All-round Athlete

Chapter 391 For the Olympics (seven more)

On January 10, the grouping of the 2008 Australian Open was officially announced. What surprised people was that Zhang Guan, the defending champion of men's singles and the number one in the world, withdrew from the Australian Open.

This news caused a sensation in the tennis world like a bolt from the blue. People were curious about why Zhang Guan, the defending champion, withdrew from the Australian Open.

What followed were all kinds of rumors, first of all, injuries, some said that Zhang Guan's arm was injured, some said that Zhang Guan's leg was injured, some said that Zhang Guan's lumbar spine was injured, and Zhang Guan instantly became A useless person whose meridians have been cut off in martial arts novels.

The second is illness. Some said that Zhang Guan had a cold and a fever, some said that Zhang Guan had gastritis and appendicitis, and even Parkinson's and AIDS were serious.

In addition, there are some more unreliable reasons, such as being hit by a car, being arrested for committing crimes, being reported by enthusiastic Chaoyang people, etc.

With all kinds of rumors flying, the championship team and the Tennis Center jointly held a press conference, stating that Zhang Guan’s withdrawal from the Australian Open was to prepare for the Olympics, and that Zhang Guan would also give up the other three Grand Slam events this year. Regular events, only participate in the tennis match of the Beijing Olympic Games.

To give up the four Grand Slam competitions for the Olympics is unbelievable to many people, especially professional tennis players. After all, the prize money of the Four Grand Slams is very high, and the popularity of the Four Grand Slams can also bring additional benefits to athletes. Especially in sports with a relatively high degree of professionalization, the Olympic Games are more of an honorary nature, while professional competitions are related to one's job. Many people don't understand Zhang Guan's choice to participate in the four Grand Slam competitions without delaying the Olympics, and to give up his job for honor.

Another day later, the Athletic Management Center issued a press release with the theme that Zhang Guan was about to return to track and field training to prepare for this year's Olympics. At the same time, the press release also hinted that Zhang Guan would participate in many Olympic track and field events.

At this time, everyone realized that Zhang Guan really gave up the Grand Slam competition in order to prepare for this year's Olympics. Zhang Guan is going to participate in the Olympic track and field events, and he has to participate in several small events, which will definitely require a lot of time to prepare for the competition.

However, some media saw the news about the track and field management center, and then thought of the press conference of the tennis center, and instantly came to a conclusion that Zhang Guan would participate in the Olympic track and field and tennis competitions at the same time!

An athlete actually has to participate in two major events in the same Olympic Games! Although this happened in the early Olympic Games, it is impossible to happen in the modern Olympic Games.

The contestants in the early Olympic Games were all amateur athletes or sports enthusiasts, so there have been cases where the same athlete participated in two or more major events in the Olympic Games at the same time. But in the modern Olympic Games, all the athletes participate are professional athletes. Many athletes have trained for more than ten years just for one Olympic Games. Therefore, whether it is the level of competition or the level of the contestants, it is incomparable to the early Olympic Games.

In this situation where athletes are becoming more and more "specialized", they participate in different small events, such as freestyle, backstroke and butterfly in swimming, 100 meters and 200 meters in track and field, and floor exercises, vault and rings in gymnastics. These are relatively common, but it is basically impossible to compete in two major events. Because if you want to participate in the Olympics, you need to meet certain standards. It is not easy for an athlete to meet the Olympic competition standards in one major event, let alone two major events.

Zhang Guan once again violated everyone's normal cognition, and he also successfully grabbed the headlines of the next day's sports edition.

...

Intense discussions have also started on the Internet, some are optimistic about Zhang Guan, and of course some are pessimistic.

In a discussion group for sports fans.

"Have you heard that Zhang Guan is going to compete in the Olympic track and field and tennis events at the same time?"

"Of course, today's sports media headlines are all about this, and there are tens of thousands of netizens' comments below!"

"How many gold medals do you think Zhang Guan can win in the Olympics? I only have at least four!"

"Four? You think too highly of him. I don't think he can even get one. Zhang Guan hasn't participated in track and field competitions for more than a year. Now he probably doesn't have any competition status at all. He can get one in track and field." Medals are pretty good! Maybe because of the track and field practice, the tennis is delayed again, and the bamboo basket will be empty by then!"

"It's too one-sided to say that! Zhang Guan still has obvious advantages in the two events of 100 meters and 200 meters. Even if the state declines, I think it should be no problem to keep the gold medal! If we add 400 meters and 800 meters meters, 1500 meters, and long jump, with so many events, it is not an exaggeration to win two or three gold medals..."

"How can Zhang Guan have so many games by himself? Physically it is not allowed!"

"Physical strength is absolutely fine. Didn't Zhang Guan participate in seven events at the Asian Games the year before last? He also won seven gold medals."

"Those are all track and field events. Don't forget that Zhang Guan will also participate in the tennis competition this year. He is going to win the Gold Slam! One more tennis event will make a world of difference!"

"Look at this report, it says that Zhang Guan did not participate in the four Grand Slam competitions, and lost hundreds of millions! I will send the news link!"

This news report first listed the income earned by tennis stars such as Federer and Nadal in the Grand Slam, and then calculated Zhang Guan’s income from the Grand Slam last year, including bonuses, advertising endorsements, etc., and finally proposed that Zhang Guan would not participate Tennis Grand Slam will bring a lot of economic losses to themselves, and calculated a very exaggerated figure.

At the end of the article, it specifically stated that Zhang Guan did this for the Olympic Games held in the capital. In order to win more gold medals, he was willing to bear huge economic losses, which is a manifestation of the overall situation.

In Zhang Guan's view, this report is a bit too exaggerated, the income figures are exaggerated, and the additional comments are also exaggerated. He almost portrays himself as a hero who cares for everyone for the Olympics. But in this era where money is paramount, the headline "Loss of Hundreds of Millions" is indeed eye-catching enough, and it is enough to win Zhang Guan a round of applause.

Of course, this report came from the champion team, and under the operation of the champion team, the public opinion is also overwhelmingly praising Zhang Guan. Of course, at this time, a positive publicity target is also needed. call to learn".

...

Zhang Guan did not participate in the Australian Open, but Sharapova performed very well in the Australian Open. He defeated Davenport in the second round, Dementieva in the fourth round, and Haining in the quarter-finals , won Jankovic in the semi-finals, Ivanovic in the final, won many strong women's singles players along the way, and finally won the championship. This is also her third Grand Slam championship.

With the end of the Spring Festival, Zhang Guan also ended his vacation, bid farewell to his family and returned to the training center, and once again returned to the track and field training ground.