Tang Yan"s session lasted for about an hour. Although he couldn"t claim to be the strongest in this aspect, after an hour he had adapted the upgrade into his swimming style.Because the 50m freestyle final was the first event of the evening finals, he had a light meal and waited around with Shen Qing before heading out.
At this time, the Sports Center was already nearly full. The men"s 50-meter final fully mobilized the excitement of the audience right of the bat, bringing the evenings finals off to a climatic start.
After the final warm-up before the race, the athlete introductions began.
From behind the scenes to the stage, the swimmers were cheered on by the audience, and with Magnussen eliminated, the Chinese audience was appeased and came to watch the race purely.
César Cielo was the second-to-last appearance. His appearance attracted extremely loud cheers from the audience.
Last was Tang Yan. Although not the biggest star, but relying on the popularity acc.u.mulated by several previous freestyle champions, his appearance was met with explosive cheers from the audience.
Tang Yan felt the enthusiasm of more than 15,000 spectators and he felt a shot of adrenaline rush through his body.
He waved and gestured to the audience, who responded with another round of cheers.
Cesar Cielo turned his head and smiled at him. It could be seen that he also regarded Tang Yan as his main opponent.
Tang Yan nodded in response, before looking away.
Just then, the side commentators began conversing:
"Tang Yan is once again back on stage. This World Champions.h.i.+ps seems very important for him, and it"s also meaningful for Chinese swimming!"
"Yeah, in the four projects he"s partic.i.p.ated in, he"s won 2 gold and 1 silver medal!" A commentator said with excitement.
"The t.i.tle of "King of Freestyle" is becoming his, he can"t run away. It"s clear to see, he wants to resume his path towards the top." Taking in the swimmers final preparations, the commentator turned his head and commented.
"For this 50m race, he"s a strong contender but it will be difficult. After all, Cesar Cielo is here. He holds the world record with a time of 20 seconds 91! This is an extremely terrifying time. Although he may not be able to repeat this time, Cesar Cielo is a beast at the 50m b.u.t.terfly. This compet.i.tion he"s also proved that he is in good shape." The main commentator a.n.a.lysed.
"The 50 meters short distance has always been the Brazilian"s strength. Cesar Cielo"s non-breathing stroke style is not something that ordinary people can compete against. If Tang Yan wants to grab this gold medal from his hands, it will be a difficult race. "
"On your marks!"
At this moment, the electronic speakers sounded on the sidelines, the 50m freestyle final was about to begin.
"Get set"
"The race is about to start." The three in the commentary booth stopped communicating and looked over at the pool.
"Buzz!"
With the sound of the electronic buzzer, the swimmers dove into the pool.
"This distance of 50 meters is short, and the details at the beginning will probably determine the final result. Tang Yan has a natural disadvantage in height.
"Tang Yan"s rushed up!" Before the commentator"s words were finished, he was interrupted by the guest commentator.
In the swimming pool at this time, Tang Yan pushed up to the limit of 9 strokes straight from the beginning of the race. After upgrading the power Zhang Shun to 80%, he became more and more proficient at stroke frequency easing the limit on him.
As his speed picked up, he could make up for his previous height disadvantage.
After swimming for less than 10 meters, he had successively surpa.s.sed Luca Dotto, Alain Bernard and other well-known players, closely following Cesar Cielo.
However, Cesar Cielo was worthy of being the king of 50 meters. From the moment when he surfaced out of the water, he had established a leading position of half a metre.
"Crazy! Tang Yan"s rushed forward with all his strength, and it isn"t much worse than Cesar Cielo"s!" The commentator said with a look of amazement after a brief daze.
"Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"
The audience couldn"t stop excitedly chanting. Many people stood up from their seats and cheered wildly at the pool.
Because at this time, Tang Yan in the pool didn"t slow behind Cesar Cielo but continued to close the distance between him and Cesar Cielo!
"Truly crazy!" The narrator swallowed drooling. Although he was lagging behind because of his height advantage, Tang Yan was now drawing closer and closer at a speed clear to the naked eye.
After 30 meters, Tang Yan brought the distance down to only an arms length.
35 meters, the distance between Tang Yan and Cesar Cielo was already difficult to distinguish with the naked eye!
At 40 meters, Tang Yan and Cesar Cielo"s heads were next to each other, and they were already on a par!
"Wait a minute, Tang Yan hasn"t turned for a breath?!"
"What? Do you mean Cesar Cielo? Wait! Tang Yan actually hasn"t turned for a breath!" The main commentator exclaimed after thinking back.
Only those with strong lung capacity and high fitness levels could hold their breath for 50 meters especially whilst swimming at such a high speed. Cesar Cielo was famous for holding his breath during 50m races, being able to do so for the entirety of the race. But Tang Yan, the Tang Yan they were familiar with, had never shown such an ability or swimming style!
This was simply striking!
"I think it may be that our understanding of Tang Yan is not deep enough, I think, this time he has shown what he has reserved!" The second guest commentator said with emotion.
"Tang Yan!
"Cielo!"
The cheers of the audience were already ringing through the venue.
Entering the final 10 meters, Tang Yan and Cesar Cielo ushered in their peak speeds.
Although he couldn"t see his opponent as he didn"t turn for air, as the world"s top 50-meter swimmer, Cesar Cielo could still sense the approach of someone.
Such crazy acceleration....Tang Yan, it must be Tang Yan.
The last 5 meters, the two still rushed forward hand in hand!
"It"s crazy! The two men are in a head-to-head duel! They are evenly matched! This is definitely the most exciting 50-meter freestyle duel of the year!" The main commentator shouted with excitement.
"No, Tang Yan is already ahead. Look, he is already ahead!" When the compet.i.tion entered the last 5 meters, the guest commentator suddenly got up from his seat and roared.