Chapter 2401 - 607: The Swimmer

Chapter 2401: Chapter 607: The Swimmer

Jonathan Brownlee doesn’t see it that way.

He and his brother were born in Leeds, but his older brother Alistair is a Manchester United fan—back when they first went to Yorktown to race a triathlon, his brother defected.

Of course, he defected too.

When Huang Kaiwen was playing for Chel, he often went to London to watch matches.

So his understanding of Huang Kaiwen is clearer than that of the other competitors.

In Jonathan Brownlee’s mind, Huang Kaiwen can do anything.

Only people who followed the news back then know how big a shock Huang Kaiwen gave London.

That time he saved the school bus without a scratch—he practically matched the gods with mortal flesh.

The Royal Academy of Sciences simulated that situation countless times and concluded there was only one explanation—miracle.

Although the Germans claimed it was due to their superior vehicle safety, Jonathan Brownlee didn’t believe a single letter of it.

Some people think Huang Kaiwen might not even finish the race, or that his finishing time will be very long.

Jonathan, however, feels that Huang Kaiwen is going straight for the title.

They assume that Huang Kaiwen will run out of stamina later.

But what if, in every single segment, Huang Kaiwen goes all out, full blast?

Jonathan doesn’t dare bet against him—because Huang Kaiwen has never lost!

Right now all he can do is follow that red silhouette and push forward with everything he’s got.

On the shore, Inzaghi is running forward along with him.

He actually believes Huang Kaiwen can win.

But entering a pure endurance event still makes him a bit worried.

It’s not like there haven’t been footballers who took up marathons after retiring.

Beckham is the most famous example.

Newspapers made it sound like he trained every single day.

But once it came to actual races he never got any real placing.

That’s why Inzaghi is worried.

He has to watch Huang Kaiwen race with his own eyes to be at ease.

As Huang Kaiwen hits the first obstacle turn, he suddenly slows down.

Some athletes are already snickering to themselves.

Thinking Huang Kaiwen needs a rest.

But Huang Kaiwen only pauses for a single second before detonating at full power again; he mainly does it to reset his breathing rhythm.

Which is extremely important in swimming.

Right now the man in front is the Spanish athlete Javier Gomez.

Next is the Netherlands athlete Ate Bigliet.

Right behind comes the older Brownlee brother, Alistair.

Huang Kaiwen and the younger Brownlee are in roughly the same spot.

This order actually makes it easier for Jonathan Brownlee to observe Huang Kaiwen’s movement.

Doing your own specialty sport side by side with your favorite football star—how can you not be curious?

Every time he breathes, Jonathan is watching Huang Kaiwen out of the corner of his eye.

Huang Kaiwen’s swimming is way better than he imagined.

How should he put it?

In his impression, football stars all have big houses with pools.

But those pools are used far more for parties than for anything serious.

Even when they do swim, it’s just for recovery; he really didn’t expect Huang Kaiwen’s level to be this high.

The key thing is the breathing.

Huang Kaiwen’s breathing rate is fast, but it feels strange to Jonathan.

A kind of indescribable oddness.

Sticking with Huang Kaiwen’s pace, he can clearly feel it getting hard.

Yet his head is full of questions about what Huang Kaiwen is doing.

Then suddenly, a lightbulb flicks on—it’s the frequency!

Huang Kaiwen’s breathing frequency, the consistency of it is absurdly, shockingly good.

With 55 athletes starting together and only one shortest route within the rules, it’s common to have other swimmers near you.

But whether there are people around him or he’s turning near an obstacle, Huang Kaiwen keeps his breathing rhythm rock steady.

meters.

Huang Kaiwen changes tactics again.

Sun Yang is the type who uses low-frequency strokes to hit maximum speed.

But Huang Kaiwen’s reaction off the start is even faster, so at the beginning he’d planned to grab the lead with a high-frequency, explosive sprint.

After discovering that these guys’ swimming level is ridiculously strong—

Huang Kaiwen switches to the same low-frequency mode as Sun Yang.

Two arm strokes, four kicks, light contact with the water, still minimizing drag. His legs apply little force, his body balance stays good, maximizing propulsion and minimizing energy drain.

Another point is improving oxygen efficiency—the legs are too far from the heart.

So one arm stays out front for support, the other strokes, legs flick lightly, steadily holding his current position, waiting to try a final burst in the last phase.

This is also a staple tactic in 1500m freestyle.

In the first 1300 meters you try to minimize consumption, all for that final-stage explosion.

Further back in the pack, the fight is extremely fierce.

It’s often several people turning together, and the battle for the line has gone white-hot. Everyone wants the shortest possible path, which leads to body contact that ramps up their energy expenditure.

Milanello.

Buffon’s tray is piled high with food.

But he keeps his head up, staring at the TV.

"Why aren’t you eating?"

Zambrotta asks.

The two were longtime teammates back at Juventus.

"Nah, I’m just wondering why Kevin still isn’t in first."

Buffon mutters.

Even though Huang Kaiwen has made a breakthrough in sprinting—

Buffon is still a bit worried about him in triathlon.

After all, this sport comes with a whole stack of titles; what if Huang Kaiwen suddenly gets it into his head to become the strongest athlete in the world?

He’s worried Huang Kaiwen might get upset if he loses.

And he’s also afraid that if Huang Kaiwen wins, he’ll want to go after the full Ironman distance, the complete version of the triathlon.

Right now Buffon flat-out hates the Olympics.

Damn, he got battered for so long, and he finally ended up on the same team as Huang Kaiwen.

But now he has to live every day on edge.

Afraid Huang Kaiwen will go replace Ferguson, or switch to some other sport.

Granted, there aren’t many sports in the world that make more money than football.

But Huang Kaiwen doesn’t need money, which means he has a lot more options.

Return on investment from a sport doesn’t even factor in.

It all comes down to honor.

If Huang Kaiwen had any interest in those sports in the United States, Buffon would also have to worry about him going to play baseball or joining the NBA.

The temptations in this world are endless.

And in football, Huang Kaiwen doesn’t really have any new challenges left.

Buffon practically wants to invent some drug that turns people young again, shoot up all those old masters, bring Zoff and Pele back to their prime and have them form a Galactic XI to face Milan.

With half the race done, Huang Kaiwen is still in the lead group.

But he hasn’t moved right to the front yet.

A race that often runs close to two hours gives the commentators plenty of room to riff.

"Huang Kaiwen is swimming very steadily, but we can also see several veteran stars performing solidly—the competition inside the lead group isn’t that intense."

"Right, mainly because if you attack, I attack too; everyone roughly knows each other’s limits, so there’s no need for a macho showdown. The race is still long, and if you burn too much in the swim, it’s easy to hand an advantage to the others."

"Exactly. When this segment ends, the athletes will start the 43km bike leg from Hyde Park, looping around the park past Buckingham Palace, Victoria Square and other iconic London sights. This loop is a bit over 6km, and they’ll ride seven laps."

"The camera’s on Prince William now—he’s hardly taken his eyes off Huang Kaiwen’s race. You can tell he really loves sport."

"Now there’s about 400 meters left, and Huang Kaiwen starts to pick up the pace! His stroke rate just shot up, haha, I said earlier he’d been too quiet for too long—Huang Kaiwen is not the type to settle for trailing behind."

Huang Kaiwen triggers a catfish effect.

Almost instantly, the entire lead group starts to push.

Alistair Brownlee begins accelerating, swimming forward.

Javier Gomez pulls even further ahead.

But the commotion behind still draws his attention.

He can’t possibly turn his head to check now; all he can do is keep his own rhythm.

From the moment Huang Kaiwen attacks, the spectators on shore are in uproar.

Even though you’re supposed to be polite when watching live, it’s hard not to get swept up in the rush.

Damn!

Alistair Brownlee did not expect Huang Kaiwen to start his burst this early.

There are still around 400 meters to go!

He seriously doubts whether Huang Kaiwen understands anything about energy management in triathlon—do you really think finishing the swim in first automatically means you’ll finish first overall?

,