Chapter 464: National Shot Put Record

Chapter 464: The National Shot Put Record

“I keep feeling like something’s about to happen!”

Yes, even though this was just a school-level athletic meet, CCTV-5 had sent reporters.

Meng Fan’s acquaintances—the same team that had handled all his interview work since the Zhejiang Province basketball shooting machine competition—were there.

The cameraman, hearing the reporter’s muttering, chuckled and said, “Isn’t something already happening?”

The reporter shook his head. “I feel like something even bigger is coming!”

Aside from a few exceptions, most of CCTV-5’s sports news reporters came from relevant professional backgrounds. They were true insiders, deeply familiar with sports themselves. They had a thorough grasp of various sports data and records, and even if they couldn’t memorize everything, they could quickly pick up on “danger signals” from the data, react swiftly, and find the relevant information.

When Meng Fan’s first throw result came out, the reporter was stunned for a moment. The 18.18 meters was oddly specific, making him think of Meng Fan’s previous achievements—866 points in the basketball shooting machine, 233 kg in the clean and jerk, and so on. Then, instinctively, the standard for a national first-class athlete—16.05 meters—flashed through his mind. A quick check revealed that the Zhejiang Provincial University Games record had already been broken, and it was less than half a meter shy of the National University Games record.

As for why the number was 18.18?

Who knows!

Could Meng Fan really control the distance with such precision?

Different fields are like separate mountains. Although Meng Fan’s extraordinary strength was known worldwide, throwing such a result in a completely new domain still amazed a professional like the reporter.

But halfway through his amazement, he relaxed. It seemed the saying “different fields are like separate mountains” had never really applied to Meng Fan.

The most crucial point was that he knew Meng Fan—especially his “style” in competitions. Take weightlifting, for example: no matter how astonished everyone was by his first attempt, Meng Fan would always prove with his final lift that the first was truly just a “trial.” Historical experience also told the reporter that Meng Fan’s first move was always “low-key,” “modest,” and held back.

If nothing unexpected happened, the reporter believed Meng Fan’s next throw would bring another surprise. Well, if this were any other arena, the reporter would bet on a 100% probability. But at a school-level meet, the odds might be much, much lower.

Wait. He waited until the first-round results were tallied and the second-round participants were announced. Then he waited again, through all the other competitors’ throws, until it was Meng Fan’s turn.

During this “long” wait, it was clear that many people, curious about Meng Fan’s “18.18,” had asked Baidu and gotten the answers they wanted. It was also clear that many, like the reporter, were eagerly anticipating Meng Fan’s next throw. Those who knew Meng Fan better weren’t even wondering what his second throw would be—they were just hoping he wouldn’t skip it!

As long as he didn’t skip, given Meng Fan’s “style,” the result would definitely go up!

Skip?

Of course not.

This wasn’t like an international weightlifting competition where he held back. This was just for fun. Everyone wanted to know how far Meng Fan could throw, and Meng Fan wanted to know too.

His last shot put attempt was a year ago. Over the past year, his strength had increased tremendously. He was genuinely curious what kind of result he could achieve with such an unrefined throwing motion and no professional training—how far could raw power take him?

Stepping into the throwing area, Meng Fan was much more serious this time. He went through the motions, releasing the shot with his fingertips. Perhaps because he truly lacked professional training, the movements were stiff, and the final finger flick was anything but smooth. The arc of the shot after release was quite ugly. After the throw, Meng Fan lunged forward, nearly stepping over the foul line. In short, it looked a bit clumsy.

Yet, despite all that, the distance the shot traveled was still farther than his first throw. Even to the naked eye of the spectators, it was clearly much farther—so far, in fact, that it landed beyond the sandpit!

“20.65 meters!”

The referee paused for a long moment before announcing the result.

The reason for the long pause was that, before Meng Fan’s throw, he—like many others—had looked up a lot of data, including the National University Games record, the national record, and the world record!

And Meng Fan’s second throw had already broken the national record!

The national record was 20.41 meters, set by Zhang Jun at the 2009 East Asian Games (renamed the East Asian Youth Games in 2019). That record had stood for over a decade.

—A side note: the world record was 23.12 meters, set in the 1990s, untouched for 30 years. Records in throwing events in athletics have always been “aged”; besides shot put, the records for hammer throw and discus have also stood for over 30 years.

—Another side note: the women’s shot put national record was farther than the men’s. Not because Chinese women were stronger than men, but because they used a lighter shot. And yes, that record had stood even longer.

“It really came!”

The CCTV-5 reporter’s mouth fell open, and the cameraman’s hands clearly trembled.

“Damn it!”

Dean Zhan, who had come to the Fine Arts Academy in the afternoon with his wife and kids for some fun, saw the result and his face instantly changed. Surprise was certain, and he was happy for Meng Fan’s achievement, but it was also a huge headache.

Once this result came out—even if it wouldn’t be officially recognized as a record—the national shot put team would definitely come knocking.

Meng Fan already participated in weightlifting, wrestling, and judo—that was plenty! If he added shot put... Well, Dean Zhan admitted it would be an incredibly exciting and miraculous thing, but he couldn’t help feeling that Meng Fan would be too busy. Forget training; just scheduling competitions would be a nightmare. From a “selfish” perspective, his weightlifting appearances would surely decrease. Even if Meng Fan had boundless energy, time was finite. Even if he could manage, could the schedule accommodate it?

No!

He had to call Xiao Yunlin and Hu Cunyong immediately. The three of them needed to stand united on this. Even though the shot put side hadn’t made any moves yet, they had to discuss countermeasures in advance. Even if they couldn’t stop Meng Fan from eventually adding shot put, they had to ensure weightlifting, wrestling, and judo took priority in event scheduling.

“What?”

“Shot put?”

“How did he get involved with shot put too?”

“He really broke the national record?”

Dean Zhan found a quiet spot and started a group video call with Xiao Yunlong and Hu Cunyong. After explaining the situation, both of them exploded.

“No way! We need to inform the center immediately!”

“I happen to be here today... Director Xiong! Big trouble! That... Old Zhan, you explain!”

Hu Cunyong, who was at the center, pulled Director Xiong into the frame. He was so nervous—he had come today specifically to arrange the upcoming wrestling schedule, with Meng Fan as the key focus.

(End of Chapter)