Sports Medicine Master System

Shanghai, Putuo District, Haitang Garden District.

At six in the morning, the elevated highway across from the residential complex was already bustling with traffic.

A breakfast stall was set up at the entrance to the complex. A middle-aged man on a motorcycle, with someone riding behind him, had just driven out.

He continuously greeted residents he passed along the way, a proud and happy smile on his face.

Just then, the young man sitting behind him quickly tapped his shoulder. "Dad, stop for a second."

Before the motorcycle came to a complete stop, the young man leaped off frantically and rushed to the breakfast stall on the sidewalk.

"Dr. Chen, what are you doing here?"

Liu Xiang stared in disbelief at Chen Yu, who was sitting on a small stool eating small wontons.

The low, square table was too short, so Chen Yu, wearing a black woolen coat, had his legs spread apart, leaning over to scoop up his wontons. He looked perfectly ordinary.

Who would have known that this was a world-renowned, top-tier miracle doctor?

"Dr. Chen, what are you doing here?" From behind, Liu Xiang’s father pushed the motorcycle forward. He was just as startled to see Chen Yu.

Chen Yu looked up and smiled. "You didn’t know I came to China?"

Liu Xiang said hurriedly, "I knew, I just didn’t expect you to come to Shanghai. Why didn’t you call me? I could have picked you up."

Chen Yu stood up, shook hands with Liu Xiang’s father, and asked if the two of them had eaten breakfast yet.

The wontons from this roadside stall were pretty good, quite savory, just a bit light on the meat.

"We’ve eaten." Liu Xiang’s father quickly invited Chen Yu to their home.

"No need. I have a flight to catch in a bit. I just came by to say a few words."

Chen Yu tapped his watch.

He had actually been to Shanghai before on an inspection tour but hadn’t notified Liu Xiang. This time, he had a layover in Shanghai before leaving the country and made a special trip to see him.

"Where are you headed?" Chen Yu looked Liu Xiang up and down.

"To the immigration office. I’m going to France for a competition, aren’t I? My dad insisted on seeing me off."

He was going to France to participate in an international indoor track and field meet. If Chen Yu had come a day later, he might have missed him.

Liu Xiang’s father chuckled. "It’s not far anyway, and I’m on my day off. The traffic is bad this time of morning."

He was a worker at the local waterworks.

Chen Yu smiled. "Well, that’s perfect. You don’t have to go anymore."

Liu Xiang froze, a bit dazed.

’Don’t tell me they’re replacing me? When it comes to hurdling in this country, I’m the best there is. There’s no reason to replace me.’

Chen Yu said, "On my way here, I spoke with your master and also got approval from the Sports Bureau leadership. You’re not to participate in the upcoming indoor track meet in France, nor the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Budapest that follows."

Liu Xiang was still a bit dazed.

Chen Yu continued, "Also, the domestic Grand Prix in April—you’re not to participate in that either. Next month, you’ll go back to the United States to train with me."

"You have two months to get into shape. Then you’ll compete in the Osaka Grand Prix in May. Alan Johnson will be at that Grand Prix. You can compete against him and find your form."

"After Osaka, you’ll come back to China for the Olympic trials at the end of the month. Then, you’ll skip the next few World Athletics Grand Prix meets and return to the United States to train with me."

"You’ll train straight through to August, then return to China for the National Athletics Championships to find your final form for the Olympic Games."

"Liu Xiang, this year you have only one goal: the Olympic Games. You will drop all other competitions that interfere with your performance cycle. You need to do everything possible to peak at the Olympic Games."

A top athlete’s performance is cyclical, moving through phases of rest, training, ramping up intensity, pushing for results, and then resting again.

A top-tier coach will work to adjust the competition schedule, doing everything possible to ensure their athlete peaks at just the right time for major events.

Frequent competitions and preparations can actually disrupt this rhythm and cycle.

But not competing isn’t an option either. There’s pressure to perform for the National Team and the need for personal prize money.

Spending a really long time preparing for just one major competition isn’t realistic.

However, in Chen Yu’s view, there was only one competition that mattered this year: the Athens Olympic Games.

Therefore, he set up a two-month cycle to adjust Liu Xiang’s condition and push for results.

"And just like before, for all the competitions you miss, I’ll pay you the prize money as if you’d won first place."

It was the same arrangement he had with Bolt. Chen Yu covered the prize money for any meets he missed, freeing him from any financial worries so he could focus on training and chasing records.

Liu Xiang finally snapped out of his daze and was about to say there was no need for the prize money.

But before he could get the words out, Chen Yu waved his hand dismissively, saying the arrangements were final.

"Alright."

Liu Xiang nodded. The Sports Bureau leadership had already agreed, so all he had to do was follow the plan.

"By the way, have you been slacking off in your training since you came back to China for the New Year in January? Have you been able to consistently break 13 seconds?" Chen Yu asked.

Stabilizing his time around 13 seconds and continuously trying to break that barrier was Liu Xiang’s current goal.

Liu Xiang shook his head, looking troubled. "Not yet. If I run ten times, I might only break 13 seconds two or three times. My best time was 12.95 seconds."

A time of 12.95 seconds had already tied the Olympic record and was only 0.04 seconds off the world record of 12.91 set by Colin Johnson.

But that was in training.

Training times are generally better than official competition times.

If he ran a 12.95 in training, he’d be considered to be performing consistently if he could just hit 13 seconds in a major competition.

"Don’t worry about it." Chen Yu smiled and patted his arm. "You have another two months. Given your rate of improvement, it shouldn’t be a problem."

"In my plan, you’ll challenge the Olympic record in Osaka in May, and then at the Olympic Games, you’ll aim to break the world record."

Given Liu Xiang’s rate of improvement, it seemed entirely possible.

"The world record?"

Liu Xiang’s father, who had been listening quietly, was stunned. He looked at his son in disbelief. He knew his son was very talented and had always been proud of him.

But the world record... he didn’t quite dare to imagine it.

"Mr. Liu, I’m not exaggerating. Your son is truly incredible," Chen Yu said with a smile before turning to Liu Xiang. "You’ll be 21 in a few months. This is your peak age, the best time to achieve great results. You must seize this opportunity."

Twenty-one years old. A true golden age.

A person’s reaction time peaks around age 20. For men, the ages of 19 to 22 represent the peak of physical development. Seizing this window is the best chance for breaking records.

If he were to wait another four years, until ’08, the goal would shift to simply maintaining his physical condition.

"What, no confidence?"

Seeing Liu Xiang still looking a bit dazed, Chen Yu asked.

’I’ve poured just as much energy into Liu Xiang as I have into Bolt.’

"I have confidence."

Liu Xiang snapped back to reality and nodded firmly.

"Good. I’ll be waiting for you in the United States."

Chen Yu waved, and after saying goodbye, he turned and slipped into a taxi by the roadside.

"Son, can you really break the world record?" Liu Xiang’s father couldn’t help but ask as he watched the taxi drive away.

Liu Xiang thought for a moment, then smiled. "If Dr. Chen says it’s no problem, then it’s definitely no problem."

"Good."

Liu Xiang’s father nodded in satisfaction and patted his son’s shoulder. "That man doesn’t ask for money, sponsors your training for free, and even gives you money without expecting anything in return. You can’t let him down after all he’s invested in you."

"I know. I’ll keep it all in mind," Liu Xiang said quickly.

Liu Xiang’s father nodded, said no more, and gestured for his son to head home.

But just then, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He pulled it out and saw it was a text message.

After a glance, his expression changed slightly. Seeing that Liu Xiang hadn’t noticed, he quietly put his phone away.

The text message was, surprisingly, from Chen Yu.

Chen Yu had his phone number.

The message advised him to go to the hospital for a gallbladder check-up after Liu Xiang left for the United States. It said he likely had gallstones and should get them treated with surgery sooner rather than later.

He had no idea how Chen Yu could have known, but he didn’t dare take the words of such a top-tier miracle doctor lightly.

Moreover, Chen Yu hadn’t said anything just now, instead choosing to send a text specifically telling him to get checked only after Liu Xiang had left for the United States. He probably did it to avoid worrying Liu Xiang and affecting his training.

’So incredibly thoughtful.’

Liu Xiang’s father sighed, glanced at his son behind him, and his heart couldn’t help but feel warm all over again.

’The world record!’

「It was already afternoon by the time he returned to Phoenix.」

The next day, Chen Yu invited Old Kolangelo to play golf.

As soon as they met, before they even had a chance to change, Old Kolangelo couldn’t help but ask about Chen Yu’s trip to China and if there was any chance of success.

"On the phone, you said you had good news to share with me," Old Kolangelo said, leading Chen Yu toward the bar.

He was one of the investors behind Chen Yu’s plan for the marketing and commercial development of the reformed Jia A league.

"I’ve already told you guys on the phone about the commercial development. It’s not worth doing; the risk is too high." Chen Yu sat down and waited for the waiter to serve their drinks before continuing. "However, my other proposal—the one about opening things up completely—that has a glimmer of hope."

Originally, Chen Yu had truly given up hope on this matter.

Unexpectedly, before he left, he met with a leader connected to Yuan Weimin.

They spoke for over an hour, and the leader didn’t talk much about what kind of results the big clubs might achieve after such a change. Instead, he discussed the sports industry at length with Chen Yu.

His questions were detailed and broad, covering how American sports leagues conducted commercial development to drive their sports industry, as well as the business models of European soccer leagues.

Chen Yu was very familiar with these topics. After all, he traveled constantly and dealt exclusively with people from these two fields. He knew the situation inside and out.

"I get the feeling that he’s more interested in developing the sports industry than in seeing basketball and soccer achieve results."

In the United States, just as Chen Yu had told Yuan Weimin before, sports were truly a business, one that had been perfected to the extreme.

The profit-driven businessmen in the United States could always find new ways to get money out of the fans’ pockets.

For example, home run balls hit out of the park in baseball leagues, game-used balls from important NBA games, and even sections of the court floor could be cut up and sold individually to fans at auction.

Then there was star-making.

Stern made huge contributions to the development of the NBA, but his greatest achievement was arguably building up a global superstar like Jordan.

After Jordan retired, the thing Stern did most was try to launch the next Jordan, conducting a massive search for his so-called successor.

"China’s sports industry is far too undeveloped, and it’s a massive, massive market. So I can sense that he has ideas about building this whole industry up."

He kept asking about the sports industry; his intentions were already obvious.

"So, it’s possible that the two leagues might actually be spun off and become fully professional. When that happens, we’ll have our chance to get in."

And "getting in" meant directly buying a team.

Compared to owning a team, things like marketing and commercial development were just small-time stuff.