Chapter 48
October 3rd was the fourth day of the swimming events of the Asian Games .
Today, there would be races to determine the gold medals for four men's events and three women's events . The men's events were the 100-metre butterfly, the 100-metre breaststroke, the 400-metre individual medley, and the 4x100-metre freestyle relay . Without exception, all four of these events were strong suits of the Japan team . It would not be easy for China to snatch a gold from the Japan team .
Coupled with Tang Yi-Bai's slip up just the day before, the local media did not dare to make any ambitious forecasts .
In the 400-metre medley, China had the young 17-year-old swimmer Ma Ruofan representing them . He had a decent time, but whether or not he could nab a medal would depend on his actual performance during the race . Aside from this event, with its current talent pool, China still had good chances of standing up on the podium in the other three events . In particular, Ming Tian's time for the 100-metre breaststroke was ranked second in Asia this year, number 4 in the world . If he swam well today, he should be able to obtain a silver medal . His rival was Japan's Tarou Okamoto . Even though the name was a little . . . erm, well . . . whatever, it did not have any effect on Tarou's ability . His best time this year was 59 . 36 seconds, almost a full 0 . 3 seconds ahead of Ming Tian's best time . Zheng Ling-Ye's 100-metre butterfly was also beneath a Japanese rival . Ming Tian's and Zheng Ling-Ye's performance in competitions are pretty much at two extremes . Ming Tian's performance could be very good or it could be very bad, even he could not say for sure how his condition would be for a particular race . Meanwhile, Zheng Ling-Ye had always been unfailingly stable — his performance had yet to show signs of any large breakthroughs, but he had also never slipped up and performed badly .
The 4x100 metre freestyle gold medal was generally considered the most significant of all the swimming events . It was the fastest race in the group events, and it was an important indicator of the overall strength of a country's swimming standards . Furthermore, group races were always more exciting than the individual races .
The Japanese media had already issued a grand boast prior to this that this gold medal was sure to fall into their hands . Their confidence was not completely unfounded . Although neither China nor Japan could be considered world standard in this particular event, the Japan team was more well-balanced than the China team . Moreover, the China men's team had undergone a major turnover — many of the famous swimmers had retired, leaving only Qi Rui-Feng . And Qi Rui-Feng's time in the 100-metre free was not very outstanding . So what if you add on a Tang Yi-Bai? If China had Tang Yi-Bai, Japan still had Yuda Matsushima, and Yuuki Tanaka's 100-metre free was no weaker than Qi Rui-Feng's either .
The Japanese media did some calculations, and judging by the combined times of the two rival countries' respective best 4 freestyle swimmers, Japan would be able to beat China by about 0 . 2 seconds . On top of that, this was a fight on home ground, so the Japan team was sure to be able to do their best . As for the China team, well, Qi Rui-Feng and Tang Yi-Bai had already slipped up before this . . .
At the end of all the morning's preliminaries, all the China team members involved made it into the finals . The first event of the evening was Ma Ruofan's 400-metre mixed medley . He did very well, earning a silver medal; the champion was Japan's Yuuki Tanaka .
This was a good start for the China team .
Next, in the men's 100-metre butterfly, Zheng Ling-Ye steady performance nabbed China another silver .
The third men's event of the evening was the 100-metre breaststroke . Before his turn to go up, Ming Tian was hanging out with his teammates . He kept nattering on to Qi Rui-Feng and Tang Yi-Bai, "What to do? What to do? Big bro Feng, I'm so nervous! Big bro Yi-Bai, I'm so nervous!"
Qi Rui-Feng was rather speechless . "What're you on about? You've already been to the World Championships, and you're still nervous at an Asian Games?"
"Well, no, I wasn't thinking about getting a medal at the World Championships, so it was like, just swim, you know . I didn't expect to be so lucky . But it's different now! Now I'm so nervous!"
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Tang Yi-Bai tried to comfort him . "It's fine . A little nervousness may help your performance," after a short pause, he added, "As long as you don't jump the gun . "
"Ha," Ming Tian laughed awkwardly as he scratched his head . "Big bro Yi-Bai really knows how to joke around . . . "
Qi Rui-Feng patted him on the shoulder solemnly . "Finish off Japan junior!"
Ming Tian was almost in tears . "Don't say that! You're just making me even more nervous! That Tata Tarou guy is very strong! I can't finish him off!"
A while later, Ming Tian was up . As he entered the arena, he was not registering much of what the audience was cheering . His whole mind was filled with the line: finish off Japan junior finish off Japan junior finish off Japan junior . . .
Aaaaaaaaaaah, what to do? He had been brainwashed by big bro Feng!
Just like that, carrying the sacred mission of 'finish off Japan junior', Ming Tian stepped up onto the starting block . He looked out at the shimmering pale blue of the water's surface, and his mind gradually calmed down .
Right beside him was Tarou Okamoto; Ming Tian had always called him 'Tata Tarou' .
After entering the water, Ming Tian could sense Tata Tarou beside him . It was a constant looming threat . He pushed hard to kick his sturdy and powerful legs — I swim, I swim, I swim swim swim!
Turn, and destination! He surfaced and looked up towards the digital screen . The first number was 59 . 35 seconds, freaky! Tata Tarou was a real freak!
Wait a minute! The little flag beside it was a red flag with five stars . That's China! Hells! Ming Tian blinked and took a closer look at the string of English words at first place . That was clearly the pinyin of his name .
Oh wow wow wow wow wow!!!!!
The China section of the audience erupted — this gold medal was truly a wonderful surprise! The little fellow had outdone himself . He had beat Tarou Okamoto by 0 . 05 seconds to become champion!
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Ming Tian was grinning like a loon . When he got out of the water and was interviewed by the Chinese television networks, he said a great deal in one breath, losing all punctuation, leaving the reporters in a daze .
When it came to the foreign interviews, his speech rate was not as fast . After all, his English level was about that of Qi Rui-Feng's — choppy and stumbling, a jumble of single-syllable words and gestures, even sign language was involved .
Yun Duo was also very happy for him .
Beyond the happiness, she was anticipating the subsequent events even more now .
After the Chinese women brought in another gold medal, the swim centre ushered in the main event of the day's races — the men's 4x100 metre freestyle relay .
As soon as the athletes entered the arena, Yun Duo's heart rate picked up . She was really very nervous, almost as if she were more nervous than the athletes themselves .
Once all the athletes had finished entering, the commentator began introducing the members from each nation .
In the preliminaries, the Japan team came in first and was now in the 4th swim lane . The China team was slightly behind in second place and was now in the 5th lane . The Japan team had achieved first place in the preliminaries without Yuuki Tanaka, but now for the finals, Yuuki Tanaka had been added to the team . He would be swimming the first leg . Yuuki Tanaka's main specialization was the mixed medley, but he was also very good at freestyle, otherwise he would not have beaten Qi Rui-Feng in the 200-metre free . His time in the 100-metre free was also very good . Even though he had already swum a race today, but the Japan team had still chosen to add him to the roster — it was clear to see how much hope and trust they had in him .
The swimmer for the final leg of the Japan team was their short-distance freestyle king, Yuda Matsushima . The man had just won the 50-metre freestyle gold medal yesterday and was currently in high spirits .
Under normal circumstances, to be on the safe side, the faster people tend to be placed in the back for the relay races . The Japan team did so, and the China team was no exception, placing Tang Yi-Bai as the anchor . As for Qi Rui-Feng, he was arranged to be the first swimmer, up against his rival Yuuki Tanaka . Heaven knows if that was just coincidental, or intentional .
In fact, the national team had re-discussed the arrangement of positions before the race . This was because Tang Yi-Bai had not performed well the day before, so there were some who worried whether he would be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the anchor today . On this issue, Tang Yi-Bai's coach and teammates unanimously felt that Tang Yi-Bai would do fine, and Tang Yi-Bai himself also asserted that there was no problem at all . Thus, the original arrangement was left unchanged .
Yun Duo held up the camera before her chest, her eyes trained unblinkingly on Qi Rui-Feng on the starting block .
Beep——
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Qi Rui-Feng's starting speed was pretty good, beating Yuuki Tanaka into the water by 0 . 02 seconds . This minor advantage was very quickly closed and overtaken by Yuuki Tanaka — the magnitude of whcih could only be determined by the numbers on the screen; it was almost imperceptible by the naked eye . The Japanese audience had barely begun cheering over the upset when Qi Rui-Feng overtook his rival again .
In this manner, they overtook one another — I overtake you, you overtake me — neither could shake off the other . The two of them were locked in an intense battle — the roar and cheers of encouragement from the audience were about to blow the roof .
After the turn, Qi Rui-Feng managed to establish a bit of a lead . He quickly accelerated, attempting to widen this advantage, but Yuuki Tanaka was doggedly close on his heels . However, this was only on the surface — if one looked carefully, one would notice that the distance between them was slowly widening . The digital counter also clearly reflected this — the number behind Qi Rui-Feng's name continued to jump, sometimes higher, sometimes lower, but overall on the rise .
By the time he touched the wall, Qi Rui-Feng's advantage had been fully established, leading Yuuki Tanaka by 0 . 11 seconds .
A very good start — the grudge from the 200-metre race had been avenged .
Yun Duo was very worked up and excited . Leading by 0 . 11 just from the first leg, as long as the second and third leg did not do too badly, the China team should be able to get the gold medal, right?
However, after the second swimmer was done, it was like a basin of cold water had been poured over her head .
The initial 0 . 11-second lead was completely gone, and the China team was actually behind the Japan team by 0 . 2 seconds . In other words, the second swimmer had been overtaken by 0 . 31 seconds!
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah! No! ! ! !
Yun Duo was about to break down . She really envied the live audience who were able to just cheer and shout without any reservations, able to just scream out whatever was on their minds . Right now, she was holding herself back, not allowing herself to shout . She was holding back so forcefully that she felt like she was about to suffer an internal injury . . .
Please do well! She could only recite this silently in her heart again and again .
The third swimmer started off . Yun Duo watched the figure gradually pulling away inside the pool and felt like she was about to cry . She could see that the swimmer was doing his best and had not fallen behind on purpose, but he just wasn't as good as the opponent, so the distance between the swimmers was still growing . In the final acceleration after the turn, the swimmer pushed for his life and caught up a little, but it was completely not enough . . .
When the third swimmer touched the wall, China was overall 0 . 56 seconds behind .
In a clash of masters, this number was almost insurmountable . Although Tang Yi-Bai's personal 100-metre best time was better than Yuda Matsushima's, it wasn't so much better that he could upend the heavens . Before this, Yun Duo had run a rough estimation — if the first three swimmers lagged behind by less than 0 . 45 seconds, Tang Yi-Bai would be able to make up the difference and catch up if he performed up to his usual standards . Anything more than 0 . 45 seconds would require more .
Right now, the gap had already widened to 0 . 56 seconds .
Yun Duo clenched her fists, repeating those useless words in her heart again and again: Please do well . . .
Only after Yuda Matsushima had swam quite a distance did Tang Yi-Bai enter the water . Yun Duo stared unblinkingly at the figure in the pool . He moved as nimbly and as vigorously as a dragon, soaring forwards through the waves . His long and powerful arms pushed water pull by pull, and his slender legs beat against the water rapidly and rhythmically without missing a beat .
The distance between the two forerunners was gradually closing .
No one doubted that Tang Yi-Bai was faster, but the distance between the two swimmers was significant . 0 . 56 seconds . Within a short 100 metres, could he really close the gap? Even Tang Yi-Bai's most loyal fan would have to leave a great question mark in the air right now on this issue .
Turn, accelerate .
At this moment, Tang Yi-Bai was truly going all out — Yun Duo could almost see the speed of his entire being kick up a gear . Yun Duo stared, wide-eyed, as he used startling speed to close in on his opponent . The distance between the two swimmers was rapidly closing, like a piece of ice swiftly melting under the hot sun . Her heart almost leapt into her throat; she could feel her adrenaline rising and her blood was surging in a rush to her brain . She was so worked up she was on the verge of crying — she had to pinch herself on the arm to stop herself from crying out loud!
He was like a fishing boat, no, a warship — he cut through the water with indomitable force, unstoppable and unshakeable!
Reversal achieved!
He touched the wall!
Tang Yi-Bai overtook his opponent by 0 . 64 seconds in the final leg of the relay . Overall, the team's time was in the lead by 0 . 08 seconds, earning the China team the most important gold medal of the competition .
The champions, China!