They promised to win the swimming championship, but what's with this "Grand Slam" thi

Chapter 20 Phelps
Time flew by, and more than half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

"Go Wu Jin!"

"Come on!"

"Kill Cai Li!"

At the poolside of the Zhejiang Provincial Swimming Team, countless provincial team athletes stared at the figure in the lane that was getting closer and closer to the shore, clenching their fists and cheering him on.

Every now and then, you could hear people teasing Cai Li.

This has become their daily routine every morning.

Wu Jin's progress during this period has been remarkable, setting a personal best almost every few days.

"Oooo!"

The moment Wu Jin approached the finish line, everyone cheered, including the coaches watching from the shore, who all smiled.

Then, everyone did the same thing in unison.

He looked at the timer screen.

drop!
The timing display showed Wu Jin's 50-meter freestyle time in the next second.

"I rely on!"

23.88!

The four huge red numbers were so eye-catching that they almost stung the eyes of many people.

Especially Sun Yang.

This guy is obviously the most frustrated.

He thought Wu Jin's bet from more than half a month ago was bound to fail, but now he was getting anxious... At this rate of improvement every few days, he should be able to surpass Cai Li in the next few days.

In contrast, his improvement after joining the swimming team was not as significant as Wu Jin's.

Wu Jin spoke for more than 3 seconds, and he spoke for 3 seconds too!
But others run 50 meters, while he runs 400 meters!
"Depend on!"

"Brilliant!"

"Damn it..."

"It's broken 24!"

"too strong!"

"15.98 seconds!"

Countless people shouted and looked at Wu Jin as he walked out of the pool. These days, only this "kid brother" had brought some joy to the entire swimming team.

The underdog defeating the superior has always been a version that athletes love to see.

Everyone was looking forward to the day when Wu Jin would surpass Cai Li, but Cai Li became increasingly silent. A few days ago, he was so stimulated by Wu Jin that he swam a time of 22.95 seconds, which can be said to be a qualitative leap.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he improved, he couldn't match Wu Jin's level of absurdity.

He seemed to have no limitations whatsoever; even Xu Guoyi didn't know where his student's short-term limits lay.

He originally thought 24 seconds would be enough, but it's only been a few days, maybe 6 days.

In just 6 days, and a week, the 24-second mark has been broken again!
Because he had previously broken the 50-meter freestyle barrier of 26 seconds and 25 seconds in succession, and the difference between the two was only a few days.

Xu Guoyi shook his head at head coach Zhang Yadong, who was also watching beside him.

"Since joining the swimming team, I've improved by more than 3 seconds!"

"Within 24 seconds at the age of 12..."

"Too evil!"

Even Xu Guoyi, who had taught swimming for 15 years, had never seen such a freakish student.

Yes, children who go from sports schools to provincial teams do have room for improvement in a short period of time due to systematic training, but to improve by more than 3 seconds in less than a month is simply not normal.

Keep in mind, this is 50 meters, not 800 meters.

This improvement of 3 seconds in less than a month in short distance is as exaggerated as an improvement of 1.5 seconds in the 100-meter sprint.

This result has long exceeded the standard for a national first-class athlete in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and by a great margin.

The standard for the men's 50-meter freestyle Class 1 is 24.98 seconds, and Wu Jin has already exceeded that by more than a second. Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she will soon reach the highest level of athletic achievement in China.

The standard for a national-level athlete in the men's 50-meter freestyle is 23.70 seconds, and currently only 8 active athletes have obtained this certificate.

Fewer than 20 people in the history of Chinese swimming have achieved this feat. Now, a boy under 13 years old is about to win it.

This could not help but surprise Xu Guoyi.

"The swimming world is full of geniuses!"

"Breaking news!"

Zhang Yadong, however, seemed completely oblivious to Xu Guoyi's excitement, saying, "Yesterday, in the traditional pool competition between the US and Australia, that American superstar won the men's 400m individual medley with a time of 4 minutes and 10.73 seconds, breaking his own world record!"

"National Arts, perhaps... we really are getting old!"

"This generation of young people is so much better than we were back then!"

Zhang Yadong sighed, looking at Wu Jin who was surrounded by admirers, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Supernova? Which one?"

Xu Guoyi was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhang Yadong.

"Who else?"

"Michael Phelps, a swimming genius that America has only seen once in a century!"

"Phelps?!"

"The one who broke the US record in the adult butterfly stroke at the age of 14!"

Xu Guoyi asked somewhat uncertainly, and Zhang Yadong grinned and nodded: "Yes, it's him, he's only 17 years old..."

"I already hold three world records and 18 major competition records!"

Zhang Yadong glanced at Xu Guoyi: "Now, do you still think Wu Jin is extraordinary?"

Xu Guoyi: "..."

"In the 200-meter butterfly, this kid has broken the world record three times. I heard a lot of people talking about him back in Sydney!"

“这次400混又破了他自己创造的4分11，再加100米蝶，6次世界纪录的打破！”

Zhang Yadong said casually, "Old Zhao called me last night to tell me about this, and I just listened to it as a story!"

"Hahaha!"

Xu Guoyi smiled helplessly; sometimes, when faced with such a situation, there really is nothing one can do.

Effort is worthless in the face of talent, especially when someone is both talented and hardworking; it's like listening to a story.

"If he stays healthy, this kid will dominate the world of swimming for the next 10 years!"

"Thank goodness!"

"Wu Jin swam the 50-meter swim!"

Zhang Yadong smiled with relief, because Phelps was good at butterfly and individual medley, but he seemed to have never competed in the 50 or 100m freestyle short distances.

Otherwise, Wu Jin's biggest rival in this life would have been him, and he might even have suppressed her for an entire era.

"Keep a close eye on him; this kid has a real chance of winning an Olympic medal!"

"Perhaps the first medal for Chinese men at the Olympics will be won by this kid!"

That's certainly true.

Many coaches have said this to their students before; but to date, China still has zero gold medals in men's swimming at the Olympics, with its best result being fourth place in the final.

To put it in a more glamorous way, it's the iron medal, that of Jiang Chengji, who made a sensation in Asia by reaching the final of the 50-meter freestyle, an unprecedented achievement. He reached the final of the men's 50-meter freestyle at the 96 Atlanta Olympics.

It was also the only time in Asia that he had ever swum under 23 seconds before the competition, but he suddenly swam 22.33 seconds in the final, setting a new Asian and national record for the men's 50-meter freestyle, which has stood ever since.

"It's too early to say anything now. We'll only have a chance once we've developed enough to consistently last around 22 seconds!"

Around 22 seconds... such a niche number range.

No athlete like this has ever emerged in China. Swimming under 23 seconds is a combination of favorable timing, location, and exceptional performance.

"Let's get to the finals of the championship first!"

Xu Guoyi watched Wu Jin begin training, but he was worried about how to formulate a training plan for the kid.

The previous one seems to be no longer effective.

　I've made some changes and checked some information. In the 50m freestyle, someone from Asia has ever reached the Olympic finals—the only one, and also the best result ever achieved by a male swimmer!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)