Chapter 209: Racing in the Rain
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The sky looked dark and suffocating. The stands of the stadium were filled with gorgeous colors, provided by colorful umbrellas and raincoats.
It was raining at that moment. The rain wasn't heavy, but still created a cold, dreary feeling.
Dai Li looked at the sky and became irritable, for he didn't like events held in the rain.
In fact, all the coaches and athletes didn't want to participate in the events on rainy days. Especially for the sprinters, the rain would make the track wet and slippery, which could impair the athletes' performances, so naturally, the athletes' performances wouldn't be as good as the rest of the time.
After all, track and field events had to be held in the open air, so it was inevitable to hold events on rainy days. Proper stadiums would have sound drainage devices on the track. Therefore, the track could be wet and slippery, but the devices prevented the formation of puddles. As long as it wasn't raining cats and dogs, the matches would be held as usual, only the athletes had to painstakingly participate in the events in the rain.
All the athletes weren't used to racing in the rain, and no one could prepare for events in the rain. Especially those immigrant athletes from West Asia were more incapable of adapting to races on rainy days. The climate in West Asia was quite dry, and rain was a gift from God, so athletes from the West Asia had very few experiences racing in the rain.
On the track, Yue Zhao was making his final preparations before the race.
This was the semi-final of the 200m sprint, which was challenging for Yue Zhao. Fortunately, three of the most powerful athletes had dropped out of the event, so Yue Zhao didn't have any tough opponents in the semi-final. As long as Yue Zhao did well, he could definitely enter the finals.
When the starting gun went off, Yue Zhao dashed on the track, deliberately basking in the cheers of the audience in the stadium.
Yue Zhao was good at running the curve, so he was the first one to start sprinting the straightaway.
Maybe the rest of the runners in this group were mediocre, or maybe they just wanted to preserve their strength, or maybe these athletes were simply not good at racing on rainy days, but the other athletes didn't chase Yue Zhao, letting him enter the final as the first place of the group.
Soaking wet, Yue Zhao left the infield. The water on his body was not sweat, but rain water.
"Hurry, dry your hair and change into dry clothes." As Dai Li said this, he handed Yue Zhao a towel.
Although the athletes would get soaking wet during their daily training, which was similar to their situation now, sweat was different from rain water. A sweaty athlete wouldn't need to worry about catching a cold if he wasn't exposed to cold wind; however, athletes drenched in rain had to dry themselves off immediately to avoid catching a cold.
The athletes of another heat were standing on the starting line. Zitao Wei, another member of the national team, was in this group.
The UAE sprinter, Sarafa, and Zitao Wei were in the same group. Sarafa's strength in the 200m sprint was much stronger than in the 100m sprint. Now that Clark had dropped out of the event, Sarafa was the biggest favorite to win the 200m sprint championship.
Finally, Zitao Wei entered the final as the second place of the heat, so the two players from the national team entered the final match together.
After several hours' break, the preliminary match of the 4x100m relay started.
Only a few countries participated in the 4x100m relay. The Asians were not good at track and field events. Many Asian countries couldn't even scrounge up four sprinters, let alone have them participate in the relays. Therefore, the 4x100m relay only had a preliminary race.
The Japanese Team had dominated this event for over 20 years in Asia with their strength. However, with the retirement of their Golden Generation, it was hard for the Japanese Team to continue their domination of this event.
At the same time, they had witnessed the rise of many countries in this event, like Qatar and Saudi Arab in West Asia, Kazakhstan in Middle Asia and Thailand in Southeast Asia, which made it difficult to predict who the gold medal in the 4x100m would go to. Several strong teams, including the national team, seemingly had the chance to win the championship.
The strong teams didn't need to pursue speed in the preliminary match. After all, they were strong and could enter the final match easily, as long as they didn't make any mistakes in the preliminary race.
The national team also asked the four contestants to ensure their entry of the final match held in the next day by avoiding any errors in the preliminary race.
Jun Xie dropped out of the match because of his injury, so Guohong Niu, the bench player, had the opportunity to play.
Guohong Niu was quite excited. He had not been entered in any individual events. He had thought he would sit on the bench until the end of the competition. However, Jun Xie's injury was a great blessing for Guohong Niu. He could finally participate in the matches of the Asian Games.
The Qatari Team was in the same situation as the national team. Since Clark had dropped out of the race, and Oneida was also recovering from a concussion, the Qatari Team eventually gave up the relay.
...
On the track, as the third leg, Zitao Wei handed the relay baton to Sijie Yang, who took the baton steadily and started sprinting.
"No mistakes, the baton pass was successful!" Li Xue heaved a sigh of relief.
The baton pass between the third leg and the last was successful; now all Sijie Yang could do was clench the baton and dash forward strenuously.
As the new 100m sprint champion of the Asian Games, Sijie Yang was very confident. He had the demeanor of a star athlete, a kind of mindset change. With a brilliant gift for sprinting, it was only a matter of time before Sijie Yang became a world-class sprinter. An Asian Games championship would just accelerate his transformation.
Sijie Yang crossed the finish line steadily, marking the entry of the national team to the finals.
...
Zitao Wei took the towel handed to him and wiped the rain water off his head, then returned it to Dai Li.
"Your face is flushed." Dai Li looked at Zitao Wei, and found his reaction was unnatural.
"I…" Zitao Wei hesitated a bit and finally said, "I feel cold."
"Maybe you have a fever! I'll get the thermometer from the team doctor." Dai Li fetched for the team doctor immediately.
A moment later, the team doctor arrived. He touched Zitao Wei's forehead, which was very hot, then measured his body temperature with a thermometer.
"He has a fever. His body temperature is 102.02℉, almost 102.2℉," the team doctor said solemnly.
The coaches around Zitao Wei gasped.
Coupled with the sudden temperature drop last night, a race in the rain could have easily caused a cold and fever. However, it was indeed the wrong time for Zitao Wei to have a fever, since the final match of the 200m sprint would start in only one hour.
"What should we do?" Everyone was looking at Li Xue; it was time for the boss to make a decision.
Li Xue looked at Zitao Wei, as if he was asking for his opinion.
"Coach, let me do it!" Instead, Zitao Wei was quite steadfast; he continued, "This might be my last Asian Games. In four years, I'll be over thirty. I'm afraid that maybe I'll be retired by then. I've entered the finals, and I don't want to regret anything."
"Will you be able to handle it?" Li Xue continued to ask.
"Yes, I can make it!" Zitao Wei nodded resolutely.
"Then okay! Drink more water, and don't be worried about the result. You have a fever, no one could blame you. After the match, I will immediately dispatch a car to send you back so you can rest." Li Xue accepted Zitao Wei's request.