Drama Queen Reborn as a Top Student!-Chapter 871 - 418: The Dark Horse Emerges

July 28th, sunny, breeze.

The Swimming World Championships has officially begun.

Sports channels are broadcasting, and the media are scrambling to report, heating up the competition.

The warm-up race is the women’s 50-meter freestyle preliminaries. Competitors from over a dozen countries have fought their way through several rounds to earn their ticket to the World Championships, and now they are vying for a ticket to the Olympics, making the competition fierce.

The preliminaries consist of eight groups, each with eight people, and the top sixteen based on total performance will advance to the semifinals.

Swimming enthusiasts have been waiting early in front of the TV or computer, ready to watch the event.

This race is dubbed the "Water Sprint Showdown," where victory is often decided by milliseconds. The popular contender is the new generation athlete Judith from Siland, who broke through the 23-second mark for the first time in the preliminary meet a month ago, shocking the swimming world.

Currently, the world record is still held by Elaine from the same country as Judith, at 23.66 seconds, unbroken for six years.

In this competition, many are betting that Judith will break Elaine’s record and create a new history.

The Hua Country team is sending eight competitors in total, all from the national team according to official data, including seasoned veterans and new generation athletes.

The one that attracts the most attention is the swimming star Wang Qingyan. Her freestyle performance is not so eye-catching, but her butterfly stroke performance is very remarkable, holding the best record in Asia at present.

However, according to rumors, Wang Qingyan rejected many commercial activities and has been training hard within the team, achieving a breakthrough in her freestyle in the preliminary meet, and many expect her to have even more breakthrough performances in this World Championships.

Next is Shi Rui, known for her explosive power, being a strong contender in short distances, currently holding the record for the domestic 50-meter freestyle, with everyone expecting her to refresh the record anew.

Additionally, new generation fighters Wu Xue and Yao Jia are also the public’s expected competitors.

In the official list of competitors, everyone noticed a mysterious name.

Shen You’an.

Fans and audience who follow the swimming events are very unfamiliar with this name, but those who followed the previous All-Crown event recognized her as the black horse champion who appeared out of nowhere.

Getting into the national team so quickly shows her strength is not to be underestimated.

It seems that the surprise the head coach hinted at during the media briefing yesterday was referring to her.

However, with only the title of All-Crown champion, the public does not fully understand her ability, and being her first time participating in a major event, still under sixteen years old, the focus might be gathering experience, with the public’s attention more on those star players.

Shi Qingqing, as a veteran Lemons, usually does not pay attention to sports, but her parents are sports enthusiasts, especially loving to watch swimming events. Thus, early in the morning, her mother prepared sunflower seeds and tea, and turned on the TV.

Shi Qingqing stayed up late last night fighting against gossip rumors, and got up after nine o’clock, sluggishly dragging her feet to the dining table where breakfast was left by Mom.

The TV was broadcasting an intense swimming race, seemingly the 50-meter freestyle preliminaries.

Shi Qingqing was forced to overhear, feeling it extremely boring, took out her phone to browse forums while having breakfast.

A friend sent a WeChat message asking if she wanted to go out shopping, mentioning that her favorite handmade store has new arrivals.

Shi Qingqing glanced outside at the blazing sun, shivered, and quickly refused.

"Congratulations to Shi Rui for taking first in the group, but whether she can advance still depends on the overall rankings, only the top sixteen can advance to the semifinals. Next is the last group, which includes two of our national team members, Wang Qingyan and Shen You’an...".

The commentator’s voice came through the TV with a rising and falling cadence, carrying excitement that filled one with fervor just hearing it.

Shi Qingqing bit into the corn, suddenly froze.

"Shen You’an?"

Was she hallucinating?

How could she hear Shen You’an’s name in a sports channel event?

Could it be a namesake?

"The race has started, currently Wang Qingyan is leading, Shen You’an is not slow, she has overtaken Wang Qingyan...".

Shi Qingqing ran to the TV, her eyes riveted to the screen.

Mom Shi grumbled, "Move aside, you’re blocking my view of the competition."

The TV screen was broadcasting the group stage conclusion, focusing closely on the athletes.

This group stage first-place Shen You’an left everyone with only a view of her back getting out of the water, but her slender figure and smooth, fair skin were dazzlingly eye-catching.