Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 895 - 636: 5,000 Meter Preliminaries_2

Saidi Sijev claimed first place with a time of 13 minutes 18.94 seconds, also ranking first in the preliminary results.

Eliud Kipchoge took second place with a time of 13 minutes 19.01 seconds.

Dejene Berhanu ranked third with a time of 13 minutes 20.38 seconds.

Compared to the first group, the second group had better results, as even Dejene, who ranked third, achieved a better time than Bekele, the first-place finisher in the first group.

Link also qualified for the 5000m final with a sixth-place finish in the preliminaries, marking the first time an Asian male athlete stood on the 5000m final track.

After the preliminary results of the 5000m race were announced, nearly every television station across Asia broadcast the event.

In these broadcast recordings, Link stood out like the sun in the sky, a yellow-skinned athlete among a sea of black runners.

Link's fame skyrocketed alongside the media coverage, highlighting not only his handsome appearance but also his status as a popular Huaxia singer who played piano and guitar, spoke multiple languages, and had previously won Asia's first gold medal in Olympic shot put. He was also the first male athlete in Huaxia's track and field history to become an Olympic champion.

Now, he had entered the 5000m final with a strong performance, leading many Asian television stations to adjust their broadcast schedules, preparing to center the men's 5000m final as a prime event.

——

After the men's 5000m preliminaries ended, Link didn't leave immediately. He stayed in the stands chatting with coach Feng Shuye and others while watching the women's 10,000m race, which featured two athletes from the Huaxia Team: Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie.

Xing Huina had also competed in the women's 5000m final on the 19th but failed to medal due to a flawed race strategy.

Today, she was back on the 10,000m track.

"What did you feel after the race earlier?"

Coach Feng Shuye handed him a bottle of water and asked.

"This group of black athletes have excellent endurance and can handle rough tactics. They also like employing the pincer strategy to block opponents' progress, making them challenging to deal with."

Link thought for a moment and said.

In domestic competitions, there wasn't much pressure or resistance; the athletes competing alongside him wouldn't try to cause trouble.

But in races against black athletes, many were teammates who would band together to protect their medals by using pincer tactics to block foreign competitors. Sometimes, they'd resort to fouling strategies, exchanging extreme moves one-for-one.

These were things to watch out for.

Additionally, in the earlier preliminaries, the athletes in the first group clearly hadn't exerted their full strength. Take Bekele, for instance, the world record holder for 5000m, whose best time was 12 minutes 37 seconds but only clocked 13 minutes 21 seconds earlier today.

Then there's Kiplimo, who ranked third. He, like Link, deliberately slowed down during the final sprint, evidently hiding his capabilities.

Thus, the men's 5000m final would undoubtedly be far more intense than the preliminaries.

"It's great that you've noticed these points."

Coach Feng Shuye nodded in agreement. "And one more thing—after today's race, do you feel it's better to always hold the lead, or to suddenly exert force during the sprint stage? You must make this decision to formulate a strategy that suits you."

Link thought for a moment. "I'll aim to hold the lead during the final."

"Good, then give it your all in the final and try to win a medal."

Coach Feng Shuye patted his shoulder.

Link nodded.

Down in the stands, the women's 10,000m race began, featuring 31 athletes. More than half were black runners from Africa, Latin America, and the United States. Wearing the red uniforms, Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie stood out on the track.

After the race started, Ayejayeju Dibaba, Derartu Tulu, and two other Ethiopian runners led the first tier.

Italy Team, Dutch Team, and three runners from the American Team were in the second tier, while Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie followed in the third tier.

Several times, Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie tried to surge forward, but their opponents blocked them from taking the inner lane, preventing them from advancing.

During the first 20 laps, Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie could only trail behind the first and second tiers.

By the 20th lap, Xing Huina began accelerating, first surpassing athletes from the Italian and American teams, then overtaking runners from the Dutch Team and Ethiopia. By the 24th lap, she was in third place, just behind Ayejayeju Dibaba and Derartu Tulu.

In the final lap, Xing Huina launched her sprint, surpassing Derartu Tulu at the last 50 meters and overtaking Ayejayeju Dibaba in the final 10 meters to finish first.

"Xing Huina wins!!"

"Amazing!"

As Xing Huina crossed the finish line, the surrounding Huaxia Team athletes stood up, clapping furiously and cheering excitedly.

Link also stood up and clapped.

In truth, the Huaxia Team was far from weak in women's long-distance running.

In the 1990s, Ma's Army achieved world championship titles in multiple events like 1500m, 5000m, 10000m, and marathons.

Currently, the women's 10,000m world record holder remains Wang Junxia, with a time of 29 minutes 31.78 seconds, the first athlete in history to break the 30-minute barrier for the women's 10,000m.

In this women's 10,000m race, Xing Huina's finishing time was 30 minutes 24.37 seconds, while second-place Dibaba clocked 30 minutes 24.98 seconds.

An interesting moment occurred during the final sprint—second-place Dibaba raised her hands at the finish line, believing she had won. Upon hearing the broadcast announce Xing Huina as the champion, Dibaba displayed a look of utter disbelief.

After the race, Link returned to the Olympic Village to rest. The next afternoon, he arrived at the Karaiskakis Stadium to participate in the men's 69kg boxing final.

His opponent in this match was Cuban boxer Lorenzo Aragon.

Cuban boxers were seen as perennial champions at the Olympics and World Championships.

At this Olympics, the Cuban Boxing Team had already won five gold medals across men's 48kg, 51kg, 54kg, 60kg, and 91kg categories, accounting for half of the men's boxing events.

This made the Cuban Team's matches highly anticipated.

Meanwhile, Link had emerged as a rising star in these Olympics.

Thus, this matchup drew heavy media attention.

On the day of the match, the stands at Karaiskakis Stadium were packed.

The match began as Link stepped onto the boxing ring in red gear, while his opponent Aragon, dressed in blue, stared at him with an intense hostility.

Unlike the 2008 version of Aragon, this younger Aragon appeared far more energetic and fresh-faced.

"Huaxia man, the championship is mine,"

Aragon said through clenched teeth in broken English, baring his white teeth.

Link smiled faintly and replied in Spanish, "I plan to KO you in 30 seconds, so be prepared."

"What?!"

Aragon frowned, his face mixed with confusion.

Link shook his head, unwilling to say more.

The boxing ring referee approached, announced the match rules to the two fighters, and then lowered his arm to signal the start of the match.

"Boxing!"

Link and Aragon bumped fists.

Aragon glared fiercely at Link and was the first to launch his attack. With his longer reach, his offensive moves were imposing.

But Link's reaction speed was even faster. Faced with Aragon's strikes, he constantly employed Shake and Flash techniques, deftly and narrowly dodging each of Aragon's punches, rendering the Cuban boxer's attempts futile.

Aragon, frustrated at his inability to land a hit, grew increasingly enraged, throwing faster punches filled with streams of shadows aimed directly at Link. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

As Link observed Aragon carefully, he saw an opportunity when Aragon retracted a straight punch and prepared for another strike. Suddenly halting his evasive moves, Link faced Aragon's fist head-on. Aragon hesitated momentarily but quickly sped up, aiming directly at Link's face.

"Careful!!"

A sudden shout in Spanish rang out from the sidelines, sounding like it came from Saweng.

Aragon couldn't understand why his coach was yelling, but just as his fist aimed at Link's nose bridge, a streak of red appeared in the corner of his right eye. Before he had time to react—

Bang!