Orc Undead Sports Warrior

The first impression of Varina's running is that it doesn't seem to take much effort. Compared to Lu Wei's powerful movements, every step he takes feels very smooth.

"He's really looking great while running. The last time I saw him run was last year. It's been almost a year since I last saw him, and his running feels even smoother now. Today, our little Lu might have to learn a lesson..." Coach Jiang sighed with emotion. Even top athletes show obvious improvement after a period of not seeing each other, while many Chinese athletes with weaker skills stagnate. It's quite alarming to think about!

Varina's stride wasn't particularly long, nor did his stride frequency seem fast, but the transitions between each step were incredibly skillful. In this seemingly effortless first straightaway battle, Varina unknowingly closed the gap on Lu Wei.

Apart from the initial acceleration, Warina maintained the same pace for the next hundred meters or so.

As he entered the second bend, Lu Wei glanced at his opponents out of the corner of his eye and saw that the two men in lanes 6 and 7 were still evenly matched with him.

"If we keep running like this, and one link fails, Lu Wei will immediately drop out of the top 3!" Wang Qiao was a little anxious, mainly because he was unsure. In the 400-meter race, when Warina was not competing, the other team members were very determined. Everyone wanted to defeat the gods in the race and prove their strength, even if it was just once, it would be a topic of conversation for a lifetime.

The team members in this round are all seasoned veterans with similar skill levels. Whoever performs well will rank among the top.

Lu Wei felt that Varina was now eroding his lead due to lane position. Once they entered the straight, Varina might be able to leave him 3 meters behind, which would be awkward.

"Now is absolutely not the time to admit defeat. We've trained hard for over a month, so let's unleash our full potential today!"

So Lu Wei started to increase his stride, accelerating by 150 meters at the bend. This immediately widened the gap between the team members in lanes 6 and 7, and even Warina was left behind a bit.

By accelerating ahead of the curve, Lu Wei took the lead into the straight, followed closely by Varina, while the other team members were left behind by 2 to 3 meters.

At that moment, Lu Wei's smile froze on his face. While he had indeed left the other teammates behind, Varina slowly overtook him.

Even though I was accelerating, how did I gradually get overtaken?

Lu Wei was shocked and somewhat annoyed. How could a grown man be worn down step by step like this?

He wanted to exert more effort and even more to overtake. However, as his body became heavier and lifting his legs became more and more difficult, he could no longer maintain his stride frequency. Therefore, he could only increase his stride length to try to maintain his speed.

From behind, Varina looks like a machine, always maintaining its own rhythm.

After gritting his teeth and accelerating several more times over short distances, Lu Wei could only think helplessly, "This Varina is indeed formidable. Looks like I'll be eating his dust today..."

As Varina ran further and further away from him, Lu Wei felt a great sense of loss.

The orc was utterly humiliated by a human star athlete.

He was very unwilling to accept this and secretly vowed that one day he would get his revenge.

This was the first time Lu Wei felt powerless. He was already exhausted. Although he was still fighting, he felt helpless as he watched Varina gradually leave him behind.

When Warina was 10 meters from the finish line, he began to slow down. It was clear that he participated in this race only to adjust his condition before the World Championships, and did not aim to achieve his best result.

Warina crossed the finish line, followed by Lu Wei, with Canadian Christopher finishing third.

Staff presented the champion with flowers, a regular part of the Golden League.

After receiving the flowers, Wariner turned around and shook hands with everyone. Unlike the other American team members, Wariner was noticeably more humble and approachable. He wasn't disliked; on the contrary, people liked him.

"Well done, see you next time!" Varina patted Lu Wei on the shoulder, then greeted the others.

At this moment, everyone's scores were displayed on the big screen:

First place: Varina, 44.04 seconds.

Second place: Lu Wei, 44.86 seconds.

Third place: Tyler Christopher, 45.15 seconds...

Lu Wei's grades improved again, which was the only thing that comforted him today.

Today, Warina left a deep impression on Lu Wei. He has the temperament of a champion, and his competitive ability and personal image are similar to those of Liu Jing.

Lu Wei went around from the athletes' tunnel to the stands to find Coach Jiang and Coach Wang Qiao. The two were still discussing the situation of the previous game, and they both smiled when they saw Lu Wei coming over.

Wang Qiao patted Lu Wei on the shoulder: "Not bad, Lu, your time has already broken 45 seconds! You can break the national record so easily now! Coach Jiang's evaluation of you is getting higher and higher!"

As he spoke, Wang Qiao shifted his body to the side, making way for Coach Jiang.

Lu Wei went up and shook hands with Coach Jiang: "I'll be proud of Coach Jiang praising me like that, haha!"

Lu Wei respected Coach Jiang from the first time he met him; it was clear that he was a worldly-wise middle-aged man. Although he didn't have absolute authority within the General Administration of Sport, as an experienced coach, the coaches in the Chinese track and field team respected his opinions, and even head coach Feng Yong treated him like an elder.

"Your 400-meter time improved by 3 seconds in less than 4 months. You're like a treasure. I really don't know how much potential you have left to tap. When I first met you, your time was only around 47 seconds. Now you're running under 45 seconds. Coach Wang, I remember that among the athletes I've met, only one person's performance improvement was similar to Lu Wei's, and that's Warina today."

Coach Jiang searched his memory for top 400-meter athletes from the last ten years or so, but couldn't find a third athlete with this situation.

"I don't think so. Even Michael Johnson, the 400-meter record holder, didn't have such a rapid growth trend at the age of 19. When Warina was 17, his performance was only average. After meeting his current coach, Brad Hart, his performance improved a lot. At the age of 19, he won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics with a time of 44 seconds, which is even better than our Lu Wei."

As a 400-meter specialist coach, Wang Qiao was not on the main stage of Chinese athletics before, but he has always paid attention to the dynamics of world athletics and has his own understanding of the 400-meter event. Otherwise, he would not have been able to make such a rapid improvement in Lu Wei's performance in such a short time.

Personal ability is one aspect, but being able to encounter a good coach and receive high-quality training is a lucky thing for an athlete.

Lu Wei was still not over the disappointment of losing to Warina, but he was not discouraged. He believed that the day when he could rival the 400-meter champion was not far away.