In the men's 400-meter final, Alvin won the championship as everyone expected.
South African young player Nick Zuma won the runner-up, and the third place was won by another American player.
On this competition day, the U.S. track and field team has already won one gold and two bronze medals, and then there is the final event, the men's 100-meter flying contest.
The previous world's number one flyer has retired, and the world record he left behind is unlikely to be broken within ten years. Who will become the new world's number one flyer has become the biggest suspense of this game.
As the defending champion of this event, the Jamaican team is still very strong. Three of their athletes have entered the finals. Their goal is also to keep this gold medal in Jamaica.
Although the U.S. team was affected by the doping scandal and its strength has declined, two players have entered the finals, including the former "World's No. 2 Flyer" Justin Alexander.
Although three players have entered the finals, Fraser, the head coach of the Jamaican team, does not look relaxed at all. Especially when he saw Alexander, his eyes were full of vigilance.
The assistant next to him looked at Frazier with some confusion. He had not seen Frazier with such a solemn expression for a long time.
"Coach, are you worried about Alexander? He has been suspended for nearly five years, which means he has not participated in international competitions for five years. Maybe he simply does not have the strength he once had." The assistant said.
"It's not an easy thing to make it through the U.S. trials. And in the U.S. competition, Alexander was able to run under 9.90 seconds. Do you think he won't run better?" Frazier took a deep breath and continued: "And what I'm worried about is not just Justin Alexander, but the state of the entire American team."
"Coach, I don't quite understand." The assistant looked confused.
"Before this, I thought that this U.S. track and field team would be the weakest in history. Of course, public opinion also thought so, but now it seems that this U.S. team is not weak at all. Not only is it not Weak, but still strong. They got one gold medal on the first day, which may be explained by luck. But the next day they came in with two, and today they also got a gold medal. What do you think of this performance? , Is it just pure luck? The track and field competition has only entered the third day of competition, and the U.S. track and field team has already won four gold medals. This result exceeds the average level of the U.S. team in previous years." Fraser said.
"Maybe it's because the strong events of the US team were concentrated in the past few days." the assistant said.
"Then tell me, in track and field, what are the sports that the United States is not strong in?" Frazier said with a steady look of disdain.
The assistant was suddenly speechless. As the world's number one track and field power, every event is very strong. There is really no event that is not strong. Even in long-distance running, the African long-distance running duo has always been dominant. The American team is second only to the African long-distance running duo and is much stronger than other countries.
Fraser continued: "Perhaps those stupid media are still advocating that this U.S. team is not strong enough, but I believe that the head coach with some judgment has already seen that the U.S. team is still so good. Powerful. It is not easy for the Chinese coach in the United States to lead the American team to achieve such results. Perhaps we underestimated him at the beginning. He is a non-American coach and a Chinese. Since he can become the head coach of the American team , there must be something outstanding about it.”
Frazier said this and looked at Dai Li, but there was a firm color in his eyes. He changed his words and continued: "But I always believe that victory will eventually belong to us!"
…
Jamaica's McNee stood on the track and gently rubbed the soles of his shoes against the track to ease the tension in his heart.
McNee is currently the strongest athlete on the Jamaican team. After the world's number one flying star Gittel retired, McNee became the "big brother" of Jamaica's sprint. He also has to shoulder the responsibility that Gittel took on back then. responsibility.
This is not McNee's first time participating in the Olympics. Four years ago, he also represented the Jamaican team in the Olympics and also entered the finals.
However, in that game at that time, everyone's eyes were focused on the "world's number one flyer" Gittel, and at that time McNee was only an insignificant supporting role.
In fact, as a sprinter, it is really sad to be in the same era as Gittel, and even more so as Gittel's teammate. In fact, McNee is good enough and works hard enough, but no matter how he comes back, as long as Gittel exists in the Jamaican team, he will always be just a supporting role.
McNee is not willing to be just a supporting role, he wants to be the protagonist on the court.
Now, without Gittel, McNee finally has the opportunity to become the protagonist.
"This time, we don't have Gittel, and I will be responsible for Jamaica's sprint! I will lead Jamaica to move forward." McNee clenched his fists tightly.
In the first Olympic Games after losing Gittel, Jamaica needs to use its strength to tell the world that even without the world's number one flying man, Jamaica is still number one in the world in sprinting! Even without Gittel, there will be a new world No. 1 flyer in Jamaica.
McNee had already decided that he would take the initiative to take on this responsibility. This is also the reason why he must win!
…
Bartlett, another member of the Jamaican team, was also nervous at this time, but more than nervous, he was still excited.
It was Bartlett's first time participating in the Olympics and entering the finals. He was so nervous and excited that he stayed up all night last night.
In Jamaica, any young boy who excels in sprinting will be dubbed the "Heir of Gittel", and Bartlett is the same, and this title has been with him for more than ten years.
Every kid in Jamaica idolized Gittle and wanted to be the next Gittle, and so did Bartlett. When Bartlett was still a child, he began to try to practice sprinting. He soon showed strong sprinting talent, and then he was valued by the coach and began formal training. He stood out among all age groups. , then entered a new competition, and eventually he entered the Jamaican national team.
In the Jamaican national team, he met a dozen young people who, like him, had the title of "Jitel's heir". Of course, he also met Gittel himself in the Jamaican national team. Then, Bartlett defeated one opponent after another and stood out in the fierce competition. He used his strength to tell everyone that he was the most authentic "Jitter Heir." He stepped on the footsteps of his peers and seniors and gained more and more opportunities to participate in international competitions, including this time participating in the Olympics.
"Gittle has retired, I will become the second Gittle! I want to become the new world's number one flying man!"
Bartlett's obsession became more intense. Growing up, ever since he started practicing sprinting, he has been known as the "Heir of Gittel", but in Jamaica, there are too many people with the same title. And today, he will use a championship to prove to the world that he is the worthy "successor of Gitel"!
"Gitel, you must be watching this game in front of the TV! I will let you know and let the whole world know that I am the person most qualified to be you!"
…
Alexander took a deep breath.
"The Olympic finals, what a familiar smell!"
This is Alexander's second time competing in the Olympics; he last competed in the Olympics eight years ago.
In the Olympic Games four years ago, Alexander was unable to compete due to a suspension penalty. He also lost the opportunity to challenge the world's number one flyer Gitter.
"After eight years, I finally came back, but those people back then are no longer in this arena." Alexander looked around and saw some young and new faces.
Alexander was suspended for nearly five years and missed an Olympic Games and a World Athletics Championships. In the sport of sprinting, the peak career of an athlete is very short. It is entirely possible to create two generations of athletes in five years.
This is indeed the case. When Alexander participated in the Olympics for the first time eight years ago, none of the athletes at that time appeared in the finals. Only two of the athletes from the group when Alexander was suspended five years ago appeared in today's competition.
This includes the Jamaican team's McNee. It's just that five years ago, McNee was still a young athlete who was just starting out and posed no threat to Alexander. At that time, in Alexander's eyes, McNee was just a soy sauce player. Today, McNee has become the "first brother" of the Jamaican team.
Looking at the energetic young men around him, Alexander suddenly felt that he had been "discriminated" by time.
"During the five-year ban, I missed a lot and lost a lot. Today, I want to get back all the lost five years!"
Alexander stood on the starting block. His movements seemed a bit slow, as regular as a robot. His expression was very solemn, as if he was performing some sacred ceremony.
"Perhaps in the eyes of others, I am still the person who used doping to improve my performance, and I am still the kind of immoral liar, but I will prove that my honor is not obtained by using illegal drugs. Even if Without doping, I would be the strongest in this arena."
Alexander took a deep breath, looked at the track ahead, then lowered his head and got ready to start.
…
Dai Li looked at the eight players at the starting line and commented: "The young player from Jamaica, the one named Bartlett, has greater potential than McNee. I am more optimistic about him."
"Oh?" Team leader Downey looked at Bartlett and said, "McNee is currently the number one player on the Jamaican team, and his results are also very good. He has run under 9.90 seconds many times this year. I thought you I will be more optimistic about McNee!"
"Actually, Alexander is the one I'm most optimistic about." Li Dai smiled, and he continued: "Alexander is an athlete trained by me personally, and I know his strength very well. Although Alexander is a bit older than other athletes , but his condition is very good, no worse than those young guys. I even feel a little regretful that I didn't meet him a few years earlier. Otherwise, the title of the world's number one flyer may not fall to Gittel. On the head."
Downey didn't answer. He was used to Dai Li's self-confidence. Most of the time, Downey even judged him as arrogant. But every time after Dai Li became confident or arrogant, the reality turned out to be what Dai Li said. Development has never slapped Dai Li in the face. Over time, Downey lost his temper and directly expressed his attitude silently.
But what Li Dai said is true. Unlike Alvin, Li Dai did not use the age reduction card for Alexander, but Alexander's physical condition is really not much worse than that of young people.
Dai Li attributed it to physical talent. Just like some people are born to look young, while some people are born to look mature. Alexander may be the kind of athlete whose body ages slower than normal people, so although he is over thirty years old now, he still maintains a state close to that of a young man.
At this time, the referee issued the preparation instruction and the athletes made ready to start.
With a gunshot, all the athletes rushed out of the track almost at the same time, and a second later, the athletes' starting reaction time was also shown on the big screen at the scene.
Alexander's starting reaction time reached 0.155 seconds, the second to last in the game. The fastest starting reaction time is Bartlett, only 0.128 seconds.
"Alexander is indeed older, and his starting reaction is not as good as that of young people. But Bartlett's reaction time of 0.128 seconds is more like running under the gun than running under the gun.
The so-called gun run is a short-running bubble tactic. Athletes follow the referee's habitual starting rhythm and strive to start at the same time as the starting gun sounds. The gun running is when the athlete confirms that he heard the gunshot and his body reacts. The difference between the two will probably be about 0.03 seconds, which can be said to be negligible. But for top sprinters, they have to fight for even 0.01 seconds.
In the old days of sprinting, the starting rule was that only the second athlete to start a false start would be sent off. Therefore, many athletes would choose the tactic of pressing the gun to gain an advantage of a few tenths of a second. Some athletes would even deliberately A false start on the first shot can disrupt the opponent's rhythm and become familiar with the starter's rhythm.
But later the rules of track and field were changed. No matter whether it is the first or the second time, an athlete will be sent off as long as he is falsely started. This makes the cases of false starts very rare. Athletes who use pressure gun running tactics will also be sent off. If it is less, using an advantage of a few tenths of a second to bet on whether you will be sent off is too risky. This kind of investment return ratio is really not worth the gain.
Although Alexander started relatively slowly, his speed was not inferior to other players, and even faster than those young players.
Fifty meters later, the gap between the eight contestants gradually widened.
At 70 meters, the leading group was already obvious. They were Alexander, Max and Bartlett.
Who will win the Olympic Games depends on the last thirty meters.
…
"Alexander, this old guy, is over thirty years old, why is he still so fast!" McNee couldn't help complaining in his heart.
Six years ago at the World Championships, McNee met Alexander in the final, but at that time McNee was just the younger brother of the Jamaican team. He was not qualified to compete with Alexander. The world No. 1 player who competed with Alexander at that time was A flying man Gitel.
Now that Gittel has retired, Alexander, an old guy who is several months older than Gittel, is still on the court, and his speed is not inferior to when he was young.
"I can't lose, I am the top player of the Jamaican team, and I have to carry the Jamaican team!"
At this moment, this sense of responsibility seems to be a big mountain, pressing on McNee. Max even had the illusion that he was climbing a mountain, as if the track under his feet was not straight, but a steep slope.
On the other side, Bartlett also felt an invisible pressure, which had exceeded the excitement in his heart.
After all, this is the final of the Olympic Games. The closer it gets to the final moment, the greater the pressure the athletes will face. Especially when the entire audience stands up and cheers loudly, the feeling of being watched by tens of thousands of people at the same time makes people inexplicably nervous.
Perhaps athletes who are ranked lower will feel less pressure, because they cannot win the championship anyway, but those who are ahead will feel more pressure.
Bartlett is now in the leading group, and the feeling of "wanting to win but afraid of losing" in his heart is getting stronger. However, the belief in victory in his heart began to waver.
…
Alexander didn't care about his competitors at all. When he was less than thirty meters away from the finish line, a figure kept shaking in front of Alexander's eyes.
That's Gittel, the world's number one flyer.
At this moment, Alexander seemed to have returned to a few years ago. In the competition, he and Gittel were neck and neck, but he was always surpassed by Gittel at the end.
He challenged Gitel again and again and failed again and again, but Alexander never gave up. In order to defeat Gitel, he even agreed to Sebastian's suggestion and used illegal drugs, and he paid a heavy price for it. cost.
Vaguely, Alexander even had an illusion that Gittel was beside him, on the runway beside him, and that tall figure seemed to surpass him again.
"No!" Alexander began to cry crazily in his heart.
A kind of unwillingness filled Alexander's mind. The memories of every failure seemed so clear that Alexander even had the illusion of being there personally.
Later, that unwillingness turned into loss, and the loss turned into sadness...
Alexander is sad for himself. He has never defeated Gittel. But now that Gittel has retired and set a world record that no one can break, Alexander will never have the chance to compete with Gittel. .
At this moment, Alexander's thoughts returned to reality. The hallucination of being surpassed by Gitel suddenly disappeared. Alexander discovered that there was no tall figure on the track.
"Gittle has retired and created a chasm that I can't cross!"
Realizing this, Alexander suddenly felt extremely angry. He needed to vent his emotions, and he wanted to vent like crazy.
And the only target for him to vent is the track under his feet.
At this moment, Alexander made the final sprint. This sprint was not only for the gold medal, but also an explosion of his inner emotions!
There is unwillingness, loss, sadness, and even anger...
All the emotions he had accumulated over the years were released at this moment and became the driving force for him to move forward.
…
At this moment of the final sprint, both McNee and Bartlett were carrying the pressure, but Alexander was releasing his emotions.
At this moment, one is ebbing and the other is ebbing, and a judgment is made.
Alexander stood out, leaving McNee and Bartlett behind and heading straight to the finish line!