"Have a seat."
Chen Yu gestured for Liu Xiang to sit on the track and took off his shoes and socks.
To the touch, he could feel an extremely subtle swelling.
Under the Eye of All-Seeing, the tendons and muscle groups in his right ankle showed some changes. Looking deeper, the muscle fibers were abnormally tangled together.
"Dr. Chen, how is Liu Xiang?" Sun Haiping asked nervously, his eyes filled with regret.
He was kicking himself now. Why hadn’t he pressed further when Liu Xiang said he was fine? Why hadn’t he been more careful?
He should have just dragged Liu Xiang over for a proper check-up.
Feng Shuyong was also incredibly nervous.
The Olympics were right around the corner. For the Chinese Athletics Team, Liu Xiang had a very high chance of contending for a gold medal, and the significance of that medal went without saying.
If his performance suffered because of an injury, it would mean another four-year wait.
How many four-year cycles does a person get in life? Let alone the four years at a professional athlete’s absolute peak.
"Don’t worry, the sprain isn’t serious." Chen Yu’s words allowed the two men to breathe a sigh of relief.
However, while it wasn’t serious, Chen Yu could use the system’s effects to help Liu Xiang recover quickly. Still, he felt Liu Xiang needed a proper period of readjustment.
Under the system’s effects, the muscle groups would return to normal, but the body still needed time to adapt.
If he were a basketball or soccer player, a localized issue with force exertion might not have such a big impact.
But Liu Xiang was different. He was aiming to break a world record and shatter the limits of humanity.
His victories and defeats were decided by a hair’s breadth!
Any physical problem, no matter how minor, could ultimately affect his performance.
He might have been able to run a 12.90, but because of this subtle issue with force exertion in his ankle, it could turn into a 12.91.
A difference of 0.01 seconds was the difference between him and a world record.
There was still time to make adjustments now. Once the real Olympics began, that time would be gone.
As he began massaging the ankle, Chen Yu said, "Coach Feng, let’s have Liu Xiang withdraw from the upcoming national track meet."
"Withdraw?" Feng Shuyong was startled. He exchanged a complicated look with Sun Haiping.
The competition started tomorrow. Withdrawing at this point, wasn’t that a bit...
After all, the media was paying the most attention to Liu Xiang at this track meet. Many spectators were only following it because of him. For him to withdraw at this point could have a pretty big impact.
Besides, Liu Xiang had already withdrawn from many competitions before this.
The media and those who cared about him would speculate whether something was wrong and if it would affect the upcoming Olympics.
"Yes, withdraw."
Chen Yu explained his reasoning. "First of all, the original purpose of this track meet was to give Liu Xiang one last chance to warm up before heading to Athens. But in China, his performance is on a completely different level than the domestic competition. A race like this won’t do anything to improve his time."
If he were to race against Alan Johnson, that would definitely have an effect.
Feng Shuyong nodded slightly. That much was true.
In China, aside from Shi Dongpeng, no one could even keep up with Liu Xiang.
And even Shi Dongpeng was far from being Liu Xiang’s equal.
In a race like this, he would lead the pack without any pressure. Just as Chen Yu said, it would do little to improve his performance.
Chen Yu continued, "Although the sprain isn’t serious, you saw it yourselves. After he sprained it, his training results started to decline. At that point, his body had already grown accustomed to the wrong, unbalanced way of exerting force."
"Even if he can make a full recovery now, he still needs to rediscover his body’s balance. Only then can he attempt to break the world record."
It came back to the same point: victory and defeat were decided by a hair’s breadth. Top athletes go through countless training sessions to tune their bodies to peak condition, all for those ten-odd seconds in the final race. If they weren’t properly tuned during training, it was all for nothing.
And adjustments took time.
"As for the fallout from withdrawing, I think it pales in comparison to breaking a world record and winning the gold medal."
Especially since most people only cared about the final result.
And Chen Yu was also saying this for Liu Xiang’s benefit.
There was no problem with withdrawing. If your body isn’t ready, you pull out when you need to. Forcing yourself to compete is truly foolish, like gambling with your own career.
No one would pity your bravery.
Liu Xiang’s gaze flickered, but he didn’t say anything.
"As for Director Yu and Director Yuan, I’ll go talk to them," Chen Yu added.
Feng Shuyong gave a wry smile. With Chen Yu having laid it all out like this, how could he possibly say no?
Chen Yu thought for a moment and added, "How about this? I’ll take Liu Xiang directly to Athens to prepare there. Coach Sun can come with us. I’ll take care of all the expenses and coordinate the training facilities."
He might as well go to Athens early.
Liu Xiang’s attempt at the world record was too important to Chen Yu.
The opening ceremony was on August 13th, and some athletes should be moving into the Olympic Village around now anyway.
Previously, the United States Track and Field Association and various other sports associations had been contacting Chen Yu, hoping to invite him to accompany their teams to Athens to ensure their athletes’ physical condition.
Chen Yu had turned them all down with the excuse of not having time.
Since he was coincidentally going early this time, helping them out would be a simple matter.
Helping them meant accumulating favors, which would benefit his own career development.
"Is that even allowed?" Feng Shuyong’s eyes went wide. There was no precedent for this.
’Why wouldn’t it be?’ Chen Yu thought. ’The higher-ups want results. So, for the sake of results, you do whatever works best.’
After contacting Yu Weili and Yuan Weimin and explaining the situation, Chen Yu took Liu Xiang and Sun Haiping on a flight to Athens the very next day.
Along the way, Sun Haiping was worried there would be problems with the arrangements, but he had underestimated Chen Yu’s connections and influence.
On the very day they arrived in Athens, the Hellenic Olympic Committee sent a dedicated person to coordinate Liu Xiang’s check-in at the Olympic Village. All the paperwork, including translation, was handled, and even a training venue had already been arranged.
"This is unbelievably fast," Sun Haiping couldn’t help but exclaim. He felt that even if the Chinese Olympic Delegation had handled the coordination themselves, it might not have been this quick.
’Of course it was fast,’ Chen Yu thought. His relationship with the Olympic Committee ran deep. During the preparations for this year’s Olympics, the committee had consulted him on many issues regarding medical readiness.
In fact, upon hearing that he had arrived in Athens, Rogge, who was also in the city, had already contacted him to arrange a meeting.
"What do you think?" Chen Yu asked Liu Xiang.
Liu Xiang had just finished looking around the room.
It was a standard double room with a small living area, furnished with only the most basic items.
"It’s nice, and very clean," Liu Xiang said, quite satisfied.
Chen Yu lay down on the bed to test it out. It felt a bit hard.
Furthermore, it was a suite in a four-story building with five rooms per floor. It would get crowded, and the soundproofing wasn’t great.
After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu said, "How about this? We’ll stay somewhere else, at a hotel. I’ll arrange it."
Many top athletes chose not to stay in the Olympic Village precisely because the bustling presence of ten thousand athletes could disrupt their rest.
Resting and preparing in a quiet, comfortable environment would put them in a better state for competition.
Sun Haiping and Liu Xiang exchanged a look, not daring to object.
Coach Sun, of course, knew that staying outside the Olympic Village was better. Especially when Liu Xiang was aiming to break the world record, eating well and resting well were crucial to delivering his best performance.
If Chen Yu weren’t sponsoring and coordinating everything, Sun Haiping wouldn’t have even dared to dream of such arrangements.
After Chen Yu stepped out to make a call, Sun Haiping thought for a moment, then pulled Liu Xiang aside and said in a low voice, "Liu Xiang, Dr. Chen has done everything he possibly can, considering every little detail for you. You absolutely cannot let down his kindness. Compete hard, and you must break the world record."
"Coach Sun, you shouldn’t say that."
Chen Yu, who had just finished his call, returned and happened to overhear Coach Sun. He smiled at Liu Xiang and said, "Liu Xiang, don’t feel any psychological burden or pressure. Everything I’ve done is nothing to me."
Coordinating for a few people and spending a little money was truly nothing.
"It’s good to be ambitious, but you also need to stay level-headed. Breaking the world record would be best, but if you don’t, it’s not a problem either. You’re already the best hurdler in the world!"
Liu Xiang nodded slightly.
It was clear that he was still feeling some inner turmoil.
Because six months ago, Chen Yu had set the goal for him to break the world record, and all their subsequent actions had revolved around that objective.
The closer he got to that goal, the more nervous he became, afraid that it would all be for naught in the end.
Chen Yu saw all of this but wasn’t too worried.
Every top athlete had to go through this process.
To surpass the world record, one first had to surpass oneself.
Besides, with him keeping an eye on things and providing psychological guidance before the competition, there was no way a problem would arise.
Since they hadn’t unpacked their luggage yet, Chen Yu gestured for the other two to leave with him.
But as soon as they stepped out of the small building, they found the entrance blocked by a large crowd.
A middle-aged man at the very front immediately came forward, pulling a beautiful woman with curly black hair in front of Chen Yu.
"Quiet!"
Chen Yu shouted, silencing the crowd.
He more or less understood the situation.
The middle-aged man before him was Zascalaki, the head of the delegation from Macedonia.
The sweet-faced girl, who clearly had Eastern European features, was named Diuna Fisher, a competitive shooter.
She had an old shoulder injury, and when Zascalaki heard that Chen Yu had arrived at the Olympic Village, he immediately dragged her over to find him, hoping he would help treat it.
And the rest of the crowd had the same purpose.
Who in the world didn’t know that when it came to recovering from sports injuries, Chen Yu was the undisputed number one?
But Chen Yu was far away in the United States. With the costs of visas and fees, who would travel all that way for a minor injury?
Many clubs couldn’t even afford it, let alone the athletes from more obscure Olympic sports.
But running into him by chance was a different story.
Especially right before the Olympics, getting treatment from Chen Yu and using the final stretch to get their bodies in order could potentially lead to better results.
No one would miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Dr. Chen, she is our country’s Divine Archer and has a high chance of achieving a good ranking. I beg you to help her and treat her injury. We are willing to pay the fee," Zascalaki pleaded with a sincere expression.
The fee couldn’t be waived, but no matter how expensive Chen Yu’s rates were, it was far cheaper than traveling all the way to the United States.
Chen Yu glanced at the dense crowd of more than twenty people before him.
And this was just after he had arrived, with the Olympic Village having just opened and only a few delegations checked in.
Even so, this many people had already shown up. Once the main bulk of the delegations arrived, even more would come looking for his treatment.
Competing with injuries, or a body full of old ones, was by no means a rare case.
These athletes only got a shot at the Olympics once every four years. Many were in obscure sports with limited income. It was completely unrealistic to expect them to travel to the United States for his treatment like top soccer or basketball stars.
Since he happened to be here, there was no harm in helping them out.
Besides, he happened to need to grind some system experience to use on Liu Xiang.

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