"He saved American track and field"
"Chinese Coaches Become the Saviors of American Track and Field"
"From the weakest to the strongest, he created the U.S. track and field team's counterattack"
Looking at the headlines in the media, James suddenly felt that among sports commentators, he was still very ethical. At least in terms of content, what he wrote was not exaggerated.
The American media has always liked to use a shocking title to attract people's attention and arouse readers' desire to read, even if the content of the article does not match the title in many cases.
James sighed helplessly. In fact, he is a very professional sports commentator. He hopes to bring some professional analysis to readers, but unfortunately, he has to surrender to the market and survive, so he He must cater to the readers' tastes. He can only write things that readers like to see, not things he wants to write.
"When will this kind of day end!" James stood up with a depressed mood, and then opened a bottle of whiskey for himself. He hoped that the alcohol would make him feel better.
At the same time, Li Dai, who was far away in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was also being interviewed by American reporters.
Today is the eighth competition day of Olympic track and field events. There are only two events scheduled during the day, namely the men's 50-kilometer race walk and the women's 20-kilometer race walk. These two events do not need to be held at the Maracana Stadium, and these are not events in which the US team can win gold. For the US team, race walking is all about participation, so Dai Li did not compete for the entire day. As a result, I naturally have time to be interviewed by reporters.
The reporter who came to interview Dai Li this time was arranged by the USATF. The reporter's media had received several good advertising contracts from the USATF, so when reporting, he would naturally speak for the USATF. .
It is also for this reason that the questions asked by this reporter are all very beneficial to the US track and field team. In fact, they are aimed at reporting good news rather than bad news.
"Coach Li, as of yesterday, the American team you led has won 18 gold medals. This is also the best result achieved by American track and field in the history of the Olympic Games. There are only three days left before the end of the Olympic Games, so What I want to ask is, how many gold medals do you think your team can win in the end?" The reporter asked the last question with great interest.
"From the current point of view, there is no problem in winning more than 20 gold medals. Among the remaining events, we still have an advantage in relay races. So if I don't set the goal at 20 gold medals." Li Dai said suddenly After a pause, he continued: "I hope my team can win at least 25 gold medals in the end."
"25!" The reporter showed a surprised expression, and then he immediately said: "Coach Li, you know, on the last day of the Olympic Games, there is only one marathon event left in track and field, so in fact, the only track and field events left are tonight and tomorrow. , that is to say, your team must win at least 7 gold medals in these two days."
"Although this is somewhat difficult, it is not an impossible task. I am confident that I can accomplish this goal." Dai Li replied confidently.
The reporter nodded, picked up the recorder on the table, put it in his pocket, and then asked: "Coach Li, regarding the last question, your answer may cause some controversy. I followed what you said. Report it, or revise it a little bit?”
Dai Li immediately understood what the reporter meant. The reporter was worried that Dai Li would exaggerate too much and lose face in the end.
"In American sports culture, isn't it normal to talk nonsense before a game? Why can't it be done here?" Dai Li complained secretly in his heart, and then said: "It doesn't matter, just do what I say." Just report it and you will hear the good news when the game ends tomorrow night."
…
"Exclusive Interview with Track and Field Team Head Coach Li Dai: The goal is 25 gold medals"
That afternoon, this report appeared in the American media.
University of Oregon, coaches lounge.
"He really dares to say 25 gold medals!" A bearded coach pointed at the tablet screen angrily and continued: "There are still 13 events left in the Olympic track and field competition that have not yet decided the gold medal. If you want to get 25 gold medals, To win a gold medal, we have to take away 7 out of the remaining 13 gold medals. How is this possible!”
"Don't be impatient." Coach Logan waved his hand to signal the other party to calm down, and then said: "Young people will always be proud after achieving success. But even if you can't win 25 gold medals, 20 There is always no problem with a gold medal. This is already the best result in history. If it were you, who could achieve this?"
"That Dai Li is just lucky. The main reason why he can achieve such results is because the athletes participating in the competition are strong enough!" A black coach next to him also said with an angry look.
"Do you really think he's just lucky? If it were you, would you let Muller enter the U.S. team directly without going through selection? Do you have the guts?" Coach Logan snorted coldly, and then said: "I have said that before. I told you that successful people will always have advantages that ordinary people do not have, and there will always be strengths that you do not have. If you also have the same strengths, then you will achieve the same success as him."
"Okay! I know I'm not as good as him. But I just can't stand how arrogant that Dai Li is! He looks like a villain who has his way." The bearded coach said.
"If he were an American coach, would you still have this idea?" Coach Logan looked very indifferent and continued: "We Americans have been the number one in the world for too long. We naively thought Other countries are not as good as us, especially when a country that lags behind us achieves something, our first reaction is always 'That's false', but many times, our personal subjective judgments are always different from the facts. People always Believe what you want to believe, I think only when we are surpassed and left far behind, we Americans will realize that we are not the best."
…
On the other side, after seeing off the reporters, Dai Li began to think about the evening game.
There are only two preliminaries in tonight's track and field competition, namely the men's 4x400m relay and the women's 4x400m relay. With the strength of the American team in the 400-meter event, the gold medals in these two events have already been booked, so Dai Li is not worried at all about the preliminary rounds of these two events.
In addition to these two preliminaries, the others are finals, namely women's pole vault, men's hammer throw, women's 5000 meters, women's 4x100 meters and men's 4x100 meters.
Among them, in the men's hammer throw, no one from the US team entered the finals. In the women's 5,000 meters, with the African duo of Kenya and Ethiopia, other countries had no chance. As for the women's pole vault, many experts from European countries have advanced to the finals. With the strength of American athletes, there is basically no hope of winning gold, but it is possible to fight for medals.
Therefore, Dai Li's focus is still on the two events of women's 4x100m and men's 4x100m.
The 4x100-meter relay race has always been a highly valued event. This event is regarded as a standard for judging a country's overall sprint level.
Before the rise of the Jamaicans, the United States had been the dominant team in the 4x100-meter relay, for both men and women. As long as there are no mistakes in the game, the American team will definitely win the championship.
But the rise of the Jamaican sprint pushed the U.S. team to second place. The Jamaican team has won the 4x100m relay championship in two consecutive Olympic Games. For this reason, many countries regard the Jamaican team as the world's number one sprint power.
"As for the men's team, without Gittle, the Jamaican team has lost its thickest thigh, but I have Alexander and Ford here. This time the Jamaican team is even stronger in the 4x100m event. Not as good as Team USA.”
"As for the women's team, it's really a bit uncertain. In the previous 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash competitions, the two female trapeze women from Jamaica remained in very good condition. The female athletes on my side, even with the 'iron chain' The title helps, but there is still a gap in strength. Compared with the Jamaican team, the outcome is only between 50 and 50."
"There has to be a way to increase the probability of winning." Li Dai dragged his chin and thought for a long time, and suddenly remembered the new prop he had obtained.
"How about trying the prophecy box? Maybe this new prop can help me." Li Dai thought of this, entered the system, and took out the box.
After shaking it for a few times, a bamboo stick flew out from the lottery box.
Li Dai took the bamboo stick and saw the word "Shang Shang" written on it.
"Sign up! Good luck." Dai Li couldn't wait to look down, and a line of sunspots appeared on the bamboo stick:
Let Halena Bob run third.
"Hareena-Bob ran third? Is this a top sign? You're not mistaken? How could this be a top sign! I still believe it when I say it's a bottom sign. Did I get it wrong?" Li Dai said to himself.
Halena Bob is a 19-year-old young athlete. Among the four athletes participating in the women's relay race on the US team, Halena Bob is the one with the lowest level and the least competition experience. If the U.S. team had not been affected by the doping scandal and many famous sprinters had withdrawn from the race, it would not have been her turn to participate in the relay.
In a relay race, the weaker players usually run the first leg, the runners with stronger short-distance sprinting ability run the second leg, the third leg is often run by the players with high overall technical stability, and the fourth leg The stick is for the strongest person to run.
Generally speaking, in a relay race, the third and fourth legs are the two most important links, especially the third leg, which is responsible for taking over and passing the baton, and serves as a link between the past and the next. Those who can run the third leg Athletes are often the players that coaches trust most.
In the U.S. team, Halena Bob is responsible for the first shot.
In Li Dai's view, Halena is not fast enough, her skills are not good enough, and she is too young, so her performance may not be stable. Li Dai does not dare to entrust her with important tasks. Halena's only advantage is that she is young and has quick reactions and a good starting reaction. The time should also be shorter, and the first leg is enough to do the job.
But the sign Li Dai requested showed that Halena was asked to run the extremely important third leg. This was a terrible decision in Li Dai's opinion.
"How can Halena be allowed to run in such an important position in the third baton? She needs speed but not speed, technique but not technique, stability but not stability, and experience but not experience. More importantly, during the previous practice, , He has only practiced handing over the baton, not taking over! Is there a mistake in signing the baton?" Li Dai asked.
The fundamental difference between the first baton and the third baton is that the first baton is only responsible for handing over the baton, while the third baton is not only responsible for handing over the baton, but also responsible for taking over. This is equivalent to an additional very complicated task.
The handover of the baton in a relay race is not a static handover. The baton taker will first run up and then hand over the baton while running. Considering that the athletes are very fast, handing over the baton is not an easy action. This is like refueling an aircraft. Aerial refueling is much more difficult than stationary refueling because the aircraft is flying during the aerial refueling process.
At the same time, the baton handover must be completed within the relay zone. Once the athlete runs out of the relay zone and has not completed the baton handover, it is equivalent to a foul. The relay zone in the relay race is only 20 meters. 20 meters may be very long visually, but considering that it only takes 10 seconds for athletes to run 100 meters, the athletes only have two seconds to complete the entire baton handover process. Therefore, no matter whether it is the party handing over the baton or the party taking over, there is no room for any mistakes. A slight mistake may be the failure of the entire game.
Halena Bob was the athlete who ran the first baton. She did not need to take over the baton, so she only practiced handing over the baton before the game, but did not practice taking over. Regardless of the athlete's personal level and competition experience, how can Dai Li safely let him run the third baton if he has not practiced taking over the baton
At this time, the system's voice rang out from Dai Li's mind: "Don't question the prediction box. The power of the prediction box is not that it can tell you what kind of feeling is good and what kind of decision is bad, but that it can tell you what kind of feeling is good and what kind of decision is bad. prophetic ability.”
"I understand, what you mean is that the result of the prediction box must be correct." Li Dai nodded, but he was still hesitant in his heart, whether to believe that the lottery box gave Halena Bob Go run third bat.
The system's voice sounded again: "For you humans, the unknown is always the most terrifying thing. If you can know the future, how much price are you willing to pay?"
Dai Li hesitated, not knowing how to answer this question.
"I don't know." Dai Li shook his head: "I don't know how much we should pay for this."
"Or do you think that paying any price is not enough to exchange for the ability to predict the future?" the system asked.
"You want to remind me of the value of 'prophecy'?" Li Dai asked.
The system did not respond, but Dai Li had already made a decision in his heart.
"Okay, I will sign according to this and let Halena Bob run the third battalion!"