“Chen Shu now has an absolute advantage and has advanced to the finals!”
“His two big moves in the first two rounds both got a perfect score of 100.”
“Now with a total score of 300, he's far ahead of other contestants!”
“This time... will he continue to challenge the 1440 big move?”
Che Lin spoke hoarsely, his voice raspy.
Because... he couldn't shout anymore.
Chen Shu had just attempted a kickflip 1440 in the second round of the timed competition!
Four full rotations of the skateboard.
A level of difficulty never attempted before in the history of skateboarding.
Unfortunately... he failed.
Chen Shu completely shattered his skateboard in half.
But the entire stadium erupted with applause and cheers.
After all... not just anyone dares to challenge such a limit.
Many people in the stadium couldn't even do a 1080.
Eaton had done it once, but that didn't mean he could pull it off in a competition.
Chen Shu, on the other hand, had accomplished it in a competition, and even received 100 points for it in the first round.
So he could boldly start aiming for even higher difficulty.
That 1440, a four-rotation trick, was the one he most wanted to challenge.
Sadly... in the second round of the timed competition, he directly attempted the trick and cracked his board.
It was on a completely different level of difficulty.
For the next five big move attempts, Chen Shu first locked down two 100s with two sets of tricks.
For the following three attempts, he continued to try a 1260.
If the four-rotation 1440 wasn't possible, he'd go for a three-and-a-half rotation instead.
Chen Shu still didn't manage to land the three-and-a-half rotation.
But it definitely looked more achievable than the 1440...
With his current hangtime, he should have a chance to complete it.
But... it wasn't as stable as the 1080.
Meaning, Chen Shu wasn't guaranteed to land it in the competition.
After practicing many times in private, he might have a chance of success.
Just like many contestants in the stadium, there's a chance they can pull off a 1080.
Unstable!
But doable!
A three-and-a-half rotation 1260... should be Chen Shu's current limit.
The 1440..... completely impossible.
Therefore, in the end, Chen Shu's fifth big move attempt ended in failure.
He advanced to the afternoon's competition with a perfect score of 300.
And surprisingly... the world's number one ranked skater, Ono-dera Gin Yun, was eliminated.
He only completed one of his five big moves, but landed a score second only to Chen Shu's - 93.57!
He certainly had the skills, but he lacked a bit of luck.
He scored 83.51 in the timed competition!
In the end, his total score of 177.08 placed him 15th, eliminating him from the finals.
Other than Chen Shu, Jager Eaton advanced to the finals, placing second.
Total score of 274.88, with a timed competition score of 88.37.
His two big moves scored 93.01 and 93.50 respectively.
This former opponent certainly had a lot of talent.
The third place went to another American, Houston, with 272.66 points.
His course layout in the timed competition was second only to Chen Shu's with a score of 90.18, but his big moves scores were a bit lower.
Then came the fourth place, Japanese contestant Horime Yuto, and the fifth place, also from Japan.
So, what good is being number one in the world? If you can't land your final big move, you're still eliminated; that's the brutal truth of street skateboarding - you need high scores, but you also need stability.
…...
“Brother Shu, you're really too invincible!”
“That 1080 was so stable!”
On the way back to the dorm, Zheng Hao was a bit of a chatterbox, excitedly bubbling over.
But Yu Wenhao and Cai Xiaolei were pretty excited too.
To be able to witness Chen Shu accomplish such two moves in person.
Their skateboarding careers were worth it.
“I bet the social media platforms are going to be on fire now!”
Especially those two 1080 moves by Chen Shu, they're going to become GIFs worshipped in the skateboarding world.
They'll be constantly played on loop in the community.
And at this moment, Chen Shu was receiving his street skateboarding pre-selection win reward.
Ding!
【Congratulations to the host for winning first place in the men's street skateboarding pre-selection of the Paris Olympics, awarding 1000 experience points!】
Ding!
【Congratulations to the host for achieving a perfect score of 300 in the men's street skateboarding pre-selection of the Paris Olympics, awarding 1000 experience points!】
“It really is 2000 experience points!”
While there isn't really a world record for skateboarding.
But a perfect score of 300... is still an incredible achievement.
Chen Shu even suspected that he might get an experience boost for achieving a human history first with that 1440.
“With 2000 experience points, I can finally get Hangtime to Master level!”
Chen Shu didn't hesitate at all, immediately pouring the reward experience into Hangtime.
That way, he could continue challenging that 1440 in the afternoon finals.
The championship... was no longer Chen Shu's goal.
Achieving the limits of human history... was his current pursuit.
【Hangtime lv30】: Master-level skill, gain an additional 1.5 seconds of aerial time. The higher the level, the longer the duration.
“It's not 2 seconds... “
But Chen Shu thought about it, 2 seconds of hangtime would be a bit too OP.
Combined with his own natural hangtime ability, wouldn't it be 2.6 to 2.8 seconds?
That's more than double the human limit of 1.15 seconds.
Master level wouldn't be that exaggerated.
Maybe Grandmaster level would be possible.
After all, Michael Jordan's hangtime was only 0.92 seconds, already considered the peak of human ability.
“With 1.5 seconds, I can push my limit to 2.3 seconds!”
“That's enough!”
Enough to go for that 1440 extreme move.
However, before the competition, Chen Shu needed to test it out.
Back at the skateboarding team's dormitory, Chen Shu said goodbye to his coach.
Unlike the swimming team and others who lived together, the skateboarding team had 9 members, including 4 female athletes, 3 coaches and 1 team leader. So Chen Shu had his own room in the dorm.
He put on his helmet and protective gear, grabbing his board and heading downstairs.
Wearing those things during the competition would affect his performance.
But for tricks he wasn't familiar with, or had never attempted, he definitely needed protective measures.
Otherwise, he'd get hurt and the afternoon finals would be a disaster.
The skateboarding team had a practice field, and Chen Shu started practicing there.
Several hours passed in a blink of an eye.
Unbeknownst to Chen Shu, just like Cai Xiaolei had predicted, his skateboarding pre-selection... went viral.
Not just domestically, but internationally, he was trending.
It's rare for someone to make it to the top of the trending list for just a pre-selection, while others are grabbing headlines for winning gold.
【China's Skateboarding Prodigy Crushes Reigning World Champion Japanese Prodigy!】
【Hell-Level Trick 1080 Makes Its Debut in the Skateboarding Competition!】
【The World of Skateboarding Turns Upside Down, Chinese Prodigy Emerges!】
【The Future God of the Skateboarding World?】
…...
Countless hot searches appeared on domestic and international media and social platforms.
As people dug deeper, an incredibly shocking revelation stunned users worldwide.
This skateboarder... was the same one who had just won the world championship in the 4*100 meter men's freestyle relay?!
Suddenly, the name Chen Shu spread like wildfire through global media and platforms.
Many people also received push notifications about Chen Shu's street skateboarding finals at 5 PM that afternoon.
Under such a surge of attention, the skateboarding competition, usually receiving minimal interest, became exceptionally eye-catching this time.
People were eagerly awaiting the start of the competition, ready to witness the amazing skater's prowess!
Meanwhile, Chen Shu was obviously unaware that he had become a sensation in the global skateboarding scene.
Holding his competition board, he once again headed towards the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
In one hour, the street skateboarding finals would take place here!
And he would attempt to accomplish the world's first - a 1440!