524 Advance Triumphantly (1/2)

Muller successfully jumped over the bar and fell on the thick mat while the bar above remained stable.

”6.13m high. Franz Muller! He made it! He seized his only chance! He cleared the bar at 6.13m high!”

Muller stood up on the mat. First, he looked up to confirm that he had not knocked down the bar. When he confirmed his success, he immediately raised his hands and screamed. Although he hadn't won yet, he had jumped 6.13m high, which meant that he had gone farther than he thought was possible. At this moment, he really was a winner.

The audience was so excited. This was exactly the kind of nail-biting drama they had come to see.

”He succeeded! We succeeded!” The U.S. team leader Downey was so excited that he gave Dai Li a big hug. Downey thought Muller would fail just as Pat Riley had. To his surprise, Muller had made it.

The camera zoomed in on Riley's face. In this competition, both Muller and Pat Riley had been put in the same situation. They had both failed their first two attempts, passed on the height, and moved on to the next height. They both chose to use their last chance to challenge the height.

However, where Pat Riley had failed. Muller succeeded.

”Now Pat Riley is really in a bad mood. Maybe he will say he wasn't lucky enough,” said the commentator in a jocular tone.

On the Russian team, the head coach Merkulov, the deputy head coach Igonagave, and the world champion Kurayev were all serious.

Before Muller had jumped, Kurayev had already been celebrating his victory. However, Muller's jump had been successful, which meant that Kurayev not only lost his gold medal but also had to challenge that same height.

Now, the situation was completely different. A minute ago, Kurayev had the advantage, but now the situation was not looking good for him. He had to successfully complete this jump to catch up to Muller.

6.13m was only 0.03m lower than the world record in men's pole vault. Even for the world champion Kurayev, it was an extreme challenge. Although he had the ability to clear that height, he wasn't positive he'd succeed. He needed to get lucky in order to succeed at that height.

Standing at the starting area, Kurayev grasped the long pole firmly and encouraged himself.

That American newbie could jump over that height. I, as the world champion, also must make it.

After thinking this, Kurayev started to run.

However, 6.13m was really high. After he jumped up, Kurayev realized that he had not jumped high enough to pass over the bar.

Failed. Kurayev got up from the mat. He shook his head ungratefully and then returned to the starting area.

Since Muller had already completed this jump, there was only one athlete left on the field. Kurayev didn't get a break before he had to jump again.

As an experienced athlete with the strength of a world champion, Kurayev knew the problem with his first attempt and he also knew where he needed to make some improvements. He murmured to himself in order to remember when he needed to do.

Kurayev took a moment before he started his second attempt. He tried to restore his strength as much as possible and he wanted to give himself more time to prepare.

According to the rules, when there were less than three athletes, the time of preparation could be extended to three minutes. Therefore, Kurayev started his second attempt three minutes later.

However, this jump was very difficult. If he wanted to clear this height, he must combine his strength and his skill. He had to be very lucky as well.

Kurayev was unlucky, however, and he failed again this time.

A second failure was really a deadly strike to Kurayev. Now, he was in the same situation as Muller and Pat Riley had been. He only had one chance now and, if he failed this time, he lost the gold medal. If he succeeded, he didn't win. He had to continue to compete with Muller at the next height.

Kurayev was now also facing a choice on whether to pass on this height.

In pole vaulting, the athlete could choose to pass on the height after two failed attempts and attempt the next height, which was a choice of maximizing returns. Even if he succeeded in his third attempt, the athlete also needed to challenge the next height. However, if he chose to pass at that height, he could come to the next height and stand at the same level as the rest competitors.

...

The Russian coaching team was having a heated debate.

”We should pass on the height. Once you fail twice it is the best option. Both Pat Riley and that American Muller did so. I think we have no other choice,” said one Russian coach.

However, another coach shook his head, ”I don't think passing on the height is a good idea. You should remember that the height for Pat Riley after passing was 6.08m and the height for Muller was 6.13m. However, if we choose to pass on this height, the next height is 6.18m. The world record is only 6.16m now, which means that Kurayev needs to create a new world record. That's really difficult, no different from giving up.”

”But if Kurayev cleared the height of 6.13m, he'd still have to jump 6.18m high. Therefore, we can't avoid confronting the world record,” said the first coach.

”So, do you think that American guy can jump over 6.18m? That's a new world record. I don't think he can make that. Therefore, we only need to jump over 6.13m. When the height comes to 6.18m, if both Kurayev and that American guy can't jump over it, the height of the bar will be lowered. Then, it will be more favorable for Kurayev!”

According to the rules, if all the competitors failed their three attempts at a certain height, then there would be a tie-breaker. The bar would be lowered and the competitors would begin their attempts again.

Under the rules, if Kurayev jumped over 6.13m, the next height was 6.18m, which exceeded the world record. If Kurayev couldn't make it, young Muller couldn't jump over it either. Under this condition, the bar would be lowered. With more experience and more strength, Kurayev would have an advantage over Muller after the bar was lowered.

If Kurayev chose to pass on the height, he would have to face 6.18m height with only one chance. If he failed, he would lose the game. Faced with a height exceeding the world record, nobody would be confident.

After a long discussion, they all looked at the head coach Merkulov, hoping that he could decide.

Merkulov shook his head and said, ” Let Kurayev make the choice himself.”

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