After Leaving the Sports Circle, I Became a Cooking God (Completed BL)

Chapter 285-286

Translator: dapotaturs

Release Date: 10/18/2023

Chapter 285 Men's 400m Final (Part 1)

McNair couldn't have anticipated that, as an international figure, he would have such a significant presence on the Chinese internet before the race today—although he probably didn't want this kind of unpleasant attention.

On the forum, almost all the viewers who placed bets on McNair predicted that he would run in over 45 seconds, with some going as far as saying he might even hit 46 seconds or more. Some viewers jokingly suggested giving the international guest a little face, only to immediately join in with, "Well, I'm also betting on over 45 seconds."

If McNair had seen this betting thread himself, he probably wouldn't need the confusion caused by the 'eccentric' rhythm during the race to get annoyed; he'd likely be infuriated right on the track.

After coming across the betting thread on the forum of the Athletics Kingdom, a sports influencer went to Weibo and babbled about it. They remarked that during this period of the Olympic Games, the atmosphere before each significant match had been tense, even a bit oppressive. However, today, when it was time for McNair's finals, for some reason, the internet was all abuzz with laughter and noise. It felt quite strange.

Underneath this Weibo post, many people agreed, and the one with the highest number of likes was:【Can't help it, it's really hard to be nervous when seeing 'Er Ha'.】

The influencer looked at this highly liked comment and couldn't help but marvel. "This Qiu Wen, the nickname 'Er Ha' has really taken root in people's hearts."

Despite the laughter and commotion online, people ultimately still found themselves getting nervous when focusing on the live broadcast of the race. Even though during the recent broadcast, Shao Minyi and Li Sen had been jokingly teasing McNair about being affected by Qiu Wen's rhythm, and even the Athletics Kingdom's forum had many athletics fans believing in this, worried viewers still couldn't help but wonder—was McNair really influenced by Qiu Wen's rhythm?

Even if he was, could Qiu Wen's rhythm also affect other athletes?

In the semifinals, it did seem like the performances of all the athletes in Qiu Wen's group were not very ideal because of him, but that was still just the semifinals.

In the semifinals, the athletes in each group had the potential to easily run a time under 44 seconds. Looking back at the data from the final race at the Rio Olympics, some athletics fans who were familiar with the standards of the top men's 400m sprint finals were reminded.

In that edition of the Olympics, the eighth-place finisher in the men's 400m final clocked 44.61 seconds, and the seventh-place finisher had a time of 44.45 seconds, which was notably faster than Qiu Wen's 44.57 seconds in the semifinals.

In the previous Olympic men's 400-meter sprint final, the top three all ran in under 44 seconds, and the champion nearly broke the 43-second mark. It was a fierce battle among the gods of the 400 meters. Although the participants in the Olympic final have changed after four years, with reference to the results of the previous year's World Athletics Championships, the time of 44.57 seconds would only barely rank sixth.

The audience who felt nervous about today's competition did not join the relaxed atmosphere on the internet. At this moment, they had been anxiously watching the live broadcast for over half an hour.

Finally, amid the relaxed, nervous, and expectant attention, the announcer's command was heard in the live broadcast, signaling that the final of the men's 400-meter sprint was about to begin!