451 A Different Coach (2/2)

Alexander didn't answer. He didn't want to interact with Sebastian any more. Even a word was needless.

But Sebastian was a chatterbox. He said with contempt, ”I've heard that you took part in several small competitions. I cannot imagine that you, once the greatest sprinter in America, now have to participate in those small competitions.”

Alexander heard the sarcasm in Sebastian's voice, but facing his former coach, Alexander was humbled. So, he decided to ignore Sebastian's words.

But his silence never stopped Sebastian. The coach pointed at a black young athlete behind him and said, ”I want to introduce this man to you. He is Warton, 'the Miami Lightning.' You must have heard about him. I have trained him for one year. And in all the consecutive five races he has run recently, he got scores within 10 seconds, including a score of 9.88 seconds.”

Oh, he is Warton, the talented sprinter in Miami! Alexander had heard about this guy. He looked at Warton, and he knew sharply that this young Warton would be his strongest rival in the competition.

It was truly a great achievement for a sprinter to get scores of less than 10 seconds in five races consecutively. And a score of 9.88 seconds might lead the sprinter to the gold medal in a world-class competition. The data showed that the man named Warton was at the top of 100m sprint program worldwide.

Warton was a new talent who rose up rapidly in recent years in the field of sprint.

He got the championship of the American Youth Games when he was young, and he got the championships of the American College Students Games for two consecutive years. And he often got excellent achievements in professional games. He was from Miami, so everybody called him ”the Miami Lightning.”

His cooperation with Sebastian helped him make great progress. Sebastian was once awarded the Best Track and Field Coach in America. And he had trained many to be world champions. Although his moral quality was not so good, his training methods ranked the top in the world. The cooperation between the two was an alliance between giants.

…

The 100m race was going to start. The eight participants were standing on the starting line.

Sebastian looked at Warton confidently. He thought Warton would definitely win today's race with his perfect condition.

Among the participants today are some skillful ones. But they will be defeated by Warton. Warton's fastest performance is less than 9.80 seconds.

A score within 9.80 could win the gold medal in the Olympics and also in the world championship.

But it was also true that practices were different from competitions. Athletes' performances in daily practices were usually better than their performances in competitions. It was a success for an athlete to show 80% of his real strength in major sports events. However, a score within 9.80 seconds in practices still showed the great talent of Warton.

Warton should be the best sprinter in America now. I will get him to be the number one sprinter in the world. Kittell has retired. The field of sprint will be ruled again by several giants. It is an opportunity that we must seize fast.

Sebastian couldn't help thinking of Alexander.

Warton's talent is great. But Alexander used to be better than him. I think Warton will be the second Alexander at the best. Unfortunately, Alexander didn't follow me. But that doesn't matter now. Today, Alexander is nothing…

Bang!

The starting gun went off, interrupting Sebastian's thoughts. At the same time, the sprinters ran forward from the starting line. And Sebastian was focused on Warton.

Sebastian's prediction was right. Warton was faster than the other seven. After running for 30m, he had more a body-length lead compared with the sprinters at his left and right.

We win. Sebastian relaxed, but soon he found a man on the outermost track who was as fast as Warton.

That's Alexander! Sebastian felt nervous suddenly. It was like his heart was pinched by someone invisible.

In the 100m sprint, the two tracks in the middle were the best choice for the sprinters while the outermost track was the worst. Alexander, as a participant from the qualifications, was set to the track by the side of the field.

But such an arrangement didn't stop him from showing his surprising speed.

After 60m, Warton stood out from the participants and the only one who was competing with him was Alexander.

The live audience were becoming more and more excited. No one liked a game with a fixed winner. A situation where two athletes were competing and no one knew the final result? That was the most exciting.

But by the side of the field, Sebastian was frozen. He did not have a good feeling about what was happening.

Sebastian was once Alexander's coach. Therefore, he knew Alexander deeply. Alexander was his most brilliant student. And Alexander's excellence at the peak of his career still remained in Sebastian's mind.

And Alexander's performance of that day was the same as his best state in Sebastian's memory.

No! When this word came to Sebastian's mind, the sprinters on the field were very close to the finish line.

Warton leaned his body forward to try to use his head to cross the line.

But Alexander just lowered his head.

Alexander knew that he had the lead, which allowed him to not make big movements to cross the line.

In a blink, the sprinters crossed the finish line and began to slow down.

On the screen on site, all cameras were focusing on the champion.

That champion was Justin Alexander!