Muller jumped and climbed over a height of 6.13 meters. He fell on the thick sponge cushion, but the horizontal bar above remained motionless.
"6.13 meters, Franz Muller! He succeeded! He seized the only chance! He crossed 6.13 meters!"
Muller climbed up from the sponge mat. He first looked up to confirm that he had not knocked off the crossbar. When he confirmed that he had succeeded, he immediately raised his hands and roared to the sky. Although he has not yet won the entire competition, he has already defeated himself by crossing a height of 6.13 meters. At this moment, he is already a successful person.
The surrounding audience was also completely excited. This kind of last-chance comeback drama was exactly what they wanted to see the most.
"It worked, we succeeded!" Downey, the leader of the American team, looked excited and gave Dai Li a big hug. Downey thought that Muller, who had only one last chance left, would fail in his jump attempt like Patrina just now, but he didn't expect that Muller would actually complete the counterattack.
The camera also showed a close-up of French player Patreigne's expression at this time. In this game, Muller and Patreigne both faced the same situation. They both failed in the first two attempts and then used free jumps. Jump to the next height and challenge this height with your last trial jump.
But the results were different. Patreny failed, but Muller succeeded.
"Patreni must be in a very complicated mood now. Maybe he will complain to God why he is not given better luck." The commentator said in a mocking tone.
On the other side, in the Russian team, whether it is head coach Merklov, deputy head coach Igor Nagaev, or world champion Kuraev, all have solemn expressions on their faces.
When Muller did not cross 6.13 meters before, the situation was really good for Kulayev. Even if he started to celebrate the victory, it would not be an exaggeration. But now Muller has successfully jumped over 6.13 meters. For Kulayev, it not only means that the gold medal he received is gone, but it also means that he must also challenge the height of 6.13.
At this moment, the advantages and disadvantages suddenly reversed. Originally, Kulaev was at an absolute advantage, but now he is at a disadvantage. The situation is that he is lagging behind. He has to jump 6.13 meters to be on the same starting line as Muller. superior.
6.13 meters, which is only 0.03 meters away from the world record of 6.16 meters in the men's pole vault. This is also an extremely difficult challenge for Kulaev, the world champion. Although he has the ability to jump this height, he succeeded The rate is not high, and he also needs enough luck to succeed at this height.
Kurayev stood on the run-up area. He clenched the long pole in his hand and cheered for himself in his heart.
"That American rookie can reach this height. As a world champion, I will definitely succeed."
After giving himself some deep hypnosis, Kulaev started his approach.
But 6.13 meters is really a height that is difficult to overcome. After Kurayev jumped, he found that the height of his jump was not high enough and it was almost impossible to cross the crossbar.
"Failed." Kulaev climbed up from the sponge mat, shook his head with an unwilling expression, and then returned to the running area.
Because Muller has already jumped a height of 6.13 meters, there is only one athlete on the field, Kulayev, who wants to challenge 6.13 meters, so he has to try jumps continuously.
As an experienced athlete with world championship level strength, after a short period of thinking, Kurayev knew what the problem was in his last trial jump and also knew that he should improve on that shoe. He muttered something, as if he was reminding himself to improve some details.
Kurayev stood in the approach area for a long time without making a second trial jump. He wanted to recover as much strength as possible and give himself more time to prepare.
According to the rules, when there are three contestants left, the athlete's preparation time can be extended to three minutes, and Kulaev waited until the three minutes were almost over before starting his second trial jump.
But the height of 6.13 meters is indeed too difficult. If you want to surpass this height, strength, on-the-spot performance, and luck are all indispensable.
Today, Kulaev did not fill up his attribute points. This time, Kulaev failed again.
The failure of the second trial jump was a fatal blow to Kurayev, and the situation he faced at this time was the same as Muller just now and Patreny before. He only has one chance left. If he fails, he loses the game. If he succeeds, he does not win. He needs to go to the next level and continue to compete with Mueller.
Kulaev also faced a choice, whether to choose to skip the jump.
In high jump, it is a profit-maximizing choice to skip the jump after failing two trial jumps and proceed directly to the next height, because even if the third trial jump is successful, the athlete still has to challenge the next height and choose to skip the jump. If they jump, the athletes can go directly to the next height and be on the same starting line as the other remaining competitors.
…
The Russian coaching staff began to argue fiercely.
"We should choose to skip the jump. If we fail in the first two trial jumps, we should choose to skip the jump for the third time and then go to the next level. That is an inevitable choice. The previous Patrina and the American Muller, They all do this, and I think we have no choice." A Russian coach said.
The other person shook his head: "I think skipping is not a good idea. Don't forget, the height after Patreny's skip was 6.08 meters, the height after Muller's skip was 6.13 meters, and the height after the skip was 6.13 meters. If we skip the jump, the next height will be 6.18 meters, and the world record is only 6.16 meters. This is equivalent to asking Kulaev to challenge a new world record. It is too difficult, and it is no different from admitting defeat."
"But if Kurayev exceeds 6.13 meters, he will still have to face a height of 6.18 meters, so we cannot avoid this world record height at all." The first coach to speak said.
"Then do you think Americans can jump over 6.18 meters? That's a new world record. I don't think that American can jump over it. So we only need to jump over this 6.13 meters, and then when it reaches 6.18 meters, Kula If neither Yev nor the American can jump over, the height of the crossbar will be lowered. In that case, Kulaev will definitely have an advantage!"
According to the rules of high jump, at a certain height, if all athletes fail in three attempts to jump, an extra extra round will be held. If everyone still does not jump over this height in the extra extra round, the next step will be Lower the height of the crossbar and allow the athlete to try the jump again.
Under this rule, if Kulaev exceeds 6.13 meters, the next height is 6.18 meters, which is a height 2 centimeters higher than the world record. Kulaev cannot jump over it, and young Muller is also incapable of jumping. In the past, once that happened, it would be lowered. Kulaev, who has more strength and more experience, will have an advantage after being lowered.
If Kurayev chooses to skip the jump, he will directly challenge 6.18 meters and will only have one trial jump chance. If he fails, he will lose the game directly. Facing a height that exceeds the world record, no one will feel that they have a good chance of winning.
After everyone debated for a while, they turned their attention to head coach Melklov, hoping that he could make a decision.
Merklov shook his head slightly and said: "Kuraev can also think of what we can think of. At this time, let Kulaev make his own choice."
…
The referee is also communicating with Kurayev and asking him whether he should choose to skip the jump.
A moment later, Kulaev returned to the court, but the height of the crossbar did not increase.
Kulaev did not choose to skip the jump. He wanted to continue to try a height of 6.13 meters.
"It seems that Kulaev has no confidence in the height of 6.18 meters." Dai Li's expression became relaxed.
"I think Kurayev made a wise decision." Downey looked at the field nervously and continued; "6.18 meters has exceeded the world record. No one can succeed. Once it reaches that height, Mu If Le can't jump over, Kulaev will also fail, and the height of the crossbar will be lowered, which will be an advantage for Kulaev."
"But the premise is that Kurayev must first cross 6.13 meters, and his third trial jump cannot fail, so that there will be the possibility you mentioned." The disdain in Li Dai's eyes flashed, and he continued Said: "Kulaev is the world champion, he is the top men's pole vaulter in the world, so his goal should not be just a mere 6.13 meters, but should be the world record. But today, he gave up the challenge The chance of a world record. From the moment he chose to continue to complete the third trial jump, he had already lost, he lost his confidence, and he no longer had the heart to be a champion!"
…
Kurayev stood in the run-up area, turning the pole in his hand to make sure it wouldn't slip.
"The next height is 6.18 meters. That has exceeded the world record. I can't jump over it, but Muller will definitely not be able to jump over it either. Let's lower the height and compete again!"
Kulaev took a deep breath and his body started to activate. Running and accelerating, the long pole was supported on the ground, and then he jumped up. Kulaev's body came to the crossbar, and then he began to climb over the crossbar.
"It's over!" The audience couldn't help but exclaimed.
"I succeeded!" Kurayev couldn't help but want to pump his fist in celebration as he fell.
But at this moment, the crossbar rolled and fell down.
Kulaev still hit the crossbar and failed.
"Hey!" The audience sighed, feeling sorry for Kurayev.
The camera did not linger on Kulayev, and the photographer gave all of his attention to Mueller.
Young Franz Muller participated in a world-class competition for the first time, participated in the Olympic Games for the first time, and won the championship!
This rookie athlete in people's eyes has officially ascended to the pole vault throne.
…
In a bar in a certain city in the United States, people started to rejoice, and a rich man even lavishly shook the small wall clock on the bar counter. He wanted to buy the bartenders a drink.
"We won, we won! Well done Franz Muller!"
"This Franz Muller is the person who was directly selected into the national team without even participating in the selection. I remember that there were still people questioning the fairness of the selection. Let me tell you, it really followed the ranking in the selection. , we can’t win this gold medal.”
"Not only is it a gold medal, I'm afraid I won't even get a medal!"
"What nonsense is fairness? What we want is the championship and the gold medal! We are watching the Olympics here, don't we just hope that the United States can win a few more gold medals!"
…
The award ceremony was over. Looking at the Stars and Stripes hanging in the sky, Donnie looked excited.
"We got another gold, one silver and one bronze today!" Downey said.
"No, you are wrong." Dai Li shook his head: "Today's game is not over yet! We will get more."
While the men's pole vault is going on, the first round of the women's 100 meters is also held on the track, but one is the final and the other is the first round. The audience will definitely pay more attention to the finals, so the first round of the women's 100 meters Not many people paid attention to it, and even the TV broadcasters naturally ignored it.
But this is the event in which the American team has the gold medal. The American team’s strength in the 400-meter hurdles is not inferior to their strength in the 400-meter dash. Under normal circumstances, it is normal for three American athletes to enter the finals at the same time. matter.
Then came the men's 800-meter final, which was also the fourth gold medal born in today's track and field competition.
Kenya is the defending champion of this event. Three of their players have advanced to the finals, while two of the American team have advanced to the finals. Therefore, this game can basically be regarded as a competition between Kenya and the Americans.
The Kenyans are indeed better in the middle and long-distance running events. In the end, the Kenyan athlete won the championship with an advantage of 0.8 seconds. The American team won the silver medal, and the third place was won by another Kenyan athlete.
After the men's 800-meter race, the women's 400-meter sprint final was held on the track. This was also the last race on the track and field today.
The U.S. team's status in the 400-meter event is still difficult to shake. All three of their athletes have advanced to the finals. The Jamaican team has also made efforts in the 400-meter event in recent years, with two players advancing to the finals. However, based on their strength, In other words, it is difficult to pose a threat to the American team.
In the end, the United States team won the top two, winning the gold and silver medals, and the bronze medal was won by the Jamaican team.
This is the end of the fourth day of Olympic track and field competition. In the five final events, the U.S. track and field team won two gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal. It is still making great progress!