536 Drop the Baton (1/2)
The first event of the night was the final of the women's pole vault.
Just as Dai Li expected, although the American athlete tried her best and she got the perfect state twice with the help of Dai Li's prop, she came in third place.
The Russian queen of pole vault had dominated this event for more than ten years. She must have been a S+-level athlete. Although she was 32 years old now, she was still in excellent shape. As long as she was in the competition, the gold medal was hers.
Next was the final of the men's weight throw. Since no American athletes were qualified for this final, they just watched the game for fun. The next event was the final of the women's 5000m running, which was actually a competition between Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes. The other countries had no opportunity to win any medals at all.
In this event, the American athlete was expected to run 15.08s, while the Kenyan athletes could finish the race within 14.30s. It might be a gap of more than 40s, which was like two different races. Compared with the two African giants, even American athletes fell behind. The other countries had no chance of winning at all.
After the end of women's 5000m running, five gold medals had been decided in the eighth day, including the two gold medals of the heel-and-toe walking race. The American team only got one bronze medal, which was much worse than the previous days.
The last two events of the day were the women's 4x100m relay and the men's 4x100m relay. The two superpowers of sprinting, America and Jamaica, would confront each other once again.
...
The head coach of Jamaica, Fraser, was confident in his female athletes.
In the two previous sprinting events, the 100m dash and 200m dash, the Jamaican male athletes were defeated by the American athletes. Alexander and Ford won the two gold medals. In women's events, two powerful Jamaican female athletes dominated. They had won the gold medal and the silver medal respectively. So, in this Olympic Games, the Jamaican female athletes performed better than the male ones.
Those two Jamaican female athletes were really powerful. They were ranked number one and the number two in the world now, while American athletes were ranked third and fourth. However, affected by the drug scandal, those two American athletes didn't participate in this Olympics.
The relay race was a group sport involving four athletes. Since the best American athletes were not there and most of the best Jamaican athletes attended the game, the advantage the Jamaican team had was obvious.
Beyond that, the Jamaican team had won the gold medal for the 4x100m relay the last two Olympic Games. This proved that Coach Fraser was proficient in relay training. Without a doubt, Fraser helped those two Jamaican female athletes perform better.
Fraser was determined to win the gold medal for the women's 41x00m relay. In fact, he knew that, with the Jamaican team's strength, they certainly could win as long as they didn't make any mistakes. Therefore, Fraser tried to be steady in his strategy. He would rather waste time in the baton transfer than make any unnecessary mistakes.
When all eight teams and 32 athletes were on the field, the track seemed to be bustling.
Fraser looked to the American team, and suddenly he felt so astonished.
”What's going on? Is the third runner Halyna Bob?” Fraser couldn't help asking his assistant next to him.
The assistant took out his phone. After careful checking the roster, the assistant finally gave Fraser an answer. ”Coach, you are right. The third runner is indeed Halyna Bob.”
”In the preliminary, Halyna was the first runner, right? According to our information, she is the worst athlete of the American team, with low ability and little experience. How could such kind of athlete be put as the third runner! What's wrong with that Chinese coach?” Fraser couldn't help looking at Dai Li, who was just staring at the track.
What is he trying to do? Fraser became alert.
In fact, Dai Li was not confident now. He had never used the prophecy box before and he didn't know what the luckiest draw would bring him. According to Dai Li's professional judgment, it was really a bad decision to let Halyna be the third runner.
Dai Li was nervous but, as the head coach of the American team, he had to pretend to be calm so others would feel confident and optimistic.
Next to Dai Li, Downey wanted to say something several times but he couldn't decide what to say.
Downey was also confused about this arrangement. He knew that Halyna was the weakest among the four athletes and she shouldn't be the third runner. He wanted to ask Dai Li why he had arranged it this way and whether he had any secrets that Downey didn't know about.
However, Downey knew that every time when he doubted Dai Li, Dai Li appeared confident and determined. This meant to Downey that Dai Li always thought he was doing what was best. Additionally, every time so far, Dai Li had been right.
Downey didn't want to see Dai Li's arrogant face or to embarrass himself, so this time he didn't ask Dai Li.
Halyna Bob herself was also nervous.
Both in her daily training and in the preliminary match for the Olympic Games, she was the first runner. In relay races, the easiest part was first and there was less pressure on the first athlete, so young Halyna didn't feel nervous at all when she thought she was running first.
Now, Halyna was running the most important part in the final of the Olympic Games, which really made Halyna confused and nervous.
Halyna knew how to receive the baton, but hadn't practiced it at all recently. It was completely different for athletes who hadn't trained. Psychologically, the athletes were not confident if they hadn't practiced.
...
In the athletes' lounge of Maracana Stadium, the athletes running the men's 4x100m relay were preparing for the match. The TV screen on the wall of the lounge was displaying the live match.
”Coach Li changed his line-up!” Alexander pointed at the screen. ”Halyna Bob is the third runner. Am I seeing this?”
”It's her. Why did Coach Li make her the third runner?” Shawn Ford was also confused.