei had set the national 100-meter record of 10.17 seconds in 1998, which was later broken by Zhang Guan. However, Zhang Guan had never competed against Zhou Wei, as Zhou was banned for doping and only recently returned to the track.

Among the American athletes, Justin Gatlin was serving a suspension, and Maurice Greene and Shawn Crawford did not participate. The competitors included veteran John Capel and young talent Leonard Scott.

John Capel was a seasoned athlete who had won the gold medal in the 200 meters at the 2003 World Championships and the 100 meters at the 2003 Golden League in Zurich. During that period, world record holder Tim Montgomery was embroiled in a doping scandal, and Maurice Greene was recovering from a leg fracture due to a car accident, while Justin Gatlin had just entered the top tier. Capel was a dominant force at that time. However, by 2004, Capel's form had declined, and he was no longer considered an elite sprinter.

Leonard Scott was a young American sprinter who had competed in this year's World Championships, making it to the finals, but he was far behind Zhang Guan and Gatlin, achieving no notable results.

Among the foreign athletes, the strongest was Ghanaian Aziz Ariza, regarded as the second-best Jamaican sprinter behind Asafa Powell. He had faced Zhang Guan multiple times but rarely finished in the top positions.

Another familiar face, Japan's Nobuharu Asahara, also appeared on the track. The remaining two foreign athletes were Frenchman Pierre Borgnon and Pole Piotr Francis. Both were well-known European sprinters with experience in the Olympics, World Championships, and Golden League events.

"They're just small fry! Even if I run normally, you can't beat me! I'm curious to see what tricks you'll play." Zhang Guan stopped thinking about the six foreign athletes and walked straight to the starting line.