Alex, who Dayo was looking for, was having a conversation with his coach on strategies.

"So, Coach Richard, what's your take on how I should swim the heats?"

Richard thought for a while before replying. "Stay off anything for now. You can pass everyone around you."

Alex paused. "Hmm. Alright, coach, I would do that."

"Good. Get ready for warm-up."

"Oh, before I forget, Dayo had a score of 21.89," Richard added, with a smirk forming on his lips.

Hearing this, Alex felt his heart spike. He had to perform better. "Alright, coach, I will beat that score."

Richard just smiled. He didn't need to say anything; he knew how to hype his athlete without saying much, especially those who were young and wanted to achieve much.

"Alright, good for you. I will go and check the other athletes," Richard waved at Alex, who was warming up.

Richard, as the deputy director of swimming in the national team, had other athletes — and many of them were under his control — so he went to check and motivate them.

While he was going, he thought about Dayo's time, and he couldn't help but feel that Dayo was using something, because it was unexplainable that someone starting swimming could get this kind of score and improvement.

He wanted to find out what Dayo was using and use it for his athlete also in the process claim Dayo as his athlete.

He had a plan in mind and was already in motion.

****

The Olympic Trials were running hot, and the tension in the entire building felt different from yesterday. Everyone knew today's races would decide who moved to the semifinals, and those semifinals would decide who met in the final clash.

For Alex, this was the most important morning of his entire life.

He had finished his warm-up, stretched his shoulders, and taken one last look at the scoreboard before walking to his lane.

His coach Martin's words still echoed in his head:

> "Dayo hit 21.89."

That alone was enough to make Alex's chest tighten. He hated how hearing Dayo's name made something inside him twist. But it also made him want to swim faster.

A lot faster.

***

ALEX'S FIRST HEAT

The announcer's voice boomed:

"Heat 4, men's 50m freestyle. Swimmers, on the block!"

Alex stepped up.

He inhaled. Exhaled. Focused.

BEEP!

They dived.

Alex hit the water hard, slicing straight through like he was built for this. His strokes were fast, clean, sharp — faster than anything he'd shown publicly.

The moment he touched the wall, he looked up at the screen.

21.82

He blinked.

Good. But not enough.

His coach gave a small nod from the side, and Alex immediately got out of the pool, preparing for the next heat.

---

ALEX'S SECOND HEAT

Again, he stepped onto the block. Again, he inhaled.

BEEP!

Another clean dive. Another strong sprint.

He touched again.

21.75

This time he allowed himself a small smirk.

Better.

But not enough.

He needed more. He needed to shake the Trials, break expectations, and make the media talk about him.

And he knew he still had one more race today.

***

EVENING — ALEX'S FINAL HEAT

When it was time for his last race of the day, the arena felt louder. More cameras. More analysts. More people whispering his name next to Dayo's and Evan's.

Alex stepped into the water.

His heart beat too fast. His head felt too hot. But all he could think about was Dayo.

BEEP!

He exploded off the block.

This dive felt cleaner, quicker, sharper. His strokes didn't feel like strokes — they felt like a machine was moving his arms for him.

He dashed to the finish like a bullet.

Touched.

Looked.

21.57

The crowd reacted immediately.

A few gasps. A few cheers. A few analysts rushed to take notes.

This was the best time of the Trials so far.

Alex stepped out of the pool with fire in his eyes. He wasn't smiling wildly, but he felt the satisfaction settle deep inside his chest.

He wanted the media to talk. He wanted America to see him.

Maybe they finally would.

***

DAYO'S SEMIFINAL HEAT

Earlier that afternoon, Dayo had already done his own races.

He and Evan were placed in the same group for their semifinal heat, which immediately drew more cameras.

People knew these two would make the final.

The question was: who would lead?

When the buzzer went off, both swimmers dove at nearly identical speed. For the first half, they were completely level — almost like a mirror race.

But at around 30 meters, Dayo's stroke subtly changed.

Longer. Sharper. Cleaner.

He glided past Evan like he was shifting into a higher gear.

BEEP!

Dayo finished at the wall and looked up.

21.68

He smiled slightly.

Not his best ever, but a very good semifinal time.

Evan's score popped up:

21.74

A solid second place in the heat.

Evan swam over, breathing heavily, smiling.

"Tell me you weren't holding back."

Dayo chuckled.

"Maybe a little."

***

Everyone watching knew what the finals were shaping up to be:

Dayo.

Alex.

Evan.

Three different stories. Three rising fires. Three people the entire stadium couldn't stop talking about.

NBC Sports posted almost immediately:

"The Big Three of the 50m — Dayo, Alex, Evan. Tomorrow's final will be explosive."

ESPN added:

"Fastest scores so far: Alex at 21.57, Dayo at 21.68, Evan at 21.74. Expect a war."

And fans online were even louder:

"JD IS HIMMM"

"Alex came to fight omg"

"Evan steady consistent he's dangerous too"

"Finals tomorrow = madness"

Everyone could feel what tomorrow would be.

Dayo was sitting in the crowd as he watched Alex finish his race first when he checked his stats he was stunned not because of what he saw but because of whay je didn't see

[Talent Vision Activated]

Target Acquired: Alex

Age: 21

Talent Rating: S+

Current Level: A-

Potential Reach: S+

Condition:Good.

Dayo was stunned hw though that Alex was using but seeing that the system marked him as clear created doubt in Dayo's mind.

It was until Dayo checked it again and saw that Alex Current stats showed an A- whivh was two level below A+ this made Dayo understand that he did use but hw didn't use it in the heat because of he could win without it.

But all of this was speculation the finals would speak the truth and he couldn't wait and he would win regardless of whatever happens.

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