Chapter 379: A Small Test
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Portland is the most populated city in the state of Oregon, and it is also the second largest city in the Pacific Northwest of the US, second only to Seattle. Naturally, the market for the sports industry is larger in a city with a large population such as this.
On a field in the State University of Portland, the 400m sprint of the para-athletic games was about to begin.
The 400m sprint was one of the toughest events in track and field. It had high physical fitness requirements, and the training was also extremely difficult. To put it simply, the entry requirement for the sport was very high. Many athletes would select the 100m and 200m sprints rather than taking part in the 400m race. For para-athletes, even fewer people took part in the 400m sprint. In fact, many para-athletic games didn"t even set up a 400m sprint event.
And today, the number of athletes taking part in the 400m sprint for the T43/44 cla.s.s was just five. That meant that a contestant would actually receive a bronze medal if his final ranking were in the middle.
In para-athletic races, Philip was a superstar, since he was the world record holder for the 100m and 200m event in that cla.s.s. This was the first time Philip challenged the 400m event, so many people had arrived to spectate.
Stephen stood beside Dai Li and pointed towards a plump middle-aged man sitting in the stands. He said, "That"s the guy I told you about, the person-in-charge of the Dave Charity. He has already promised to give us 5000 dollars" worth of sponsors.h.i.+p fees."
"5000 dollars huh. He sure is generous. Most charities would, at most, be willing to sponsor two to three thousand dollars," Dai Li answered casually.
"There"s also the guy on the left in the grey suit." Stephen pointed in another direction and said, "That person is the boss of a corporation that sells specialized medical equipment. We"ve already negotiated a price. If Philip breaks the world record for the 400m sprint this time, he would be willing to award us with an endors.e.m.e.nt deal worth 30,000 dollars."
"30,000 dollars huh. With a term of one year?" Dai Li asked.
Stephen nodded. "Their current intention is just one year. If Philip continues to maintain his performance, it"s not impossible to renew the contract after a year."
"I suggest we delay this endors.e.m.e.nt deal a little," Dai Li suggested.
"Why? This is already a good price. Besides, you would also receive 1500 dollars from the commission," Stephen objected.
"There"s an important race early next month. If Philip does well in that race, his commercial value will increase significantly. By then, he might even be able to obtain endors.e.m.e.nt deals worth around 20 or 30 thousand dollars," Dai Li said.
Early next month? There are two weeks left. Stephen thought for a moment and finally nodded his head, "Okay, then I will try to delay it. Can you tell me what race it is?"
"The selection for the world champions.h.i.+p held in Sacramento," Dai Li answered.
"The world champions.h.i.+p for para-athletes is starting again? That"s great, Philip will definitely set the world on fire. Looks like I"ll be getting busy soon!" Stephen answered gleefully.
"I"m not talking about the world champions.h.i.+p in para-athletics, I"m talking about the selection stage for the world champions.h.i.+p in athletics," Dai Li replied while looking at the race track with his arms crossed.
"Hmm? Is there a difference?" Stephen did not immediately understand what Dai Li meant.
Dai Li just smiled and did not explain further. He simply used his gaze to signal Stephen to s.h.i.+ft his attention toward the race track, and as he did that, he said, "Watch the race first, the race is starting soon."
As Dai Li spoke, the starter had already signaled for the race to start and Stephen"s attention s.h.i.+fted towards the race track.
At the sound of a gunshot, all five contestants of the 400m sprint dashed away from the starting line.
Stephen"s expression showed a slight tinge of nervousness. He could not help himself as he clenched his fists. Sponsors.h.i.+p and endors.e.m.e.nt deals worth tens of thousands of dollars were on the line, and it was also Stephen"s first business deal since becoming Philip"s agent, so it was natural for him to feel nervous.
However, after 10 to 20 seconds, Stephen looked much more relaxed as he said, "Philip is a lot faster than the others!"
"So, you see it too?" Dai Li asked with a big grin.
Stephen nodded. "I"m probably not mistaken, right?"
"If you can see it, then there"s no mistaking it," Dai Li stated.
Each contestant had their own tracks in the 400m sprint. At the beginning of the race, the starting position of the outer side of the track was further forward, while the starting position of contestants at the inner side of the track was positioned considerably further back. Everyone had a different starting position, so from the surface, the ones located on the outer side of the track would look like they were in the lead.
Insiders would generally be able to differentiate the actual positions of the athletes; however, outsiders would probably only be able to identify the actual positions of the contestants in the last 100 meters.
However, right then, even an outsider like Stephen could tell that Philip was a lot faster than the rest. That meant that Philip"s advantage was indeed very obvious.
The truth was, in the eye of an expert, Philip"s pace was not inferior to normal athletes who were average. For a para-athlete, that was an incredible feat.
As a para-athlete, it was natural that their pace was slower than normal athletes. In the 400m sprint of the T43/44 cla.s.s that Philip was in, the result of the fastest male para-athlete could not even compare to the result of a normal female athlete, and when compared against the results of male athletes, it was a no contest.
Philip was like a completely different being. Although his current pace still could not compare to top-notch athletes in the 400m sprint, if he were to compete against a normal athlete, then there was at least an actual chance for him to win.
The pace of a normal athlete, when put in a race among para-athletes, would be like the f.u.xing Hao high-speed train meeting a traditional green train; the speed and pace were simply incomparable. When Philip reached the final stretch of the race, which was a straight track, the four other contestants were still struggling in the middle of the previous bend.
"He is certainly worthy of being the world record holder for the 100m and 200m events. Even when it is the 400m event, he maintains his huge advantage. The victor has already been decided, the key is to see if Philip can also break the world record for the 400m sprint!" announced the commentator.
"I think that there"s no doubt that Philip will also break the world record for the 400m event. His result might be close to 46 seconds," another commentator mentioned.
"46 seconds? If I remember correctly, a result like that would be very close to the B standard of the Olympics. In the group stage of the previous Olympics, one-third of the contestants" results were over 46 seconds."
"Quick! Look! Philip is already close to the finish line, he"s leading the others by at least two seconds, and he has pa.s.sed the finish line! Let"s congratulate Philip for winning, and his result is… oh, my G.o.d, it"s 45.51 seconds!"
The timecard at the finish line displayed the number "45.51". The result was without a doubt a world record in the T43/44 cla.s.s, but more importantly, if the result were put in a race for normal athletes, it would have reached the A standard of the Olympics! There was no polite way to say this but, even in the world, most professional athletes wouldn"t have been able to achieve that result.
"My eyes are not deceiving me, right? 45.51 seconds. Wasn"t the A standard for the Olympics only 45.55 seconds? That means that Philip is capable of taking part in the Olympics, and he is actually a disabled person! I wouldn"t believe this if I hadn"t seen it with my own eyes! The performance of a para-athlete is actually on par with normal athletes!" The excited voice of the commentator rang powerfully within the stadium.
It was impossible for normal audiences to remember the A and B standards of the Olympic Games. However, after the introduction of the commentator, everyone thought that Philip was amazing.
Stephen turned his head and looked towards Dai Li with a shocked expression on his face.
"You knew. You already knew this would happen, right?" Stephen asked.
"I told you earlier, Philip is terribly talented!" Dai Li paused briefly and continued, "I am his coach, do you think that I already knew?"
"But regardless, he is still disabled. He doesn"t have any legs, how could he be as fast as normal athletes!" Stephen exclaimed as his voice quivered with excitement.
Dai Li did not answer, he only stared quietly at Stephen.
At that exact moment, Stephen recalled what Dai Li had mentioned earlier, that there was an important race the following month.
Just now Coach Li said that it was the selection for the world champions.h.i.+p in athletics. He was referring to a race for normal athletes! Stephen"s thoughts suddenly went into chaos.