Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 894 - 636: 5,000 Meter Preliminaries

"Link, where have you been? Why are you back so late?"

In the dorm hallway, Link was about to enter his room when he ran into Tian Liang coming out of the room across the hall. Tian Liang eyed him with a gossipy expression.

"I went to have dinner outside."

Link opened the door and walked into the room.

"Just dinner?"

"What else?"

"Heh, don't think you can hide it. Yang Jinghui just said he saw you leave with two foreign beauties with great figures. Heh heh, was it a date?"

Tian Liang asked with a sly smile.

"No, we just chatted briefly."

Link took out two cartons of pure milk, handing one to Tian Liang.

Tian Liang accepted the milk and, speaking like a veteran, advised Link not to mess around during the competition period, warning him to be careful not to mess up his performance.

Link thanked him for the advice and said he would be careful from now on.

Still, he wasn't worried about fatigue. After meeting Kabayevo and Hashina, he felt refreshed and rejuvenated, even more motivated for the competition.

——

With no competition the next day, Link woke up early to train. He ran at the Olympic Village stadium, worked out at the fitness area, and joined the men's basketball team for a couple of games when they invited him during their court practice.

He was on the same team as Big Yao and completed several alley-oops in succession.

At noon, he watched a match video of Aragon in the meeting room and listened to the coaches discuss strategies to counter Aragon. Most of the coaches weren't professional boxers and focused more on theory than practical experience, so their tactics were somewhat abstract and not particularly useful.

Still, their effort was well-meaning, and Link couldn't dismiss it.

Later, the track and field coaches discussed the 5000-meter preliminary round scheduled for the following day, advising Link to do his best without feeling undue pressure.

In the afternoon, Link drove to the Galatsi Olympic Arena in northwest Athens to watch the Individual Artistic Gymnastics event. Russian athletes Kabayevo and Hashina were also competing in this event.

The Olympic Artistic Gymnastics Individual event includes four routines: hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon. Due to the athletes' impressive physiques and relatively revealing costumes, this event consistently ranks as one of the most popular at the Olympics.

When Link arrived, nearly all 4,200 seats were filled.

After two rounds of competition, Kabayevo secured a gold medal for the Russian delegation with a total score of 108.40 points. Her teammate Hashina ranked second with 107.325 points, and Ukrainian athlete Besonova earned a bronze with 106.700 points.

Huaxia athlete Zhong Ling placed 17th in the preliminary round and regretfully missed the finals.

Kabayevo highlighted her graceful figure and executed a series of high-difficulty moves during the competition, drawing media attention afterward and being hailed as one of the most beautiful athletes at this Olympics.

After a day of rest, Link followed the coaching team to the Olympic Complex Stadium in northern Athens the next morning to participate in the men's 5000-meter preliminary heats.

A total of 32 athletes competed in the preliminary round. Link was the only Huaxia athlete and one of five Asian athletes participating.

When he appeared on the 5000-meter track, a heated buzz spread across the scene, and cameras from various countries shifted their focus toward him.

After an unexpected gold in the shot put, a silver in the javelin, and advancing to the 69kg boxing final, Link had become one of the most popular athletes of this Olympic Games—particularly in Huaxia and across Asia, where his fame rivaled and even surpassed that of Liu Xiang, who had reached the 110-meter hurdles final.

Every move Link made on the track drew extensive media attention.

The men's 5000-meter qualifiers were divided into two groups, each with 16 participants. Link was placed in Group 2.

After 20 minutes of fierce competition, the results of the first group were announced.

Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele clinched first place in Group 1 with a time of 13:21.16.

Bekele is also the current world record holder for the 5000-meter event, having set a new record of 12:37.35 on May 31 at the Hengelo Station Golden Grand Prix, surpassing the previous record held by Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie.

Additionally, Bekele holds the men's 10,000-meter world record and is a formidable contender.

Second place in Group 1 went to Bekele's teammate Gebremariam, clocking a time of 13:21.20.

Third place was claimed by Moroccan track athlete Hicham El Guerrouj with a time of 13:21.87; he had taken gold in the men's 1500-meter race earlier on the 20th.

With Group 1's race concluded, the second group's race began, and Link entered alongside the other 15 runners.

At the start of the race, Link sprinted forward and took the lead, establishing himself as the front-runner of Group 2.

However, this group included several strong competitors, such as Algerian athlete Saïd-Sief, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge, and Ethiopian runner Dejene Berhanu, all of whom had previously run under 13:30.

Seeing Link leading at the front, they refused to fall behind and launched wave after wave of attacks to surpass him.

Their speed far exceeded that of domestic athletes, and their pursuit was remarkably swift.

Link led for less than 200 meters before being overtaken one after another by Saïd, Eliud, and others.

Unwilling to admit defeat, Link stayed closely on the heels of Saïd-Sief, the first-place runner, looking for every opportunity to reclaim the lead.

From the first lap to the tenth lap, Link managed to overtly pass Saïd-Sief, Eliud Kipchoge, and others over ten times. During the final two laps, he began to slow down slightly, trailing the trio at a moderate distance. In the end, he finished the race with a time of 13:21.41, placing fourth in Group 2.