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

Chapter 70: Completely Changing the Landscape of Swimming! [5000 words]

December 29, 2003, evening.

Boeing AF382, flying from Barcelona to Beijing, finally arrived at Beijing International Airport at 17:15 PM.

After a nearly 17-hour journey including layovers, everyone was exhausted and sleepy, and Wu Jin was also on edge.

Because you shouldn't fly on Boeing planes, as there have been many accidents in the future!
"finally reached!"

"I don't want to think about anything right now, I just want to sleep!"

"Me too!"

"..."

The group of guys were complaining, already itching to get back to their dorms.

The team leader, who is also the deputy director of the swimming center, Shang Xiutang, suddenly stood up, turned around and said, "Everyone, perk up! Have you forgotten what I said before we boarded the plane?"

"Stand firm at your post until the very end!"

Head coach Zhao Ge echoed his sentiments.

Everyone immediately came to their senses.

Because the swimming team achieved an unprecedented best result in history at the World Championships with 4 gold and 4 bronze medals, the General Administration of Sport and the Swimming Management Center sent relevant leaders to the airport to welcome and congratulate them.

This is indeed the standard procedure for winning a competition abroad.

Although Wu Peng and the others had some minor complaints, they still tidied up their appearance and demeanor as needed.

The main reason they were there was that they were just background figures; only two people were the main characters—Luo Xuejuan and Wu Jin.

On the plane, Shang Xiutang had already told Wu Jin and Luo Xuejuan that the leaders would come to present flowers and give speeches later. This kind of formulaic approach is definitely something that many people dislike right now.

To be honest, Wu Jin didn't feel that way because it wasn't her.

He was actually scheduled to be the second person to disembark, and his repeated requests to offer this spot were to no avail.

The first one is of course Luo Xuejuan, who shone brightly at this World Championships. As the women's MVP of this World Championships, her strength of winning three gold medals has caused quite a stir not only in China but also throughout Asia.

Sports Illustrated, the world's most prestigious sports magazine, even dedicated a full cover to her story, giving her a catchy name – "Rochet's Whirlwind"!
She dispelled the illusion that Asians cannot win world swimming championships.

The world admires athletes, and Luo Xuejuan represented Asia, making headlines in Japan and South Korea.

Of course, Wu Jin breaking the Asian record and history at the age of 12 was also widely reported both domestically and internationally.

Especially in China, after a few days of buzz, the news of the 12-year-old world champion has spread like wildfire.

It generated even more buzz than Luo Xuejuan winning three gold medals.

After all, many people felt that Luo Xuejuan winning three gold medals was nothing special, as she had already emerged as a star in the previous Fukuoka Games; but Wu Jin's first time participating in the competition, and her sudden victory after being unknown, was still beyond the expectations of many people.

Coupled with his age of 12, he quickly earned the title of "a swimming prodigy that is rare in China's swimming world."

Major media outlets have dubbed him a "genius teenager".

Xu Wanqin and Wu Lisheng's phones have been ringing off the hook for two days.

The crucial issue is that they still can't get through to Wu Jin's phone; he's been on the plane the whole time.

The two had no choice but to accept a barrage of interviews from various reporters, including those from Wu Jin's alma mater, Wu Lisheng's school, and Chen Jinglun Sports School, all of whom went to inquire about the situation.

Wu Jin herself could actually guess these things, but she obviously didn't know them yet.

He glanced at the domestic news before boarding the plane and saw that many portal websites were reporting on it, and the offline newspapers were probably no exception, likely also on the front page.

At that moment, he was wearing the national team's uniform and walked out of the cabin with Luo Xuejuan.

Click! Click!
Countless flashes and cameras were immediately pointed at the two of them.

Before my eyes appeared scenes and displays that I could only see on television in my previous life.

The familiar sound of gongs and drums, the ranks, the leaders... and so on lined up in a row.

Wu Jin used to think of such a sense of ritual as mere formalism, and sometimes even scoffed at it, but now... he feels the respect and recognition that the country has for its athletes.

Amidst the admiring gazes of countless young men and women, Wu Jin and Luo Xuejuan smiled and waved as they disembarked from the plane.

The relevant leaders from the General Administration of Sport, as well as the director of the Swimming Center, all stood there with smiles on their faces. When the athletes came down, the emcee quickly presented them with flowers, followed by the routine handshakes and words of encouragement.

Welcome back home!

"Young man, you've worked hard!"

The leader clearly valued Wu Jin highly, standing there to take a photo with him before going to greet and shake hands with other athletes.

While the main characters are the main characters, the supporting characters will not be neglected either.

Although they did not achieve good results, they still went abroad to compete.

Wu Jin only needed to manage his facial expressions throughout the entire process, as Xu Guoyi had instructed him. He didn't need to say anything; he just needed to listen.

Following the leader's speech, more than half an hour later, Wu Jin and the others boarded the shuttle bus back to the Temple of Heaven Apartment.

During the trip, I even saw a few people who were either fans or swimming enthusiasts, who came to pick me up at the airport; although fan groups and fandoms are not popular these days, there are still people who follow celebrities.

Luo Xuejuan must have many fans. Wu Jin just won the men's 50m freestyle world championship, and the reports in the past few days have also made many people aware of him.

"Xiao Wu, you've become famous overnight!"

"The prestige of a World Championship title!"

"12 years old is the key age, okay?"

"This is on Sina Sports' headline every day? How many days has it been? It's still there!"

"Your parents, teachers, and classmates have all been interviewed..."

"..."

Several guys on the bus were using their phones to browse the internet; WAP (Mobile Internet Protocol) is very popular now.

The pricing is outrageous; it's charged by the minute, at 15 cents per minute.

This amount of money is nothing to a few guys who have won Asian championships.

Normally they wouldn't dare to be so arrogant, but after each major competition, the athletes have a routine 1-2 day break, and the coaches and leaders usually turn a blind eye.

Because the training is really tough, there's rarely time to rest.

"Haha, that's hilarious, Xiao Wu. Didn't you say you were almost persuaded to quit by Chen Jinglun back then?"

Wu Peng was not from Chen Jinglun's background. He sat with Wu Jin and handed Zhu Ying's interview to her.

"Xiao Wu has already won the World Championships, would her coach dare to say anything bad about her?"

Yu Cheng leaned closer.

There are obviously small cliques within the national team. Since they are all athletes from Zhejiang Province, they are very close, especially Wu Peng, who shares the same surname as Wu Jin.

"I was almost asked to quit back then, but Coach Zhu definitely won't mention it!"

"She's still pretty good to me!"

Wu Jin was laughing, but Wu Peng curled his lip and said, "Then why are all my interviews embarrassing?"

"Hahaha!"

Several athletes from Zhejiang Province were all laughing, and Yu Cheng looked particularly gloating.

After Wu Peng became famous at the Asian Games, a lot of negative information about him surfaced, such as his dislike of swimming as a child, his frequent truancy, and his mother forcing him to train every day.

She looks a lot like Sun Yang when they were young. Although their pasts aren't exactly clear, reporters have dug them up completely.

"Because my dirty secrets haven't been dug up yet!"

"Dirty scandals generate buzz. You should thank the media for exposing your scandals, as it makes you even more famous..."

Wu Jin's words surprised Yu Cheng and the others. Wu Peng also seemed to be thinking, "It seems... to make a lot of sense!"

"Xiao Wu is definitely a top student. His way of speaking and analyzing things makes me think that if you went to school, you could probably get into Tsinghua or Peking University!"

Indeed, Wu Jin's words sometimes do exceed the level expected of someone his age.

He attracted several older kids who liked to hang out with him.

Otherwise, people won't bother with little brats.

Now that he's won a world championship, his status in the swimming team is even more different, even if he's only 12 years old.

buzzing-

Wu Jin's phone suddenly rang.

At this point, the only people who would call are his parents.

Wu Jin didn't answer, but instead sent a text message, planning to ask her about it properly when she got back to the dormitory. About 40 minutes later, it was already dark when Wu Jin and the others arrived at the dormitory in Tiantan Apartment. After eating and taking a shower, Wu Jin went to the balcony and dialed Xu Wanqin's number.

"Son, have we arrived at the apartment?"

Xu Wanqin has clearly experienced the excitement of her son's victory these past few days, and after being interviewed by reporters for two days, she is exhausted.

His voice was full of fatigue, but he was still unusually happy to talk to Wu Jin.

Her son is now a world champion!

As parents, we are naturally happy and proud to have our child become the youngest World Championship winner in swimming history, breaking Asian records and history.

"Well, we've actually been here for quite a while!"

"I took a shower!"

Wu Jin casually remarked, "Mom, don't accept every interview request from reporters. Did Director Li call you?"

Director Li is from the Zhejiang Provincial Management Office, and he is responsible for interviews and external liaison with athletes, as well as endorsements, etc.

"Yes, he also sent someone over. Before, we couldn't get through to you on the phone, and Director Li didn't contact me. So they went to the town, and I had no choice but to give an interview and talk about some things from your childhood!"

"Hmm, it's fine!"

"From now on, we'll follow the instructions of that guy from our provincial team. He'll handle it well!"

Zhejiang Province has done a good job in this regard, and its commercial development is among the best in the country, with dedicated personnel in charge.

When are you coming back?

"Let's meet up with the national team early tomorrow morning!"

"Is there a break?"

"I do not know……"

"..."

The mother and son chatted about everyday things. The main topic was that Wu Jin went abroad at the age of 12 and has been training with the national team ever since. They hadn't seen each other for 3-4 months.

Xu Wanqin missed him very much.

This generation of parents doesn't express their longing directly; they only express it through nagging and concern.

"Oh, by the way, son, there's something I need to tell you!"

"Victory!"

Xu Wanqin called Wu Lisheng over, and the father and son talked even less.

However, since Wu Jin won the championship this time, Wu Lisheng seemed to have become several years younger. After exchanging a few words with Wu Jin, he said, "You know that swimsuit brand, Speedo?"

Wu Lisheng, a physical education teacher, was familiar with the brand.

"Speedo?"

Wu Jin narrowed his eyes; he knew this brand all too well.

The ancestor of sharkskin!
What happened to Speedo?

Wu Jin had some vague guesses in her mind.

As a reborn individual, this was his advantage; he was intimately familiar with some of Speed's tactics in his later life.

"Their regional manager came over early this morning, saying he wanted your contact information and wanted to provide you with a swimsuit worn by a world champion. I couldn't make that decision, so he left his business card and told me I absolutely had to call you about it!"

"I think he was quite sincere; he told me a lot about how amazing this swimsuit is..."

"He said the national team signed with Nike, so they had no choice but to come to us. Wearing this swimsuit, you can even break the world record!"

"I definitely don't believe that!"

"Ha ha!"

Wu Jin knows her father's personality; in fact, many coaches in the national team share this idea.

"You haven't told anyone about this, have you?"

Wu Jin glanced at the dormitory; Cai Li hadn't returned yet.

"No, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Dad, where's the manager's phone number? Send it to my phone!"

Wu Jin actually understood Su Bitao's actions very well.

Right now, the simplest way for them to open up the domestic market is not through endorsements, but by finding some outstanding swimmers to break records.

Just like Phelps and Thorpe.

Breaking world records multiple times is more effective than anything else.

Even so, the national team in my previous life never used sharkskin.

They claimed to be bound by a contract with Nike, but that was only one aspect. In addition to the interests of the leadership, there was another very important factor: the leaders and coaches at the General Administration of Sport and the Swimming Center did not believe that the swimsuit was so miraculous.

Even though European and American athletes broke hundreds of world records between 03 and 08, they didn't believe it.

The reason is simple: the dominance of Europe and America is too deeply ingrained!

Just as the world is now advocating that Black people are the kings of track and field, many coaches at this time felt that swimming was the domain of white people.

To put it bluntly, it's a lack of self-confidence; the entire nation, from top to bottom, currently lacks self-confidence!
They think that Europeans and Americans are strong and it's only natural for them to break world records, while Asian athletes are few and far between; previous world records were also set by white people, so it's normal for them to break world records.

Coupled with the strong leadership, both coaches and athletes believed that ability was the only true measure of success.

Until, until the eve of the Beijing Olympics, a 17-year-old prodigy, Pan Zhanle, the CCTV commentator who would later break the world record in the 100-meter freestyle!
Zhao Jing!

A backstroke star who will break the world record three times in the future.

She made a stunning debut at the Olympic trials, winning the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke, a weak event for China, and improving the Asian record for this event, which had stood for 14 years, by a full 0.35 seconds.

They almost broke the world record for this project.

It's important to know that the gap between China and other countries in this project is more than one second.

Zhao Jing has reached a level where she can win a gold medal.

The entire national team was shocked for a moment, and then they realized that she was wearing a "sharkskin" outfit that she had bought abroad!
It's the second generation, a product from four years ago!
Keep in mind that in 08, foreign swimmers were already wearing the fourth generation of these shoes.

Phelps even got a custom 4.5 generation "Quick Skin Max"!
At this point, the national team, including its leaders and coaches, realized how amazing and incredible this swimsuit was.

But at this time, there were only three months left before the start of the Beijing Olympics.

Even if Nike compromises, Speedo can't provide the national team with a few hundred custom-made swimsuits over three months; because it takes time, and there's only one factory in Portugal that produces these things.

There was no other way; in the end, the national team was in a hurry and had to ask Speedo to temporarily provide a batch of fourth-generation general-purpose models.

However, many people are not used to wearing swimsuits that do not conform to the body size of athletes; and there is also a period of getting used to the sharkskin.

Ultimately, there was no other way but to create a swimming team for the Beijing Olympics that ended up being a hodgepodge.

The color of each athlete's swimsuit is not fixed, and the coach does not force you to wear that particular color. Anything is fine as long as it complies with the competition rules.

The final result was that Zhang Lin missed out on his first gold medal, only winning a silver medal on home soil.

His actual strength was that he was number one in the world in the 400, 800 and 1500 meters at that time.

All three are world record holders.

As for the rest of the swimming team, their performance was even worse; Sun Yang only managed eighth place!

In contrast, Phelps won eight gold medals and broke seven world records, creating his own legend.

In 09, the national team finally woke up and began to customize sharkskin skins, but it was too late. Countless coaches around the world signed a petition to boycott this kind of "doping equipment"!
As a result, sharkskin was banned by FINA in 2010!

Sun Yang, just one year later, won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals at the 2011 World Championships. In the 1500m freestyle, he broke the world record that had stood for ten years and was the only one that had not been broken in the era of fast swimsuits!

This is an achievement that even white people wearing sharkskin couldn't reach.

The white man's theory that swimming is innate has now been completely put to rest.

For six whole years, the Chinese swimming team took a detour, wasting the youth of two generations of swimmers!

The most regrettable thing is that the Beijing Olympics were held right on our doorstep.

The swimming team didn't win a single gold medal.

Therefore, Wu Jin will absolutely not allow this tragedy to repeat itself this time.

Now that he's been reborn, he will lead the entire swimming team to create an unprecedented golden age of swimming!
Shark skin is just the first step!
Unless nobody wears them, if anyone is going to wear them, then everyone should wear them!

In just one year, at the Athens Olympics next August, the entire Chinese team will be on the table!
(End of this chapter)