After ten days of inexplicable training including dancing, yoga, and running rampant, Holly only felt confused and overwhelmed.
Although Holly is a shooting athlete, he is also a world champion who has been famous for many years. He has met many excellent coaches and knows what other people's physical training is like, but this is the first time he has encountered this strange training method.
Every time when Holly returns home and thinks carefully about the day's training sessions, he feels that he is wasting time. But every time when he sees Dai Li, he can't help but obey Dai Li's training arrangements. Every word, the moment it reached Holly's ears, was full of authority, as if a general had issued an order to the soldiers, which must be carried out without any doubt.
Holly didn't know why this happened. In terms of age, Dai Li was younger than him, but Holly felt that even the head coach of the US national team's shooting event was not as good as Dai Li in terms of aura. .
However, after these ten days of inexplicable short training, Holly also temporarily suspended his training courses. He is going to Tennessee to participate in the shooting championship, which is also the selection competition for the World Shooting Championship.
In the United States, the selection of contestants for the World Shooting Championships is the same as for track and field events. No matter how good you were in the past, no matter how excellent your past results are, or whether you have won many world championships and Olympic championships, you must pass the domestic selection competition. Only those who have passed the screening can participate in the World Series. If they do not qualify in the trials, the world record holders will not be able to participate.
This shooting championship is held in Tennessee. The main reason why the competition is located here is that there are many shooting sports enthusiasts in Tennessee.
When it comes to places with more guns in the United States, the first thing many people think of is Texas. Texas cowboys have never concealed their love for guns. Photos of Texas residents carrying M16s while shopping in supermarkets are also circulated on the Internet. .
However, the number of guns per capita in Tennessee is higher than that in Texas. The residents here also love guns. The National Rifle Association often holds gun shows in Tennessee, and whenever there is a gun ban bill, Tennessee There will definitely be marches and rallies to protest against the gun ban. It is worth mentioning that the famous civil rights fighter Martin Luther King was assassinated with an automatic rifle in Tennessee.
In a place where gun sales are very good, it is natural that shooting sports receive more attention from people, and gun manufacturers will not hesitate to sponsor various shooting competitions. Here, well-known design athletes like Holly have become idols in the minds of many people.
…
On the wall of the corridor in the shooting gallery, there are some posters about the basic knowledge of shooting events. Dai Li stood in front of one of the posters and read the contents carefully.
"Lee, why are you looking at these? This is all basic knowledge of shooting events. Generally, people who watch the game for the first time will pay attention to these things." Blake's voice sounded from behind, and he handed a cup of Coke to Dai Li.
"This is my first time watching a shooting competition." Li Dai took the Coke and continued: "I mean this is my first time watching a shooting competition live. Before, I only watched live TV."
"So that's it." Blake walked up to Dai Li and introduced: "There are three main types of firearms used in the Olympic shooting competitions, pistols, rifles and 12-gauge double-barreled shotguns. Double-barreled shotguns are mainly used in flying saucer events. , pistols and rifles are both sporting pistols.”
"In the official competition, the pistol competitions include men's 50-meter slow-fire pistol, men's 25-meter rapid-fire pistol, men's 10-meter air pistol, women's 25-meter slow-fire pistol and women's 10-meter air pistol. For rifles, there is 10-meter air pistol. Rifle, 50-meter prone rifle shooting and 50-meter rifle three-position, among which the 50-meter prone rifle shooting is a men’s only event.”
"Among all these shooting events, the 50-meter rifle three-position shooting event is recognized as the most difficult shooting event. The shooting distance is far enough, and the competition time is very long. There are 120 shots in the three postures. Every shot is important, and entering the final We have to shoot 10 more shots later. The 50-meter rifle three-position is known as a marathon of shooting events."
Blake said, taking Dai Li to another poster, pointing to a gun target painted on it, and then said: "This is the target used by the 50-meter air rifle, one to one real size. The diameter of this gun target is 154.4 millimeters, and the four rings are painted black. The diameter of this black area is 106.4 millimeters."
Dai Li looked at the one-to-one gun target. He estimated that the range within 9 rings was about the same size as a one-dollar coin. This meant that a score within 9 rings was equivalent to shooting from fifty meters away. Win a one dollar coin.
For professional shooters, a 9-point score is equivalent to a failing grade. For example, in an Olympic-level competition, the first 120 shots must score at least 1170 points to be promoted to the final coach, which means a 9-point shot. The number of rings cannot exceed thirty.
"If you put a one-dollar coin fifty meters away, I might not be able to see it!" Dai Li thought to himself, and he also sighed: "Look at this gun target, Adam Holly and I look alike. Than, I am simply blind!”
"Who says it's not the case! Those shooters have an eagle eye, but a mortal like me often can't find a matching target even when playing Xiaomi." Blake said empathetically.
Dai Li pointed at the gun target and continued: "Do the guns used by athletes have scopes?"
"There is a sight on the gun, but the sight does not have a magnifying function. There may be only a red dot on this sight, or it may be a cross, which can be used to assist aiming." After Blake explained this, he pointed to the road outside. Next to the food truck, he continued: "How about we go get something to eat first? Adam Holly is participating in the 50-meter rifle three positions. A competition takes several hours! We can even go to a movie. It’s still too late to come back.”
…
On the big screen in the shooting gallery, competition information and the list of contestants were constantly playing, and there was a group of spectators surrounding it.
"It's really a gathering of strong players. The best shooters in the United States are gathered together."
"Of course, this is the qualifying round for the World Shooting Championships after all."
"I saw Adam Holly's name, and I thought with his ability, it shouldn't be difficult to qualify."
"But it's hard for him to get first place. After all, Prince is here to compete. In the last two years of the National Shooting Championships, Prince killed Holly with the last shot!"
"Haha, a winning shot? Do you think that was really a winning shot? It was obviously Holly who missed the last shot. He led every time, but also lost the last shot every time."
"Yeah, the nickname 'Last Shot Tragedy' didn't come for nothing."
When everyone talked about Holly's last shot, they all shook their heads helplessly.
…
Adam Holly appeared at the shooting gallery and was immediately surrounded by a group of fans. As Blake said, on the international stage, people remember Holly because of his last shot that missed the target in the Olympics. In the United States, he A world champion, he is still a hero in the hearts of the people.
After signing autographs, taking photos, and finally dealing with the fans, Holly walked to the competition venue with his rifle and began to adjust his equipment.
"Adam, I heard you were retiring a few days ago, and I thought you wouldn't come to compete. Now it seems that was completely false news!" A young man with curly hair came over.
This curly-haired young man named Prince is Holly's main domestic competitor. In the past two years of the National Shooting Championships, Prince defeated Holly and has become the "big brother" in the United States in the 50-meter rifle event.
Holly looked back at Prince. He did not answer, but responded with cold eyes, like an old lion king facing the aggressive challenge of a young lion.
Prince then continued: "I heard that you recently signed up for a physical training center? To be honest, this is something I can't imagine! We are shooting athletes, not those with well-developed limbs who run and jump on the sports field. Guy. Shooting is also a quiet sport. How can physical training help us? You are simply seeking medical treatment in a hurry. I think you are also seeking medical treatment in a hurry."
Prince knew that Holly had gone to the physical training center. This was not surprising to Holly. Prince was Holly's main competitor. It was normal to always pay attention to his opponent's situation and know himself and the enemy.
Faced with Prince's words, Holly remained silent, but felt as if he had been pricked by a needle.
"Prince is right. I shouldn't waste time on physical training. Think about what I have been doing these days, dancing to that kind of brainwashing music, lying on the mat and doing yoga in front of the mirror. Rampant in the training center, what's the use? Oh, except for the massage, Coach Li's arm massage is indeed very comfortable. But what I need is not to relax my arms, what I want is to stop being inaccurate in the last shot! Maybe in I really made a mistake in this matter. When this competition is over and I go back, I have to end this training contract."
Holly began to adjust his rifle thoughtfully.
…
Dai Li and Blake actually went to have a meal. By the time they returned to the field, more than half of the game was already underway, and the results of the contestants were displayed on the big screen.
"Holly's current score is 876 rings, ranking first, while Prince's score is 875 rings, ranking second. There are three other people with scores of 874 rings, nine people with scores of 873 rings, and there is a long row behind them. The result is 872 rings. It seems that the difference is very small." Li Dai said.
"The 50-meter rifle three-position competition is like this. The gap is actually not big. After 120 shots, the gap between the finalists will never be greater than 5 rings. In fact, as long as the difference is more than 3 rings, it is equal to It’s time to bid farewell to the championship. In the last 10 shots, it was impossible to recover the gap of more than 3 rings." Blake explained.
In the 50-meter rifle three-position competition, 40 shots are taken in each of the three postures: prone, kneeling, and standing, for a total of 120 shots, and the full ring is 1,200 rings. These 120 shots are only calculated into integer rings. For example, if a player scores 9.5 rings, it will only be counted as 9 rings when calculating the score. There is no rounding, but the fractions are simply removed.
Under this scoring rule, there is actually no difference between a shot of 9.9 rings and a shot of 9.1 rings. When scoring, they are both nine rings, but a shot of 9.9 rings and a shot of 10.1 rings are different. It’s the difference between nine rings and ten rings.
After 120 shots, the eight people with the best scores entered the final competition, and each person took another 10 shots, and these 10 shots were calculated with decimal points. At this time, the best score of the gun target is 10.9 rings, so in theory, the last 10 shots can achieve a score of 109 rings.
In the last ten shots, due to the calculation of decimal points, the gap between 9.9 and 10.1 is no longer one ring, but 0.2. This situation obviously increases the difficulty for the pursuers who are behind in the number of rings. In the past, one shot could catch up to one ring, but now one shot could only catch up to a few tenths of a ring, and there were only ten shots to catch up.
In the world's top competitions, the players are very strong, and those who can stay in the last eight are the best among the strong. Anyone can hit a number above 10.5 rings, so in the last ten shots, once the gap exceeds two rings, the possibility of catching up is almost zero.
…
The 50-meter rifle three-position event is worthy of the title of "shooting marathon". After Li Dai returned to the competition venue, he waited for another hour before the contestants completed the first 120 shots.
"The results are out. Adam Holly's total score is 1174, including 399 in the lying position, 389 in the standing position, and 386 in the kneeling position. Holly's score in the lying position is much better than that in the standing and kneeling positions." Dai Li looked at the score. Said the cards.
"This is normal. The 50-meter rifle event has a special prone position competition, so the contestants will practice the prone position specifically, and their results in the prone event will be better. Look at Prince, who ranks second in the overall score , his score in the prone position is also 399 rings, and the third and fourth place scores in the prone position are 398 rings." Blake continued:
"Prince's score is also 1174 rings. Currently he and Holly are tied for first place. The third and fourth place scores are 1172 rings. They still have hope to catch up, but starting from fifth place, they are basically out of the championship. The battle has begun. Next, it’s time for the final ten shots to determine the winner!”