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

Chapter 68 What's the use of being 12 years old?

The 10th World Swimming Championships in Barcelona have concluded! Luo Xuejuan won 3 gold medals and Wu Jin won 1 gold medal, placing China fourth overall!

4 Gold and 4 Bronze Medals! The Chinese Swimming Team Achieves Its Best-Ever Result at the World Swimming Championships!

Luo Xuejuan, a three-time world champion in the breaststroke, becomes the first woman in World Championship history to successfully defend her title in the 100-meter breaststroke and becomes the Chinese swimmer with the most world championship titles!

12-year-old Chinese swimmer Wu Jin wins his first-ever gold medal in men's swimming at the World Championships, making history!

……

Wen Xin, the public relations manager for Speedo China, stared blankly at the bold, red, and large headline on the front page of Sina Sports, resting his chin on his hand on his desk.

Tuk Tuk!

The knocking startled Wen Xin from his reverie: "Come in!"

"Sam, we just received a notification from headquarters asking us to talk to the Chinese swimming team again. Mizuno in Japan has softened their stance!"

"This time, Kosuke Kitajima participated in the competition wearing our second-generation Quick skin and won two silver medals!"

Han Zhixing strode into the office and closed the door behind him.

"Old Han, you've just been transferred here from abroad, there are some things you don't understand!"

Wen Xin first had his subordinates make coffee for the two men, and then said to Han Zhixing, "The leaders of my swimming center, including those from the General Administration of Sport, have visited many times..."

"That contractual constraint with Nike is just an excuse!"

"Their leadership won't budge, so the swimming team will never switch to our brand!"

"Nike must have made some promise, or something behind the scenes... you know!"

Wen Xin gave Han Zhixing a bitter smile.

Han Zhixing frowned: "Should we also make some arrangements?"

"It's no use. If I could bribe people, I would have taken care of it long ago!"

Wen Xin glanced at the news on the computer screen and said, "I was wondering if Nike has also released some new swimsuits? Did you watch the World Championships this year? Luo Xuejuan won three gold medals, and there was also a 12-year-old kid, 12 years old! Popov couldn't even beat him!"

"Impossible! They couldn't even build the first generation!"

Han Zhixing is the head of Speedo Greater China, and he has people monitoring the progress of swimsuits from several domestic competitors every day.

It's impossible to hide such technology from the other companies.

This thing is different from others; it needs to be put into commercial use quickly.

"So...it's pure strength?"

Wen Xin was somewhat skeptical.

Those in their line of work tend to have blind faith in their own products, mainly because Phelps is indeed too amazing.

This time, wearing their Speedo Fast Skin FASTAKIN 2, they broke five world records, sending shockwaves through the entire swimming community.

This includes several companies that make swimming products.

Like Speedo, other products may not be able to compete with sports giant Nike, but swimwear is their flagship product.

This Australian sportswear brand, founded in 1928, started by producing underwear and later expanded into swimwear. With the help of the Olympics, especially the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in Australia, the Australian swimming team wearing Speedo won 8 gold medals.

It's worth noting that there were only 20 gold medals in swimming at the Olympics at that time, meaning Australia won nearly half of them.

After this incident, Speedo became famous.

In just eight years, it completely monopolized the swimsuit market for swimming teams in 95% of the world's countries.

Nike, the world's number one sports brand, had only just been founded at that time.

When it comes to swimwear, Speedo clearly has a lot to say.

The Olympics are the key to Speedo's wealth; he clearly wants to replicate the success of the 1972 Munich Olympics in Germany by having all participating countries wear his swimsuits.

Especially now that they have the world's only "fast skin" sharkskin, Speedo's ambitions have become even greater.

The Chinese market is currently seen as a huge blue ocean by many foreign brands.

Speedo's market in Europe and America is already saturated, while in China, only some swimming enthusiasts know about Speedo.

"Has Luo Xuejuan tried our products before? The first generation?"

Han Zhixing had just been transferred from headquarters and was obviously not familiar with the previous public relations efforts.

"Pass through!"

"Luo Xuejuan is fine, but it's mainly those guys on the men's team, especially Wu Peng. That kid is the worst!"

"How to say?"

I really didn't know about Han Zhixing's matter.

"You know how athletes are, this kid's pretty arrogant. He won 3 golds and 1 silver at the Asian Games. When I went to the swimming team to sell him my swimsuit, he said it was uncomfortable and affected his performance!" "That's it?"

That's normal, Han Zhixing can understand.

Because sharkskin is not suitable for every athlete, and most importantly, each person needs a separate set.

The key is to "tailor-make" the clothes, customizing them according to the athlete's height and other factors. Wen Xin's sales pitch would definitely use universal models of various sizes.

It is true that there may be size discrepancies.

"If only it were like that!"

"He said swimsuits are superstition, and even the leaders of the General Administration of Sport thought it was just our business rhetoric. Several male athletes said that habit is the most important thing. Athletes compete on hard skills, and skills are the key, not equipment!"

"They also said that our swimsuits have limited practical effect and are more of a psychological effect. If he's in good form, he could win even in briefs!"

Han Zhixing: "..."

Swimming has really made me stupid!

"Haha, you wouldn't believe it, his coach's name was... he said this swimsuit doesn't affect Asian swimmers much, it's more suitable for heavier European and American swimmers!"

"Our rapid skin improvement isn't a magic potion; performance enhancement mainly depends on training level!"

"They're blindly confident from top to bottom!"

"Oh, Zhang Yadong, yes, Zhang Yadong from Zhejiang Province!"

Wen Xin sneered, and Han Zhixing didn't know what to say.

With this kind of understanding, it's difficult to get started.

"Actually, Sam, have you ever thought about going directly to the leaders of the General Administration or the Swimming Center? They are still quite rigid about high technology, to put it bluntly, they are conservative!"

"I'm in North America, and they found the coach!"

Han Zhixing was previously the Marketing Director of Speedo's North American branch.

"it's useless!"

"The national conditions are different. Look at Bob Bauman, how much say do coaches have in the US? He has a team that is responsible for all of Phelps' training. No one can interfere, including the swimming team's head coach!"

"And Chinese coaches... haha!"

Just don’t say it.

"Then let's find athletes!"

"Luo Xuejuan just won three gold medals. If she says our swimsuits are effective, do you think the swimming center will consider it?"

"forget it!"

Wen Xin genuinely felt that the leader parachuted in from headquarters knew absolutely nothing about China.

"You're making an athlete within the system do this, especially a 19-year-old girl who's just come of age. I had her wear it before, and she said she didn't feel anything!"

"I reckon even if you bribed her, she might not dare to say how good our swimsuits are!"

Wen Xin had met Luo Xuejuan and knew the personalities of many female athletes within the system.

"Alas, it's just that women are more numerous than men. If China had a Michael Phelps or Thorpe, they would have a voice!"

"Wouldn't it be great if Yao Ming were a swimmer?"

Han Zhixing suddenly smiled and said something.

Wen Xin, who was standing next to him, laughed and said, "Yeah, if Yao Ming were a swimmer, I would just bribe his team!"

"Ha ha!"

The two men were laughing when Wen Xin finally spoke up: "This wasn't a complete loss. There's a 12-year-old prodigy who won the 50-meter freestyle championship. I'm going to try and get to know this kid and his parents!"

"What use is a 12-year-old child?"

Han Zhixing felt that Wen Xin was desperately seeking any treatment.

"Why not give it a try? What if he breaks the world record while wearing our swimsuit?"

"I've studied it. He broke the World Championships record this time, and he still has a good chance of breaking the world record in the men's 50m freestyle!"

"We're just 0.25 seconds away! Wearing our swimsuits, we have a very good chance!"

Wen Xin seemed to be talking to himself.

"Often, world records are the true testament to the capabilities of our swimsuits!"

Thorpe won three Olympic gold medals and broke five world records while wearing the first-generation sharkskin swimsuit; Phelps did much the same, as did many athletes who broke 16 world records in future Olympic trials.

If you're just a little faster, the national team might not take it seriously; but if you can break the world record, that's... a different story!

　One more chapter to go, will be edited later!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)