Definition

"Mel, you're fine!" Phelps, who was young but very experienced, seemed to feel something was wrong with his teammates, so he stepped forward and asked.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little excited to participate in the World Championships for the first time!" Mel denied. He didn't want to lose this once-in-a-lifetime great opportunity at the last moment.

"I must let the Chinese team's buckets see their strength clearly, and then humiliate the annoying Li Tian after the game." Mel tightened his fist, as if he had seen the scene after the victory of the US team.

"It's fine, just relax!" Since Mel said it was fine, Phelps would not say anything more. Besides, it was normal for young players to be nervous and excited before the game when they first participated in a top event like the World Championships. Moreover, even if there was a problem, there was obviously no chance to make a substitution at this time. The referee was ready to issue a command to set off.

"Takey's marks!" The referee's low voice made tens of thousands of viewers hold their breath in an instant. The eight contestants standing on the starting stage all tens of their nerves tightened and waited for the sound of the flute to ring.

"Drip..." A flute sounded, and eight waves splashed on the originally calm pool surface, and the eight contestants were all in the water very smoothly.

The first bat of the relay event is very important for the entire process of the game. If the first player performs well, it can drive and motivate the players behind him. If the first bat is not performed properly, the attack on the whole team will be disastrous and may cause a chain reaction for the whole team. In history, the Netherlands and Australia teams have experienced such a terrible situation. Four players performed poorly in succession, resulting in a disastrous defeat for the whole team.

Chen Zuo is a player who is good at stimulating his potential under pressure and is very passionate. With the full support and encouragement of more than 15,000 enthusiastic audiences who are about to "burn", he was able to exert his strength 120%. Therefore, he deserves to be the best candidate for the first bat in the Chinese relay team. As the former number one player in the Chinese men's 100m freestyle, Chen Zuo watched Li Tian and Zhang Lin, two young teammates, play 4 times in this World Championship.

9 seconds is left behind the difficulty that countless Chinese swimmers cannot overcome. If he doesn't care, it can only be deceiving himself. As a member of the Chinese relay team, he also longs to break through this level. He absolutely cannot tolerate himself becoming a burden to drag down the team's performance. Now is a great opportunity to prove himself. With the pressure of the final, he completely forced all his strength out to open the door to victory for his teammates. This is the only thing he has to do now.

"Come on Chen Zuo!...Come on Chen Zuo!..." All the Chinese audiences in the stands were shouting loudly, and Chen Zuo's performance also gave the audience greater hope, and cheering waves were higher and higher.

"Chen Zuo... Chen Zuo rushed up! After continuing his wonderful performance in the morning, Chen Zuo used his actions to prove to everyone the Chinese team's determination for this game - the Chinese team is definitely not here to be a spectator, the Chinese team has the strength to win our own honor... Turning around 50 meters, okay...! Chen Zuo turned very quickly, he tightly bit the South African player in the third lane, and the Australian and Canadian players were also accelerating with all their strength, almost running side by side with them... The competition in this final is too fierce. The gap between the four players in the first row can only be measured in centimeters... Chen Zuo set a good start for the Chinese team..."

When Chinese audiences and media focused all their focus on Chen Zuo, only a very small number of American journalists pointed the camera lens at the first player of the US team - Mel. However, in their eyes, they could no longer see the original confident and arrogant look. Instead, they were anxious and confused, because the US team, which has always claimed to be the number one in the world, is behind, and is very embarrassed to be left at the second to last. Even the 35-year-old veteran sent by the Russian team was ahead of him.

"Damn it, what is that idiot Mel doing? Even a bear is swimming faster than him!" Seeing this situation, an American journalist who has always been gentlemanly and polite could not help but curse loudly. Mel's bad performance was like a basin of cold water pouring on the heads of the American team members and swimming fans. Judging from the current situation, Mel is half behind the players in the first row of Australia, Canada, South and Central, which is only about one second, which is a huge gap for a game where competition is so fierce that it is necessary to determine the outcome by one percent of a second. What's more, South Africa and Australia are not weaker than themselves in strength. If they want to recover their disadvantages, unless they make the same mistake as theirs before.

The coach of the American team is also regretting that Mel is the key training target of the team, but his psychological quality is unstable and lack of experience in the competition is also his biggest weakness. He is clearly aware of these things, but before the game, he was so badly arranged for him to be the most important position of the first ball.

In the swimming pool, Mel could also clearly feel his backwardness, but the more anxious he was, the slower he was, and he felt something was wrong all over his body. No matter how hard he used, the pool water seemed to always bind his body. When he struggled to complete the first 100-meter schedule, the second player of the four teams leading in front had already jumped into the water.

However, for the US team, the terrible thing was not over. Due to the influence of Mel, Knight, who played in the second bat, performed poorly and only defended the seventh position. The gap with the leading players in the front became larger and larger. It was not until the third bat that the veteran Jansen finally stabilized the situation and followed the third bat to fifth place. However, everyone knew that the US team had no chance at all and was too behind in the early stage. Even Phelps, known as a prodigy, was not as good as the last bat, and they could not catch up with the strong opponents such as South Africa and Australia, where Roland and Thorpe were respectively on the stage. They could only swallow the bitter fruit of failure again.

On the contrary to the US team, Chen Zuo's desperate performance completely ignited the passion of the Chinese team members' competition. Huang Shaohua and Zhang Lin successively swam to a very high level. Although they were still surpassed by South Africa and Australia, the gap in backward was very small, with only about half of their position, and they were indistinguishable from Canada, occupying the position of "third brother".

"The Chinese men's freestyle relay players performed perfectly tonight. In the competition of the first three bats, they tenaciously withstood the challenge of the world's top-notch team. If they can win a medal in this game, then they will break the history of the Chinese swimming team never winning World Championship medals in men's events. Let's wait and see Li Tian's final performance..."

The favorable situation that the three teammates desperately exchanged for back proves that what Li Tian said before the game that the Chinese team's goal is not just the ticket to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They have the strength to compete with any team in the world for the highest honor. Even if he is facing the world's top super expert like Ian Thorpe and Roland Schumann, he will not retreat at all. On the other hand, he feels a little excited, and feels like he is confronting Green, Gatlin and others head-on on the track and field.

In the last shot, many players familiar with the audience, including Li Tian, ​​Phelps, Roland, Hoganband, Thorpe, etc., stood on the starting stage with full concentration and quietly waited for the handover of their teammates.

"Li Tian, ​​we will be the champion if we kill them...Long live the championship, long live the Chinese team..."

"Yes, knock them all down and let the foreigners who underestimate Chinese swimming see how powerful our Chinese team is. Who is Phelps? What is Thorpe? We have the magical boy - Li Tian, ​​we have the myth of invincibility..."

"Let Li Tian go forward and leave this gold medal in our China..." The audience in the stands shouted wildly for several minutes, but the momentum became louder and louder. Chinese swimming enthusiasts have been looking forward to such a medal for too long. Now it is placed in front of their eyes, and only Li Tian needs to pick it off.

"Come on, let me measure how strong you kings are...!" With great confidence, Li Tian, ​​who had already gathered all his energy, followed Roland beside him and jumped into the water. He entered the pool, dived, stroked his arms, and kicked the water. All the steps were completed very perfectly. Li Tian himself could feel the unprecedented speed of progress.

"Come on Xiaotian!" The three Chinese relay players who completed their respective competitions hugged each other's shoulders and stared at Li Tian who was "turning around" in the pool. However, no competition can be won simply by relying on passion and confidence. Although Li Tian showed his best level and tried his best to get all his energy, the gap in the first meter before the beginning could not be brought closer. In the words of head coach Zhao Ge of the Chinese swimming team, Li Tian now seems too young compared to Thorpe, Roland and others. The Beijing Olympics two years later is the time for him to show his strength. Li Tian will be invincible after his skills and psychology are mature.

In the last twenty meters, the competition between South Africa and Australia, which was at the forefront, entered a fierce momentum. The Chinese team and Canada also reached the climax for the third place. The victory and loss were just a slight slight moment. The atmosphere at the scene was so tense that it was suffocating.

"It's done..." As the ending signal sounded in the third lane where the Chinese team was located, the Chinese team finally got its first medal in the World Championships as they wished and also received a ticket to the 2008 Olympics. The gold medal was won by the South African team led by Roland with an extremely weak advantage. Australia led by Thorpe won the second place, Canada ranked fourth, and got the last ticket to the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the event. The previously ambitious American team could only wait for the next opportunity.
Chapter completed!