When Chen Qiang was about to see Liu Changchun, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

He followed Cheng Jinguan to the entrance. At this time, many people were crowded at the entrance of the stadium, which felt like a star-chasing family in later generations.

Chen Qiang finally squeezed into a position, then stretched out his head and saw a young man entering his sight.

Chen Qiang has never seen this person, but Chen Qiang is certainly not Liu Changchun. The photos this young man and Chen Qiang have seen are definitely two people.

"It's not Liu Changchun!" Chen Qiang said with some disappointment.

"What Liu Changchun, he is Zhu Baozhang, and Zhu Baozhang from Tianjin, don't you know him?" The person next to him looked contemptuous.

"Zhu Baozhang, it turns out that he is Zhu Baozhang!" Chen Qiang nodded suddenly.

When it comes to Zhu Baozhang, people in later generations may not have heard of this name, but Chen Qiang, a professional sports practitioner, knows who he is.

In the mid-1920s, Zhu Baozhang was definitely a star-level figure. Before Liu Changchun participated in the Olympics, Zhu Baozhang's fame even surpassed Liu Changchun.

At the Third National Games of Old China six years ago, Zhu Baozhang represented the Zhili team in the competition and won the championships of three events: 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters in sprint. It is no exaggeration to say that Zhu Baozhang was the "king of Chinese sprints" of that era.

This national athlete, all provinces signed up for the competition alone, so without the Zhili team, Zhu Baozhang, as a Tianjin native, certainly represented the Tianjin team. But there is no doubt that he is still the biggest star in this track and field.

Chen Qiang and Cheng Jinguan squeezed out of the crowd. At this time, Cheng Jinguan was still excited, just like those fans who had just attended the celebrity meeting in later generations.

Cheng Jinguan said: "In the last National Games, Zhu Baozhang won all the championships in the sprint event. Since then, he has been my idol. I really want to compete with him once, and I hope I can be in the same group with him."

"As long as you enter the finals, you will definitely meet Zhu Baozhang." Chen Qiang paused and then asked, "By the way, do you know how much Zhu Baozhang achieved in the last championship?"

"100 meters and 12 seconds, 200 meters and 24 seconds 2, 400 meters and 57 seconds 6!" Cheng Jinguan answered without thinking, and after that, he added: "He was less than eighteen years old six years ago. I remember that he was still studying in Xinxue Academy in Tianjin at that time."

Hearing this result, Chen Qiang immediately made a more intuitive judgment in his heart.

In the later generations, the technical level standards for track and field athletes, the 100-meter sprint event, the third-level athletes' meeting score was 12 seconds 4, the second-level athletes' meeting score was 11 seconds 5, and Zhu Baozhang's 12 seconds score could only be considered as the lower level of the third-level athletes' middle-level.

In the 200-meter sprint event, the third-level athletes' standard performance is 25 seconds 5, the second-level athletes' standard performance is 23 seconds 6, and Zhu Baozhang's 24 seconds 2 is still the middle level of the third-level athletes.

In the 400-meter sprint event, the third-level athletes' standard performance is 56 seconds 5, and Zhu Baozhang's 57 seconds 6, even the standard performance is not met by the third-level athletes.

However, 400 meters is the most difficult one in the sprint event. Before World War II, the results of 400 meters sprint were generally not high.

But considering Zhu Baozhang's age at that time, these three achievements were very good.

According to Cheng Jinguan, Zhu Baozhang was still studying at Tianjin Xinxue Academy six years ago. This Xinxue Academy was the Tianjin No. 17 Middle School after liberation. In other words, Zhu Baozhang was still a middle school student at that time. As a middle school student, he ran 12 seconds in 100 meters. Zhu Baozhang's level has far surpassed that of Masao Yamazaki in Japan. In China in the 1920s, he was a genius sprinter!

"If it were in a peaceful era, Zhu Baozhang might have become a world-class sprinter. It would be a pity. He was born at the wrong time!" Chen Qiang sighed and then thought:

"Six years have passed, and Zhu Baozhang is not the middle school student back then. He should be twenty-three or four years old now, and it happens to be the peak age of a track and field athlete. He must have made a lot of progress compared to six years ago! In addition to Liu Changchun, there is also Zhu Baozhang. It seems that it is not that easy for me to win the championship in the National Games."

...

At the same time, on the Yangtze River, a ferry is slowly sailing on the river surface, and the ship's target is the Yangtze River Wharf in Nanjing.

There was no cross-river bridge in this era. There were only ships between the south and north of the Yangtze River. Trains from the north had to stop when they arrived at the north bank of the river. Passengers needed to transfer to the south bank of the river.

On the deck of the ferry, a young man was standing and spreading, looking up at the river with his head raised, feeling the gusts of river wind blowing from afar.

A middle-aged man came over and said to him: "Changchun, go to the cabin first. Stay outside and catch a cold."

"Coach, I'm not cold. This is my first time in Jiangnan. I want to see the scenery of this southern country." The young man replied in a Northeast dialect.

The middle-aged man frowned: "I'm afraid that your old injury will recur. You shouldn't have come to this National Games. You have injuries on your body and have been working on a boat and a train. I'm afraid that your injury will worsen! And after arriving in Nanjing, we will have to take a day's bus to get to Hangzhou."

"Coach, don't worry, even if I have injuries on my body, I can still win the championship!" The young man continued with confidence: "Six years ago, Zhu Baozhang won three championships in the sprint event. This time, I will win three championships!"

This young man is Liu Changchun.

This time, the Northeast region formed a Northeast Special Zone United team. Zhang Shaoshuai from Northeast China was willing to spend money on athletes and specially approved a funding to allow Northeast athletes to go to Hangzhou to participate in the competition. Liu Changchun was obviously the core figure of the Northeast team.

However, Liu Changchun is injured now, and it is still unknown how much of his strength can be exerted.

...

The next night I arrived in Hangzhou, the Shanghai team's dormitory was already half empty.

These rich children could not tolerate this kind of living environment, so most of them went to hotels outside to live in. Some even rented rooms on the shore of West Lake to enjoy the beautiful scenery of West Lake.

Not only the Shanghai team, but other athletes who arrived early, who had some money, went out to stay in hotels. It is said that the hotels of Xizihutou are already at a price per day, which is more than three or four times higher than usual.

In the evening, Chen Qiang returned to the dormitory and happened to see Cheng Jinguan packing his luggage.

"I'm going to move out tomorrow and rent a hotel nearby. Do you want to go with me?" Cheng Jinguan asked.

"Forget it, I can't afford to stay in a hotel. I heard that hotels outside have risen to sky-high prices. I'll just stay here, at least there is food and drink." Chen Qiang said.

"Okay, let's see you at the opening ceremony." Cheng Jinguan said, but suddenly raised his head: "By the way, I found out about something today. It is said that the champion of this National Games can participate in the Far East Games!"

"Are you talking about the 9th Far East Games held in Tokyo, Japan in May?" Chen Qiang asked.

"You know how many sessions you have and where to hold them. It seems that your news is more informative than mine." Cheng Jinguan showed a helpless expression.

Chen Qiang is of course very well-versed in sports information. It is not an exaggeration to say that one knows one hundred years and one hundred years.

There are not many sports competitions in thirty years, and the Far East Sports Games is the only international event that Chinese people can participate in. Chen Qiang naturally takes the Far East Sports Games to heart.

In May 1930, the 9th Far East Games will be held in Tokyo, Japan, and China will normally send athletes to participate. In the past few Far East Games, the National Sports Association of China will specially select athletes to participate, but this year's situation is quite special. Since the Chinese National Games started on April 1, just before the Far East Games opened, even the process of selecting athletes was saved. Just send the National Games champions to participate in the Far East Games.

Therefore, this Hangzhou National Games not only needs to decide the national championship, but also can be regarded as a selection competition for the Far East Games!

This is also the reason why Chen Qiang must win the National Games Championship.

Only by winning the National Games can he participate in the Far East Games and win glory for his country.

Only by going abroad and standing in the international arena can he tell those around the world that Chinese are not sick men in East Asia!

———————
Chapter completed!