Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 897 - 637: Reencounter with the Rear Hook Punch_2

Link stated he would give it his all.

Captain Yuan was worried he was under too much pressure, saying that making it into the 5000m finals was already half the victory, and all he needed to do in the upcoming race was to try his best.

Link replied that he understood.

——

After resting for two days in the Olympic Village, on August 27, with only two days left before the Olympics ended, Link followed his coaching team to the Athens Olympic Complex to participate in the men's 5000m final.

"Go, Link!"

In the stands, many Huaxia spectators were cheering enthusiastically for Link.

Leaders and coaches of the Huaxia sports delegation were seated in the audience, whispering to one another.

On the sidelines, numerous Huaxia media reporters carried large and small cameras, chasing after Link to capture shots.

Link waved his hand and walked to the starting line on the track.

There were a total of 15 athletes in the men's 5000m final.

Aside from Link, the competitors included the American Team's Dim Bro, the Iceland Team's Creg, and Australia's Craig Mottram. The other 11 were all from various African nations—most of them had dark skin, lean and tall builds, and well-developed calf muscles, appearing to be natural runners.

Based on the results from the preliminary round, Link was assigned to Lane 3, with Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj on his left and Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele on his right, both formidable opponents.

After a series of introductions, at 2:30 PM in the afternoon, the men's 5000m race officially began.

As soon as the starting gun fired, Link accelerated along his lane. When he reached the break line where runners could merge lanes, he sped up again, sprinting at full speed to Lane 1 to secure the leading position.

The three Ethiopian athletes also tried to grab the inner lane, but they couldn't match Link's pace and had to settle for closely tailing him.

Three Kenyan runners formed a group and followed as well, while the two Moroccan athletes and two Algerian athletes made up the third cluster.

The remaining four athletes were mixed in among them.

The inner lane of the Olympic Comprehensive Gymnasium's track was 400 meters long, making the 5000m race 12 and a half laps.

From the start, Link was continually challenged by the three Ethiopian runners. In the second lap, Bekele, the world record holder for the 5000m, suddenly accelerated past him. The other two Ethiopian athletes immediately followed, preparing to box him in from the front and back.

If he got blocked by them, he wouldn't be able to increase his pace, his rhythm would be disrupted, and he'd waste a lot of energy unnecessarily.

Gritting his teeth, Link abruptly accelerated, overtaking Bekele from the outer lane to reclaim the lead. At the same time, he kept pushing his speed, trying to shake off the entanglement of the three Ethiopians.

Bekele, being a long-distance running powerhouse, stretched his slender legs and chased after Link like the wind, attempting to overtake him from the outside.

Link continued to accelerate, and every time Bekele tried to pass him, Link would bump into him from the inner lane, refusing to give up his position on the inner track.

Compared to Bekele and the other Ethiopian athletes, Link lacked race experience, but he had plentiful stamina, exceptional endurance, and wasn't afraid to compete head-to-head with anyone.

From the second lap through to the fourth, Link battled fiercely with Bekele and the other two Ethiopian athletes. When Bekele realized he couldn't get ahead, he stayed close behind Link, waiting for him to exhaust himself before making his move to overtake.

Having the three Ethiopians tailing him effectively created a barrier behind Link. Anyone who wanted to surpass him would first have to get past them.

The advantage was that Link didn't have to worry about losing control of the race pace and could focus on running freely upfront.

The downside was that the pressure was immense. Bekele and the other two were all skilled long-distance athletes, highly experienced and incredibly fast.

With them behind him, Link felt as if there were thorns pricking his back. To avoid being caught, he could only keep swinging his arms and pumping his legs, keeping his head down and pushing forward.

The audience erupted into a frenzy as they watched him hold off several African athletes. The cheers and chants were deafening, filled with encouragement and excitement.

Huaxia spectators watching from their televisions were glued to their screens, shouting words of support. The atmosphere was more electric than during the World Cup.

From the fourth lap through the tenth, Link maintained his lead. He originally thought his pace was fast enough for no one to catch him.

But by the 11th lap, Ethiopia's Bekele, Morocco's El Guerrouj, and Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge began to accelerate.

The trio's speed shot up like they were running a 100-meter sprint.

First, Bekele suddenly surged from the outer lane to overtake him. Then, El Guerrouj passed him from behind. By the end of the 11th lap, Kipchoge was also trying to get past him.

Link knew this couldn't go on—if Kipchoge overtook him, it would be incredibly hard to catch up later.

Clenching his teeth, his leg muscles tensed as he hurled himself forward with everything he had.

In the 12th lap, he successfully shook off Kipchoge and accelerated to close the two-meter gap between himself and El Guerrouj. At the same time, El Guerrouj was intensifying his pursuit of Bekele. The closer they got to the finish line, the faster they ran.

The three runners were separated by less than three meters, and as the commentator put it,

This was a race of equals, with an intensely competitive and tightly contested atmosphere. Any minor mistake from Bekele would give El Guerrouj and Link the opportunity to overtake him.

And as long as Link or El Guerrouj seized even the slightest chance, they could turn the tables and snatch the gold from Bekele.

"Go, Link!!"

With the finish line in sight, Huaxia spectators watching on television held their breath, tightly clenching their fists. Their entire bodies tensed up, as if they were running alongside Link on the track.