In addition to the ambassador to France, Kikujiro Ishii, the British Prince Albert and the Crown Prince of Sweden, Prince Gustaf Adolf, also sat in the VIP seats in the swimming pool auditorium.
The semi-finals of the 1,500-meter freestyle were divided into two groups. The top two in each group were selected, plus a third place with the best performance. A total of five people were selected to advance to the finals on the next day.
Chen Muwu will have double matches in the next few days, so he has already formulated a battle plan, which is to save his energy and follow the first place, as long as he can enter the finals with the second place in the group.
In the end, just as he envisioned, he advanced with a time of 21 minutes and 49 seconds, ranking fourth among the five finalists.
For Chen Muwu, this speed is basically the same as not swimming at all.
After all, no matter how bad his previous level was, there was still no problem if he could swim within 20 minutes of the 1,500-meter freestyle.
Except for Chen Muwu and the local athlete Gao Shishengnan, the other three finalists, the first and fifth place are all Australians, and the second place is from Sweden.
Therefore, except for Chen Muwu, the remaining four finalists had officials from their respective countries cheering for them in the audience.
Chen Lu, the Minister of the Republic of China in France, also received an invitation from the organizer before the game started.
When he first heard that the British student actually made it to the finals, he felt really happy for a moment.
But then I heard that there were five people in the finals, and Chen Hanchen was ranked fourth, so Chen Lu suddenly lost interest.
He couldn't win the championship anyway, and it forced him to have to sit in the auditorium of an outdoor swimming pool all afternoon. Isn't this stupid?
Therefore, the reply given by the Embassy of the Republic of China in France was that Mr. Minister was busy with work and was unable to attend the swimming finals.
But this does not mean that no one in the audience cheered for Chen Muwu.
In addition to de Broglie and Best, Zhang Xiuyou and the others also organized many work-study students in Paris to watch the game.
Of course, their tickets were all helped by Chen Muwu and Tode Broglie.
Although he had participated in the game for two days, when Chen Muwu played again this afternoon, there were still some boos from the audience.
However, the boos were not mocking Chen Muwu's race, but because he was naked from the waist up when he appeared on the stage.
Today's Europeans are also very conservative. They think Chen Muwu's clothes are really immoral.
From the first time he wore these swimming trunks by the Cam River in Cambridge to the Olympic Games two days ago, Chen Muwu had long been accustomed to this kind of incomprehensible voice.
Thousands of enemy troops surrounded me, but I remained unmoved.
He was neither blushing nor embarrassed, but regarded the sound coming from the audience as a disguised encouragement, and waved his hand generously toward the source of the sound like a star at a concert.
Because he ranked fourth among the five finalists, Chen Muwu was assigned to the fourth lane in the finals.
Since this is the first time a standard swimming pool has been used at the Olympics, no one except Chen Muwu knows that the two fastest lanes in the pool are lanes four and five in the middle.
This is a blessing in disguise for him, so his performance in the competition may be even better.
There is no diving platform at the starting point of the current swimming pool, so the five athletes stood on the shore one after another, ready to enter the water, and quietly waited for the referee to fire.
After the gunshot, the other four athletes chose to enter the water nearby. Only Chen Muwu threw his body as far as possible a meter and a half.
Now he no longer has to stare at the first place in front of him, but starts paddling and kicking according to his familiar rhythm.
The 1,500-meter free swimming may be the least enjoyable event in the entire swimming competition.
After all, because the race is long and time-consuming, no athlete will try their best from the beginning. Therefore, the intensity and enjoyment of the competition are much worse than that of the 100-meter freestyle.
At first, everyone in the audience was chatting and laughing, and no one took the game in front of them too seriously.
Because the previous results from the qualifiers to the semi-finals have been clearly laid out in front of everyone.
That is, the final results between the first and fourth place are within ten seconds. They only need to watch the game carefully in the last fifty or one hundred meters to tell the result.
At the first 50 meters, Kikujiro Ishii was still a little complacent, because his own athlete Katsuo Gaoishi was always in the leading position.
If he can continue like this, doesn't it mean that Ben's first Olympic gold medal will be within easy reach?
Can you witness this grand event with your own eyes?
But as the game progressed, the smile on Ambassador Ishii's face gradually became stiff.
How come every fifty meters, every turn, the speed of the supporter in the fourth lane increases?
Only a third of the way through the game, the supporter was already in the leading position.
But on the other hand, his compatriot Katsuro Takaishi has gradually fallen behind the other four players in the water and is in the last place.
This Takaishi Katsuo did create coolness, but it was not the surrounding air that became cool, but Ishii Kikujiro's heart.
Didn't the embassy staff member who sent him the letter pat his chest and pledge his guarantee, vowing that Gao Shi would be able to secure his card and compete for gold?
How come the current situation is completely opposite to what he boasted about?
Whether it is this athlete or that staff member, they are all red deer! They should all be sent to commit hara-kiri!
In the audience, except for Ishii Kikujiro and a few of his followers, everyone seemed very happy.
The group of people brought by Zhang Xiuyou shouted the name of "Chen Hanchen" in unison.
Although de Broglie didn't know what these three syllables meant, he shouted the most fiercely.
He even figured out other meanings of the name. "chen" naturally refers to Chen Muwu, and "han" seems to be the name the Mongols call their emperor, such as the famous Genghis Khan.
Therefore, the meaning of "chen han chen" when combined together should be that everyone cheered Chen Muwu and described him as as great as the king Khan.
De Broglie deserves to be a student of history, and he can always think of an explanation that has nothing to do with the correct answer.
Although Prince Albert was also very excited, the royal etiquette that had been ingrained in his mind firmly pinned him to the chair.
His eldest brother, Prince Edward, left France and returned to the UK after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games and watching British athlete Abrahams successfully win the 100-meter dash championship on the 7th.
And Prince Albert, because he saw how fast Chen Muwu could swim in the Thames River.
That's why he deliberately stayed in France for a few more days, just to see if Chen could continue to create miracles in the Olympics.
The situation in front of him was indeed worthy of the few extra nights he stayed in Paris. After returning home, he could brag about it to his elder brother.
Since his eldest brother is not here, Prince Albert can only extend his bragging claws to the Crown Prince of Sweden next to him, and use various words of praise to praise Chen Muwu to the sky.
Prince Gustav Adolf also sighed silently in his heart: Orientals are geniuses in art and physics, and now when it comes to sports, this person is still a genius!
He originally thought that people with such developed brains and bodies could only exist in the fantasy of perfect humans described by ancient Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, but he didn't expect to see it with his own eyes today.
Is this the mysterious power from the East?
In the end, Chen Muwu won the 1,500-meter freestyle championship at the 1924 Paris Olympics with a time of 19 minutes, 40 seconds and 26 seconds ahead of the second place.
What is the concept of this time difference?
Probably Chen Muwu had already climbed ashore, put on the velvet bathrobe handed by Best, and was about to tie the belt around his waist when the silver medalist Charlton from Australia had just arrived at the shore.
On the other side of the auditorium, a five-color flag was raised on the top of a display board that used movable type to display athlete information and time like an old-fashioned airport screen.
The swimming events of this Olympic Games use this method to announce the country to which the champion belongs.
In fact, at the beginning, the organizers of the swimming competition did not prepare this flag at all.
But seeing that the Chinese athlete in the fourth lane had already left the other four far behind, they went to the auditorium to ask around and finally borrowed the national flag.
The entire audience applauded and cheered for Chen Muwu, who won the first place. Only the shortest ones, led by Ishii Kikutaro, looked livid.
However, what makes them feel even more shameful than the Chinese winning the championship is that not long before Chen Muwu reached the finish line, the Gaoshi player from Japan had just completed his penultimate lap.
In other words, the first place player from China was almost two laps behind this player.
Everyone has climbed ashore to celebrate, but the athletes from their own country are still swimming slowly and noisily in the water. This scene is really ironic.
After watching Chen Muwu put on the bathrobe to keep his body warm, Best walked happily towards the athletes' preparation room.
But after taking a few steps, he found that his athlete was not following behind him. When he turned around, he found that Chen Muwu was still stunned in place.
So Best turned back again and called Chen Muwu softly: "Chen, Chen! Why are you still standing there stupidly? Did you feel it was unreal after winning the championship?"
"Is this the end?"
Chen Muwu asked without starting or ending.
"Of course, you are already the champion, what else do you want?"
"Where's the award ceremony? Where's my gold medal?"
His question made Best confused: "Chen, are you not mistaken? There is no award ceremony at the end of the competition. All the medals are distributed at the closing ceremony! Let's go quickly, wait and see here. On to the next competition!”
Best's words are different from Chen Muwu's memory.
He was still waiting eagerly for the ceremony of raising the national flag and playing the national anthem after changing clothes, but he found that there was no such link now.
But that’s okay, after all, Chen Muwu doesn’t even know what the current national anthem is.
On the 16th, the day after the final of around 1,500 meters, France's largest newspaper "Le Figaro" wrote in a section dedicated to reporting the results of the Olympic Games, "Fourth in the semi-finals, champion in the final, Chinese Chen Hanchen The title of “Win the Championship by Luck”.
Only in the small print below the title is the news that the first place lost more than 20 seconds to the second place.
The staff of the Republic of China Embassy in France read this newspaper to Minister Chen Lu and said that the Olympic Organizing Committee had invited him to watch the 200-meter breaststroke final tomorrow.
This time, Chen Muwu still adopted the method of qualifying by placing second in the group in order to preserve his physical strength for a double match in one day.
He even did not use the butterfly stroke in the qualifying and semi-finals, but only used the breaststroke to get through easily.
Chen Lu once again asked the staff to reject the invitation of the Labor Organizing Committee. He also pointed to the title of the newspaper and said to the staff: "Look, it is written in the newspaper that he got through by chance. If I go tomorrow, the result will be this Chen Hanchen's loss was very embarrassing, wouldn't I also be embarrassed along with him? I won't go!"
Thanks to the absence of Chen Lu, Chen Muwu used his trump card of "butterfly swimmer + breaststroke leg" in the 200-meter breaststroke competition on the 17th, and once again led the second place by 15 seconds and two points. The time of forty-four seconds won the championship.
Of course, his championship caused a lot of controversy, and the game was even suspended for a period of time.
Staff from the organizing committee and officials from FINA gathered together for a meeting to discuss whether the new breaststroke method used by Chen Muwu complied with the regulations.
The final result of the discussion was that there was no problem with Chen Muwu's paddling, there was no problem with his leg movements, and his breathing method was completely in compliance with the regulations. Although it looked awkward, this swimming style was still "breaststroke", and Chen Muwu won the gold medal. no problem.
Chen Muwu was very grateful to Best in his heart. If he hadn't pointed out the violation of the butterfly swimming leg, the gold medal might not have fallen into his hands.
The swimming news headline of "Le Figaro" on the 18th was, "From frog to butterfly, Chinese player Chen Hanchen continues to lead the swimming pool."
Then the title on the 19th was changed to "Chinese genius Chen Hanchen, leading the second place by more than ten seconds three times, breaking the world record three times, and winning the third swimming gold medal."
Three news headlines gave Chen Muwu three different names. This is something that only French newspapers can do.
The newspaper was published in the morning. During the 100-meter semi-final that afternoon, the auditorium of the Turiere Natatorium was filled with people for the first time in the last few days of the swimming competition.
Now, everyone thinks that this Olympic Games is one full of miracles.
First, Finn Paavo Numir won five gold medals in middle-distance running and cross-country running, and now Chinese athlete Chen Hanchen is aiming for his fourth gold medal in swimming.
Some people even think that this young Chinese Chen Hanchen is greater than that Numi, because there are only five individual swimming events, and Chen signed up for four of them.
If he wins another gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle, he will become a double champion in the long distance and short distance. However, Nomir cannot win the gold medal in the 100-meter race no matter what.
Chen Muwu advanced to the 100-meter freestyle final without any surprises, so on July 20, the afternoon of the last day of the swimming competition, it was hard to get tickets for the entire swimming pool.
Everyone wants to see with their own eyes whether China's sports geniuses can create new miracles.
This time Chen Lu finally arrived at the scene. He was even placed in a position closer to the center of the VIP table, sitting next to International Olympic Committee President Coubertin.
After obtaining the consent of Madame Curie, de Broglie took it upon himself to pick up her youngest daughter Eve from the College of Sévigne, intending to surprise Chen Muwu, who was struggling in the water.
The Crown Prince of Sweden, Prince Gustaf Adolf, was also annoyed by the children and had no choice but to bring his daughter, Princess Ingrid.
Ingrid is the hottest and most sought-after princess in Europe right now. Countless countries want to get engaged to this princess. Prince Albert, who is sitting next to the Crown Prince of Sweden, was rejected by her three times.
Of course, the most depressed person at the VIP table was not Prince Albert, but the ambassador to France, Kikujiro Ishii.
Because the unlucky guy Gao Shishengnan, who was fooled by Chen Muwu for nearly two laps, once again entered the 100-meter final.
This should have been a joyous event, but for some reason, Ambassador Ishii just couldn't be happy. He always felt that this time his team was going to be bullied in the swimming pool by the supporters again.
Chen Muwu’s opponents in the final were very strong, including Johnny Weissmuller from the United States, the 100-meter world record holder, and his teammate Du, who was the double 100-meter freestyle champion at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. G. Kahanamoku.
But he was still confident, and when the starting gun fired, he jumped into the water with the others.
The shouts from the audience were deafening, and in the VIP seats, there were also two sopranos screaming.
One comes from Eve, who is beside de Broglie, and the other comes from the little Swedish princess, Ingrid.
Although the Crown Prince of Sweden also hopes that the Chinese genius Chen in the water will win the championship, he still feels a little uncomfortable seeing his daughter so crazy.
Especially when he thought that the second prince of England, Albert, once told him that this athlete who swam very fast in the water was also a physicist, Gustave Adolf felt even worse.
Although he has no blood relationship with Gustavus II, the only great emperor in Swedish history, now he has found something in common between the two.
That is, their daughters seem to like people with high IQs. Queen Christina, the daughter of Gustav II, once had an affair with the mathematician Descartes.
How come three hundred years later, does my daughter also fall in love with a physicist?
Although this Chinese Chen is very good-looking, has a great figure, and has an excellent brain, he is not European after all, and the Swedish royal family has regulations, that is, the princess cannot marry a commoner if she is not first in line to the throne. If he is an heir, he must enter into a marriage alliance with another country.
Just when the Swedish Crown Prince was thinking wildly in the VIP seat, the cheers that suddenly echoed in the stadium also revealed the final result of the game.
Chen Muwu had no doubts and won the championship with a time of 55.8 seconds, more than three seconds ahead of Weissmuller behind him.
Although starting from the 1,500-meter freestyle final, Chen Muwu's competition in the water, Prince Gustav Adolf did not fail.
But today's game still made him feel excited.
The Crown Prince of Sweden was thinking that he must invite Chen Muwu to the Swedish Embassy for a meal, meet him, and have a good chat with him and the Chinese culture behind him.
But before that, what reason should I think of to take my daughter away early?
(End of chapter)
