521 Two World Champions and One Newbie (1/2)

”Justin Alexander crossed the finish line!” The live commentator was excited, and the timer stopped at 9.78 seconds.

”9.78 seconds. Justin Alexander just ran the best time in the 100m sprint this year! And it's the first score within 9.80 seconds after Gittell's retirement!” said the commentator excitedly.

To win with a time within 9.80 seconds made Alexander's Olympic gold medal even more precious.

Alexander didn't laugh out loud after he crossed the finish line. He didn't even look excited. He hit his own chest with his right hand and shouted out as if he couldn't express himself accurately.

Macnee of the Jamaica team seemed to be driven out of mind. For him, it was a disaster that Jamaica didn't win this race again. As the top sprinter on the team, he felt guilty.

”We lost and I am the one to blame,” Coach Fraser said in low voice.

”Coach, it's neither your fault nor ours. That Alexander ran too fast. He ran within 9.80 seconds. No one could beat him and take the gold medal unless Gittell had come back,” his assistant said.

”What we need to do now is show the world that Gittell is not irreplaceable. We must tell the world that Jamaica is still the No. 1 sprinting superpower in the world even without Gittell!” Frazer said and, suddenly, he sighed, ”Unfortunately, we failed. We lost the 100m sprint gold medal. Maybe the world will see Jamaica as nothing without Gittell!”

”Sir, we lost only one important gold medal. The 200m sprint and the relay race are on the way. We still have four gold medals to fight for. We can still prove to the world that Jamaica is the most powerful country in the field of sprinting if we get the four gold medals smoothly,” added the assistant.

The assistant's words made Fraser refreshed. He regained courage and said, ”Yes, you're right. This isn't over. We must get the other four gold medals!”

…

”Congratulations, Coach Li! You helped the American national team win the gold medal of the 100m sprint again. America has not won the gold medal of men's 100m sprint in the last three Olympics. The last time we won this gold medal was 16 years ago!” Downey said, clearly excited.

”Well, we worked so hard to get this gold medal,” Dai Li said with satisfaction, looking at Alexander who was still celebrating the victory near the finish line.

Dai Li knew that Alexander faced many obstacles to get this gold medal. His continuous challenge to Gittell, the ban in the prime of his life, and coming back to track and field in his thirties had all been difficult. It all paid off though.

He hadn't beat Gittell, but right now he was on top of the world.

”We've taken the gold medal of the 100m sprint. Today we have won two gold and two silver medals in total. Today is a great day.” Dai Li was happy.

There had been four competitions that day and the American team, led by Dai Li, had won two of them. This was indeed an excellent achievement.

…

The CEO of the U.S. Track and Field Associations, Williams, didn't miss any race that day.

Even when the last program, men's 100m sprint's final, and the following award ceremony had all finished, Williams still sat in front of the TV, gazing at the screen.

After a long time, he sighed deeply and spoke to himself. ”Finally, we got the Olympic gold medal of men's 100m sprint again after 16 years.”

The gold medal of men's 100m sprint meant a lot to America's track and field team.

The fastest man in 100m sprint was also considered the fastest man in the world. This title meant not only a gold medal or glory, but also a world record. Men's 100m sprint was the most influential track and field program.

America had ruled men's 100m sprint for the last several decades. Many ”flying men” were Americans. Americans had always kept the world record of the 100m sprint before the rise of Gittell from Jamaica that ended the American rule and kept Americans away from the Olympic gold medals of the 100m sprint for a dozen years.

An U.S. National Track and Field Team without a world champion of the 100m sprint was like an empty dumpling that was tasteless. It lost the most important part.

The need to get a world-class championship in the men's 100m sprint had always burdened Williams. America signified to him that the country was once again the best at track and field.

It is the fifth gold medal of the track and field team. This year's team, which is weaker than those of previous years, got five gold medals in three days of competitions. What an achievement! Dai Li's training is great! Maybe the schedule has to be changed. The press conference that is going to blame him for the failure might be changed to a celebration party for him!

…

It was the fourth day of the Olympic track and field games. There were still many discussions about the men's 100m. No new world records were created this time, but the story about Alexander's gold medal was the headline of many sports articles.

Dai Li paid little attention to the news stories. His focus was on the races that were being ran that day.

The first program of the fourth day was the qualification for men's triple jump, where the U.S.A was likely to win gold. Two American athletes entered the final, one of which was Thales, the defending champion.

However, Dai Li was surprised that Europe did not perform well. The three traditional superpowers in the triple jump, Britain, Italy, and German, sent no athletes to the final. there was only one Russian athlete that made the final. However, all three of the Chinese athletes entered the finals.

The first round of women's 100m sprint happened at the same time as the triple jump qualification. Three American female sprinters passed the first round easily.

The third program was the preliminary round of men's 3000m steeplechase. Three American athletes performed very well and they all entered the final.

The first gold medal of track and field programs of the day was going to be revealed after the men's 3000m steeplechase. It would come from the final of women's hammer throw.

Dai Li liked field events the most. The state scale, which was like gambling was effective on the high jump, long jump and the four throwing events.

To Dai Li's surprise, although he gambled well with all three of the American women, they didn't win the competition.

…

It was the third throw of women's hammer throw. The Polish athlete Ullodzinke stood on the throwing area. She got the hammer and turned three times to throw the hammer out. The hammer left her hands and went flying.

The hammer flopped on the ground. Dai Li was surprised by where it landed.

It's longer than 81 meters!