On July 5, the IAAF Super Grand Prix was held in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In the restaurant, Liu Feiren held a large plate of food and kept stuffing his mouth. At the moment, he was clearly in a good mood, as if he had walked out of the shadow of the Golden League Paris station that failed to win the championship.
Lausanne can be said to be a good place for Liu Feiren. Three years ago, Liu Feiren broke the 110-meter hurdle world youth record and Asian record in Lausanne.
"Lausanne is a good place for you! Your first Asian record should have been here!" Zhang Guan said with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, three years already pass in a blink of an eye, and time has passed so quickly." Liu Feiren said that food was vague in his mouth.
Zhang Guan knows that next year is also the Lausanne station of the IAAF Grand Prix. Liu Feiren will break the world record in 12.88 seconds, so Lausanne is indeed a blessing for Liu Feiren.
"Why did you eat so little today?" Liu Feiren looked at the plate in front of Zhang Guan.
"I'm not very hungry today." Zhang Guan answered, but he was thinking about going to dinner with Sharapova later.
Sharapova came to Lausanne earlier than Zhang Guan. She is now in the hotel waiting for Zhang Guan. Liu Feiren didn't think much about it. He thought it was Swiss food that didn't meet Zhang Guan's taste, and then quietly said, "I still have two packs of instant noodles there, do you want to bring it back?"
"You already ate three packs?" Zhang Guan suddenly laughed, and then said, "I haven't eaten any yet, but if you finished, then you can take some from me."
"You didn't eat any packet!" Liu Feiren said with a little surprise, "I didn't dare to eat it, but I was so hungry to make a packet. If you don't eat it, then give it back to me."
Considering that there may be problems with European eating habits, the training base specially prepared several packages of instant noodles for everyone, which were all fried by the base's chef. But Zhang Guan is going on a date with Sharapova, so there is no chance to eat instant noodles.
During this International Super Awards, Powell did not participate due to his schedule being too packed.
The first leg of the Golden League is on July 1st, while the second leg of the Rome match is held on July 8. Athletes also need to participate in the pre-match press conference and adapt to the venue, so they must arrive two days in advance in Rome. The Grand Prize at Lausanne was held on July 5th, which means that if you participate in the Lausanne race, you must rush to Rome for the second leg of the Golden League on the same day as the ending of the race, In the previous Golden League Paris, the athletes didn't enjoy three matches a week, since the intensity of the competition is quite high, so many big-name athletes have chosen to give up the Lausanne race and go directly to Rome for the second leg of the Golden League.
Lausanne was indeed a good place for Liu Feiren. He ran better here than at the first leg of the Golden League. He successfully won the 110-meter hurdle in 13.05 seconds, while Liu Feiren's main competitor retired midway through the game.
At the same time, in the 100-meter sprint race, Zhang Guan, who was equipped with running shoes, also easily won the championship in the 100-meter sprint with a score of 9.92 seconds. Zhang Guan also felt the effect of running shoes for the first time.
After the Lausanne station, and after attending various events organized by the organizer, the group finally went to the airport that evening and took a flight to Rome.
However, the plane was delayed on the way. The plane that was supposed to deport at 7 pm left Lausanne at 8:30 and then flew for another hour. When it arrived at Rome Airport, it was already 10 pm. And because many contestants from Lausanne were on the same flight, after arriving in Rome, it was a big problem to rush to the hotel. The vehicle that the organizer sent to pick them up turned out to be Iveco. It's already enough to add luggage, with all the athletes, they are like sardines in a can.
"No, don't sit here, let's take a taxi!" Zhang Guan didn't want to be crowded in this car.
Coach Yu and Coach Sun glared at the same time, apparently telling him that the funds for the competition came out tight and they had to save up, and they sent a car to pick them up, so why waste your money.
Zhang Guan immediately understood, then said, "Take a taxi, I will pay!"
"Oh, we have forgotten that the person in front of us is a billionaire!" Yu Gui is saying that Zhang Guan made a lot of money during last year's Olympic Games.
"That's right, we won't waste money!" Zhang Guan said as he walked towards the taxi dock.
The hotel booked by the organizer had a very impressive name called the Royal Hotel in Rome. However, when Zhang Guan and his party arrived at the hotel, they were told that the room was full. So they had to contact the organizer again and spent a lot of effort before the organizer contacted another hotel nearby.
When Zhang Guan arrived at this hotel, it was more than noon. At this time, everyone was still hungry, but the hotel told them that there was no catering service at this time. If you want to eat, you have to go back to the Royal Family Hotel.
Zhang Guan was really angry this time. He had tossed for seven or eight hours in a row and was hungry. This is unbearable.
Zhang Guan ran to the corner, picked up the phone, and dialed Sharapova's number.
"My dear, I waited for you all night. I also called the airport to confirm. I heard that your plane was late. Are you here now?" Sharapova's voice was lazy as if she was a little sleepy.
"Maria, we have arrived, but encountered some problems, the hotel is full, and then there is nothing to eat, can you help me see if there are any extra rooms where you live? It would be best if we could eat." Zhang Guan said.
"Okay! I'll call you in a moment." Sharapova hung up the phone, and after a few minutes, called back to tell Zhang Guan that the rooms have been booked and the hotel is ready to serve food.
Zhang Guan immediately approached everyone and said, "Come on, let's change a hotel. I've already found someone to set up a place, and I have to eat! Don't worry about the cost, you don't have to spend money!"
"So that's why you were hiding in a corner, were you booking a hotel? Why is this so magical, you still have your overseas relations?" Coach Sun said while raising his luggage, preparing to follow Zhang Guan, after all, they were all tired, he also wanted to quickly find a place to eat something, and then sleep beautifully.
"Oh, just follow the local tyrant." Zhang Guan patted his chest and took everyone out of the taxi.
...
"It looks more upscale than the Royal Hotel!" Liu Feiren said, looking at the decoration in the hotel lobby.
Zhang Guan smiled, without a word. First, Sharapova could not stay in a poor hotel. Second, the Golden League is about to start. At this time, only expensive high-end hotels have rooms. Generally, the cheaper hotels have been fully booked.
High-end hotels naturally have high prices, for example, even if it is more than one in the morning, the restaurant will still provide food. There are chefs on duty 24 hours. Although the food at night is not as complete as the day, it is already good enough for the hungry which is perfect enjoyment.
After eating and washing, it was three o'clock in the morning, so everyone almost fell asleep.
The next day, Zhang Guan didn't get up until noon, and everyone else was similar, so he ate lunch directly. After lunch, Zhang Guan and Liu Feiren took a bus to the training venue arranged by the organizer for adaptive training.
But what I did not expect was that the venue arranged by Rome was simply not suitable for training. Everyone thought that a separate stadium would be arranged, but they did not expect to arrange an open stadium. Many Roman citizens came here to exercise physically, there are even two amateur football teams in the middle of the field.
"What kind of training ground is this! It is simply a mass activity center. This must-have been placed here in order to organize several dozens of square dances!" Zhang Guan complained in his heart. He felt that in this situation it is impossible to train.
However, Liu Feiren has to work harder. Even if all the people around him are ordinary citizens, Liu Feiren has conducted more than two hours of restorative training.
...
In the evening, in front of the balcony of the hotel suite, Sharapova handed a glass of water to Zhang Guan. She picked up half a glass of red wine, took a sip, and then shook the glass in front of his eyes. Then she said, "Really, unfortunately, you can't enjoy this delicious red wine."
"No way, there will be a game tomorrow! I can't eat anything." Zhang Guan stretched out his arm and Sharapova laid in Zhang Guan's arms and leaned on him.
"After your game tomorrow, I will go back." Sharapova gently stroked Zhang Guan's chest, and then said, "I need to start training, and there will be several major competitions, the West Bank Classic, Akula Classic, Los Angeles Open, Toronto Open, and then the US Open."
Zhang Guan nodded. In July and August before the US Open, it was the peak period of all kinds of tennis competitions in the United States, and the degree of commercialization of American sports was very high. Many large consortia were willing to spend money to sponsor tennis matches. Tennis tournaments have higher prize money than European tennis tournaments. For example, the Western Bank Classic has a total prize of US $585,000, while the Budapest Classic held in Hungary on the same day has a total prize of only $140,000. This figure is also a normal prize amount in Europe. Conversely, in North America, the Akula Classic has a total amount of 1.3 million dollars in prize money; the Los Angeles Open has total prize money of 585,000 US dollars; the Toronto Open has total prize money of 1.3 million US dollars. In North American competitions, the amount of US $585,000 has become the minimum guarantee line, and many European competitions only have a total prize of more than 100,000, so many European big-name players come to America to compete.
For sports, sometimes money is really useful!
"Then when are you going to leave?" Zhang Guan then asked.
"The day after tomorrow," Sharapova said.
"Then we should cherish this time together?" Zhang Guan embraced Sharapova.
The wine glass rolled on the ground, and the red wine flowing on the white floor was as bright as blood, but it reflected the figure of the lovers lingering together next to it.