The fifth competition day of Olympic track and field events. The qualifying rounds of the women's pole vault and the first round of the women's 5,000 meters were held respectively in the track and field competitions. Then came the men's triple jump finals.
Men's triple jump is another event in which the American team has a gold medal. Two athletes from the American team participated in the competition.
Europeans are not weak in this event. In the past thirty years of Olympic Games, Europeans have achieved good results in the men's triple jump event. However, in this Olympics, several traditional European triple jump The long jump powerhouse performed poorly and did not occupy many seats in the finals.
On the contrary, players from Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Guyana and other countries in Central and South America have advanced to the finals. In addition, the Chinese team actually had three players advance to the finals, one more than the American team.
Hu Jinrong, the head coach of the national team in charge of the long jump event, is also an old acquaintance of Li Dai. Not long after Li Dai graduated, he joined the Hanbei Provincial Sports Bureau and went to the Beikou Base to do odd jobs as a seconded employee. Hu Jinrong was also at the Beikou Base at that time, and Li Dai had already met Hu Jinrong. Later, after Li Dai coached Fang Haiquan, It was Hu Jinrong who personally picked up Fang Haiquan. Later, Li Dai went to the national team to study, including later competing in the Asian Games, and worked with Hu Jinrong.
Now, many years have passed, and Hu Jinrong is still the long jump coach of the national team. Although his qualifications are more advanced, his official qualifications have not improved even a little bit.
But Dai Li, who worked as a handyman at the Beikou training base back then, became the head coach of the U.S. national team.
At this time, the game was about to begin, and Dai Li and his old friend Hu Jinrong stood together and had a friendly conversation.
"Coach Li, your American team is determined to win this gold medal in the men's triple jump, right? Doris is the defending champion of this event. With him here, there will definitely be no problem with the gold medal." Hu Jinrong said with a smile on his face.
"That's not necessarily true. Our Chinese team also has three players entering the finals." Dai Li still used the term "we" without appearing to be out of touch.
Hu Jinrong is very fond of the term "we". He feels that although Dai Li has become the coach of the US team, he does not seem to be superior. On the contrary, he does not regard himself as an outsider.
"Haha, it's just a fluke. You must know the level of our athletes. They are still lacking in both strength and experience. At most, they can compete within Asia. By the time they reach the Olympic finals, they will study with the prince. ." Hu Jinrong said.
"Coach Hu, I don't believe you don't have the idea of winning the championship." Li Dai laughed: "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier!"
Hu Jinrong did not deny this, but he also knew that it was almost impossible to take the gold medal from the American team. So he changed his voice and asked: "Speaking of which, Coach Li, it's not easy for you to achieve your current achievements in the United States these years, right? When did you go to the United States?"
Li Dai opened his mouth to talk about his experience: "After I left our track and field team and returned to the provincial team, I met Gu Zhizhong by chance. Gu Zhizhong was still the coach of the national table tennis team at the time, so he recruited me into the national table tennis team as a Physical fitness coach. You must have heard about what happened in the national table tennis team later."
"Gu Zhizhong was promoted and relegated secretly. Are you also implicated?" Hu Jinrong is also a sensible person. He has been in the national team for some years and knows all about it. So after Gu Zhizhong was transferred, Hu Jinrong can guess what kind of encounter Li Dai will have.
"Yes, I was transferred to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee of which boxing, and I forgot what boxing I was involved in. Although I was promoted one level, it was actually an idle job. I am a coach, how do I know how to apply for boxing to the UNESCO World Heritage? .So I resigned." Li Dai said.
"Then you went to the United States?" Hu Jinrong asked.
"At that time, how could I have so much money to go to the United States? I first went to Dingtian Football Club and worked as a physical coach with Haman for a year." Li Dai answered.
"Dingtian's salary is quite good, right? I've heard that Dingtian Group has a lot of money, and they spend a lot of money playing football." Hu Jinrong had a hint of envy in his eyes.
"Dingtian's salary is very good, otherwise I wouldn't have the money to open a training center in the United States." Li Dai continued: "I worked at Dingtian Club for a year, during which I raised some money, and then went to I came to the United States, rented a place, and opened a physical training center. But at the beginning, there was no business. In order to save part of the rent, I could only train some disabled athletes for free. But I was lucky enough. I met Phillip, the Blade runner.”
Dai Li gave a brief introduction to the subsequent process, including helping Taylor come back, helping Holly overcome the tragedy of the last shot, helping Alexander, Ford and Alvin train, etc. Until the doping scandal broke out and there was no one available for the US team, he was appointed as the head coach of the US track and field team.
Dai Li's account was not very detailed, and many places were only briefly touched upon. But to Hu Jinrong's ears, Dai Li's experience in the past few years was simply too ups and downs.
"Oh my God, I sound like a Hollywood blockbuster! If you were to make an autobiographical movie now, it would be enough to cover the entire movie!" Hu Jinrong sighed.
While the two were talking, a young Chinese woman came over from a distance. She had a press card hanging around her neck with a national flag on it. She was obviously a reporter from China.
"Coach Hu!" The female reporter greeted Hu Jinrong coquettishly, but her eyes were fixed on Dai Li.
"It's Xiao Liu!" Hu Jinrong obviously knew this female reporter.
"Is this Coach Li?" The female reporter's real purpose was obviously Dai Li.
Hu Jinrong also saw that the female reporter was not here to see him. He directly sold her favor and said: "Coach Li, let me introduce to you. This is Liu Ran, a reporter sent by CCTV to visit the Olympics. "
"Reporter Liu, hello." Dai Li nodded politely.
"Coach Li, I have heard of your name for a long time, and today I finally met you in person." The female reporter directly stretched out her hand to shake hands with Dai Li, and the smile on her face became more and more enthusiastic.
The three chatted casually for a few words before Liu Ran asked: "Coach Li, I wonder if you have time to accept my exclusive interview?"
"This female reporter really does not miss anything." Li Dai thought of this, smiled slightly, and nodded in agreement: "No problem, but my work is quite busy. After all, I have to lead the entire US track and field team. You can Ask my assistant and tell him that I have agreed, and he will arrange a time for you."
…
The men's triple jump finals have finally begun. One of the two players on the U.S. team is Doris, the champion of the last Olympic Games, so the goal of the U.S. team is naturally the gold medal.
With the blessing of the balance of form, Doris experienced an overwhelming state in his third trial jump and jumped 17.96 meters. For athletes from other countries, after seeing this result, they almost lost their desire to continue. Challenge motivation.
The world record for men's triple jump is 18.29 meters, and the Olympic record is also 18.09 meters. However, these two results are almost impossible for today's athletes to challenge. Doris's 17.96 meters can already be ranked among the top in history. A score of 10. Such a result is enough to lock in the provincial round of the competition.
Another American player also had a great state in the fifth jump, jumping 17.75 meters, ranking up to second place, and also locked up the runner-up. Chinese players ranked third and fourth respectively and won a bronze medal.
The next two events were the preliminary round of the men's 1500 meters and the first round of the women's 100 meters hurdles. In the former event, American players performed well and two of them advanced to the finals. The latter event is the traditional advantage event of the United States. The first round was even more stress-free.
Next came the women's discus final. Dai Li didn't pay attention to this event because no one on the American team entered the final.
At the same time, the men's 200-meter race was held on the track. The three American athletes all advanced smoothly, and the "first brother" of Jamaican sprinter McNee also appeared again.
The morning game ends here, and the next game will not continue until the evening.
…
Among the U.S. Olympic delegation, not only the men's basketball dream team did not stay at the Olympics, but the U.S. track and field team also did not stay in the Olympic Village. Instead, they booked their own hotels.
For American athletes, the Olympic Village is indeed too simple, and the USA Track and Field Association earns hundreds of millions of dollars a year from major sponsors, so renting a hotel is not a very luxurious expense for them.
Franz Muller's game has ended, but he did not go out to experience the entertainment life in Rio, but stayed in the hotel obediently.
Of course, this is not because Muller is not good at this. How can young people not like to play? It is just that Muller has no money.
He is still a college student. Although he has a full scholarship to ensure a worry-free life, the money is not enough for him to go out to eat, drink and have fun.
Prices in Rio de Janeiro are actually not cheap, especially the entertainment venues where rich people go, which are veritable gold-selling dens. In terms of wealth, Rio de Janeiro is even better than Las Vegas. As long as you have money, what you can enjoy in Las Vegas can be enjoyed in Rio de Janeiro, but what you cannot enjoy in Las Vegas , you can also enjoy it in Rio de Janeiro.
Now it's the Olympics, and everything in Rio de Janeiro has gone up in price, and Muller is an American. In the eyes of Brazilians, Americans are just big fat sheep. If they don't make a lot of money, they won't be able to afford this Olympics. For safety reasons, Muller did not dare to go to those cheap entertainment venues. Therefore, with Mueller's little scholarship, it is impossible to go on a lot of food, drink and have fun.
Of course, there are ways to have no money. Muller is quite handsome to begin with. Muller has not missed out on the advantages of the Germanic nation in appearance and figure. With this appearance alone, he can attract many enthusiastic Brazilian kids. girl. Even if Muller doesn't like Brazilian girls, if he goes to the Olympic Village for a walk, he will definitely go in feeling refreshed and come out feeling weak. What's more, he is still the Olympic champion. As a bonus, some young female athletes want to "do sports" happily with him.
But Muller is not the kind of casual person. Any handsome man has a very high vision.
When it comes to relationships between men and women, whether it's emotional or physical, Gao Fushuai has always been at the top of the food chain, and must also be the pickiest eater. The so-called rich and handsome man is tired of eating delicacies from the mountains and seas and wants to try wild vegetables and mushrooms for a change. This is purely an obscenity expressed in TV dramas for a specific group of people.
After lunch, Muller sat alone in the hotel room, playing with the gold medal in his hand. At this time, he felt that the gold medal was like the thigh of a certain Hollywood actress he liked. He could play for a year without feeling tired.
The doorbell rang suddenly. Mueller put down his gold medal and walked to the door. Through the peephole, Mueller saw that it was his teammate Wynn Leonard standing outside.
Leonard is a high jumper. His competition is in the evening, and it is the first one, the men's high jump final.
Although high jump and pole vault are two different events, Leonard's reputation and qualifications are far better than Muller. In the Olympics four years ago, Leonard and two other athletes won the gold medal at the same time. Olympic bronze medal.
In the Olympic track and field competitions, in addition to gold medals, silver and bronze medals are allowed to have multiple people tied together. Especially in the high jump, all athletes may reach a certain height and cannot jump over. There will often be tied silver or bronze medals. bronze medal.
Muller immediately opened the door, invited Leonard into the room, and at the same time asked: "Wynn, you have a game tonight, why are you still free to come to my place now?"
"I'm here to ask you for advice." Leonard walked into the room, sat on the sofa, and then asked: "I want to know, in yesterday's game, you defeated Patreny and Kulaev, Do you have any unique tips?"
"The secret?" Mueller frowned, not knowing how to answer.
"In other words, how did you perform so well? As far as I know, you have never jumped a height of 6.13 meters, even in practice, but you succeeded. If you have any experience , I want you to teach it to me." Leonard's expression was sincere, and he continued: "I really want to win the game tonight. But the opponents I faced were very strong. Your situation is similar to yours yesterday."
Although Leonard was the third runner-up in the last Olympics, in terms of strength, Leonard is not the strongest. Gedarenko from Russia was the men's high jump champion in the last Olympic Games. At the World Championships two years ago, Gedarenko also won the gold medal. It can be said that he has dominated the men's high jump sport in the past four years.
Another player, the "Prince of High Jump" Dogorlov of Ukraine, did not participate in the Olympic Games four years ago and the World Championships two years ago due to injuries. However, he returned from this Olympic Games full of blood and maintained his performance. This year's best result, he definitely has the strength to challenge Gedalenko's dominance in the men's high jump.
Leonard is not as good as Gedarenko and Dogorlov in terms of strength, but the gap is actually not very big. And in yesterday's competition, Franz Muller, who participated in an international competition for the first time, came back to win the men's pole vault event. This also stimulated Leonard and made Leonard see the victory. hope.
In Leonard's view, Muller, a rookie participating in the Olympics for the first time, can win the championship, and as an experienced veteran and an Olympic bronze medalist, there is great hope for a counterattack to win the championship. things.
That's why Leonard came personally, hoping to learn from Mueller.
Muller hesitated and finally said: "Actually, there is no secret. I was just thinking that I must jump over it, and then I jumped over it. You know, it is really difficult to control things like improvising on the spot. of."
Leonard's expression looked a little disappointed, he didn't get the answer he wanted.
Mueller went on to say: "Actually, I think you should not go to me about this matter, but should go to another person. Maybe he is the only one in the world who can help you."
"Who?" Leonard asked eagerly.
"Needless to say, of course it's our Coach Li!" Muller continued confidently: "Coach Li is a coach who can create miracles, and he is the only one who can help you at this time.
…
Leonard followed Mueller's advice and came to Li Dai.
When Leonard explained his purpose, Dai Li felt dumbfounded.
"Wynn, you're going to compete in the evening, and you came to me now. Don't you think it's too late? I don't have the ability to create an Olympic champion in one afternoon." Dai Li smiled. explain.
Leonard also felt a little embarrassed, and he couldn't help but lower his head.
"Okay, I won't kid you anymore." Dai Li leaned on the sofa calmly and continued: "I can't help you in terms of technical improvement in one afternoon, and your technology is already very good. It’s mature and doesn’t require much improvement. So let’s talk about other things.”
Leonard immediately put on an expression of listening carefully, while Dai Li picked up the tea cup, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and then asked: "You must have watched the pole vault competition yesterday, right?"
"Yes, I watched it. Mueller won wonderfully." Leonard nodded.
"Before the game, did you ever think that Muller would win in the end?" Dai Li then asked.
"Not at all." Leonard shook his head without hesitation: "I thought it would be a fight between Patreny and Kulaev in the end."
"Then who do you think is better, Kulayev or Muller?" Li Dai then asked.
Leonard thought for a while and replied: "If it were the day before yesterday, I would have said that Kulaev was stronger, but after yesterday's game, I think Muller and Kulaev are about the same level. But Muller is younger, and I think it is only a matter of time before Muller surpasses Kulaev."
"Then why do you think Kulayev lost?" Li Dai then asked.
Leonard thought for a while and replied: "In my opinion, the reason why Kulayev lost is because he did not perform as well as Muller. If he performed better, he should be able to cross 6.13 meters." .”
"You are wrong! In fact, after Kurayev failed in his first two attempts at 6.13 meters, he did not choose to jump to 6.18 meters without jumping, but continued to try 6.13 meters. At this time, he had already lost." Li Dai He spoke.
"6.18 meters already exceeds the world record for men's pole vault, right? Kulaev can't jump over it." Leonard said.
"Kulaev thought the same way at the time. Indeed, 6.18 meters is the world record, but if you don't even have the courage to try, and you first decide that you can't jump over it, then it will definitely be impossible to jump over." Dai Li picked up the teacup. , took a small sip, and then said:
"Kurayev's tactical intention is actually very simple. He hopes to jump over 6.13 meters. Then at 6.18 meters, both of them failed in their attempts to jump, and then they will lower the height. Kurayev thinks that in that case he will have an advantage. . In other words, he made a choice that left a way out."
"In contrast, Muller chose to skip the jump after failing two trial jumps of 6.08 meters. He used his last chance to challenge 6.13 meters, and this height was something he had never tried in practice. You could say he made a no-return choice. That's the difference between the two of them."
"Let me tell you a story. It is a real thing that happened in our country, or a very famous battle. The first emperor of our country established a huge dynasty, and after the death of this emperor , many people stood up to resist his dynasty, including a general who used an army of 50,000 peasants to defeat the dynasty's 400,000 regular army. What method do you think he used?"
Leonard thought for a while and replied: "It must be some conspiracy, right? I know that ancient Chinese generals liked to use fire and water to fight. That general may have used a fire to burn all his opponents to death. Or the dam was dug and all the opponents were drowned."
"You know a lot, but it's a pity that you guessed wrong." Dai Li shook his head.
"It must be in a strong castle. Just like in the Middle Ages in Europe, a castle with dozens of people can withstand the attack of thousands of people. I think if there is a big castle, 50,000 people are enough to withstand 400,000 people. ” Leonard continued.
"That's not right." Dai Li shook his head again, and then he revealed the answer: "Instead of choosing to defend, this general chose to attack the opponent, led his motley army across the river, and then scuttled all the Ship, he told his troops that they had no way back and could only move forward now. He broke all the pots again, and then he told his troops that if they could not defeat their opponents, they would not even have food to eat. , they will all starve to death. He let these 50,000 people know that if they want to survive, they have to move forward, attack, defeat the 400,000 enemies, and seize food from them!"
"Then, his troops really did what he expected, constantly attacking, attacking, and attacking again, until they defeated the 400,000 opponents. When an army faces a desperate situation, even a motley crew composed of farmers The army still burst out with Wuyu Lunbu's energy."
Dai Li said this, took a deep breath, and continued: "I am telling you this in the hope that you can understand that when you face an opponent who is more powerful than you, you should never think about a way out, and you must constantly warn yourself, You have no way out, you are in a desperate situation, you can only move forward, you can only fight! You only need to remember one sentence, when we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win!"