Chapter 239: The First Place
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Kun Shen shouted loudly, which attracted the attention of everyone in the room immediately, their eyes fixed on Kun Shen.
"Of course our relay hasn't been knocked out. They still have a race left. If they managed to rank in the top four, they'll enter the official race at the National Games!" Mr. Zheng replied loudly. Although Kun Shen hadn't put the phone on speakerphone, everyone in the room could still hear.
The relay race was a group event, so the rules for qualifying were different from those of the individual events. For the individual events, athletes whose points were in the top sixteen in the last three years could enter the official races directly. However, teams whose times ranked in the top twelve in the previous two years could enter official meets directly.
The official race of the 4x100m relay at the National Games had sixteen entries. Besides the twelve teams who had already entered due to their results earlier in the season, only four spots left were to be filled from the qualification round. However, the total number of teams that had signed up for the qualification match was over twenty. Therefore, each heat of six teams competed for one place in the official event. The competition was extremely tough.
Athletes like Kun Shen were focusing on their own events and didn't pay attention to the relay team. For them, the relay was composed of a bunch of weaklings, so it was impossible for them to win a place in the official race. Therefore, the relay team had long been forgotten by them.
But now, these athletes who had been knocked out were informed that the relay team was still in contention and had even survived until the last round. The relay team had the chance to win a place in the official race at the National Games. That's why Kun Shen and the other athletes were so surprised.
"Do you remember the members of the relay team? They even managed to enter the last round of qualifiers!" Tingshan Chen couldn't help asking.
"Let me think about it. I remember, there should be Yihao Wu, Kenan Shen, and the rest are…" Yueyang Zhu thought about it for several seconds, then continued to say, "I think the other two are Dong Qian and Jialiang Zhang."
"Yihao Wu, Kenan Shen, Dong Qian, and Jialiang Zhang? How could the relay team enter the final round of qualifiers with such a lousy lineup? It's totally impossible!" Tingshan Chen said in amazement.
At the same time, on the other end of the phone, Mr. Zheng said, "The match is about to begin, Shen, don't hang up, I'll talk to you when the match is over, it will only take a minute."
As soon as Mr. Zheng finished his words, a loud noise came out from the phone; apparently, the race had begun.
"For the qualification race for the relay, the top four will be promoted to the official meet, right? Now is the last heat, that is to say, they just need to come in fourth place," Yueyang Zhu said with furrowed brows.
"Fourth place is not an easy task! If we were on the track, it might be possible. For them, it's impossible!" Tingshan Chen curled his lip disdainfully, then said, "I defeated Yihao Wu when I was still on the youth team. Kenan Shen enjoyed his moment of glory when he was younger; however, yesterday's sun can't dry today's clothes. His level is much lower than before. Jialiang Zhang and Dong Qian are also no match for us."
Kun Shen said, "Speed isn't the only factor in the relay race. The teamwork among the runners is also very important. Moreover, the relay race is also very uncertain. An error could cause a disaster, even in a relay team composed of the four best sprinters."
While they were talking, they could clearly hear cheers from Kun Shen's cellphone.
"Come on! Come on! Faster!"
That was Mr. Zheng's voice.
Kun Shen looked at his cellphone embarrassedly. He hadn't expected the good-natured Mr. Zheng to cheer at the top of his lungs.
The room went quiet, everyone in the room silent, while the noisy cheers from the cell phone became even more clear.
"First place! We're in first place now! Just hang on! Come on!" Mr. Zheng's voice was very loud. Meanwhile, the cheers of others could also be heard.
"Hang on! Go, go!"
"Keep it up! Come on!"
"Was that Coach Wang's voice?" Tingshan Chen asked.
"No, I thought that it was Coach Liu!" Yueyang Zhu then said, "Kun Shen, just use the speakerphone so we can hear it clearly."
Kun Shen nodded and pressed the speakerphone button.
At the same time, a booming voice came out from the cell phone.
"Victory! We won! First place! We won first place! Well done!"
It was still Mr. Zheng's voice. However, when he was shouting, the athletes in the room were all dumbfounded.
After several seconds, Yueyang Zhu said first, "Did you hear that? Did Mr. Zheng say we won? Did he say we won first place?"
"You also heard that, right? So I heard correctly!" Kun Shen was shocked.
"Was the one who shouted just now Mr. Zheng? It's impossible! It couldn't have been Mr. Zheng! How could our relay team win first place?" Tingshan Chen asked in uncertainty.
"It had to be Mr. Zheng!" Kun Shen said, "I've known him for years, the one who shouted just now was him!"
"Couldn't we have misheard it? You should know our voices on the phone are different from our voices normally." Tingshan Chen argued irrationally, "I suggest we confirm it with Mr. Zheng."
Kun Shen nodded, and shouted to his cellphone, "Mr. Zheng! Mr. Zheng! Are you still there? Mr. Zheng!"
"Sorry, I'm here. I was too excited just now and forgot you were still on the phone." Mr. Zheng's voice came out again; apparently, he was the one who shouted "first place" before.
The hope in Tingshan Chen's heart was smashed instantly.
On the other side of the phone, Mr. Zheng said, "Well, Shen, you said you wanted to ask me about something, right?"
"Mr. Zheng, were you the one who shouted 'we won' just now?" Kun Shen asked immediately.
"I remember I shouted. Not just me, Coach Wang and Coach Liu beside me shouted too. It was too noisy, sorry for that," Mr. Zheng said coyly.
"Mr. Zheng, you mean our relay team won, right?" Kun Shen asked anxiously.
"Of course! Our relay team won the race, otherwise, why would I shout?" Mr. Zheng said.
"What about the ranking? Did they get first place?" Kun Shen's tone was even weaker.
"That's for sure. To come in first place is also called winning!" Mr. Zheng paused a bit. "Shen, you seem a little bit weird today."
"Ah, I'm fine, I'm okay. I have to hang up now." Kun Shen ended the phone call, then looked at Yueyang Zhu and Tingshan Chen, who were beside him.
"Did you hear that? The relay team won! They came in first place!" Kun Shen said.
"First place! Does that mean they got through the qualification round and can enter the official race at the National Games held in August?" Yueyang Zhu was out of his wits.
"The relay team actually won first place! That Yihao Wu is much weaker than me. How could he enter an official race at the National Games?" Tingshan Chen clenched his fists, not wanting to accept that fact.
"Well, Shen…" the athlete with Tingshan Chen said suddenly. "Shen, it seems you've forgotten something."
"What?" Kun Shen asked automatically.
"You forgot to ask Mr. Zheng where we could buy local delicacies," the athlete said.
Kun Shen stared at him malevolently. Now, he was really not in the mood to buy any local specialties.