Chapter 385: The Olympics

Chapter 385: The Olympics

The competitions of the Olympics officially commenced from the second day onwards. Unlike the tightly scheduled modern Olympics, due to the limited number of events and participants, the schedule was quite relaxed. For instance, on the first day at the main stadium, only the heats for the 100 meters and 200 meters were scheduled.

As all athletes were self-funded amateurs, relying entirely on their own finances to participate, the number of foreign participants was not significant. However, French athletes, especially those from Paris, could easily travel by train just before the competition and return home immediately afterward, thanks to railway companies offering participating athletes free tickets. This even extended to some lower-class workers, provided their factories approved their leave. Whether the factories approved was hardly a question; the agreement made between the worker-athlete and the factory stipulated that the athlete must compete wearing clothing with the factory's advertisements.

Initially, Napoleon had entertained the idea of restoring the ancient Olympic tradition of athletes competing in the nude. This was before Pauline raised the request to compete. However, this notion was swiftly rebuked by Lucien. He exclaimed, "Do you have any idea why premium tickets, especially the box seats, sell so well? Because many who buy these tickets do so in pairs! How much ticket revenue would be lost by doing that? Also, the athletes' attire is merchandise, you know? Pauline has her eyes set on that! And there's advertising on the clothing, that's more money... Good Lord, the amount of money involved here, I can't even keep track! You want to let go of these money-making opportunities for the sake of tradition? Tradition means nothing compared to these lovely coins!"

In the past, Napoleon would have surely retorted, but this time, after hearing Lucien's opposition, he paused and, surprisingly, admitted to himself that Lucien did have a point.

"Lucien, it was just a passing comment, a joke," Napoleon remarked.

"Good thing you didn't go directly to Joseph with such jokes," retorted Lucien.

Napoleon shivered at that. "Darn it, Joseph! He's fine with any other jests, but when it comes to money matters, not a bit of humor!"

"Who says so?" countered Lucien. "The same goes for math assignments too, doesn't it?" Though it had been a while since Joseph assigned any math work, just thinking about it made Lucien feel a chill down his spine.

As a result, the number of Parisian athletes was notably high, almost occupying two-thirds of the entire French delegation, which in turn accounted for two-thirds of the total athletes.

Marie-Henri Beyle glanced at the girl. She wasn't particularly pretty and had quite a few freckles on her face. Thus, Marie-Henri Beyle decided to focus his energy on cheering for his friend. Simultaneously, he couldn't help but think, "From her voice alone, one could have mistaken her for a princess."

Not only was the Sun Newspaper fellow's attire odd, but his pre-race rituals were also peculiar. He half-knelt on the track, making Marie-H

enri Beyle think he might start drawing a cross on his chest. However, instead of doing so, he stood up and vigorously dug the ground, swiftly creating two small holes in the coal-dust track.

"What's he doing? What is this?" the melodious voice sounded again, and Marie-Henri Beyle saw the girl, who had earlier covered her eyes, lifting her telescope once more.

The fellow knelt again, placing both feet into the holes he had dug. This time, Marie-Henri Beyle noticed his shoes were different from everyone else's. The soles seemed to be made of rubber.

In France at that time, rubber wheels were already in extensive use, and many were making shoe soles from discarded tires. However, these shoes were more refined than the homemade tire soles.

After exchanging gestures with the starting and finishing points, the race was about to start. The referee raised the starting gun, and Marie-Henri Beyle saw a puff of smoke rise from the referee's hand. Simultaneously, everyone rushed forward.

The Sun Newspaper journalist sprinted the fastest. He shot off like a bullet from a slingshot, instantly pulling ahead by a considerable margin right from the start, leaving everyone a couple of places behind.

"Truly deserving of the Sun Newspaper!" someone nearby shouted, waving a fist in the air.