“Coach, I’m good to go!”
“I will definitely give it my all. If I'm the reason we don’t make it to the qualifiers, I will take full responsibility at the post-match press conference!”
Chen Shu made his guarantee to Cui Dengrong.
The Olympics were no small matter.
Chen Shu naturally had to worry about his performance slipping and causing the other three team members to miss out.
But he also had confidence that he could compete at a higher level.
“Don’t stress yourself out!”
“I’m just giving you a heads-up!”
Cui Dengrong patted Chen Shu on the shoulder.
He hadn’t expected this 13-year-old newly recruited national team member to speak so maturely.
It wasn’t something a kid could say at all – he was responsible, confident, and the whole person seemed very composed!
Wonderful!
This future protégé, he was determined to have.
To be honest, Cui Dengrong had known Chen Shu for less than 10 days.
They had only introduced themselves after Chen Shu joined the national team.
Cui Dengrong wasn’t the head coach of the previous Tokyo Olympics, he had been exceptionally promoted for this one.
That was because his students, Zhang Yufei and Qin Haiyang, performed exceptionally well in the Fukuoka and Doha World Championships.
They had broken records and won medals like they were on sale, with a brilliant record.
While Chen Shu was still a member of the Jiangsu Swimming Team.
Cui Dengrong had trained at the provincial team’s training base before, so he was familiar with it.
His current role was as the head coach of the Shanghai Swimming Team, and he frequently interacted with the Jiangsu Swimming Team – they were like neighbours!
Moreover, many Jiangsu swimmers trained under him, including Zhang Yufei.
So, considering Chen Shu was from Suzhou and the Jiangsu Swimming Team’s training base in Nanjing was much further away compared to Shanghai, the Jiangsu Swimming Team was a natural target for Cui Dengrong, especially since Suzhou was adjacent to Shanghai.
This young talent, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would become his student after this Olympics.
That was also why Cui Dengrong was willing to make a “promise” to allow Chen Shu to compete, even though it meant risking his job.
Chen Shu currently only had a quasi-coach from the Jiangsu Swimming Team, who had been with him for half a month.
Or maybe his swimming club’s initial coach, and then his coach during his time on the city team.
None of them were considered his official “master”!
In all of China, there were two swimming schools, the Zhejiang school and the Jiangsu-Shanghai school.
There were three before.
But now, Cui Dengrong was basically the main force behind the Jiangsu-Shanghai school.
A few years ago, the Zhejiang Swimming Team had risen strongly, but Cui Dengrong had single-handedly brought the Jiangsu-Shanghai school to a level comparable to Zhejiang.
So, this coach definitely had the skills.
Furthermore, he was quite popular online, considered a “net celebrity coach”.
But with fame comes infamy.
There were many people who criticized him.
They said that he had “ruined” Zhang Yufei and Qin Haiyang because he preferred to focus on strength training.
While Zhejiang had a more comprehensive approach, and their talents were endless.
There was Sun Yang, followed by Pan Zhanle, and several other world champions.
The chief coaches were Zhu Zhigen, the head coach of the last Tokyo Olympics, and Zheng Kunliang, the coach of Olympic triple gold medalist Sun Yang and current 100-meter freestyle champion Pan Zhanle.
Su-Cui-Zhe-Zhu, that’s what people called these two coaches.
Zhejiang was also close to Suzhou, so Cui Dengrong clearly wanted to get ahead and sign Chen Shu, the most talented swimmer in the world, under his wing.
That way, he would have the potential to have three Olympic champion students.
Anyone could see that Chen Shu’s talent in short-distance freestyle was stronger than Pan Zhanle’s.
Pan Zhanle wasn’t that powerful when he was 13 years old.
After all, the peak of a Chinese swimmer’s performance is at 24 years old.
Chen Shu had a full 11 years to improve in this area, while Pan Zhanle only had 5 years left!
As a world-class swimming coach, Cui Dengrong could clearly see the difference.
“Give me your parents’ phone numbers!”
Cui Dengrong said that.
Chen Shu was stunned, thinking he had misheard: “My parents?”
“Yes, why?”
Seeing Chen Shu’s bewildered expression, Cui Dengrong laughed.
“Oh, just give them a heads-up about this, after all, being a regular isn’t a small matter, let them be prepared. Didn’t your parents come to Paris?”
“My mom did, she’s at the hotel!”
Chen Shu’s family was considered middle-class in Suzhou, his mother, Su Wan, was a school teacher.
It was summer vacation, so she came to Paris to watch her son compete.
His dad was a doctor, so he was busy and didn’t come.
“So she’s coming to watch you compete?”
“No, she doesn’t know I’m participating in the 4*100, she only bought tickets for the women’s 4*100!”
Cui Dengrong: “…”
That was normal.
Parents who came with their children to watch the games, the ones with money would buy tickets for many events.
But they would often only buy tickets for 1-2 matches a day.
Her son wasn’t participating in the 4*100, so she naturally bought tickets for the women’s 4*100 that she liked.
Although the two races were only 10 minutes apart.
But the ticket price was based on one event.
“Then I’ll help you get a ticket, I’ll have someone deliver it to your mom!”
“Thank you, Coach Cui!”
“You’re welcome. Go, get ready, don’t mess up later!”
“I won’t!”
Chen Shu promised, running towards the training ground.
Looking at Chen Shu’s back, almost 1.7 meters tall, if this kid truly made it, he would be worth a lot of money.
Because he was handsome and sunny, and he was mature and intelligent, and he was mostly quiet.
This was the best template for an athlete.
Any brand would love such a great image, and the younger, the more potential it represented. Many brands love to invest, this Chen Shu was perfect for that.
……..
Chen Shu and the others were cleaning up the training ground, getting ready to go to the Paris Olympic Games stadium.
Cui Dengrong came out, team leader Huang Wei, and several assistant coaches, including Zheng Kunliang from Zhejiang, were among them.
There were also team doctors, rehabilitation therapists, and so on.
“Ready, everyone?”
Cui Dengrong looked at the 32 swimmers in front of him, this was the “Swimming Dream Team” that was going to participate in the Paris Olympic Games swimming events.
“Ready!”
Everyone shouted in unison, their voices reverberating through the building.
“Then let’s go, and create your own glory!”
“Go, go, go!”
Countless people were filled with passion, Chen Shu also shouted with his head held high.
The group, as if they had been injected with energy, followed the coaching staff and left the training hall.
As expected, they went through another round of urine tests.
“Damn it, we have to wipe out the Europeans this time!”
“And the Aussies!”
“Right, the Aussies are part of the European gang!”
The swimmers had reached their boiling point, having been subjected to countless insults and negative news these past few days!
Zhang Yufei and Qin Haiyang, two of the favorites to win, had been randomly tested more times than others. Their tiredness was visible, from head to toe, it was clear they hadn’t gotten enough rest.
But everyone was still full of vigor, forcing themselves to remain strong, they couldn’t let themselves lose face in someone else’s backyard!
Just as they arrived at the Olympic Games stadium, an incredibly exciting piece of news came from the front.
The Chinese shooting team, in the mixed 10-meter air rifle, had won China’s first gold medal of this Olympics.
It was also the first gold medal of the Paris Olympic Games since its opening.
“Awesome, go!”
The swimmers in the bus roared, stepping off the bus one by one and into the main stadium for the swimming competition!
In an hour, the world’s top swimmers would be battling it out on the first day of the competition.
The blood was hot, ready for the sword to be drawn!
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