The order of appearance for the fourth trial jump has been arranged. Zhang Guan's first three jumps were first, so he was the last one to appear, and Saladino was the penultimate athlete to perform the trial jump.
In the athlete preparation area, Saladino deliberately stood far away from Zhang Guan. He came here for the gold medal. He originally thought that the championship was already guaranteed, but he did not expect that Zhang Guan came out halfway. His time of 8.58 seconds also refreshed his record for this year. The best result, so before the game even started, Saladino showed strong hostility towards Zhang Guan.
At this moment, a voice sounded from beside Saladino: "8.58 meters, what a terrible result. I think this result can already win the championship in advance!"
Saladino turned around and found that the person speaking was none other than American player Dwight Phelps.
Dwight Phelps is a famous American men's long jump player, and he is also the person who carried the American long jump banner after Mike Powell retired. He was originally a professional 400-meter athlete, but later switched to long jump, and won the "double championship" in the long jump event at the World Track and Field Championships and the Olympic Games. Before Saladino's rise, Dwight Phelps was the strongest long jumper in the world.
However, in the past year, Dwight Phelps has been troubled by injuries, so whether it is the Golden League or the Super Grand Prix of the Athletics Federation, Phelps has not achieved very good results. The double champion of the World Championships and Olympic Games seemed to be sinking.
Seeing that it was Phelps who was speaking, Saladino had a look of fear in his eyes. He knew that Phelps was only temporarily troubled by injuries. If Phelps was healthy, he would not be weaker than Own.
Just listen to Saladino say: "If I didn't participate, 8.58 meters might be a winning result. But for me, 8.58 meters is just a slightly difficult result. There are still three trial jumps. I think I can surpass this distance!"
Phelps said with a smile: "Don't forget, Zhang Guan's strength is still unknown. He only jumped once. We don't know where his limit is. What if 8.58 meters is not his limit as well?" ?”
"I admit that Zhang Guan is a very talented athlete, but he is a sprinter after all. Maybe that jump just now was just because he was lucky. It was just a coincidence!" Saladino said unconvinced. .
"Luck? Coincidence? Don't lie to yourself! Anyone who can jump above 8.50 must be a truly capable athlete!" Phelps continued: "I used to be a sprinter, and later I started to practice long jump. He was already 22 years old when he practiced long jump. However, Zhang Guan is only 20 years old this year. His achievements in sprinting are also much higher than mine. Maybe his achievements in long jump will also surpass mine! Don't forget, There are many examples of sprinters achieving results in the long jump event."
Saladino frowned. Although he didn't want to admit it, what Phelps said did make sense.
Saladino did not continue to discuss this topic with Phelps. He nodded to the track and then said: "Dwight, you'd better warm up quickly, your game is about to begin."
…
At this time, the player Zhang Guan is most concerned about is also Saladino. The Panamanian player almost won all six games in the previous Golden League, and Zhang Guan knew better that 2006 to 2008 was Saladino's peak period, including the Golden League, the World Athletics World Cup, and the World Athletics Championships. , Olympic Games... Saladino has basically won the championship in all major events in the world.
"With a score of 8.58 meters, Saladino should feel a lot of pressure now! I don't know what Saladino's condition is like today. If his condition is average, then my 8.58 meters should be able to win the championship. But if Saladino is in good condition, this result is not enough!"
Zhang Guan was thinking while observing the performance of the players on the track.
"That player is from the European team, and he's actually white! It's rare to see white people in the long jump event in international competitions these days."
This European team player is Spanish Melis. He is a very skilled player, but his physical fitness is indeed not as good as that of black players. This jump of 8.06 meters is already his limit.
"The next one to play is Dwight Phillips! I heard that his condition this year is very average."
Phelps is one of the few long jumpers Zhang Guan knows, because since the Athens Olympics, Phelps has also participated in many Golden League and Athletics Grand Prix competitions, and he and Zhang Guan never looked up. Although the two of them are not familiar with each other, they always say hello when they meet.
Phillips just jumped 8.10 meters, which also confirms the rumors that he was troubled by injuries and was in very bad condition.
Among the next few contestants to appear, South Africa's Mokuna had the best jump result after his appearance, with a jump of 8.30 meters, temporarily ranking behind Zhang Guan and Saladino.
"That must be the previous Asian record holder, Saudi Arabia's Alku Walidi!" Zhang Guan looked at a player wearing a gray and white sportswear and immediately guessed the opponent's identity.
The Asian United team's game uniforms this time have gray as the main color, while the shorts are black. Therefore, although Zhang Guan does not know Walidi at all, he can determine the opponent's identity through the game uniforms.
"The current long jump coach of the Saudis is world record holder Mike Powell, so the level of Saudi Arabia's long jump can be said to have improved by leaps and bounds. Oh! He stepped on the line!"
The referee raised the red flag, and Walidi shook his head helplessly and walked out of the sand pool.
"In my memory, Walidi was probably only active in the past two years, but Al Shaba's performance has always been good. If it weren't for the emergence of Li Jinzhe, maybe Al Shaba could still dominate Asia for a few more years! "
Zhang Guan watched Vallidi walk out of the sand pool, and he also got up and walked towards the run-up area. Saladino was next to appear, and after Saladino was Zhang Guan's fourth trial jump.
Saladino slowly walked up to the starting point and stretched his muscles again, and then the timer began to display the countdown. As a big-name star player and the favorite to win the championship before the game, of course there will be some special care, such as being able to prepare dozens of seconds longer than other athletes.
Saladino started his approach. His approach speed was not very extreme, but he was very rhythmic. This approach is also a development trend in long jump events in recent years. In particular, athletes from Europe and the United States who are strong in the long jump have begun to pay more and more attention to the rhythm in the approach. Domestic training generally still emphasizes the extreme speed of the approach.
This time, Saladino chose a more radical jumping method. He deliberately pursued the take-off position, and his toes were closer to the marking line of the take-off board. In order to better ensure the balance of his body in the air, he did not choose to fly in the squatting style, but chose the striding style most commonly used by professional athletes.
"Whoosh..." In the Saladino sand pit, he quickly stood up and walked out of the sand pit, then looked back at his results in the sand pit.
"It's over 8.5 meters! But it doesn't seem to have reached 8.58 meters. It's about 8.55 meters!" Saladino just glanced at it and already confirmed his score.
Later, after the surveyor took the measurement, he also reported Saladino's final score: 8.54 meters, which was slightly more than Saladino predicted, but there was still a gap of four centimeters from Zhang Guan's 8.58 meters.
"Oh..." The audience at the scene made a sound of disappointment, obviously feeling sorry for Saladino. The two centimeters difference was almost negligible from a distance. Even before the results were reported, many audience members still said I think Saladino's jump has reached or surpassed Zhang Guan.
Immediately afterwards, it was Zhang Guan who was the eighth to perform a trial jump.
I saw Zhang Guan dragging his steps towards the referee and saying a few words. Then the referee announced that Zhang Guan had given up the trial jump.
Under normal circumstances, when athletes give up the competition, they will often attract boos from the audience. If someone reports it, it may also lead to an investigation by the competition. However, today, when the referee announced that Zhang Guan had given up the trial jump, It did not attract boos from the audience, but many people gave Zhang Guan encouraging applause.
"Zhang Guan gave up this trial jump! In fact, we can also understand Zhang Guan's choice. Within twenty minutes, he competed in two events: the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. Then he performed After a trial jump, I think the result of 8.58 meters just now has overwhelmed Zhang Guan's physical fitness! He really needs more time to rest! And based on the current competition situation, 8.58 meters is still ranked third. One result." The commentator took the initiative to defend Zhang Guan.
Indeed, for the audience, Zhang Guan has brought them two wonderful sprint races and a trial jump with the best result this year. Even the pickiest audience can understand Zhang Guan's abandonment of this trial jump. Behavior.
Next, the fifth trial jump begins immediately.
With Saladino jumping 8.54 meters, the other six players can actually be said to have withdrawn from the competition for the championship and runner-up. The best result of most of them is around 8.40 meters. Some may have the ability to jump over 8.50 meters, but no one can jump above 8.55 meters. Phelps, the only American with the strength to exceed 8.55 meters, has also been affected by injuries.
Therefore, the competition for the gold medal will begin between Zhang Guan and Saladino, while other athletes can only compete for the bronze medal.
Six athletes completed the trial jump one after another. Next it was Saladino's turn.
"This is Saladino's fifth trial jump! He just jumped with a good result of 8.54 meters, but it is still not as good as Zhang Guan's 8.58 meters. I hope he can perform better this time!"
PS: Chapter 3 has been delivered, please vote for me.
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(End of chapter)