530 Harmony Firs (1/2)
On the sixth day of the track and field events, the finals for the women's long jump, women's 200 meter, and women's 200m hurdle were scheduled.
The U.S. team had superior strength in the long jump, both men's and women's. There were two U.S. athletes in the final, Barrett, a veteran, and Seid, the record holder of women's long jump in the Indoor World Championships. They were both likely to win the gold medal.
Barrett was 31 years old, making her a real veteran. In the qualification matches in the US, Barret didn't win the qualify. However, due to the dosing scandal, the athletes ranking higher than her dropped out, which gave her a spot.
Seid was the champion in women's long jump in the last Olympics.
Seid also won the Indoor World Championship and had the record for that competition. Scores for indoor competitions were usually lower than outdoor ones. The world record was 7.52 meters, the Olympic record was 7.40 meter, while the indoor world record, held by Seid, was only 7.22 meters.
Both the world record and the Olympic record were created in the 1980s and 1990s and weren't comparable to the scores nowadays. A result of 7.22 meter would win the athlete any world championship.
In the last Olympics, Seid won the champion with a result of 7.12 meters. While to win this Olympics, the athlete would have to get better than 7.10 meters to win the gold medal and better than 7.00 meters to win a bronze medal, according to gambling companies.
It was not difficult for the two U.S. athletes to jump higher than 7 meters without the help of the state scale.
Dai Li loved this scale so much now. It was as if it was custom-made for the U.S. team because they could lock in a championship if they have one lucky maximum condition from the scale.
The competition went much as Dai Li expected. The two U.S. athletes got their higher-than-7.10 results on their fourth and fifth attempt and locked in the gold and silver medal before the match finished.
Finally, Barrett won the gold medal with 7.17 meters and Seid failed to defend her championship and won a silver medal.
Barrett was very excited about winning the championship. She had always been one of the best in the world, yet she had never won any gold medal in a world class event. Being 31 years old, she had intended to retire after this Olympics and this gold medal was the best award of her career.
With a gold medal, the US team led by Dai Li continued their show of winning at least one gold medal every day.
The next final was the women's 200 meters, which was one of U.S. team's strengths. The U.S. team would not be defeated by any opponent other than Jamaica.
The two best players on the Jamaican team won the gold and silver medals in women's 100 meters. They also dominated the women's 200 meters, winning the gold and silver medals by the same two players, leaving only the bronze medal to the U.S. team.
The last match was the final of women's 100 meter hurdle.
In this event, America's dominance was almost unchallengeable. They could win the championship in the Olympics even if they sent their second class players.
It turned out that they not only won the gold medal, but also won silver and bronze medals.
The gold medal was planned. Dai Li was not surprised. He had not expected that they also would win the silver and bronze medals.