At this time, at the New York Airport, Zhang Paimeng was carrying a backpack and following the coach, looking at the scene in front of him with excitement.
In the past, his most overseas competitions were in Asia. This time he was able to come to Europe and the United States, where he saw different races and buildings, and felt that everything was novel.
As for why Zhang Peimeng came here, it has to do with the time of 10.04 seconds he ran at the Sichuan Provincial Track and Field Invitational Championships last year.
Although this is much faster than Su Feng's previous Chinese 100-meter record, because China's 100-meter record has now been upgraded to a world record, it did not attract much attention and was only circulated in the sports media.
, not out of the circle.
After all, Su Feng's 100-meter score was too dazzling. If he ran any random run, it would be more than this, and people's attention would naturally be drawn away.
However, this result attracted the attention of the International Association of Athletics Federations, which specially invited him to participate in the 100-meter race in New York, but he could only place ninth.
Logically speaking, this kind of Grand Prix requires athletes to be ranked within 40th place in their individual events in the previous year, and for the Golden League, it is within 20th place.
But special cases are not uncommon.
For example, in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix and the Osaka Grand Prix in Japan, each country will have one or two places to recommend.
China and Japan often allow their own athletes to see the world.
As for Zhang Peimeng.
On the one hand, his results are enough to qualify him for this track, so he won't lose too badly.
On the other hand, it is the plan of the IAAF. In order to enhance the influence of the event, it is nothing for them to use some means within the rules.
Su Feng's current influence in the United States can be said to be quite special.
His performance is not much weaker than that of Michael Johnson, but he is far less popular in the United States than Michael Johnson.
But at the same time, he is even more famous than Michael Johnson.
This is mainly because he is not an American, but he has defeated many American players in succession. It can be said that after he landed in the United States, no American player has beaten him.
This is very uncomfortable for the proud Americans, but now it is 2007, and it is only a track and field event, and it is not yet time for future generations to deal with China, and the two Chinese companies will do whatever they can.
However, Americans still have a knot in their hearts.
This is also the reason why Zhang Peimeng was invited.
On the one hand, the IAAF will naturally not elaborate on the fact that Zhang Peimeng is not qualified. In this case, American audiences will see another Chinese on their own track. This will attract a lot of attention.
On the other hand, Zhang Peimeng's final results will never be as dazzling as Su Feng's. Most American players can beat him, which will also increase the interest of the American audience.
After all, if Su Feng keeps failing to win, the American audience will probably get tired of it.
In this way, Zhang Peimeng was invited to compete in the New York Station in the United States.
As for why it is not Eugene station, the main reason is that Eugene is too small and certainly does not have as much influence as an international metropolis like New York.
Naturally, Zhang Peimeng and coach Li Qing didn't know the twists and turns involved. After receiving the news, they just thought it was due to Su Feng's influence. Europeans and Americans wanted to see more Chinese sprinters compete.
Therefore, the two of them were very excited. After all, although this was normal for Su Feng, for them, it was a rare opportunity to compete in Europe and the United States.
This is why many people in the past life were wondering, "Why can you only see Liu Yuxiang every time in European and American competitions, and only occasionally see some other Chinese players? It's not that they don't want to go, or that the country doesn't provide funding, the key is
If I don't have enough grades, I can't go.
If Chinese athletes can really participate in some large-scale competitions certified by the IAAF in Europe and the United States, they will be almost equal to the level of Olympic giants in China.
This is very different from the United States, where even top Olympic athletes have to participate in domestic trials, and sometimes they may not be selected.
This is also the gap between American track and field and Chinese track and field, and it cannot be closed in a while.
"Coach, it's Coach Su Feng and Coach He." Zhang Peimeng is tall, young, and has good eyesight. Li Qing is still looking for someone. He has already seen Master and Disciple Su Feng who came to pick them up.
"Hey, Lao Li." Zhang Peimeng shouted, and He Jun, who was not far away, saw them and immediately came over to greet them.
Zhang Peimeng received the invitation from the IAAF one day after the Eugene Station, and Su Feng would also be attending the New York Station, so Coach Li would naturally contact He Jun.
After all, when we go out, we are all members of the Chinese team, so we will definitely take care of each other.
If it were just the master and apprentice, they would be blind. Even if they know where the competition venue is, they still have to solve training and other issues by themselves.
Now that we have Su Feng and He Jun, these are no longer problems.
"Lao He, haha, I didn't expect that we could meet up in Europe and the United States."
"I didn't expect it, but Meng's results have also arrived, and it will be very beneficial for him to come and experience the level of international competitions in advance.
Coach Tian is very impressed with me. Maybe our Chinese team will get another very important medal in the 2008 Olympics."
When He Jun talked about this, the excitement in his body came from the bottom of his heart. There was no utilitarianism in it. He was really happy about the breakthrough in national track and field.
Su Feng is an individual, while the relay team is a group.
The 100 meters can be said to be the crown of single events in track and field, while the 4×100 meters relay is the crown of team events.
And the Chinese relay team does have a chance now.
According to his understanding, with the popularity of track and field, domestic sprinters are very motivated, as evidenced by Zhang Peimeng's current results.
This is not just reputational, but also practical.
For example, in the Sichuan Provincial Invitational Tournament that Zhang Peimeng participated in, the previous champion’s bonus was 5,000 yuan, but now it has been directly increased to 100,000 yuan.
Athletes, in addition to bringing glory to their country, also naturally have to support their families.
However, the state's funds are limited, and it was impossible to spend so much money in each province and city in the past.
But it is different now. The bonus of 100,000 yuan means that the country has higher support, but it is impossible to directly increase it from 5,000 to 100,000 yuan.
The main thing here is the flow effect.
Due to the emergence of Su Feng and Liu Yuxiang, more people have begun to pay attention to track and field, and naturally more people will buy tickets.
At the same time, smart merchants have also seen this traffic and will sponsor it. This is how the money comes from.
Zhang Peimeng is just an example.
There is another person Su Feng is familiar with, Chen Zhilong. Recently, his best time has been improved to 10.12 seconds, and he is currently collecting bonuses in China.
Liu Yu's best result has reached 10 seconds 18 seconds.
Plus Zhang Paimeng’s 10 seconds 04.
Finally, the most important thing is Su Feng’s unbeatable 9 seconds 75.
Together, these four people might be able to create some miracles at the Olympics.