Sprint: This champion is a bit weird

Chapter 193 Eugene Prefontaine Classic

There is a big difference between officially breaking the world record and "breaking the world record" at super wind speed.

Without Liu Xiang's success, perhaps the news that Wen Hao ran 9 seconds under super-windy conditions would have caused a sensation in the country.

But when Liu Xiang broke the world record for the 12-meter hurdles by running 87 seconds, Wen Hao's performance in New York that night was praised by countless netizens, but it was still far less attractive and discussed than the former.

However, Wen Hao didn't care so much about the popularity of domestic public opinion, because at noon the next day, that is, at 12 o'clock Eastern Time, his second English single "Shape of You" was officially released.

"Shape of You" successfully landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 81 in just one hour. At this rate, it is not a problem to break into the top 24 within 50 hours.

Moreover, this is even if there is no B-list radio play count statistics on Sunday. If you wait until Monday to start adding radio play count statistics.

The American branch of EMI Records is in full swing, trying to increase publicity through various channels, and vowing to make Wenhao the first Asian No. 1 singer in the history of the B chart (topping the charts in the first week of release)!

On June 6, Wen Hao set off again, heading to Oregon on the west coast, aiming for the Eugene Prefontaine Classic.

However, after landing in Eugene, he did not immediately go to the University of Oregon to adapt to the venue. Instead, while repairing in the hotel, he paid attention to the Suzhou World Championships trials in China.

For the Chinese men's 100-meter sport, this year's World Championship trials are unprecedented.

World Championships and Olympic trials have been held in the past, but for sprint events, trials are optional.

Because throughout the year, there may not be three athletes who can reach the B standard for the Olympics and World Championships.

In the Chinese men's sprint in 2004, only Cheng Haijian met the standard in the 100m, and only Yang Yaozu met the standard in the 200m. As for the 400m, this is an event that could not even win a medal at the Asian Games. Needless to say.

By the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, only Yang Yaozu, the 200-meter sprinter, had reached the standard in the Chinese men's sprint event.

But who would have thought that just two years later, the Chinese men's 100 meters would see a spurt of progress!

Let’s not mention Wen Hao, a fierce man who raised the national record and the Asian record to 9 seconds in one breath, and also ran 88 seconds at super wind speed.

In addition to him, four Chinese men's 100-meter men have completed the Osaka World Championships:

Yang Yaozu (A standard), 2006 Shijiazhuang National Championship-final, 10.21 (+0.8m/s);

Hu Kai (A standard), 2006 Doha Asian Games - Final, 10.16 (0.0m/s);

Zhang Peimeng (B standard), 2006 Zhaoqing Grand Prix-Final, 10.27 (0.0m/s);

Liang Jiahong (B standard), 2006 Zhaoqing Grand Prix - Final, 10.28.

In this way, for the Chinese men's 100-meter event, this year's World Championships trials finally played a "selection" role for the first time in history.

The only pity is that Yang Yaozu left the field due to injury, otherwise this trial would have been even more exciting.

After talking to Li Qing in China, Wen Hao received an email with the file "Men's 100m Final Results of the National Track and Field Grand Prix (Suzhou) and World Championships Trials".

Wind speed: +0.2m/s

1——Individual——Hu Kai——10.25 SB

2——Guangxi——Lao Yi——10.27 PB

3——Guangdong——Su Bingtian——10.30 PB

4——Yanjing——Zhang Peimeng——10.31

5——Guangdong——Liang Jiahong——10.33

6——Jiangsu——Lu Bin——10.34 PB

7——Guangdong——Wen Yongyi——10.36

8——Sichuan——Yin Hualong——10.39

Seeing this report card, even Wen Hao, who was accustomed to big scenes, was slightly shocked.

Good guys, everyone broke 10 seconds 40!

Hu Kai's victory did not surprise him. After all, his foundation is much more solid than other domestic players. At 25 years old this year, he is still in his prime.

Therefore, after recovering from the injury, it is very reasonable for Hu Kai, who once ran under 10 seconds, to get back into shape and run under 20 seconds.

What really surprised him was Lao Yi, who once again had a breakthrough and improved his personal best time from 10 seconds to 37 seconds, an improvement of 10 seconds in one breath!

But having said that, this rate of progress is indeed very laborious.

Su Bingtian ran a personal best of 10 seconds. Wen Hao was not surprised because his expectations for Su Bingtian were 30 seconds or even higher.

It’s only 10 seconds and 30. He still has a long way to go. According to the selection rules, in addition to the top three Hu Kai, Lao Yi, and Su Bingtian, Zhang Peimeng and Liang Jiahong can also enter the national relay team.

However, if they really join the national relay team, it will mean that they have "given up" on the World University Games.

With the current strength of the two of them, not to mention that they will definitely win the gold medal at the Universiade, but as long as they participate in the 100 meters and 200 meters, they will definitely be able to secure a medal.

So, there's a trade-off to make.

However, the IAAF World Championships and the World University Games are two events that are placed in front of track and field athletes. Individuals should not choose the latter.

Whether it is from an individual perspective or a collective perspective.

Therefore, when Wen Hao was preparing to participate in the Eugene Prefontaine Classic, five people, Hu Kai, Lao Yi, Su Bingtian, Zhang Peimeng, and Liang Jiahong, were immediately given a five-day holiday by their unit.

On June 6, they will gather at Yanjing Capital Airport and fly to Paris for the World Championship training of the national relay team.

After understanding the situation in the country, Wen Hao finally relaxed and called Liu Xiang and his team to have fun in Oregon's second largest city.

Wen Hao has been to the city of Eugene in his previous life, during the 2022 Oregon World Championships.

At the moment, Eugene is still relatively unknown to domestic track and field fans, but he has been famous in Europe and the United States for decades.

The development of track and field sports in the city of Eugene has played a decisive role in the development of track and field projects in the entire United States. It is even praised as the "Track Town" in the United States. This city has produced many track and field celebrities.

When talking about celebrities who have come out of the city of Eugene, the ones that have to be mentioned are Bowman, Phil Knight and Prefontaine.

These three meritorious figures engraved in the history of world track and field development not only promoted the development of track and field, but also increased Eugene's global popularity.

Bowman is the track and cross country coach at the University of Oregon. During his leadership, the school's players won 24 NCAA individual championship titles; in addition, he also trained more than 30 Olympians.

It was this meritorious coach who brought the concept of jogging from New Zealand to the United States, adding more elements of jogging trails to Eugene's urban planning.

What is even more worth mentioning is that he co-founded a company called Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964 with his college alumnus Phil Knight. Seven years later, the company officially changed its name to Nike Sports (NIKE).

The reason why the hometown of track and field is able to produce a large number of talents also benefits from the rapid development of campus sports.

The University of Oregon is located in Eugene. This school has always attached great importance to the development of sports activities, and the Hayward Track and Field, which belongs to the University of Oregon, has produced countless outstanding track and field athletes over the decades.

The official event name of the Diamond League Eugene station that Wen Hao will participate in this trip is the "Eugene Prefontaine Classic", which is named after the late world-class long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine.

In 2010, Eugene's announced city label was "A Great City for the Arts & Outdoors."

It was also this year that the Prefontaine Classic was merged into the IAAF Diamond League. During this period, some cities and countries had their original hosting locations changed, but Eugene Station has always been the most undisputed. One of several Diamond League sites.

　I was planning to add an update yesterday, but unfortunately it got stuck.

　　After struggling for a long time, I decided to remove the plot of the fan concert.

　　Although this book is about both literature and style, there shouldn’t be too much entertainment and daily content. Let’s start with a competition chapter.

　　(PS: I originally wanted to criticize Swift)

　　

　

(End of this chapter)