Aylwin would react to his challengers, but he didn’t accelerate now. He still ran in his own rhythm, because he knew that he had no advantage in the first half.
As a white athlete, he couldn’t beat a black athlete in terms of explosive power and speed. Even when he was at his peak, he wasn’t the fastest in the first 200 meters.
Aylwin needed to use his advantages and avoid his shortcomings. In the first 200 meters, Aylwin didn’t pursue faster speed, but instead focused on improving his pace frequency and adjusting his strength in order to express his advantages in the last 200 meters.
Aylwin didn’t choose to waste his strength in the first period when he was young, so he had no need to compete with others now that he was 34 years old now. He was no longer an aggressive young man, with reckless impulses.
Finally, the first 200 meters was over and the athletes went into the bend again. The most difficult period of the 400m was coming.
As for Aylwin, however, it was just the beginning of his advantage.
…
The fast run in the first 200 meters nearly made Brown exhausted. In the next bend, he needed to adjust himself and store strength for sprinting the last 100 meters.
Brown turned around slightly to watch Aylwin next to him, and suddenly realized that he himself was in the lead.
Great, I’m ahead of him. Today I am faster than Aylwin. I can win the race today. Next, I need to keep this lead and not make any mistakes.
Thinking of this, Brown found that Aylwin wasn’t slowing. In the previous 200 meters, Brown was much faster than Aylwin, but now he felt that Aylwin was surpassing him.
Aylwin is becoming faster! No, I’m slowing down. After all, he is Jimmy Aylwin. Even though I am ahead of him, I can’t take it seriously. He is 34 years old now, but according to his performance now, I really can’t defeat him if I don’t try my best.
Thinking of this, Brown tried to keep his speed and maintain his lead to the final sprint.
…
He is worthy of being my idol. He indeed has caught up with me! Andrew also realized that Aylwin was gradually narrowing the gap.
Maybe at the end of the bend, the gap between us will be gone. At that time, we will enter the last straight at the same time and sprint together.
Thinking of this, Andrew only felt more morale. It was aspirational for Andrew to compete with his idol and to cross the finish line with him.
…
The final competition began as the athletes entered the last straight.
Opposite the end of the straight was the main stand, the area with the most audience. At this time, the audience in this area were nearly crazy. Everyone was standing up, waving banners, and shouting to the track.
Brown was the first to enter the final straight and he started to accelerate. The final 100 meter sprint would determine who was the champion today, so Brown didn’t keep back anything and he tried his best.
In the track next to Brown, Aylwin was starting to accelerate nearly at the same time.
Moreover, he was faster than Brown.
Just entering the straight, the two were nearly at the same place after one breath, but after the second breath, Aylwin surpassed him.
He surpassed me! Brown was shocked at first and then he tried to accelerate in the next second and regain his lead.
However, in the next second, the distance between them widened.
In the final sprint, Aylwin clearly had stored much more strength to allow him to run fast.
A sense of powerlessness rose in Brown’s heart. He had tried his best, but he was still falling behind.
I lost again! Though it was not the first time that Brown had been defeated by Aylwin, he couldn’t be more depressed.
He is already 34 years old and has left the track for three years, but I still can’t beat him. Today is no different from previous races. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t beat him…
…
Only fifty meters left, and Andrew could only see Aylwin’s back. Just like four years ago, the difference was that this time the back was closer.
Andrew had tried his best, but he still couldn’t catch up with Aylwin. The situation that he could pass the finish line together with his idol didn’t happen. Aylwin didn’t give him the opportunity to run together, and left him far behind.
As he closed towards the finish line, Andrew’s body had reached its limits. He had used so much of his strength that it was very hard for him to take one more step. The distance between them was becoming farther and farther.
Andrew felt depressed, as if he was nearly out of breath. This pressure was from Aylwin. His back was still ahead, as if he was telling all his challengers that he was still the unbeatable king of the 400m.
Today, Andrew was not that little blade of grass, but Aylwin still was that tall tree.
…
The commentator was also explaining and shouting. The sound around was so noisy that even with the help of a microphone, the commentator wasn’t sure that all the audience could hear his voice.
“Next is the final sprint. Who will be the first one to the straight? Brown! Andrew! Aylwin! Those three entered the straight together! Who is the fastest in the final sprint? Who? Who? Aylwin! Aylwin is ahead. Aylwin is faster! The lead distance is increasing. Aylwin is still accelerating! He must win! The line! Aylwin! Jimmy Aylwin is the champion! After three years, Aylwin still won!”
“Aylwin’s final result is 43.82 seconds. That’s an incredible result. It’s even 0.03 seconds faster than four years ago when he won the championship at the Olympic Games! It’s incredible! Aylwin can still run so fast even though he is 34 years old!”
At that moment, the noise in the stadium suddenly increased by decibels, and could be heard kilometers away.
…
Aylwin crossed the finish line. He opened his arms and started to celebrate.
He had done that gesture many times. Every time when he posed that, he could feel a special excitement.
It was the feeling of victory. Every victory was different, even in the same competition and facing the same competitors, but the sense of victory was unique.
Aylwin turned back to the scoreboard. The score of 43.82 seconds on it made Aylwin feel shocked.
So fast! I just ran so fast? Aylwin blinked few times to make sure it was real.
I know I performed well just now, but I was faster than four years ago? How could it be… Aylwin looked at himself subconsciously. He was four years older than his previous self, but his performance was better than it was four years ago.
However, the journalists didn’t give time for Aylwin to think about the reason. They had already surrounded Aylwin and stretched their microphones towards him.
As the most famous competitor of the Olympic qualification, Aylwin was also closely watched by journalists. Those journalists catch any action of Aylwin’s that they could on, even including Aylwin going to the bathroom. Now that Aylwin was qualified to attend the Olympic Games again by winning the first prize in the qualification, journalists naturally would rush to him to get the first-hand information.
Faced with plenty of cameras and journalists, Aylwin didn’t want to think about why he was faster than four years ago. At this time, he was starting to enjoy the victory.
The king of the 400m event was still creating his glory.
…
Dai Li also looked relieved at the edge of the field.
It seemed correct to reduce his age by six years. The body of a 28-year-old is indeed better than that of a 30-year-old. That’s why he performed better than four years ago. I think it could be better if he tried harder, Dai Li thought.
For ordinary people, there might be no difference between 28 years old and 30 years old in terms of body function. Men’s bodies tended to decline after 30 years old. Therefore, people were at their peak at 30 years old.
But it was different for sprinters. Sprinting was simple, but the requirements for the body were extremely strict. There would be a significant decline in performance if the physical condition was a little bit worse. For players who played basketball or football, their career could be quite long if they took good care of their bodies. For those who liked to play health-maintenance basketball, they could even play into their forties in the high-intensity physical confrontation of the NBA.
However, there was no concept of health-maintenance sprint. Sprinting was a constant pursuit of extreme explosive power and speed, a challenge to the limits of a body. Under this condition, every day in his peak was valuable. It could even be totally different between 28 years old and 30 years old.
Next is the 100 meter sprint. Looking at the athletes’ passageway, Dai Li just happened to see Alexander coming out of it.
No weak opponents in the final. Alexander is really stressed this time!