Chapter 502: Award Presentation

Chapter 502: The Accolades

How many awards Meng Fan would ultimately secure stood as the grandest suspense of this year's China Top Ten Laureus Grand Prix.

Indeed, the suspense lay not in whether he would win, but in how many he could claim.

Meng Fan's six nominations spanned Best Male Athlete, Best Breakthrough, Best Newcomer, Most Popular Athlete, Best Coach, and Best Team, the latter shared with the Chinese Mixed Judo Team.

Among these, the Most Popular Athlete award was undoubtedly his; it was not that the other four nominees lacked renown, but rather that Meng Fan's popularity was simply overwhelming, so much so that their combined following did not even reach half of his. Had this award gone to anyone else, it would have defied all logic.

Another prize virtually within his grasp was Best Male Athlete. Although weightlifting, wrestling, and judo were hardly mainstream sports—and no athlete from these disciplines had ever won Best Male Athlete before—Meng Fan's feat of spanning three major categories altered the entire equation, to say nothing of his five gold medals in a single Olympic Games, making his victory an absolute certainty.

This context applied specifically to the era following the merger of the 2004 China Top Ten Athletes and the Laureus Awards; prior to that, athletes from these sports had certainly been honored, though the accolades back then were not divided into ten distinct categories and were simply known collectively as the China Top Ten Athletes.

These two honors carried the greatest weight and prestige within the China Top Ten Laureus Grand Prix, and Meng Fan possessed the highest probability of sweeping both, as recent years had shown a strong tendency for the Best Athlete to also secure the Most Popular Athlete title.

As for the remaining four nominations, the outcome was genuinely unpredictable. While Meng Fan was a formidable contender in each, his chances of winning them were statistically slim, purely because no single individual had ever claimed three awards at once, let alone achieved a clean sweep.

Yet, the reason his potential haul was considered the night's ultimate suspense stemmed from his utterly supernatural performance on the field over the past year, with achievements that were nothing short of breathtaking.

To capture five Olympic gold medals across three distinct major sports while maintaining absolute dominance in each was unprecedented.

With such a record, shattering tradition and conjuring a miracle at this ceremony did not seem impossible at all.

But what of Meng Fan himself? Did he long for these accolades? Did he yearn for them?

To tell the truth, he did.

Even with his cheat code of a system, he had still poured in genuine effort and truly relished the thrill of competition; where there is effort and sacrifice, there is naturally a yearning for harvest, a fundamental human trait from which Meng Fan was not exempt.

Of course, he harbored no greed; he would be perfectly content with just the Best Male Athlete award, and adding the Most Popular Athlete award would be the ideal outcome. As for the other four nominations, he would welcome them if given, but would not pine for them if they eluded him.

His state of mind remained remarkably balanced.

The award ceremony commenced precisely at eight in the evening. In recent years, with the maturity of live-streaming technology, production teams had grown more numerous, professional, convenient, and cost-effective, ensuring the China Top Ten Laureus Grand Prix was broadcast live, with its streaming rights selling exceptionally well and attracting a formidable viewership.

This year, however, the hosting organizer—Beijing Five Men Army Culture and Sports Development Company—felt an acute pang of regret. They had signed a three-year live-streaming contract with the Penguin Video website the previous year, and though the licensing fee increased by a set percentage annually, they were still losing out tremendously. Had this year's broadcasting rights been sold under normal market conditions, the fee could have easily been tripled, if not increased fivefold or more.

Why was there such a massive discrepancy?

Firstly, because this was an Olympic year, which naturally drew far greater public attention to sports accolades. It was precisely for this reason that the three-year contract had included provisions for proportional increases in the latter two years.

Secondly, it was because of Meng Fan. His popularity was staggering, particularly when it came to live broadcasts; regardless of the content, any stream featuring him shattered viewership and engagement records. Furthermore, his historic six nominations this year had millions tuning in just to witness his crowning moments.

Yet, the contract was signed, and there was absolutely nothing to be done about it.

Who could have foreseen the sudden rise of such a prodigy, or anticipated that an athlete's popularity could reach such heights, single-handedly driving the viewership of an awards gala to unprecedented peaks?

"How many are online right now?"

As the gala began smoothly, the head of the live-streaming team inquired out of curiosity regarding the current online viewership.

"We just crossed one million!"

"Two million?!"

"Yes... well, it's already at one point three million now. Ever since the gala started, the influx of online viewers has accelerated rapidly. The one million figure was from about five minutes ago. If I remember correctly, this online count has already surpassed last year's peak."

"How long until the first award Meng Fan is nominated for?"

"It's the very next one, the Best Newcomer award."

"Then the numbers will likely surge even more during this window. Keep a close eye on the channel's concurrent users to prevent any lag or server crashes."

"...Chief, what do you think the peak viewership will be tonight?"

"I honestly can't say for sure, but given the current trajectory, we must prepare for at least three million concurrent viewers, if not significantly more!"

"Understood, I'm on it!"

The first accolade presented at the ceremony was Best Female Athlete, adhering to the tradition of the China Top Ten Laureus Grand Prix. The event typically opened with either Best Male Athlete or Best Female Athlete, pushing the other to the middle of the program, while the grand finale was always reserved for the Most Popular Athlete of the Year.

Following the first presentation, the second award was traditionally the Best Newcomer. This category did not strictly require the recipient to have begun competing only this year; rather, it designated athletes who had entered top-tier competitions and achieved notable results within the year. The scope was flexible, which was precisely why Meng Fan had been shortlisted; otherwise, given that he had already begun competing the previous year, he would have been ineligible.

Like all the other categories, the Best Newcomer award featured a total of five nominees.

There was only a single presenter for this award, as not every category required a pair or a male-female duo. This presenter was a legendary figure in the sporting world, the pioneer of Chinese short track speed skating, China's first Winter Olympic champion, and the Chinese athlete with the most world championship titles at fifty-nine, currently serving as the Chairperson of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Committee—a truly heavyweight presenter.

"Next, I shall announce the winner of the Best Newcomer Award for the 2020 China Top Ten Laureus Grand Prix."

Yang Muyi opened the envelope, glanced at the name, and smiled warmly, saying, "It is indeed him! This past year, this newcomer burst onto the scene like a sudden storm, sweeping through every major tournament with absolute dominance! I believe everyone has already guessed the recipient's identity—Meng Fan!"