In track and field, the 100-meter dash is the undisputed king—the jewel in the crown, the event that draws the most attention.
The 110-meter hurdles, a blend of power and technique, also holds a high status among track and field events. In many World Athletics competitions, it is often featured as a main event.
Ever since Alan Johnson set the Olympic record with a time of 12.95 seconds at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, it had remained unbroken for eight years.
Today, it was shattered.
And the most incredible part? It was shattered during the preliminaries.
At that moment, though multiple events were taking place simultaneously across the Olympic Stadium, Liu Xiang had become the undisputed center of attention.
In the staging area, many athletes were watching Liu Xiang.
In the media zone, a horde of reporters, catching wind of the news, swarmed toward Liu Xiang.
Liu Xiang had only taken a couple of steps past the finish line before he was surrounded by a mob of reporters.
This wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Imagine your heart rate has just shot up to two hundred beats per minute, and the muscles all over your body feel like a 12-cylinder engine redlining at ten thousand RPM. Then, right after that insane overload, you’re forced to slam on the brakes and come to a dead stop.
It’s actually quite damaging to the body.
But reporters don’t care about any of that. The very nature of their job meant they had to get the story first.
Some of the questions, however, left Liu Xiang at a complete loss for words.
For instance, a reporter from CCTV pushed his way to the front and asked, "Your performance over the last couple of years wasn’t that great. How did you suddenly get so good?"
Liu Xiang was a little dumbfounded.
’The subtext of that question is that I sucked for the past two years, isn’t it?’
’And how was he supposed to answer that? If you train hard, shouldn’t your results naturally get better and better?’
But the reporter wasn’t finished. He then asked Liu Xiang if he was satisfied with his time today.
At that question, even the other reporters surrounding them couldn’t take it anymore.
’He just shattered the Olympic record, and you’re asking if he’s satisfied?’
Unexpectedly, however, Liu Xiang thought for a moment and shook his head.
"I’m very happy to have run 12.92 today."
"However, I feel my control over the details wasn’t good enough on a few of the middle hurdles, so I’m still not satisfied with this time."
As soon as he said this, many of the reporters present gasped, their faces showing sheer disbelief.
’Isn’t that taking humility a bit too far?!’
’You just broke the Olympic record and you’re still saying things like that! What are world-class athletes like Alan Johnson and Garcia supposed to think when they hear this?’
’And how are the other athletes, the ones who can only eat your dust, supposed to feel?’
Liu Xiang didn’t know what the reporters were thinking. In any case, he truly felt his performance today hadn’t been perfect.
In his daily training, he was already consistently running times around 12.90 seconds.
So, a 12.92 was just a normal run for him.
But what Chen Yu demanded of him wasn’t a normal performance. It was an extraordinary one—to break his own limits, to break human limits.
Therefore, Liu Xiang was obviously not satisfied with such a time.
So, after a moment’s thought, Liu Xiang smiled. "I’ll keep working hard for tomorrow’s race. I hope I can achieve an even better time."
The reporters all looked at one another, dumbfounded.
’That’s some serious confidence.’
’What, is he planning to break the Olympic record again tomorrow?’
’But he’s already at 12.92. Breaking that again wouldn’t just be an Olympic record—it would be the world record.’
’And this is just the prelims, for crying out loud.’
’If he runs like this in the prelims, what kind of time is he aiming for in the final?’
Before the reporters could ask any more questions, Liu Xiang pushed through the crowd and left.
Su Jun was also stuck in the throng of reporters. It was so crowded that he hadn’t even managed to get close enough to ask a question.
"He’s certainly got high aspirations," a reporter from Southern Weekly muttered beside him.
Su Jun glanced at him but said nothing.
He gazed in the direction Liu Xiang had gone, and as if he’d realized something, a smile involuntarily spread across his face.
He had a strong premonition that tomorrow, Liu Xiang might actually do as he said and achieve an even greater feat.
Running such an unconventional time in the preliminaries could only mean one thing: 12.92 was Liu Xiang’s normal level of performance. He still had the potential to chase an even better time.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain Liu Xiang’s unusual strategy.
’If his normal performance is already this close to the world record, what kind of time could he run if he went all out?’
At the thought, Su Jun’s body couldn’t help but tremble.
He had a powerful feeling that from this moment on, Liu Xiang’s name would echo across all of China!
He was going to become a legend.
And it was Chen Yu who had single-handedly forged this legend.
On his way back to the staging area, Liu Xiang ran into the athletes from the fourth heat, who were heading out.
Alan Johnson was among them.
He had clearly seen Liu Xiang, too. Their eyes met for a moment, his gaze complex, before he quickly looked away.
The glory of his career, his shining moment, the Olympic record he’d held for so long—all shattered by Liu Xiang just like that. It was impossible for him not to be shaken.
Liu Xiang didn’t think much of it.
In Chen Yu’s words, his only opponent now was himself!
Everyone else was nothing to fear.
Back in the staging area, Sun Haiping rushed over excitedly and threw his arms around Liu Xiang. He didn’t say a word as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.
Six years ago, he had discovered Liu Xiang. After making repeated, earnest requests, he had brought Liu Xiang onto the provincial sports team.
He had poured an unbelievable amount of effort into Liu Xiang—it could be said he was more attentive to him than he was to his own wife and daughter.
Years of hard work had finally paid off today.
"Alright, it’s just a preliminary heat," Chen Yu interrupted the emotional master and student. "Wait until he wins the gold medal, then you can celebrate however you want. Go get your doping test done first. The officials are getting impatient."
The Olympic Committee officials were already waiting.
For an unusual, record-breaking performance like this, it was a given that he’d be pulled aside for an immediate doping test.
When Liu Xiang returned from the test, Chen Yu immediately had him lie down for a massage to help his body relax and recover.
Right after a race was the most critical time for recovery.
"Nice work!"
Demands were one thing, but no one ever knew what would happen on the track. So, Liu Xiang had truly made him proud today.
Lying on the mat, Liu Xiang didn’t say anything, only nodding slightly.
Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was a maelstrom of emotion.
To him, Sun Haiping was both a teacher and a father figure, a kind elder who had always protected and guided him.
But Chen Yu was different.
In Liu Xiang’s heart, Chen Yu was more of a mentor, guiding him to become better and putting him on the path to being faster and stronger.
So, Chen Yu’s approval meant a great deal to him.
While he was busy, someone suddenly leaned in close, startling Chen Yu.
It was Bolt!
"What are you doing here?"
Bolt had a race this morning, too—the 200-meter preliminaries.
’The first heat is at 9:30, which should be starting soon. What’s this kid doing here instead of warming up and preparing for his race?’
Bolt pointed at Liu Xiang on the mat and said with a serious expression, "Sir, I want to be like him."
"Like him how?"
Chen Yu didn’t immediately understand.
Bolt said, "Sir, I mean, I want to go all out in the prelims, too. I’m going to break 20 seconds!"
Last summer in Canada, at seventeen, he had broken the 20-second barrier for the first time.
Then, Bolt spent the next full year consistently running sub-20-second times.
Over that year, he grew even stronger. In the words of Mills, he was now as strong as a bull.
At eighteen, his body had reached its physical peak. His strength, explosive power, and endurance had all reached an extremely high level.
Under Chen Yu’s care, he was in perfect health.
Bolt felt he was ready to challenge for the Olympic gold medal, and perhaps even the world record.
"What, you want to go for the record, too?"
Chen Yu asked, frowning.
His best time in training was only 19.51 seconds; he was still a long way from the world record.
So while he had a shot at the gold medal, breaking the record was a real long shot.
"Sir, I understand why you had Liu Xiang run like that in the prelims. You wanted him to surpass himself. I can do that too!"
"I’ve changed so much over the past few years. I know where my limits are, and 19.51 is definitely not it."
"Sir, please just let me try. I feel incredible today."
Just like Liu Xiang, he had been preparing for this day for a very long time.
He hadn’t even participated in a single official national competition this year.
He, too, was biding his time, saving all his energy to unleash it at the Olympics.
And seeing Liu Xiang break the Olympic record today had truly fired Bolt up.
They had spent their days together in the United States, receiving the same level of training. They were good friends, but they were also secretly competing with each other, pushing each other.
’If Liu Xiang can break a record, why can’t I?’
’Liu Xiang had surgery, and so did I, fixing the underlying problem with my spine.’
’I’ve been with Chen Yu for longer, and my body’s even stronger.’
After seeing his parents yesterday, his heart was free of all burdens. Bolt truly felt he was ready to give it everything he had.
"Sir, I can really do it."
Bolt’s eyes were filled with longing.
Even Liu Xiang couldn’t help but look toward Chen Yu, wanting to put in a good word for Bolt.
"Fine."
Chen Yu smiled, then said, "Alright then. I’ll be right here, watching you go for the world record."
’If he has the heart for it, then why not let him try?’
’In any case, peaking too early wasn’t a problem as far as Chen Yu was concerned.’
’Maybe, spurred on by Liu Xiang’s record-breaking performance, he really could surpass himself and break his limits.’
’But deep down, Chen Yu still thought it was a long shot.’
’A record of 19.32 seconds wasn’t so easy to break.’
’That was the absolute limit of human potential, not something you could break just by being determined.’
"Sir, I won’t let you down!"
Bolt gave a deep bow and left, brimming with excitement.
"Go for it!"
Liu Xiang, still on the floor, quickly shouted after him.
Bolt pumped his fist in response and jogged away.
"Dr. Chen, this is too reckless," Sun Haiping couldn’t help but mutter from the side.
Changing the race strategy at the last minute was one thing—after all, Liu Xiang had done it too.
The problem was that Bolt’s ambition was just too high.
That was the world record, for crying out loud!
His personal best was still 0.2 seconds off the world record.
Zero-point-two seconds! Did he think he could close that gap just by shouting a few slogans?
Chen Yu didn’t respond.
’Whether he could do it or not, no one knew.’
’But still, maybe Bolt would give him a surprise.’
’After all, this kid was no ordinary person!’

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