Chapter 536: Drop the Baton

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The first event of the night was the final of the women’s pole vault.

Just as Dai Li expected, although the American athlete tried her best and she got the perfect state twice with the help of Dai Li’s prop, she came in third place.

The Russian queen of pole vault had dominated this event for more than ten years. She must have been a S+-level athlete. Although she was 32 years old now, she was still in excellent shape. As long as she was in the competition, the gold medal was hers.

Next was the final of the men’s weight throw. Since no American athletes were qualified for this final, they just watched the game for fun. The next event was the final of the women’s 5000m running, which was actually a competition between Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes. The other countries had no opportunity to win any medals at all.

In this event, the American athlete was expected to run 15.08s, while the Kenyan athletes could finish the race within 14.30s. It might be a gap of more than 40s, which was like two different races. Compared with the two African giants, even American athletes fell behind. The other countries had no chance of winning at all.

After the end of women’s 5000m running, five gold medals had been decided in the eighth day, including the two gold medals of the heel-and-toe walking race. The American team only got one bronze medal, which was much worse than the previous days.

The last two events of the day were the women’s 4x100m relay and the men’s 4x100m relay. The two superpowers of sprinting, America and Jamaica, would confront each other once again.

…

The head coach of Jamaica, Fraser, was confident in his female athletes.

In the two previous sprinting events, the 100m dash and 200m dash, the Jamaican male athletes were defeated by the American athletes. Alexander and Ford won the two gold medals. In women’s events, two powerful Jamaican female athletes dominated. They had won the gold medal and the silver medal respectively. So, in this Olympic Games, the Jamaican female athletes performed better than the male ones.

Those two Jamaican female athletes were really powerful. They were ranked number one and the number two in the world now, while American athletes were ranked third and fourth. However, affected by the drug scandal, those two American athletes didn’t participate in this Olympics.

The relay race was a group sport involving four athletes. Since the best American athletes were not there and most of the best Jamaican athletes attended the game, the advantage the Jamaican team had was obvious.

Beyond that, the Jamaican team had won the gold medal for the 4x100m relay the last two Olympic Games. This proved that Coach Fraser was proficient in relay training. Without a doubt, Fraser helped those two Jamaican female athletes perform better.

Fraser was determined to win the gold medal for the women’s 41x00m relay. In fact, he knew that, with the Jamaican team’s strength, they certainly could win as long as they didn’t make any mistakes. Therefore, Fraser tried to be steady in his strategy. He would rather waste time in the baton transfer than make any unnecessary mistakes.

When all eight teams and 32 athletes were on the field, the track seemed to be bustling.

Fraser looked to the American team, and suddenly he felt so astonished.

“What’s going on? Is the third runner Halyna Bob?” Fraser couldn’t help asking his assistant next to him.

The assistant took out his phone. After careful checking the roster, the assistant finally gave Fraser an answer. “Coach, you are right. The third runner is indeed Halyna Bob.”

“In the preliminary, Halyna was the first runner, right? According to our information, she is the worst athlete of the American team, with low ability and little experience. How could such kind of athlete be put as the third runner! What’s wrong with that Chinese coach?” Fraser couldn’t help looking at Dai Li, who was just staring at the track.

What is he trying to do? Fraser became alert.

In fact, Dai Li was not confident now. He had never used the prophecy box before and he didn’t know what the luckiest draw would bring him. According to Dai Li’s professional judgment, it was really a bad decision to let Halyna be the third runner.

Dai Li was nervous but, as the head coach of the American team, he had to pretend to be calm so others would feel confident and optimistic.

Next to Dai Li, Downey wanted to say something several times but he couldn’t decide what to say.

Downey was also confused about this arrangement. He knew that Halyna was the weakest among the four athletes and she shouldn’t be the third runner. He wanted to ask Dai Li why he had arranged it this way and whether he had any secrets that Downey didn’t know about.

However, Downey knew that every time when he doubted Dai Li, Dai Li appeared confident and determined. This meant to Downey that Dai Li always thought he was doing what was best. Additionally, every time so far, Dai Li had been right.

Downey didn’t want to see Dai Li’s arrogant face or to embarrass himself, so this time he didn’t ask Dai Li.

Halyna Bob herself was also nervous.

Both in her daily training and in the preliminary match for the Olympic Games, she was the first runner. In relay races, the easiest part was first and there was less pressure on the first athlete, so young Halyna didn’t feel nervous at all when she thought she was running first.

Now, Halyna was running the most important part in the final of the Olympic Games, which really made Halyna confused and nervous.

Halyna knew how to receive the baton, but hadn’t practiced it at all recently. It was completely different for athletes who hadn’t trained. Psychologically, the athletes were not confident if they hadn’t practiced.

…

In the athletes’ lounge of Maracana Stadium, the athletes running the men’s 4x100m relay were preparing for the match. The TV screen on the wall of the lounge was displaying the live match.

“Coach Li changed his line-up!” Alexander pointed at the screen. “Halyna Bob is the third runner. Am I seeing this?”

“It’s her. Why did Coach Li make her the third runner?” Shawn Ford was also confused.

In the men’s relay race, Shawn Ford was arranged as the third runner, which proved that Dai Li trusted him. In fact, Ford’s leg length discrepancy made him the best one for the bend. No one was faster than Ford in the bend. After all, no other world-class athlete had leg length discrepancy.

Ford knew the significance of the third runner. In Ford’s opinion, it was obviously a mistake to let young Halyna be the third runner. She was bad in technique and had little experience.

Alexander frowned as he said, “If someone is hurt and a substitute comes in, it’s acceptable to adjust the order of the four athletes. There’s no substitute, though. I really don’t understand the adjustment.”

“Coach Li must have his reasons. We can’t understand it because we are not good enough to understand Coach Li’s strategy,” Ford seemed confident. “Maybe we won’t know his reason until Halyna gets passed the baton.”

“You’re probably right,” Alexander nodded.

The two started to praise Dai Li, while the other athletes, especially those from other countries, became more confused after hearing their conversation.

Both of them were champions of the Olympic Games. One was the winner of the men’s 100m dash and the other the winner of the men’s 200m dash. They were the two strongest athletes in the world and both of them said they didn’t understand Dai Li’s strategy at all. They couldn’t understand why they put so much faith in him.

Only the two other American athletes understood. They knew that both Alexander and Ford were trained by Dai Li. They were his fans. They never missed a chance to boast about Dai Li.

…

The referee signaled all the first runners to the starting line. When all of them were prepared, the women’s 4x100m relay race began.

All the first runners started smoothly. The start reaction time of American athlete was 0.151s, while the Jamaican athlete was 0.160s. Obviously, the Jamaican athletes were following their coach’s strategy. Considering their advantage, they tried to perform steadily, so they didn’t want to pursue the fastest starting speed.

The athlete with the fastest start reaction was English, and it was 0.113s. Apparently, she didn’t start after hearing the gunshot but beat the gun. She nearly got a false start.

Generally, the first runner wasn’t often the strongest on the team, and many teams let a weak athlete be the first runner.

However, the American team arranged Halyna as the third one, while the third runner was put first, which made the American team have an advantage in the beginning. The American team had a powerful athlete as the first runner, while the other teams just fine ones. Therefore, the gap became obvious very soon. The American team was in the lead after the first changeover.

The American athlete’s changeover is quite smooth. The head coach of the Jamaican team, Fraser, realized that the American team’s first changeover was faster than the Jamaican team’s.

That Chinese coach seems to know that the American team is inferior to us in terms of strength. Therefore, they focused on the changeover, hoping to save time in the process. It’s a good idea, but it’s too naive, Fraser thought with a disdainful smile on his face.

Although the Jamaican team fell behind the American team, Fraser was not worried at all. The last two athletes on the Jamaican relay team were their best. They had won the gold medal in the women’s 100m dash and 200m dash respectively. Having them both on the same team was like having double insurance.

According to Fraser’s plan, if both of the women performed well, the Jamaican team would win the championship easily. If only one of them performed well, the Jamaican team still might win the championship. If neither of them performed well, and the Americans did, it might be possible that the Jamaican team loses the gold medal.

The second runner was almost finished and Fraser was still smiling.

In the 4x100m relay, the second runner ran the shortest distance. Runners completed the changeover in the process of running, so the runner should start running before the passing of the baton. While the passing zone was set in the joint part between the bend and the straight, the runner who ran the straight would run a little farther. Therefore, the second runner would run a little shorter distance.

The second runner was responsible for the sprinting part in the straight. Therefore, the most powerful athlete would not be sent as the second runner. Besides, since the distance for the second runner was quite short, so it was difficult to widen the gap.

After the second runner was done, the American team was still in the lead.

However, the American team’s third runner was Halyna Bob. She was not a strong athlete, while the other teams all put their best athletes in third. The Jamaican team had one of their two strongest, a really powerful runner.

When the third runner started to run and was prepared for the changeover, Dai Li began to be nervous.

It’s time to see whether the luckiest draw was correct or wrong. Dai Li stared at the field, holding his breath.

Athletes began to enter the passing zone, and the second changeover was about to begin.

Halyna has not practiced receiving the baton. I hope she can make it.

Halyna reached back with one hand, and the second runner put the baton directly in Halyna’s hand and she grasped it tightly.

She made it! Dai Li was relieved to see this.

Halyna caught the baton. Her hand holding the baton naturally swung from behind her to in front of her. However, when her hand moved forward, the baton flew out of her hand.

She dropped the baton! Li watched the baton fly out of Halyna’s hand and to the front.

Dai Li couldn’t remain calm anymore. He knew they were going to fail now.

The baton was dropped! How the hell is that the luckiest draw! Dai Li cursed in his head.

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