A total of 15 athletes participated in the Olympic men's long jump finals. The reason there were three more athletes was because in the qualifying round, four athletes tied for 12th place, and none of them could jump to the next one. height, so we can only come to participate in the finals.
However, this has no impact on the final competition for championship, runner-up and third place. Anyway, the last few people are not capable of competing for medals.
The starting height of the competition is 2.20 meters. No one failed at this height, and all 15 players advanced. The next height was 2.25 meters and two people were eliminated. The third height was 2.29 meters, and three more people were eliminated. When the fourth test jump of 2.33 meters ended, there were six players left on the field.
In terms of height increase, high jump and pole vault are different. Pole vault increases at least 5 cm each time, while the height increase of high jump is larger at the beginning of the competition, which can be 5 cm or 10 cm. As the game progresses, the height increase will gradually decrease. Basically, what the referee has to control is to end the entire competition within 5 to 8 trial jumps.
Next, the crossbar was raised by 3 centimeters to 2.36 meters.
2.36 meters is already very difficult for Leonard. In the last Olympics, he was stuck at this height and only won the bronze medal.
Now facing this height again, Leonard's mind recalled the desperate story that Li Dai told him, and the phrase "the brave wins when we meet on a narrow road" kept flashing in his thoughts.
Although this was only Leonard's first trial jump at a height of 2.36 meters, Leonard at this time felt inexplicably that this seemed to be his last trial jump.
The next second, Leonard started to take off.
"Beautiful!" The moment Leonard crossed the crossbar, Dai Li couldn't help but praise. It was a perfect trial jump.
"Succeeded in the first attempt!" Leonard climbed up from the sponge mat. He seemed very excited. After all, he fell at this height four years ago, and now he finally successfully defeated this height.
"What Coach Li taught me is indeed very effective. Don't think about the way out. As long as you work hard, you will succeed!" Leonard thought that his mental hypnosis had played a role, but he didn't know that the balance of the state happened to appear. A great state.
The height of 2.36 meters indeed stumped many athletes. When this height ended, there were only three people left on the field. In addition to Leonard, there were also the previous champion Russian player Gedarenko, and Ukraine’s “Long Jump Prince” Dogorlov.
Among them, Gdalenko also jumped a height of 2.36 meters in one go, while Dogorlov chose not to jump directly at 2.36 meters.
Today, Dogorlov is extremely confident. He chose to avoid jumping on the first jump of 2.20 meters, then skipped 2.25 meters, and chose to avoid jumping again on 2.29, and then crossed 2.33 meters. Now he has This is the third time he chose to skip the jump. Next, he will directly challenge the next height. If he fails at the next height three times, his score can only be calculated as 2.33 meters.
This time the crossbar increased by two centimeters to 2.38 meters, and the best result of the men's high jump this year is only 2.37 meters, which means that if you exceed this height, you will create a best result this year.
Leonard stood on the court and started mental hypnosis again.
For Leonard, he has only succeeded once in the competition at a height of 2.38 meters, so in the next trial jump, he must not make any mistakes, and he must perform very well to be able to jump over.
Starting, accelerating, jumping, Leonard's upper body successfully crossed the crossbar.
"Another great state!" Li Dai had already confirmed this from Leonard's starting height.
However, being in great shape does not mean that success is guaranteed. The height of 2.38 meters is too difficult, even for the top athletes in the world, it is difficult to overcome.
After Leonard's body crossed the crossbar, his heel touched the crossbar.
"Oops." Dai Li screamed in his heart that something was wrong, and Leonard also realized this. His body was still in the air, but a frustrated expression appeared on his face.
The audience also saw this through the big screen, and screams of exclamation sounded from all around.
However, the horizontal bar only swayed slightly, and then stopped.
Although Leonard touched the crossbar, the crossbar did not fall.
According to the rules of the high jump, one of the definitions of a failed jump attempt is the failure of the crossbar to remain on the crossbar support due to the athlete's movements. In other words, as long as the crossbar does not fall, even if the athlete touches the crossbar, the trial jump is successful.
But the high jump crossbar is easy to fall. The crossbar support simply provides a support point, but has no fixed effect. The slightest touch may cause the crossbar support to fall. Moreover, the direction of the crossbar support is facing the direction of the sponge pad, which is the same as the direction of the athlete's movement. That is to say, as long as the athlete touches the crossbar, whether it is the inertia of the body's movement or the direction of the action, it must be Push the crossbar down in the direction of the crossbar support, which makes it easier to push the crossbar down.
"Leonard's luck is so good!" Dai Li let out a sigh of relief.
The body hit the crossbar, but the crossbar did not fall. This was 100% due to luck. It can only be said that at this moment, Newton's three major conclusions were on the side of Lee Leonard.
In addition, at such a critical time, the scales have been in peak condition twice in a row. Lady luck has indeed embraced Leonard.
Leonard's heart was already in his throat, especially the second when the crossbar swayed. To Leonard, it seemed like a century.
"The crossbar didn't fall!" Leonard looked at the referee immediately, and the referee hesitated for two seconds. After confirming that the crossbar really would not fall, he raised the white flag.
"Successful!" Leonard just got up from the sponge cushion, but he knelt down excitedly, and kept making punching movements with his hands to express the excitement deep in his heart.
Beside the field, the expressions of Russia's defending champion Gedarenko and Ukraine's "High Jump Prince" Dogorlov became solemn.
…
Ukraine’s “Prince of High Jump” Dogorlov stepped onto the field.
At the last height of 2.36 meters, Dogorlov directly chose not to jump. This behavior also showed that Dogorlov was extremely confident in his own strength. He seemed to be telling everyone that the height of 2.38 meters was not enough for him. For other athletes, it may be a challenge that cannot be completed in a lifetime, but for him it is just a rare and ordinary height.
Dogorlov became famous at a young age, as can be seen from his nickname "Prince of High Jump". In his youth, Dogorlov swept almost all the high jump championships in youth competitions. After entering the adult group, he was also a frequent champion in various IAAF competitions.
But God seems to be teasing this "Prince of High Jump". Although he swept all track and field events, he has never been able to win a medal in the Olympic Games.
Dogorlov participated in the Olympics for the first time and contracted the flu before the finals, which greatly affected his physical condition and on-the-spot performance. However, he still finished fourth and was within a stone's throw of a medal.
Four years later, Dogorlov was also selected for the Ukrainian national team at the Olympic Games, but he was injured in a warm-up match before the game and missed the Olympics and the World Championships two years later.
Now is Dogorlov's third time participating in the Olympics. The "Prince of High Jump" back then has lost his immaturity, but his desire for Olympic gold medals has not diminished at all, but has become more intense.
In today's game, in addition to his desire for the championship, Dogorlov also brought his own pride and confidence.
In the first four heights, I chose to skip the jump twice, especially at the height of 2.36 meters, I still chose to skip the jump. This is indeed enough confidence, and I even want to "show off".
There is a saying about pretending to be struck by lightning. Although Dogorlov was not struck by lightning, he always had to pay some price if he wanted to "show off". He failed in his first attempt at a height of 2.38 meters.
Dogorlov got up and walked off the sponge mat, shaking his head as he walked. He was obviously very dissatisfied with his performance in this trial jump, or he was in a bad mood because he did not succeed in the "show".
Next up was the previous Olympic champion Gdalenko.
In the Olympic Games four years ago, Gerdalenko won the championship with a score of 2.38 meters. Today, four years later, he has to face this height again, but this time, if he also jumps 2.38 meters, he will not be able to successfully defend his title. .
Gedalenko is still very confident about this height. After all, he successfully crossed this height four years ago.
Amid applause and cheers from the audience, Gerdalenko began his trial jump.
However, Gedarenko's trial jump was not successful and he failed.
Gedarenko stepped off the sponge mat, his expression was very calm, and his mentality seemed not to be affected by the failure of the trial jump. In Gdalenko's view, this first trial jump is just a small test. If he succeeds, he will naturally be very happy. If he fails, he will treat it as an adjustment. After all, with his strength, 2.38 meters is not the end point.
…
Dogorlov began his second trial jump at a height of 2.38 meters.
During the run-up, take-off, crossing the bar, and landing, the posture of the "High Jump Prince" is still so graceful, like a finely crafted work of art.
Dogorlov sat up. Just as he was about to raise his hands to celebrate, the crossbar suddenly rolled down.
"What's going on? I obviously didn't touch the crossbar!" Dogorlov suddenly looked surprised.
The next second, a slow-motion replay appeared on the big screen at the scene. When Dogorlov raised his foot, the upper part of his heel slightly touched the crossbar. It was this extremely slight bump that caused Dogorlov to fail in his trial jump.
"Actually, I think Dogorlov's technical move just now doesn't need to be so flashy. He can be more conservative." Li Dai commented.
"This is not surprising. Dogorlov has always been like this. He likes to express himself too much. He always hopes to win in the most beautiful way. Indeed, winning is pleasing to the eye, but it also increases the risk of losing. The probability of falling, this may be his biggest shortcoming." Downey replied.
Next up was Gedarenko. After the failure of his last trial jump, Gerdalenko made some self-examinations and then returned to the competition.
"Gdalenko's style is more stable. I think based on his strength, there will definitely be no problem crossing 2.38 meters. The key point is that he needs several trial jumps to complete." Downey said. .
"Now it seems that it was at least three times. He was too stable and his take-off height was too conservative. Although this can complete the entire set of technical movements relatively smoothly, it is not enough for him to cross this height." As Dai Li finished speaking, Gedarenko's attempt to jump also failed.
This is the case for a stable player. If you give him a height, as long as he has the ability to surpass it, his probability of success is very high. Unless he is unlucky, his performance in every trial jump will be poor.
At a height of 2.38 meters, the two most promising contenders for the Olympic championship both failed in two attempts. Then they both faced the same choice, whether to continue to try to jump to a height of 2.38 meters, or to skip the jump and try directly. Jump to the next level.
The referee paused the game and asked both athletes for their opinions.
"With Dogorlov's character, he will definitely choose not to jump." Downey said firmly.
"What about Gedarenko? What choice will he make?" Li Dai asked.
"Gdalenko has always been very stable. I guess he won't gamble on the next level." Downey replied.
Sure enough, Downey's judgment was completely correct. Dogorlov, who was supposed to appear next, did not appear. Instead, it was Gedalenko who stood in the running area. This shows that Dogorlov chose not to jump, and Gedalenko chose not to jump. Darenko chose to continue his trial jump of 2.38 meters.
"If no other athlete has jumped 2.38 meters, it may be the right choice for Gerdalenko to continue to try jumping. But now, even if he jumps 2.38 meters, he is not the champion." Dai Li shook his head slightly. He was very unfavorable to Gdalenko.
This time, Gdalenko spent more time preparing. It was not until the referee reminded that the countdown was about to begin that Gdalenko took a step forward.
Gedarenko crossed the crossbar. His body had not yet completely landed on the cotton pad, but he could already hear the disappointed sighs from the audience.
Gedarenko was indeed unlucky today, and his third jump attempt also failed. The champion of the previous Olympic Games was eliminated first.
…
The next height is 2.40 meters. This height has exceeded the Olympic record of 2.39 meters and is only 5 centimeters away from the world record of 2.45 meters.
Leonard has never jumped this height in a game, and even in daily training, he will not try this height. With the current level of athletes, in international-level competitions, a height of 2.35 meters or more is enough to win the championship. Perhaps only competitions at the Olympic level can increase the height to 2.40 meters.
The height of 2.40 meters is indeed beyond the range of Leonard's ability. In his first trial jump, he hit the crossbar to the ground without even crossing his upper body.
Leonard's performance also made people realize that he cannot jump 2.40 meters.
So as long as Dogorlov, who previously chose to skip the jump, can jump 2.40 meters, he will be the champion. And if he couldn't jump over, due to the previous skipping of 2.36 meters, his score was only 2.33 meters. He could only get a bronze medal, and he would be tied with other players.
Dogorlov only had one last chance to try.
However, 2.40 meters is within Dogorlov's ability.
It’s just that Dogorlov’s last successful trial jump was at a height of 2.33 meters. Now let’s challenge 2.40 meters directly, which is equivalent to an increase of 7 centimeters in height. In high jump, when the height reaches more than 2.30 meters, it instantly increases by 7 centimeters. Almost no athletes can adapt to this increase in height.
…
Dogorlov suddenly felt a little excited. He felt that after two consecutive failed attempts at 2.38 meters, he used his last chance to kill his opponent at 2.40 meters. It was really a "talented" operation.
"As long as I can succeed this time, I will create the most classic scene in the high jump event in Olympic history!"
At this time, Dogorlov still had the idea of "showing his presence" by wearing clothes.
He is such an athlete full of "desire for expression", just like those people whose "heads can be cut off but not messed up." Even at this critical moment, Dogorlov's thoughts are still not on how to win the game. , but thinking about how to win beautifully.
If you want to win beauty, you must win!
Another run-up, take-off, and crossing the crossbar were another textbook technical move.
If the crossbar didn't fall down, it would really be "picturesque".
…
"Failed!" Dogorlov's eyes widened and he looked at the fallen bar, with an incredible look on his expression.
Perhaps for Dogorlov, this height of 2.40 meters is a must-win.
Dogorlov failed in his final jump attempt.
Leonard adds another gold medal to Team USA.