541 A Day of a Great Miracle Part Two (1/2)

Is this considered drawing the worst draw? They have to follow the pacesetter. This is a 5,000 meters race; it takes up too much energy to lead this race. Maybe they have a good balance of strength on their team like the Ethiopia and Kenya. If they stay in the lead it can only help the other athletes.

As Dai Li thought this, his eyebrows furrowed together.

Using standard running strategy is the safest bet, but the result of the lottery box is saying that following normal strategy is not my best option, which means that I should rule out this safest tactic.

If just running as normal is the worst draw, what would be the opposite of that? Would it be lucky if I let my athletes lead the race?

As mentioned before, there were not many options available to track coaches. For example, Dai Li's choice right now was to either have his athletes run with everyone else others or have them run in the lead. If he excluded running in the lead, then there would was only one choice...

There was a trace of hesitation in Dai Li's heart. The lottery box, once again, gave a seemingly unreasonable result.

However, taking into account the warning about the women's 4x100 meters relay race, Dai Li decided to believe the prediction.

Dai Li waved his hands and called over the three athletes who would be participating in the race to the side and whispered softly.

”You want us to lead?” The three athletes looked surprised. It was apparent they also knew that this was not a good decision.

However, seeing Dai Li's solemn expression, the three did not object but decided to carry out Dai Li's strategy.

...

A total of 16 were participating in the men's 5,000-meter final. Everyone formed an arc in front of the starting line, waiting for the race to startl. After the starting pistol sounded, all the athletes ran and the players in the outer lanes tried to merge inward; the players in the inner lanes began to try and seize more favorable positions.

There were 12 and a half laps in this race. Most of the time was spent running along with others, so it was critical to occupy a more favorable position on the track.

What people didn't expect to see was all three American contestants rushing to the front of the pack. They planned to run in the lead!

”The Americans are leading!” The coaches of other countries looked at Dai Li. They had expected Dai Li to let his athletes run along with the others obediently.

”The U.S. team actually chose to lead. This is too radical!”

”I don't know if the physical strength of the U.S. team will be enough to support them until the end.”

”If another country leads, the Ethiopians will be able to save some of their physical strength. They will definitely win.”

The people around began to whisper softly.

On the track, the three Ethiopian contestants were stunned. They had superior strength, so their original plan had been to alternate the lead between themselves. They could constantly control the rhythm of the race and let the other participants become drained. They did not expect the American team to take the lead.

Two Ethiopian athletes both looked at Ramsay at the same time. They needed to know what he wanted them to do.

Ramsay made a sign for running along with the others, indicating to his teammates not to take the risk and that they should follow at the back with peace of mind. In Ramsay's mind, if someone was willing to lead, why not save their strength? It took 12 and a half laps to run 5,000 meters anyway. The competition still had a long way to go!

Although the American team was not as strong as the Ethiopian team, they were able to get to the final, which meant they were definitely top-level runners. They also had a vast amount of competitive experience and they naturally knew how to use the alternate leading strategy.

The first lap, the second lap, the third lap... The American team was not slow and the other players did not have the intention to surpass the American team. When everyone saw that the Ethiopian team did not make any moves, they followed along at the back with peace of mind.

Half of the 12 and a half laps passed in the blink of an eye. Nothing too exciting happened. The American team was still leading and the other players were still following behind. It seemed that there would only be changes when the players started to speed up in the second half of the race.

On the eighth lap, the American team had been in the lead for three-quarters of the competition. This type of leading was physically exhausting. They were significantly slower than at the beginning of the competition. It seemed that it would be difficult for them to keep the lead.

Ramsay, who had been running along in the back, realized this. He gestured to his teammates, indicating to them that, after entering the tenth lap, they should accelerate and overtake the American team.

On the ninth lap, the American team slowed down even more.

Since the American team was leading, when they slowed, the players who were following at the back naturally caught up and got a lot closer. All the athletes were all clumped together. The front and back were very close and there was not much space.

Ramsay saw that the American team slowed down again. He decided to accelerate in advance. He gestured to his teammates.

The teammates noticed and immediately nodded. They then began to accelerate, wanting to surpass the American team.

Ramsay suddenly felt someone push him from behind. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. Then, the man who pushed him also fell down, landing on top of Ramsay.

Ramsay had been pushed by his teammate on accident. His teammate had fallen because somebody had stepped on his heel. He subconsciously wanted to hold onto the person in front of him to maintain balance, but he ended up pushing Ramsay to the ground.

His heel had been stepped on because when he accelerated the runner behind him, wanted to keep up with him, also chose to accelerate.

When the two were originally running along with the others, they had fallen into a synchronized rhythm. However, after he accelerated, the rhythm of the two people desynchronized, causing the person behind to step on the person in front. The person in front lost his balance and fell straight to the ground.

This initiated a domino effect. He not only pushed Ramsay, but he also fell on Ramsay. The contestant behind him did not react fast enough and also fell, and then the contestant behind him could not dodge it and fell to the ground as well.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight contestants crashed. They either weren't able to dodge in time and just crashed into the pile, or they stumbled due to another runner getting out of synch. Only a few people who were relatively further away were able to react in time and bypass the scene of the accident.

Of course, the American team was not affected by this collision, as they were well ahead of it.