Chapter 432: Flourishing in Both Culture and Sports

Chapter 432: Flourishing in Both Arts and Sports

In the men's freestyle wrestling 130kg category, CCTV-5 only broadcast the final live, with a brief recap before the match of Meng Fan's journey from the elimination rounds to the semifinals. The four matches combined lasted less than a minute, and adding the final match with two "OK" calls, it barely made a full minute.

In wrestling and judo, aside from the team events where Meng Fan had to fight to a full score, every other match was extremely quick. The recap highlights truly didn't take much time, and thus many people felt they had watched all of Meng Fan's matches.

Having watched Meng Fan's related competitions over these days, everyone had clearly grown accustomed to his prowess. Especially after the weightlifting events, when ordinary viewers returned to wrestling and judo, their surprise diminished even further. They all recalled the saying "one force overcomes ten skills" and felt that with Meng Fan's immense strength, these matches were just a casual affair.

To be honest, Meng Fan had, to some extent, misled people.

Of course, he also "recruited" a great many strongmen for the two sports of wrestling and judo. The following Olympic cycle became a golden period of development for China's wrestling and judo programs. At the next Olympics, multiple Chinese wrestlers with tremendous strength would emerge, each equipped with a set of tailored techniques and tactics. These techniques naturally came from the "Meng-style combat methods," and after the Olympics, these wrestlers earned a unified title—the Iron Army.

As for weightlifting, it certainly gained a large influx of fresh blood thanks to Meng Fan, though ironically, the heaviest weight class where Meng Fan competed saw very few participants.

To return to the point, Meng Fan's victory in the men's freestyle wrestling championship meant he had won five Olympic gold medals. With all of Meng Fan's competitions concluded, it was presumably "finalized" with no further changes. The domestic media, which had already been hyping Meng Fan to the skies, now had even fewer reservations. They racked their brains for words, knowing that no matter how much they praised him from now on, it would never be too much.

Among the most frequently used phrases and sentences were the following: the first Olympic champion to span three major sports, the greatest weightlifter of all time, the greatest wrestler of all time, the Chinese athlete with the most gold medals in a single Olympics, the athlete with the second-most gold medals in a single Olympics in history, the athlete with the most gold medals in a debut Olympics... and also the most handsome Olympic champion ever, as well as the most humble athlete in interviews.

Moreover, it wasn't just domestic media that went overboard; foreign reports also erupted like a geyser, all adorned with terms like "of all time" and "first in history."

Although the Olympics still had four days to go, Meng Fan had undoubtedly become the most popular athlete of these Games, the one who stole the spotlight the most, and it could be asserted that he was the athlete with the most gold medals at this Olympics.

In other words, after his Olympic competitions, Meng Fan had become a globally renowned sports superstar!

Domestically, Meng Fan had the nickname "Iron God," while abroad, he earned a nickname prefixed with his country's name—"Chinese Meng"!

Some transliterated it as "Meng," while others phonetically transformed it into "Dream"!

"Finally done!"

Within two hours after the match, the victorious Meng Fan had to undergo another doping test. After providing a sample, he originally planned to let loose and eat hotpot, but that wasn't possible—at least not until the Olympics ended and he returned home. One reason was discipline, and another was the possibility of additional random tests.

Of course, going out for hotpot was out of the question, but he could eat hotpot in the Olympic Village. The dining standards at the Tokyo Olympic Village were quite high, and the food tasted good, but the hotpot flavor was somewhat lacking—no matter how he ate it, it didn't hit the spot.

Indeed, the ingredients that would hit the spot were all banned for athletes.

Fortunately, entering and leaving the Olympic Village was much freer, as long as he didn't break the national team's rules. Thus, Meng Fan could take his family around—strolling, sightseeing, watching them eat, and so on—as well as going to other venues to watch competitions.

Of course, Meng Fan wasn't immune to the trend; he also chose to watch events where the Chinese team had a chance at gold, such as the women's 10-meter platform diving on the 13th competition day, and the men's doubles badminton on the 14th.

As for the next day, the 15th competition day, he had already decided to go watch the women's volleyball final—the Chinese women's volleyball team had once again reached the final. Their opponent was not the traditional powerhouses USA, Brazil, or Russia, nor the previous runner-up Serbia, but another European strong team, Italy. This was the most formidable team in recent years and would be the biggest obstacle and final hurdle on China's path to defending their title.

Just after watching the men's doubles badminton match and singing the national anthem as he left the venue, Meng Fan ran into an acquaintance—Goro Takahashi from Kodansha.

"Meng Fan-kun!"

Takahashi approached with a smile, then respectfully greeted Meng Fan's parents and others—this respect was not only due to Meng Fan's status as a manga artist and athlete but mainly because Meng Fan had saved his life—after which he invited Meng Fan to speak privately.

"Takahashi-san, is there something you need?"

Meng Fan could tell this was no coincidence, nor was it just to say hello, so he asked, "Is it about the manga?"

"Yes."

Takahashi didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly: "After internal discussions, we want to release the tankobon of your 'Shanhai Qiren' ahead of schedule. I came specifically to discuss this with you."

"How far ahead?"

Meng Fan thought for a moment, understanding their intention, and asked, "To during the Olympics?"

Takahashi nodded: "Yes. If you allow, we can release it tomorrow. Additionally, we'd like to arrange a signing event for you. What do you think..."

Meng Fan wasn't surprised by the pace. Given the popularity he had gained from the Olympics, even if it was a last-minute decision with no prior promotion, there was no need to worry. No amount of promotion could compare to the five events he had competed in and the five gold medals he had won.

"I have no objection to that."

Meng Fan naturally had no opposition. If Kodansha felt that now was the time to release the tankobon, Meng Fan agreed wholeheartedly.

In fact, Meng Fan had harbored a slight thought of this from the beginning, which was why two months ago, when Kodansha had prepared to discuss the tankobon with him, he had declined, citing his busy schedule preparing for the Olympics.

"Shanhai Qiren" had now been serialized for nearly 70 chapters, and with its popularity, it was already ripe for a tankobon release. Now was indeed the best time.

Meng Fan then asked, "I'd like to know the specific schedule you have in mind for me. Although my competitions are over, it's still during the Olympics, so I need to apply for itinerary arrangements with the national team."

(End of chapter)