They promised to win the swimming championship, but what's with this "Grand Slam" thi

Chapter 45: The Results of the 50-meter Butterfly Race! [4000 words]

More than half an hour later, Wu Jin was about to test the 50-meter butterfly when a lot of athletes gathered around the pool.

"Xiao Wu Jin, keep up the good work!"

"You just won the 50m freestyle title, and you're already competing in multiple events?"

"His 50-meter butterfly is alright, but his explosive power is definitely something else!"

"I've never seen him practice before."

"..."

Several people were standing there chatting. Zhang Yadong walked in and looked at the sidelines by the pool, quite puzzled. He turned to Wu Peng and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you all standing here? Aren't you going to train?"

"Zhang, is Xiao Wu Jin going to test the 50-meter butterfly?"

Wu Peng was laughing when Zhang Yadong suddenly raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Is that so?"

"Correct!"

"She took the initiative to talk to Coach Xu!"

"That means this kid is very confident!"

Zhang Yadong's eyes lit up, and he looked towards the poolside, where Wu Jin was already standing, ready to start her butterfly stroke.

Actually, it's the same as freestyle swimming.

The starting techniques for butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle are similar: you jump from the shore by grabbing a board, with only slight differences in the angle of entry into the water; while backstroke requires an underwater start.

Wu Jin chose butterfly instead of breaststroke as her second event not only because she was better at butterfly than breaststroke, but also because it was easier to switch events; although butterfly is known as the most difficult and demanding of the four swimming styles.

But that's only for beginners.

In other words, butterfly stroke is more difficult to learn than the other three swimming strokes.

But for swimmers, you definitely need to learn and master all four swimming strokes.

When they joined Chen Jinglun, they had all trained in all four swimming styles.

As for whether one can excel in a particular sport or has a talent for a particular sport, that is a matter of personal choice or coach's advice. Of course, some people switch sports after swimming for a few years, such as Xu Jiayu, the future top backstroke swimmer in China, who initially trained in butterfly.

His butterfly stroke results were actually decent, but after Xu Guoyi helped him improve his backstroke, he went on to win back-to-back backstroke gold medals at the World Championships, soaring to new heights.

When it comes to judging people, Lao Xu is probably unique in the country and even the world.

Ye Shiwen is also his student. She also switched from breaststroke to individual medley and back to breaststroke, which allowed her to continue on her professional path; otherwise, she would have almost retired because she did not survive the growth spurt.

Of course, the most famous person in the world to change this event is none other than the Russian swimming king, Tsar Alexander Popov.

This legendary swimmer, who won consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100m freestyle, switched from backstroke to short-distance freestyle at the age of 19. He then broke the world record in the 100m freestyle multiple times. In the decade before Thorpe emerged, he was the king of short-distance swimming, an absolute ruler.

"let's start!"

Xu Guoyi and Lou Xia were both standing by the pool, each holding a stopwatch, clearly taking Wu Jin's butterfly test very seriously.

This is what many coaches most hope to see.

If Wu Jinzhen can shine in butterfly stroke, then with his explosive power in the 50m freestyle, his future career path will be much broader.

drop--

As the beeping sound rang out, Wu Jin kept her head down, completely focused, listening to the starting gun fire.

He had already practiced butterfly stroke in the pool for a while, so it was obviously not suitable to test it directly. He definitely needed to get used to it first.

beep!
The starting gun fired sharply, and Wu Jin immediately jumped into the pool.

Wow!
His legs were swinging simultaneously, like a dolphin's tail swaying up and down, the streamlined movement was surprisingly graceful.

Among the four swimming styles, butterfly is widely regarded as the most visually appealing and beautiful. Its movements combine strength and grace, and it is often described as "ballet in the water" or "the art of flight"!
Wu Jin has a very solid foundation built by Chen Jinglun, and with her future role as a swimming club coach, she will definitely have no problem with her swimming style.

As soon as he entered the water, he activated the intermediate acceleration.

Xu Guoyi and Lou Xia, on the shore, watched the splashing water in the swimming lane, which seemed much more impressive than the freestyle swimming.

This is the unique characteristic of the butterfly stroke.

Upon exiting the water, both arms extend simultaneously, spreading wide and sweeping like the wings of a butterfly; upon re-entering the water, the forward swing propels the body forward in layers like waves, combining explosive power with elegance, giving people a strong sense of pressure and visual impact.

Even though Wu Jin is only 12 years old, the moment she swims the butterfly stroke, there is still a sense of déjà vu.

To the untrained eye, his swimming style is clearly very imposing.

"There are... quite a few problems!"

Xu Guoyi frowned slightly, while Lou Xia next to him smiled and said, "No problem, he can realize his talent. Compared to freestyle, he is actually more suited to butterfly!"

"Yes, the speed from entering the water to exiting it is extremely fast, even by international standards!"

"The arm stroke frequency is too slow, and there are pauses between the inward stroke and the push, making it not smooth enough. Each time this happens, it wastes a little time!"

"The speed of the arm movement is also not good enough; it's still not skilled enough, and the strength is lacking!"

"Leg kick...not bad, but the second one was a bit off!"

"..."

Xu Guoyi said, glancing at the stopwatch.

His wife, who was also keeping time with a stopwatch, had turned on a voice recorder and recorded Xu Guoyi's words.

These are all major problems with Wu Jin's butterfly stroke.

Details can be fine-tuned later, and experienced coaches can spot these things at a glance.

Snapped!
After her arms flew out once, Wu Jin touched the finish line wall the instant she entered the water.

To the side!

Butterfly stroke requires both hands to touch the wall simultaneously, just like breaststroke, unlike freestyle where one hand or any part of the body can touch the wall.

Because freestyle involves arm strokes, kicks, and other movements that alternate between forward and backward, up and down; while breaststroke and butterfly involve all movements that are consistent.

So, although the leg swing in butterfly stroke may seem like it's just the same as the up-and-down swing in freestyle, the parts of the body that generate the power are actually different.

One is the waist and abdomen, and the other is the hips!

28.73!

Looking at the time it took to finally jump out, Wu Jin shook her head, panting heavily in the pool.

The butterfly stroke is indeed much more tiring and consumes more energy than the freestyle stroke.

Although he also gave it his all in freestyle, the feeling after finishing the butterfly stroke was like all the energy was released, unlike the feeling of exhaustion he experienced in freestyle.

Butterfly stroke is more about feeling like your whole body is falling apart.

"You've reached level two!"

Wu Jin suddenly smiled, though only he knew the truth.

This result was achieved after using 18 seconds of intermediate acceleration and an intermediate sprint.

Without a system, I probably wouldn't even reach level three; it would be a truly appalling situation.

If we extrapolate from this, Wu Jin's breaststroke and backstroke will only be worse.

“Not bad!”

"It was more than a second faster than I expected!"

Xu Guoyi spoke to Wu Jin, who had climbed out of the pool.

"Oh oh oh!"

"Brilliant!"

"Wow, Xiao Wu is amazing!"

"Hahaha!"

Many athletes watching Wu Jin finish the race were already cheering for him from the sidelines.

A time of 28 seconds is a level 73 achievement, which is indeed an ideal result for a 12-year-old "beginner" trying for the first time.

Wu Peng, in particular, was the one who shouted the loudest.

He is the fastest swimmer in the 50-meter butterfly in the entire Zhejiang Provincial Team, and he is also the current Asian record holder in the 200-meter butterfly.

"There are many problems!"

When Wu Jin walked up to Xu Guoyi, Xu Guoyi said something very direct.

But the next second he laughed: "With so many problems, you still swam for over 28 seconds? I can't even imagine how fast you could swim without any problems!" Wu Jin: "..."

"Really, I'm not just trying to comfort you!"

"I've estimated that if you increase your arm stroke frequency and shorten your arm recovery time, you could improve your time by at least 1-2 seconds!"

"You still have strength, but it's not enough. Of course, given your age, it's normal for you to have less strength!"

"It will grow after development. If development goes well, your strength and leg frequency can be faster, which can greatly improve your propulsion and improve your time by at least 2 seconds!"

"..."

Xu Guoyi didn't waste any words; in his eyes, Wu Jin was like a piece of uncut jade.

In fact, he also has problems with freestyle swimming, but he's just so fast!
This is talent, this is explosive power.

After all these problems were improved, just as Xu Guoyi himself said.

He really didn't dare to think about it.

You can get faster in freestyle, and you can also improve your performance in butterfly.

"What, you don't believe it?"

Seeing that Wu Jin remained silent for a long time, Xu Guoyi quickly said, "No, no coach. I'm calculating how much improvement I can make if I do what you just said!"

Wu Jin was indeed calculating.

"Haha, I've calculated it for you, it'll be at least 4 seconds!"

"Oh, and also, the water's too shallow. A deeper entry would increase the speed!"

"Then it's about reaction time, the smoothness of the inward sweep and push. If you can really do what I'm saying, it's possible to do it in 5 seconds!"

If it's 5 seconds, then it's 23.73 seconds?

When Wu Jin thought of this, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, 23 seconds is already far beyond the international level of men's 50m butterfly in long course. The current domestic record for this event is 24.50 seconds, which Zhou Jiawei swam at the National Championships last year!

He's more than a second faster than him. With that kind of performance at the World Championships, he's a shoo-in for the final, if not the championship.

Therefore, in Xu Guoyi's view, Wu Jin's 50-meter butterfly is not hopeless, but rather... has great potential.

Among the four swimming styles, butterfly is the second fastest, after freestyle. Freestyle is the fastest of all swimming styles, so the 50-meter time is the most incredible. Then comes butterfly, followed by breaststroke and backstroke!
“Practice!”

"We'll try our best to achieve the Olympic standard in the 100-meter butterfly at next year's Olympic trials!"

There is no 50-meter butterfly event in the Olympics.

Xu Guoyi clearly had high expectations for Wu Jin, and Wu Jin nodded solemnly: "Okay!"

Olympic qualification?
There's still a year left, it's not impossible!
His focus will definitely shift from freestyle to butterfly. This doesn't mean he should slack off on freestyle; rather, when training both, he should selectively shift his focus once he has achieved good results in one.

This is also common among swimmers; they don't fall behind in their original strengths just because they're learning a new sport.

You'll only practice more every day.

Individual medley is more tiring; you have to practice all four events every day.

"Oh, Coach!"

Wu Jin had almost exhausted herself, and said, "I want to try the 50-meter freestyle!"

"Okay, let's rest for half an hour before testing!"

Xu Guoyi really liked his young disciple's pragmatic attitude, and Lou Xia, who was standing next to him, also looked on with admiration; when young athletes develop new sports, they tend to selectively forget what they were good at before.

Because he was obsessed with pursuing multiple projects simultaneously and achieving results in both.

This could actually cause his grades to fluctuate.

The best approach is to maintain your training volume and performance in your original sport each day before improving in another sport.

But even in this training facility, only Wu Peng and a few others can do this.

People like Luo Xuejuan and Yu Cheng are not suitable.

Wu Peng is truly proficient in all four events. In addition to breaststroke, he has won championships in butterfly, freestyle, and medley, and holds several national and Asian records.

"Yes, this child is good!"

"28 seconds is a very good time for the first 50-meter butterfly test!"

"In the previous report Chen Jinglun gave me, he hadn't even reached level two in butterfly stroke!"

Zhang Yadong then walked over to Xu Guoyi's side. Xu Guoyi was writing down a direction for improving Wu Jin's skills. Upon hearing this, he subconsciously nodded and said, "Yes, I'm not worried about his training results now!"

"Develop!"

"What's worrying is that if we train him to move properly now, he'll have to correct all of that once he's grown up!"

"Moreover, muscle memory and growing pains may not be something you can get through..."

The coach's concerns are always based on experience.

Because too many similar cases have occurred in this venue before.

Zhang Yadong looked helpless upon hearing this. This developmental hurdle is the biggest problem in the sports world, not just in China. However, it seems that the Americans have been developing some kind of drug that can slow down development with an injection, rather than causing sudden growth.

During bone development, bones can sometimes grow very quickly.

It can grow significantly in just a few months.

So-called growing pains are when you try to resist development through training, which can be extremely painful.

Some children experience growing pains even without training, let alone athletes.

That was absolutely inhuman torture.

Girls suffer even more than boys; besides the pain, they also experience... weight gain and pelvic problems.

Female swimmers are less likely to overcome developmental barriers.

"We can only take it one step at a time and see what happens!"

"He'll have to rely on himself!"

Xu Guoyi looked at Wu Jin, who was resting to the side, and felt both delighted that a genius had redeemed his extraordinary talent at the age of 12; and how much he wished that this talent could have been realized after it had fully developed.

Then there's no need to change the movements or training... There really aren't that many perfect things in this world.

Regret will always accompany many athletes throughout their lives.

***
Time passes minute by minute.

Soon, half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Wu Jin felt that his energy and spirit had returned to their peak.

I just did a 50-meter dash at top speed, which seemed to activate every cell in my body.

She's in excellent condition.

"Then... let's go all out!"

Wu Jin got up and walked to the starting block of the training lane. His teammates, who were training there, obviously didn't know that he was going to test the 50-meter freestyle.

"What's up, Xiao Wu? Do we still need to test the 50-meter butterfly?"

Wang Haibo patted him on the shoulder, but Xu Guoyi also walked over: "Wu Jin still needs to be tested in the 50-meter freestyle!"

"Yo-ho~~~"

Not only Wang Haibo, but everyone else also got excited when they heard this.

"Damn, is the champion not satisfied with his butterfly stroke and is trying out his strongest event?"

"Haha, that must be it!"

"Get your confidence back!"

"I was a little discouraged just now!"

"..."

While the male team members were making sarcastic remarks, Wu Jin had already stood on the starting platform again.

The 50-meter butterfly was just a demonstration of Wu Jin's strength in that event, but the 50-meter freestyle... that's where the newly crowned national champion's prestige comes in.

Whether this kid can swim under 23 seconds occasionally or consistently, this test will tell us!

Swimming under 23 seconds once is nothing special, and twice could be considered a breakout performance in a competition, but to pull off another one in private is simply unbelievable. This is the future of the 50-meter freestyle... the absolute new king!
(End of this chapter)