King of Sports 219 Olympic Year

"Your highness!" Campbell stood up suddenly.

The bow that Prince William was referring to was the bow Tang Yan had just used just now, the one given to Prince William by the Queen.

As a gift given by the queen to the prince, it was naturally extraordinary.

"Duke Campbell, please calm yourself there's no need to be so excited, I have already discussed it with Her Majesty, and she agrees with me. Tang Yan's performance was inspiring and he'll have more use for the bow than me!" Prince William said lightly.

"So Tang Yan I would like to give you this bow as a friend!" 

A friend!

Prince William actually called Tang Yan a friend!

Duke Campbell didn't know how to describe his emotions at the moment.

With Prince William's words the matter was settled, no one else spoke up. After all, although the bow was given to the prince by Her Majesty, it was ultimately his now to do with what he wanted so if he wanted to pass it onto a friend he could. They had nothing to say.

What's more, Her Majesty the Queen was sitting here, and there was a slight smile on her face. She obviously appreciated Tang Yan's performance as well.

"It would be my honor, your highness." Tang Yan said with a smile.

The bow Tang Yan was being given was one of extraordinary origin. It was 1 of only 3 bows to be recovered and refurbished from the Mary Rose, a ship of Henry VIII's navy that had capsized and sank at Portsmouth in 1545.

It was an extraordinary bow and a very worthwhile collectible.

After dinner, Tang Yan's visit to the palace was over.

Prince William had drawn him into conversation throughout the dinner and despite the difference in age and status, it had been quite a relaxed chat over a range of topics. He had gained an appreciation for the Prince.

Waiting for the departure car, Tang Yan looked back at Buckingham Palace in the night, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth.

Although this visit hadn't gone as he had initially imagined, it was kind of fun and this would be one hell of a tale to pass on in the future. 

Tang Yan, finished with the commercial and everything else he had to do, didn't stay in the UK for much longer after the dinner. He flew back to China a couple of days after the event but not before making sure to buy gifts and souvenirs.

The Snickers ad was going through post-production processing and was scheduled to air, a bit before the end of the year.

.....

After returning to China, the first thing he did was to report to the Zhejiang Swimming Team.

At the end of the Shanghai Swimming World Championships, he and Shen Qing had discussed follow-up swimming arrangements.

And Shen Qing had already made preparations.

The game plan was very simple, that was to get as many gold medals as possible at the cost of abandoning long-distance projects.

The 800m freestyle was not included at the Olympics. So that didn't make too much of a difference but he would be giving up the 1500m freestyle and as for the 400m freestyle they hadn't made a decision yet, they were waiting to see the Olympic schedule to decide whether to cut it or leave it.

So with this in mind, Tang Yan's next goal became clear.

The 2012 National Swimming Championships.

The championship was held once a year, and the purpose of each year was different. For example, the Jiangcheng Swimming Championships that Tang Yan participated in before was actually a selection event for the Shanghai World Championships.

The 2012 Championships would be even more meaningful because it would be an Olympic year.

Four years and one Olympics, the Olympic year was of great significance to athletes.

With his performance at the Shanghai World Championships Tang Yan naturally didn't need to participate to secure a spot but that was only for freestyle.

But he wasn't content and wanted to try out for the butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke events.

So in order to obtain an Olympic ticket for these disciplines, he would have to fight for a spot at the National Championships.

He had to get to work and master three new strokes in time for the Championships. But Shen Qing had already crafted an intense training plan for him and with 80% of Zhang Shun's abilities picking up the other three strokes would be much smoother, though it would still require intense work.

So, for the next few months, Tang Yan dedicated all his time to the swimming pool. He practically ate and slept at the swimming centre. 

.....

Time flew by fast, and soon it was 2012, after half a year of an intense training camp, Tang Yan had mastered the other three swimming styles as much as freestyle.

So along with a couple of teammates he left Yuhang City and got a coach to Yanxing City.

Yanxing was located in the north-central part of the Zhejiang Province, close to Yuhang City, the capital of Zhejiang. 

The National Swimming Championships were being held there.

Tang Yan's impression of Yanxing wasn't very deep in his previous life, but it was a coincidence that after Yan Bing moved from Lotus City, the place she moved was Yanxing.

And so after knowing that Tang Yan was coming to Yanxing, Yan Bing actually returned from Shanghai and offered to play landlord and show him around. 

The day after arriving in Yanxing, Tang Yan and his teammates conducted field training but in the afternoon Tang Yan was left off and he headed to the city with Zhuang Jiajie to participate in a promotional event.

When Tang Yan was still in swimming camp, he had received an invitation from the Yanxing Municipal Government inviting him as a guest of the Yanxing Wushu Association.

The promotion event for the Wushu Association was held in Yuecheng District, which was under the jurisdiction of the Yanxing Municipal Government.

After more than one year, Tang Yan had completed his transformation from obscurity to a household name. So they had called on Tang Yan to provide an endorsement. 

Chapter end