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

Chapter 35 Swimming World Championships Qualifiers! [4000-word long chapter]

"Hello, Coach Zhao!"

Wu Jin called out to Zhao Ge with great respect.

"Hehe, don't be shy!"

Zhao Ge has a warm and friendly demeanor. He was also the one who led the team to the Sydney Olympics three years ago.

Wu Jin had actually heard many stories about this meritorious coach of Chinese swimming in her previous life.

It's fair to say that without his numerous suggestions and the introduction of equipment, the resurgence of the Chinese swimming team might not have been so rapid.

This is a "swimming coach" who was appointed in a time of crisis during the darkest period of Chinese swimming!
In 1999, he took office at a critical moment when Chinese swimming suffered a severe blow. Since then, the Chinese swimming team has gradually recovered and its performance has improved year by year. At the Athens Olympics, it won one gold and one silver medal, exceeding expectations.

It's inseparable from his leadership.

He was the first to propose that swimming is a technique-driven sport, rather than simply a sport that trains physical fitness and intensity.

Before him, including the national team, the focus was always on relentless and arduous training.

They even hired East German coach Klaus Rudolf to coach the Chinese swimming team, bringing with him the East German "Komplex08" doping program.

The darkest period that followed was a nightmare that no one wanted to hear about.

After Zhao Ge took over, he was responsible for bringing various technical references, data, swimming strokes, training methods, and scientific instruments and equipment such as blood lactate monitoring and computer data analysis in line with international standards.

Moreover, a series of subsequent policies and guidelines for Chinese swimming, including the establishment of an anti-doping testing center, were all suggested to the higher authorities by him. The most important one was—do not "let Zhong Yong be ruined"!
Zhang Lin, the future first medalist of China and the future star swimmer, almost ruined his career through training. It was Zhang Lin who overruled all objections and directly recruited him into the national team. Zhang Lin then guided Zhang Lin in developing training plans for a long time, creating a legendary story in the swimming world!

China has never lacked swimming talents.

Many people realize their potential at the age of 11 or 12, and in many Olympic Games, Chinese swimmers aged 13 or 4 have already achieved Olympic qualification.

例如明年14岁参加奥运会的张添翼，08年刚过完自己13岁生日的李哲思……11、2岁的游泳天才，在14亿人口的泱泱大国，说一句全世界最多也不为过。

However, without exception, all of these young players ended up either crippled or injured.

The Zhejiang Provincial Swimming Team is so strong, but it has also ruined many people's swimming career.

To achieve good results, local teams train their children to the point of exhaustion. Sun Yang was indeed lucky; his parents were athletes, so he was an exception who had a bad mentality when he was young but achieved stable results as an adult.

Injuries can be devastating for a swimmer.

Moreover, one of the most fatal diseases that many athletes who train hard suffer from is lumbar disc herniation. This is a sequela of rigorous training, and it is particularly harmful to swimmers, weightlifters, and so on.

The most important reason Zhao Ge came over was to see Wu Jin.

We must ensure that such a promising talent, which has suddenly emerged, does not become another example of a flash in the pan.

His computer currently contains too many reports of 11- and 12-year-old national-level athletes and first-class athletes who ultimately "could not be found".

It has indeed reached a point where reform is absolutely necessary.

"Wu Jin, do you know what it means that you swam this time?"

Zhao Ge smiled at Wu Jin.

"..."

Wu Jin genuinely didn't know; she wasn't pretending. She shook her head.

"World Standard!"

"The qualifying time for the men's 50-meter freestyle at the World Swimming Championships is 23 seconds flat!"

"It means, you!"

Zhao Ge smiled happily: "I can participate in the 7th World Swimming Championships in Barcelona in July!"

"..."

Wu Jin looked genuinely surprised.

"Hehe, I came here specifically to inform you that you'll be joining the national team for special training next month!"

"really?"

Wu Jin deliberately feigned excitement, expressing a reaction typical of his age.

Although he really wanted to participate in the World Championships.

"You silly kid, Coach Zhao came all the way here to tell you, isn't that true?"

Xu Guoyi laughed and scolded from the side.

Wu Jin grinned, but Zhao Ge nodded and said solemnly, "It's true. Do your best in the final later. Results are important, but don't push yourself too hard. I hope to see you perform well in the World Championships and even the Olympics in the future!"

"With your results and continued training, you have a chance to stand on the podium at the Olympics and the World Championships!"

"Take good care of your health!"

"Did you hear that?"

Seeing that Wu Jin remained silent, Xu Guoyi quickly spoke up.

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Coach Zhao!"

"Alright, it won't affect your preparations anymore, after all, you still have the finals later!"

See you next month, Wu Jin!

Zhao Ge, quite eccentrically, actually extended his fist. Wu Jin was stunned for a moment and didn't react, but in the end, she also extended her fist and punched him.

The head coach of the national team is quite fashionable.

Wu Jin watched Zhao Ge walk out. Wang Haibo had already walked over at this moment, and said excitedly, "Damn, Xiao Wu, Shi Biao, you can participate in the World Championships!"

"Hey Bo, you can participate in the breaststroke too, right?"

"The breaststroke has a low barrier to entry. There are very few swimmers in all of Asia who can even participate in your 50-meter freestyle!"

"Sometimes in a single competition, there aren't a single Asian competitor; they're all white!"

"23 seconds flat, how many people can swim that far?"

That's heartbreaking, Wang Haibo.

There was a swimmer sitting right next to me who didn't even finish in 23 seconds!
Although Cai Li's expression didn't reveal much, everyone could see that he felt quite cruel that Wu Jin was able to participate in the World Championships while he was still striving for the same goal.

"It's okay, Ali, there's still a chance in the finals later!"

"Swim for 23 seconds and show everyone!"

Wang Haibo, true to his reputation as a master of impartiality, managed to win Cai Li over once again.

Cai Li was both amused and exasperated by him: "Brother Bo, why don't you just say you'll swim 23 seconds later?"

"Haha, the way you're saying it makes it sound like I don't want to swim that fast!"

"Your brother is too old, he doesn't have that skill anymore, you know? From now on, I'm planning to specialize in breaststroke!"

Although Wang Haibo also advanced to the final, he played the role of goalkeeper and finished eighth in the semifinals, barely making it into the final roster.

"How are you doing? Will you still be able to swim in the final later?"

After seeing He Xinzhong and Zhao Ge off, Xu Guoyi went to the rest room.

"good!"

Wang Haibo, the seasoned veteran, was the first to reply. "Wu Jin, you and Xiao Cai should have been exhausted by the semi-final!"

Xu Guoyi could tell from their final scores.

But there's nothing we can do about it. Neither of them had a sure chance of making it to the finals before, and the first-place player could control the score.

"Chen Zuo is well-rested and ready; his goal is definitely the championship!"

"This venue is practically his home ground!"

"This kid has already won three gold medals and broken one national record and one Asian record. He's in superb form. There are still two other gold medal contenders in Beijing, and this is one of them!"

"If they take all of these, Zhejiang Province will be ranked fourth!"

"..."

Xu Guoyi clearly didn't take Zhao Ge's words to heart. For him, a provincial team coach, the gold medal was the most important thing at the moment.

No one is indifferent to the championship. Zhao Ge, as the head coach of the national team, can of course not care, considering the health of the players; but for the provincial team coaches, their goal is for their players to win medals.

If Zhejiang Province fails to even make the top three, the entire swimming team will lose face.

You can say that the coach's obsession with gold medals is too materialistic; but when the country assesses a region's achievements, the value of a gold medal far exceeds that of a silver or bronze medal.

This is the default rule all over the world.

European and American gold medals are equally coveted; this is the significance of holding sports events.

The idea that friendship comes first and competition second is just high-sounding nonsense; gold medals are what truly matter.

Rough words are not rough.

"The lane rankings for the finals have been determined!"

"The first priority, of course, is to assign us the best lane, fourth, and the second is lane fifth!"

"Chen Zuo ranked fourth in the semifinals, in lane six!"

Xu Guoyi took a sand table and was analyzing the upcoming match with his three disciples.

The lane arrangement for swimming finals has always followed the rules set by FINA (International Swimming Federation), which are mainly based on the athletes' preliminary or semi-final results to ensure fairness and competitiveness.

Performance takes priority, middle lane takes priority!
The champion's lanes, lanes 4 and 5, are the best positions, while swimmers with the second-best times are alternately assigned to the left and right lanes.

This principle of "decreasing central advantage" is also known as the "python-style lane arrangement method".

The aim is to reduce the interference of water flow on swimmers in the middle lane, while allowing swimmers with better performance to occupy more advantageous lanes, similar to the passive performance of swimmers like Chen Zuo in the semifinals.

He dared to do this because of the home advantage; in his view, the lack of physical reserves was more important than the swimming lanes.

"Wu Jin!"

Xu Guoyi glanced intently at Wu Jin beside him, and Wu Jin looked up and said, "Yes, Coach, I'm listening!"

"You've won the world championship, so you can aim for the title now. How are you feeling?"

"It's alright, I feel like it's worth a try!"

"That's OK!"

Xu Guoyi looked at his talented disciple with satisfaction and smiled, saying, "The qualifying rounds for the World Swimming Championships are determined by your submitted World Standard times. Do you know this rule?"

Wu Jin really didn't know.

"Just like the lane division in the finals!"

"The preliminary round groups are based on the registration scores, with the slowest runners being placed in earlier groups first, and... the worst runners are all in the side lanes!"

It is quite disadvantageous.

"If we can go for it, let's give it a shot!"

"We don't have any teammates from the lane next to Chen Zuo's, otherwise we could have interfered with him!"

"Haibo, you're a veteran player. Your foul has affected Chen Zuo's performance!"

This is called a foul tactic.

Veteran team members must play a leading and dedicated role!

I don't really know much about Wu Jin's swimming competitions around 03, because it seems that many rules were changed after 11.

At least, there are definitely no foul tactics involved.

Unlike now, where so many plans are developed for the players before the competition.

Wang Haibo, with an air of nonchalance, replied, "Okay, leave it to me!"

Many athletes are indeed willing to play a supporting role.

He's already won a gold medal, so he wasn't thinking of winning another one in this event. There's definitely a gap between him and the top athletes.

"Alright, Xiao Cai, Wu Jin, and Hai Bo, you guys do your best later!"

"This shot is the key!"

"Think about all the hard work and sweat you've shed over the past month..."

"Your parents..."

"..."

Xu Guoyi was using the same old tricks to relentlessly manipulate Wu Jin, who listened with a "blood-pumping" expression, and subconsciously upgraded her intermediate acceleration to level 2!

This adds another 2 seconds of buff.

It can accelerate by a full 14 seconds!
"This time, let's push our limits again!"

Because Wang Haibo will commit a foul in the first round, he will be ejected if he commits another foul in the second round rematch. Therefore, in principle, he can use his skills with confidence in the second round.

In other words, Wu Jin can activate her skill immediately upon entering the water in this final.

Maximize your speed boost!

It will definitely be much faster than the speed at which the water comes out in the semi-finals.

"Chen Zuo, I'm here!"

Wu Jin pursed her lips.

This future national team captain was also the champion of the 50-meter freestyle at this championship in his previous life.

Wu Jin really wants to try out the intensity of this sport, where the current Asian number one is!

Wu Jin wasn't quite sure of his winning time in this competition in his previous life, but it probably didn't exceed 23 seconds; before 2010, there really weren't many athletes who could surpass that number.

Chen Zuo is already considered the first person. It won't be until after 2012, when the overall level of Chinese swimming improves, that top 50m freestyle swimmers from various regions, especially young athletes, will break the domestic and even Asian 50m freestyle records at an alarming rate.

They directly boosted their scores to the same level as the world's top performers!

After 2016, the swimming world in China went crazy. Records that were difficult to break in previous years were broken every few months.

Even several major world records!

(End of this chapter)