Chapter 514: Counterattack of the Extra
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Vince Jackson was one of the athletes that had been personally selected by Dai Li. She was only 19. Vince Jackson was considered slightly above average in terms of her strength and talent. The reason Dai Li chose her was that he fancied her malleability.
There was no advantage to being 19 in the adult shot put compet.i.tion. It could even be seen as a disadvantage. Shot put not only required strength, but it also required athletes to have a certain weight. At the age of 19 the body had not yet acc.u.mulated enough fat and the development of muscles had only just begun. This may it more difficult for young athletes because they were up against people in their mid-20s, the physical prime of one’s life.
Vince Jackson’s physical disadvantage was not the only one that was a result of her youth. Young athletes had unstable mindsets and their mental states were always fluctuating, especially in sporting events like the Olympic Games. There were too many uncontrollable external factors, both on and off the field, which made accounted for these fluctuations.
In the women’s shot put qualifier, twelve athletes entered the finals. While the U.S. team sent three athletes, only Vince Jackson made it to the final. Although this was better than the men’s discus event, it was worse than the U.S. had done in previous years.
The first round of the men’s 800 meters occurred at the same time as the women’s shot put qualifier. The American team performed as well as they had in the past. All three athletes advanced into the semi-finals.
After the men’s 800 meters race, the Maracana Stadium, the main stadium of the Olympic Games, hosted the final of the women’s 10,000 meters race. This was the first track and field medal round in this Olympics.
This event was undoubtedly dominated by the Ethiopians and Kenyans. Other countries also had strong athletes but, in the face of the alternate lead-runner strategy of the Ethiopians and Kenyans, it would be tough for them to keep up.
In the end, Ethiopia won the gold and bronze medals. The Kenyans won the silver medal, along with fourth and fifth place. An ethiopian came in sixth. The seventh-place athlete was slower than the sixth place athlete by a full 13 seconds. Africa’s fame in long-distance running was really well-deserved.
Although it was a 10,000-meter race, at one point there was such a gap that they could have basically just surrendered. Dai Li could not be held responsible for losing the 10,000-meter race. The opponent was just too strong. It was too difficult for any coach to s.n.a.t.c.h medals from Ethiopia and Kenya in long-distance running.
The final event of the morning session was the final of the men’s 20-kilometer race walk. Although the race walk event originated in the United Kingdom, the Russians were the strongest in it. The Chinese team was also strong enough to have a chance at getting first place. America was much worse off and couldn’t make it into the top 20..
Dai Li did not expect a lot from this event. After giving the athletes some encouragement, they returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for the evening’s compet.i.tion.
There were no scheduled track and field events in the afternoon. It was not until 8:30 in the evening that the field events resumed.
The first event in the evening was the first round of the women’s 1,500 meter race. The Kenyans and Ethiopians were the strongest in this event. Algeria’s was also good. As for the American team, they were strong enough to place, but Dai Li was not too concerned about this compet.i.tion. After all, it was the first round. There were many lesser athletes in the compet.i.tion. These lesser athletes were all used as cannon fodder. It was rare for the U.S. to be eliminated when among such athletes.
The women’s hammer throw qualifying match was held at the same time in the track and field stadium. The American team performed normally, and two players entered the final. They were up against a strong Eastern European team, so it was unlikely that the Americans would win.
The next two events were the first round of the men’s 400 meter and the men’s long jump qualifiers. America was favored in both of theses events. The American athletes were all able to advance and n.o.body was surprised..
There were two remaining track and field events that day. The first round of the women’s 100 meter sprint and the final of the women’s shot put.
Dai Li did not pay attention to the first round of the women’s 100 meter. Although the U.S. team was not as good as the Jamaicans, they were definitely the second strongest. There would be no problem for America’s two athletes to enter the final. They would be able to advance easily in the first round.
A gold medal would be awarded to the winner of this compet.i.tion. This would be the third gold medal in Olympic track and field today and it was also the last gold medal for the day. If they could get this gold medal, it would at least be something to cheer about for the U.S. team. It would be very helpful for improving their morale.
However, the 19-year-old Vince Jackson was the only member of the U.S. team to advance. She would have to face top athletes from all over the world. It was very unlikely that the U.S. would win.
…
Three athletes from the Russian team entered the finals of the women’s shot put, Melklov was certainly determined to win.
“New Zealand veteran Adams and Hungary’s Malton are our biggest rivals. Adams has already partic.i.p.ated in the Olympic Games three times. She has won the Olympic silver medal. This time, of course, she’s trying to get first place. Malton won the last World Champions.h.i.+p. Schneider of Germany and Xiaona Li of China are also favored. As for the other athletes, they pose no threat to us.”
Melklov suddenly laughed. He continued, “Only one person from the U.S. team advanced to the final, and she is a 19-year-old youth named Vince Jackson. I hadn’t even heard of her name before this Olympics. Her preliminary score was 19.23 meters, which isn’t bad. However, she’s going to need to throw over 20 meters to have a chance at a medal”
As Melklov said that, he raised his fist and, with a fervent look, directed his words to the three athletes who would be competing in the event. “Girls, our biggest enemy, the American team will not be able to pose any threat to us. Now, no one will be able to prevent us from winning this gold medal! I believe that you can win. You guys will become heroes of Russia!”
On the other side, Dai Li was not as excited as Melklov. At the moment, he looked very calm.
None of the 12 athletes who entered the final were weak. He found that Vince Jackson would end up in the middle of the pack based on raw strength alone.
Although there are some gaps in strength, it won’t be like the women’s 10,000 meters where we were crushed by the African teams. It will be difficult to get a medal. Vince Jackson has always been unstable… looks like I have to take a chance!
Dai Li looked at the state scale in his coaching system and decided to use the tool for Vince Jackson.
The state scale could make an athlete’s state extremely stable. For a player with superior talent, a stable state could almost ensure a victory. Dai Li originally helped Adam Holly get rid of his psychological problems by doing this.
At the same time, the state scale could also make the state of the athlete extremely unstable. This instability might cause the athlete to do very well or do very poorly. It was based on luck.
Today, Dai Li planned to make Vince Jackson extremely unstable.
Dai Li thought that if Vince Jackson were to perform normally, she wasn’t likely to win. It was better to gamble and give her a shot at first place. Doing something extreme was her only shot.
The way that the shot put event worked made the state scale a great option.
Sports that were related to racing, such as short-distance running and swimming, were all fleeting. Every athlete only had one chance per month. Who would be the first to get to the finish line? Whoever was faster would come in first. There was no second chance. The performance and mindset of the athlete in sports like that were indeed important, but the most important thing in the compet.i.tions was still raw power and strength.
As for events like shooting, archery, diving, and other sports that relied on the acc.u.mulation of points, the total score determined the outcome. So every bullet, every arrow, every time the athlete made a move, they had to go all out. Even if they did badly for a second, they would lose the gold medal. For those kinds of sports, a steady performance was the most important thing. A single good performance might give athletes some advantage, but when calculating the total score, the one single excellent performance would be evenly distributed in the total score, which might lessen its importance or even make it negligible.
Shot put and other field events, however, were different from those other events. Field events gave an athlete multiple chances. For example, there were six attempts for the shot put and there were six opportunities to jump for the long jump. As long as one of their scores were better than the other athletes, even all their other scores were zero, they would still win.
This kind of system of compet.i.tion also made it so that athletes could boldly go all out and choose the technique that pushed them to their limits, even if it put them on the verge of failure and fouling. As long as they produced a good enough result, they could still become the champion.
This was made the state scale particularly useful. For instance, for the six attempts that were taken, as long as there was a situation where an athlete went all out, it would be possible to become the champion.
…
Vince Jackson picked up the shot put and looked at the ground with the curved lines. She was tense. Not only was this the first time she was partic.i.p.ating in the Olympic Games, it was also her first time partic.i.p.ating in an international compet.i.tion. Now, she was in the shot put final in the Olympics.
Vince Jackson couldn’t help but recall that a few months ago she was in the American domestic trials and only got twelfth place. She had ranked nowhere near the top three who had qualified. She didn’t even dream that she would stand on the stage of the Olympic final.
It wasn’t easy to get here. This may be the most brilliant moment of my life. I’ll do my best! Vince Jackson thought of this and started a test throw.
“Ugh!” Vince Jackson couldn’t help but scream and the ball left her hand at the same time.
Whoosh. The black shot put ball was like a cannonball.
Bam. A hole appeared on the ground. That hole was not even over the 17-meter mark.
The surveyor immediately rushed towards it and inserted a long rod into the hole.
“16.79 meters!” The referee announced the result.
Vince Jackson felt frustrated. Her throw had been terrible. That was an Olympic throw. A B standard in the Olympics was 17.3 meter, and the A standard in the Olympics was 18.35 meters. For athletes who entered the Olympic final, not being able to reach at least 17 meters was embarra.s.sing.
Vince Jackson walked off the field, and Dai Li personally came over and handed her a towel.
“Sorry. Coach Li, I…”
He didn’t wait for Vince Jackson to finish. Dai Li interrupted her and said, “It doesn’t matter, it’s just the first throw. In shot put, every throw is a new start! I picked you personally. I’m very sure that I didn’t pick the wrong person.”
Dai Li’s expression was very relaxed and confident. This helped Vince Jackson settle down.
When faced with a young athlete who was in the Olympics for the first time, encouragement was obviously very important. Moreover, Dai Li did not want Vince Jackson to put too much pressure on herself. He tried to appear relaxed to take some off of her.
Moreover, Dai Li did not feel that his luck would be so bad that all three throws would be that bad.
…
The first round of throws was over, and Vince Jackson, who had a score of less than 17 meters, was undoubtedly at the bottom.
An unknown athlete scoring less than 17 meters. Everyone thought this young girl was just an extra.
Coaches from the other countries chose to ignore Vince Jackson. While the other 11 compet.i.tors also decided not to pay attention to her. No one wasted energy on an extra.
The athletes started the second throw, and Vince Jackson also ushered in her second appearance in the Olympic final.
Vince Jackson stepped onto the throwing area and picked up the ball. At that moment, the big screen in the stadium and TV broadcasts showed the statistics on Vince Jackson’s first throw.
When a very low score of less than 17 meters appeared, some viewers couldn’t help but yawn. After all, it was already after ten o’clock in the evening. If the person going on wasn’t an expert, it was very difficult for people to concentrate.
The people who were watching at home went to get a gla.s.s of water or go to the bathroom. No one cared about the results of an unknown extra.
In the coaches’ rest area and the athletes’ waiting area, everyone was busy with their own things. They were completely uninterested in the performance of Vince Jackson.
At that point, perhaps only the referee put his attention on Vince Jackson.
Vince Jackson took a deep breath and repeated the essential shot put techniques in her mind, and then started to throw.
The black shot put ball was turned into a small cannon again. It flew out and slammed into the ground, leaving a hole.
This time, however, the mark was located outside the thickest line.
That was the 20-meter mark!
The referee in charge of the measurement widened his eyes, as if he could not believe what he just saw.
Am I seeing this wrong? It exceeded 20 meters! She couldn’t even reach the 17 meters a moment ago. How did her score improve so much in such a short amount of time?”