Chapter 99

Early in the morning, Zhang Guan rushed to the airport, preparing to return to the Xinzhuang base. While waiting for his flight, he received a call from Zhuge Wenbo.

"Zhang Guan, the endorsement deal with Coca-Cola is settled. It's a three-year contract, with one advertisement per year, totaling 25 million yuan. Also, I received inquiries from several other major companies yesterday about endorsements," Zhuge Wenbo said.

"So fast? Before I went to Yokohama, Coca-Cola was still haggling over the price, complaining that our offer was too high, and they were being extremely picky, down to every ten thousand yuan. How did it get settled so quickly? Brother Wenbo, you're really efficient," Zhang Guan's mood immediately improved at the prospect of earning money.

"It's not just my efficiency. It's also thanks to you breaking the world record again. Coca-Cola was haggling, but when the news of your world record broke, they immediately agreed to our terms and requested a contract. However, their information channels are faster than mine. I was cautious and found an excuse to delay for a few hours, only to find out that you had broken the world record again. So I raised the price a bit, and we finalized the deal yesterday," Zhuge Wenbo explained.

Zhang Guan nodded. Breaking the world record twice within a month demonstrated his extraordinary potential. It was foreseeable that he would break the world record again soon, which gave the champion team the upper hand. That's why Coca-Cola agreed to Zhuge Wenbo's increased terms. The Nike company, which had already signed Zhang Guan, must be smiling now.

After ending the call with Zhuge Wenbo, Zhang Guan began preparing to board the plane. However, as he was about to enter the cabin, his phone rang again.

"Mr. Zhang, hello, this is Huang Weida," Huang Weida said. "Congratulations on breaking the world record again."

"Thank you. Congratulations to you too," Zhang Guan replied.

"I've selected a few shops in prime locations in Hong Kong. The locations, sizes, photos, and estimated prices have been sent to your email. If you have time, check your inbox and let me know which one you like. I'll arrange for someone to negotiate the purchase," Huang Weida said.

"Thank you, Mr. Huang. I'm about to board the plane now, but I'll check my email as soon as I get back and get back to you," Zhang Guan said.

"The matters in the U.S. have been settled. The stock of the fruit company hasn't had much fluctuation recently, so the final transaction price wasn't too low, but it wasn't too high either," Huang Weida continued. "The founder of the company you mentioned, FB, has agreed to our terms. We paid 1.5 million U.S. dollars for 32% of FB's shares, all of which are Class A shares."

"Great!" Zhang Guan was so excited that he almost jumped up. Although the 32% stake would be diluted in future funding rounds and the IPO, its final market value would be in the tens of billions of dollars.

"Thank you, Mr. Huang, thank you so much!" Zhang Guan said. Huang Weida was surprised; Zhang Guan hadn't reacted so strongly to the shops or the fruit company's stocks, which involved transactions worth over 100 million Hong Kong dollars, but this FB deal, worth less than 20 million Hong Kong dollars, made Zhang Guan so excited.

"It seems Zhang Guan is very optimistic about this FB. I wonder what attracts him to this website," Huang Weida thought to himself.

...

After the final of the National Track and Field Grand Prix, the track and field competition schedule for the year was over. The next domestic track and field competition would not start until around March of the following year.

The day after the National Track and Field Grand Prix was the Mid-Autumn Festival. At the airport, Zhang Guan immediately transferred to a flight back to the provincial capital and finally arrived home in the evening. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Guan said goodbye to his parents and flew back to the training base.

During the National Day Golden Week, the Huangpu River was flooded with tourists visiting this most modern city in China. Meanwhile, Zhang Guan began his 200-meter sprint training at the Xinzhuang base.

Coach Yu, who specialized in 200-meter sprints, had come from the capital to provide one-on-one guidance to Zhang Guan. In his youth, Coach Yu's main event was the 200-meter sprint, and he had broken the national record multiple times. Therefore, he was the best choice for a 200-meter coach in terms of both experience and skill. However, this vice coach of the national track and field team had to start teaching Zhang Guan from the basics, such as the starting position.

What is the biggest difference between the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints? Clearly, it's the additional curve.

The 200-meter sprint starts on a curve, so the athlete's starting position and the initial sprint need to be adjusted. In the 100-meter sprint, you can just charge forward after the start, but in the 200-meter sprint, you can't. The 200-meter sprint requires both the agility of the 100-meter sprint and adjustments for the curve.

First, the placement of the starting blocks needs to be adjusted. In the 200-meter sprint, the correct placement of the starting blocks can improve the time by about 0.2 seconds, which is significant in sprinting. The angle of the starting blocks should be appropriate to prevent the athlete from running out of bounds during the curve start. The height of the starting blocks should not be set too high because it's impossible to accelerate as in a straight line in the curve, so lower starting blocks make it easier for the athlete to control their body.

In the 200-meter sprint, it's best not to lower your head. You need to be aware of the other athletes to avoid collisions, which are rare in straight sprints but more likely in the high-speed curve. Especially during the start, when athletes are close and accelerating quickly, any collision would result in a loss of speed, which is critical in the 200-meter sprint, where even a 0.1-second loss is significant.

Just the start on the curve involves many technical points and precautions. The techniques for running the curve, transitioning from the curve to the straight, and breathing during the run are all new to Zhang Guan.

Another crucial point in running the curve is not to step on the track lines, as stepping on the lines means a foul and disqualification. Since the 200-meter sprint is a race where every second counts, athletes try to run as close to the inner line as possible to minimize the distance and gain a time advantage. Running close to the inner line without stepping on it is a skill that must be mastered.

In sprint races, athletes focus on the track ahead and can't look down at the lines. The world's top sprinters can run at speeds exceeding 11 meters per second in the curve, making it difficult to control running along the inner line without stepping on it. This requires not only skill and body control but also extensive training to accumulate experience.

...

Coach Yu taught Zhang Guan all the technical points of the 200-meter sprint, but he was disappointed that Zhang Guan's learning speed was not fast. After a whole day of practice, there was no significant improvement.

Without the system's help, Zhang Guan's athletic talent was average. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been just a second-level athlete in his previous life. Don't assume that athletes are all brawn and no brains. In the current selection system, athletes who make it to the national team not only have top physical talent but also exceptional learning abilities in sports techniques. Those with low IQs and simple-mindedness can't make it into the national team.

Zhang Guan was not stupid, but he was not a genius either. He was just an average person, far from the top athletes in the national team. The 100-meter sprint has lower technical requirements, which is why Zhang Guan could achieve his current level in such a short time. If it were a more technical event, even with the system's help, it might take him one or two years to excel.

After a day of training, Zhang Guan's performance in the curve was still "clumsy."

"Ah..." Coach Yu sighed, looking at Zhang Guan on the track. "It seems Zhang Guan, like many 100-meter athletes, can't run the 200 meters!"

Coach Yu, a national sprint coach, had seen countless athletes in his lifetime. He could tell within a few hours whether an athlete had the potential to run the 200 meters. Clearly, Zhang Guan lacked this potential.

"Maybe we shouldn't let Zhang Guan practice the 200 meters. He doesn't seem to have the talent for it," Coach Yu shook his head. "But if I tell him directly, will it affect his enthusiasm and confidence? After all, he's a young athlete, and his mental resilience is not as strong as that of experienced athletes. I need to be careful about how I approach this."

While thinking, Coach Yu took out a stopwatch and said to Zhang Guan, "You've practiced all day. Let's try a run."

Zhang Guan nodded and walked to the starting line.

"Let's see the results. With his current curve technique, he won't run a good 200 meters. After showing him the results, I'll tell him he's not suitable for the 200 meters and provide some psychological guidance," Coach Yu thought and then gave the command.

"Get set, ready, go!" Coach Yu didn't use a starting gun; he just called out and started the stopwatch.

At the same time, Zhang Guan activated the master-level "Curve Sprint" skill.

Coach Yu sighed again. After the start, Zhang Guan could stay close to the inner line for the first two steps, but then he couldn't maintain it. His body wasn't tilted, his arm swing and foot placement were incorrect, and he drifted to the middle of the track. The day's practice seemed wasted, and Zhang Guan looked like a complete novice in the 200-meter sprint. Coach Yu suddenly felt that training Zhang Guan in the 200-meter sprint might have been a big mistake.

Athletes who can run the curve well accelerate in the curve, while those who can't actually decelerate. A single curve can result in a difference of over one second, which is irreversible in sprinting.

"Maybe we shouldn't let Zhang Guan practice the 200 meters. I need to have a good talk with him. His training time is too valuable to waste," Coach Yu fell into deep thought. He stopped observing Zhang Guan on the track and started thinking about how to guide him.

As Zhang Guan crossed the finish line, Coach Yu instinctively stopped the stopwatch. For a seasoned coach like Coach Yu, stopping the stopwatch when the athlete crossed the finish line was a reflex. He had done it for over thirty years, and it didn't require conscious thought. Even while thinking about other things, he could accurately stop the stopwatch the moment Zhang Guan crossed the line.

"Alright, I'll talk to Zhang Guan and discourage him from practicing the 200 meters," Coach Yu, having decided what to say, walked towards Zhang Guan and glanced at the stopwatch.

Then, he suddenly stopped, his mouth wide open in shock. The number on the stopwatch left Coach Yu's mind blank...

---

Chapter 2 is here. Please give me some recommendations. I'll be updating daily with seven chapters starting tomorrow. I have some saved chapters, so I'll update more to finish them. Thank you for your support next month!

Thank you to the readers who supported me: Running in the Sunset, gigiliu5277, I Love Fantasy, Moon's Hatred, Melancholy Romance, _Book Bandit_, Quan18, Strategist yxq, Reader 140127205731658, 9922392, Da1Cheng, C938516, Superman Doesn't Fly, Reader 130329081103645, Static Love, and Northern Night. Thank you all!

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