This Omega is Sweet and Wild - Chap 83
Chap 83
At the end of the year, time suddenly sped up.
The training center had tough training day after day, and Huacheng No. 1 High School had the same mock exams every week. Li Cheng and Xiao Yiheng were thousands of miles apart, but they were both working hard on their own paths.
Ever since Li Cheng entered the training center, he had never had a weekend.
Every day, he would wake up at 4: 30 AM and start eating and training. At 10: 30 PM, he would close his eyes and turn off the lights seven days a week.
One night, Li Cheng hid under his blanket and secretly chatted with Xiao Yiheng on his phone. He suddenly realized that it was almost the New Year.
Xiao Yiheng asked him if he had a holiday for the New Year.
Li Cheng replied with an emoji of a paralyzed salted fish.
Li Licheng: No, of course not. _ (: з 」 ∠) _
Li Licheng: The team has announced that the final selection will be held on the first of January.
There were more than ten people in their swimming team, and only one-third of them could represent their country. Who could walk onto the international podium with glory and who would pack up and return home in dejection would be revealed in the final selection.
When Xiao Yiheng heard this, he immediately asked him if he was nervous.
Li Licheng:?
Li Licheng: Why would I be nervous?
Li Licheng: It should be the others who are nervous.
Xiao Yiheng: “…”
Along with the dawn of the New Year, the training center held an internal selection that would last three days.
There were a total of 18 major events and 220 minor events in the World High School Games. There were more than 20 swimming events.
Speed swimming events were divided into 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m events. Li Cheng signed up for the 100m and 200m events.
Of course, the internal selection was not a one-off competition. Other than looking at the final results, the swimmers’ training on the team also had to be taken into consideration.
Although Li Cheng appeared very confident in front of Xiao Yiheng, he was still a little nervous.
After all, his teammates were the same as him. They were all provincial champions. If Li Cheng was even a little bit tired, they would surpass him.
Fortunately, Li Cheng had made great progress in the past month’s scientific training. His 100m sprint had improved by half a second!
One had to know that in a speed competition, it was already very difficult to improve by 0.01 seconds, but Li Cheng had improved by 0.5 seconds!!
With a solid record, Li Cheng was more confident that he would be qualified for the tournament.
In order to preserve the contestants’ energy and get as many medals as possible, each contestant was only allowed to sign up for two events.
Even though there were a lot of people in the swimming team, there were only two to three people who signed up for each event.
Li Cheng chose to sign up for the 200 and 100 moves that he was best at. There was one opponent for the 200 moves and two opponents for the 100 moves. Coincidentally, the two opponents were both from X City. They were the ones who had mocked him in X City dialect on the first day of training.
Li Cheng didn’t even bother to remember their names. According to their appearance, he gave them nicknames. The tall and thin one was called Hairfish Monster, and the one with a thick beard was called Catfish Monster.
Both of them were Alpha. They came from the same city and the same school. The two of them were very close to each other and rarely interacted with other contestants.
That school was a strong swimming school. It was said that in the previous World High School Games, the students from that school had always been able to get a place in the competition.
Li Cheng didn’t care about this. What was so great about “it was said”? He was still a “legend”.
Before the start of the competition, the contestants were warming up by the pool. Li Cheng swam back and forth a few times to wake up his muscles and adjust his state to the best.
He popped his head out of the water, took off his swimming goggles and was about to go ashore. Suddenly, a hand reached out in front of him.
Li Cheng looked up and found that the person standing in front of him was actually Zhou Jian.
Zhou Jian’s competition had already finished. His physical fitness was excellent, and his family had spent a lot of money to hire a foreign coach to train him since he was a child. Therefore, his performance was the best among all the contestants. In the 1500m race, he left the other contestants behind by a whole track.
Zhou Jian said, “Li Cheng, I’ll pull you.”
“It’s okay.” Li Cheng thought it was troublesome. He put his hands on the wall of the pool and easily jumped ashore.
Zhou Jian’s hand awkwardly stopped in mid-air. In the end, he could only take it back and touch his nose.
“You guys finished?” Li Cheng chatted with him while wiping off the water on his body with a bath towel.
“Finished.” Zhou Jian nodded. “How are your preparations?”
“Damn, I don’t need to prepare. Even if I swim with my eyes closed, this time the spot is mine!” Li Cheng proudly raised his head. His nose was almost touching the ceiling!
His voice was a little loud. The two X City contestants standing in the distance looked at him at the same time, but then pretended not to hear him and looked away.
“…” Zhou Jian saw that he was so confident and hesitated.
He lowered his voice and said, “Li Cheng, there’s something I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I think you’d better be mentally prepared.”
Li Cheng asked casually, “What’s the matter?”
Zhou Jian: “The coaches of the two X City contestants are the students of Coach Yu on our training team.”
“… Huh?” Li Cheng didn’t get it immediately. He couldn’t figure out the relationship between the two.
Coach Yu was the head coach of their swimming team. She was in charge of both the male and female teams.
She was a ruthless Alpha. Almost everyone on the female team cried after being scolded by her. On the male team, there were also a few who couldn’t take it and secretly wiped their tears.
Everyone secretly complained that this “Demon Yu” was so cold and ruthless. She must eat three children every meal.
However, Li Cheng liked her a lot. Although she scolded people, she was also very good at coaching. Li Cheng could improve so much because of her strict requirements.
Zhou Jian: “Wasn’t Coach Yu transferred from the second team of the national team?
She has been the coach of the second team for many years and has brought out countless champions. The coach of the X City Sports School used to be a soldier under her. ”
“… So?”
“So, the X City Sports School has contestants on the final list every year because of this master-disciple relationship.”
Zhou Jian was worried that Coach Yu would give the spot that should have belonged to Li Cheng to someone else because of this.
Because of this, he came over to remind Li Cheng when he found out about this.
After hearing his words, Li Cheng frowned. His originally relaxed mood was covered with a layer of gloominess.
Li Cheng had been swimming for so many years, and she had participated in at least dozens of serious competitions.
He knew very well that sometimes the competition was not with the opponent, but with the people outside the pool.
He had once seen a contestant who committed a foul at the start of a jump. Logically speaking, the result should have been nullified, but because of the relationship between the coach and the referees, the appeal was successful, and the contestant was awarded a medal. He had also heard that in an international competition, a contestant had performed abnormally. Because this contestant was the “son” of the host country, he had been given a chance to jump again.
Li Cheng recalled every detail of the past month at the training center. He didn’t want to believe that the seemingly impartial Coach Yu would be biased in such an important matter.
“Li Cheng, why don’t you ask your coach to help you find some connections?” Zhou Jian reminded him.
“…” Li Cheng shook his head silently.
What connections?
Wu Xu was thousands of miles away in Hua City. How could he help him find connections from so far away?
He had always been Wu Xu’s pride. He still remembered the day Wu Xu sent him to the training center. Wu Xu said to him, “If there is a world champion among my students, I believe it will be you.”
The world champion had to rely on himself to swim. If Li Cheng admitted defeat now, compromised, and started to curry favor, how could he be worthy of all his years of hard work and those who stood behind him and supported him?
Seeing that Li Cheng didn’t speak, Zhou Jian looked at his side profile and couldn’t help but say, “If you can’t find anyone, I can ask my family …”
“No need.”
Li Cheng didn’t even think about it and decisively refused. “If I ask for connections, then wouldn’t I be the same as them?”
Li Cheng looked at the takeoff platform not far away. In the open space next to the takeoff platform, the two athletes from X City were surrounding Coach Yu and talking about something.
He withdrew his gaze, and his eyes became more determined. “As an athlete, results are the absolute truth.
As long as I swim fast enough, that shady business will never catch up with me. ”
The whistle sounded.
On the takeoff platform, several slender figures kicked off the platform at the same time and shot into the blue water like arrows, breaking the tranquility of the pool.
On the banks on both sides of the pool, the athletes who weren’t competing gathered together to cheer for their close friends.
There were a total of ten tracks in the pool. In order to save time, the men’s and women’s 100m freestyle trials were held together.
As soon as they entered the water, a honey-colored figure was particularly conspicuous. He rushed to the front of all the tracks, leaving a long white wave behind him.
At the end of the track, the head coach of the training team, “Demon Yu,” crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at the competition in the pool with a serious expression.
A few assistant coaches surrounded her, flipping through the athletes’ information and analyzing in low voices.
“Lane Three took off too slowly. We’ve corrected him many times before, but when it comes to the official competition, he can’t do it. His mentality is too weak.”
“What’s wrong with Lane Three today?
His rhythm is messed up as soon as he enters the water! ”
“It’s such a pity for Lane Six. The team doctor said that the old injury on her left leg has relapsed. Although they’ve already taken medicine, her condition is still deteriorating.”
“Lane Five …” An assistant coach stopped writing. “… His momentum is strong, his condition is good, and his rhythm is great. Is he that Omega?”
As soon as he said “Omega,” all the assistant coaches immediately understood who he was.
After all, there was only one Omega in the entire swimming team!
On the day Li Cheng came to report, everyone thought he was on the diving team. After confirming several times, they found out that he was the only Omega member on the swimming team.
Looking at his resume, there was a string of glittering achievements. In the provincial sports meet of Hua Province last year, he won three gold medals by himself!
Speed competitions had always been the world of Alpha. Beta only accounted for one-third of Alpha, and Omega was rarely seen in years.
Looking at the world, Omega members who could win international medals were rare. However, every Omega who could stand on the podium had put in unimaginable effort.
The assistant coaches were secretly discussing in private whether Li Cheng would be the next Omega world champion.
“Li Cheng’s advantage is obvious. This time, he’ll definitely be first,” a male assistant coach said with satisfaction.
A male assistant said with satisfaction, “Just now, he took first place in the 200 meters. His technique is very good. His jump and turn are almost perfect. As long as he can maintain this standard, it won’t be a problem for him to win a medal in the official competition.
“But he’s an Omega. Will it affect him?”
Another female assistant asked. “It’s written in his medical record that during the last provincial competition, his craze period came early. Later, it was suppressed by a temporary mark.
What if this competition comes early again? ”
“That’s a small problem,” the male assistant coach said.
“Later, let him go to the team doctor for a physical examination and let the team doctor write a detailed report.
If it’s true that his craze period is coming, then apply for a suppressant. ”
One after another, they quickly finished discussing this matter.
In their opinion, with Li Cheng’s ability, it was certain that he would be on the final list. There was no need to worry at all.
While they were discussing, Coach Yu didn’t speak. The lines of the law were deeply engraved on her face. She stared at the turbulent pool, her gaze never leaving it.
Just a few seconds passed in a flash. As everyone expected, Li Cheng led the rushing water and was the first to hit the wall!
With a buzz, Li Cheng’s time appeared on the big electronic screen. When the other athletes on the shore saw Li Cheng’s result, they all exclaimed in unison.
The female assistant turned the folder to the last page. On the document paper, there was a striking print: “The Final List of the Swimming Team.”
The swimmers for the other events had already been filled in. Only the swimmers for the freestyle were left.
The female assistant picked up a pen and wrote a series of names on the paper.
Freestyle 1500m: Zhou Jian
Freestyle 800m: Zhou Jian
Freestyle 400m: …
Freestyle 200m: Li Cheng
Freestyle 100m: Li Cheng
Freestyle 50m: …
“Wait.” Suddenly, Coach Yu, who hadn’t said a word all this time, interrupted the female assistant.
“What’s the matter?” The female assistant looked at her in confusion.
Coach Yu raised her hand and tapped twice under Li Cheng’s name.
“For 200m, it can be Li Cheng.
But for 100m, it can be changed. ”
“… Changed?” A look of shock flashed across the female assistant’s face. “But his result …”
“I said change,” Coach Yu said expressionlessly. “Are you questioning my decision as the head coach?”
The female assistant didn’t dare to ask again. She picked up the pen and crossed out Li Cheng’s name, then changed the name after the “100m freestyle” event to X City’s second place.
The spot that should have belonged to Li Cheng was allocated to someone else in the end.
