Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
At 10:10 in the morning, two events were happening in the track and field stadium. The field competition was a qualifying match for women’s shot put and the track competition was the first round of the men’s 800 meters event. For both events, the U.S. team sent three athletes.
The American team originally had had a chance of winning gold in the women’s shot put. They had a world-class star who was the runner-up in the Olympics and the winner of the World Championship. This star took the initiative to withdraw from the U.S. team after the outbreak of the drug scandal, on the grounds of a recurring back injury.
On the present U.S. team, the three female shot putters participating had never competed before. Two of them were personally selected by Dai Li.
As for the men’s 800 meters, the United States wasn’t weak, but the Kenyans were too strong. Kenya’s strength was difficult to overcome.
In the area where the coaches waited, Dai Li chatted away with a Chinese coach in his fifties.
The Chinese coach, surnamed Yang, was the coach for the Chinese national team and was responsible for the hurling events. When Dai Li was still learning on the national team, he met this Coach Yang. They had to have a chat since they were reunited. Coach Yang was the same as he had been when Li first met him. However, the “Little Li” Coach Yang used to know had now become “Coach Li.”
In terms of their social status, the head coach of a national team of the world’s best track and field team was definitely the more important figure in the area.
“We’re trying to win gold in the women’s shot put event. Xiaona Li won the bronze medal in the World Championships,” Coach Yang said, introducing her.
“I remember her from when I was on our national team. I remember she was less than 18 years old then,” Dai Li said.
“Yeah, it’s been so many years,” Coach Yang said with a playful smile. He then said, “Coach Li, you are the head coach of the American track and field team. What do you think Xiaona Li needs to improve on? How about giving us a few tips?”
Dai Li was able to hear the vague sourness of Yang’s words, but Dai Li was able to understand Yang’s thoughts.
Back then, Dai Li was only temporary personnel on the national team. He wasn’t even an authorized staff member. In contrast, Coach Yang, at the time, was already a coach that was responsible for a minor sports events.
In just a few years, Dai Li became the head coach of the U.S. track and field team, becoming the most important figure in the track and field stadium. He also became a person other coaches looked up to. In terms of status, Dai Li instantly leapfrogged and was ahead of Coach Yang. This was like seeing a younger brother become the head of a powerful society. It was normal for Coach Yang to feel sour in with that kind of social gap between them.
Of course, Coach Yang was not trying to make things hard for Dai Li. He was just a bit annoyed and wanted to vent his emotions.
Dai Li did not mind Yang’s behavior, and his behavior could be understood. He still decided to show off to the coach. So, he launched a test on Xiaona Li and immediately saw her shortcomings.
“Xiaona Li. This athlete has very good technique and her strength, when compared with European and American athletes, is impressive. She has experience in competitions. If I have to say where there is still room for improvement, her arms are too stiff when she is throwing. I think her movements can be stretched a little more so that they aren’t too tight. This is helpful for the overall coordination of her movements. If the overall coordination of the movements were better, perhaps in terms of results, the improvement would be minimal, but the stability of the throw will improve and her individual mental state would avoid excessive fluctuations,” Dai Li said.
As Dai Li spoke, Yang’s expression froze up. Dai Li’s assessment was, in Yang’s opinion, completely accurate.
The better the athletes are, the less room they have to improve. Xiaona Li, the bronze medal winner of the World Championships, was considered to be the world’s top shot putter. An athlete like her was close to perfection in all aspects. It was very difficult to find any kind of flaw.
Faced with such an athlete, a coach would need to repeatedly watch the athlete’s recorded footage during competitions, slowing down the video recording to compare and analyze slowly. Later, through continued discussion with the athlete, would it be possible to find flaws. Coach Yang also used this method, and he invited several hurling coaches to analyze her. Several light seminars were conducted before he finally reached this conclusion.
Coach Yang spent a lot of time and effort to get to that conclusion whereas Dai Li made the same conclusion with precision by just simply thinking about it. If Coach Yang did not witness this in person, he would not have believed it.
He was actually right! He said it so accurately just by looking at it casually. When Dai Li was on our national team, I didn’t realize that he had such a great ability. No wonder this kid became the head coach of the American track and field team. That sort of observation is really unparalleled! Yang coach secretly thought.
At that time, any feelings of animosity that Yang held on to were replaced by respect for Dai Li. He was completely convinced that he was one of the best.
On the court, an athlete on the American team went onto the field. The athlete only threw 17.37 meters on the first try. It was considered a failure in the Olympics.
In the Olympic shot put qualifier, each athlete only had three chances, and the top 12 athletes would enter the finals, so every throwing opportunity was very valuable. If the first throw were too bad, the pressure for the latter two would be larger. If the result for the second attempt was also very poor, then the last throw would have no room for error. It would be a last desperate attempt.
The American athlete picked up the shot put. She then took a few deep breaths, adjusted her breathing, and then made a throw.
“Whoosh” The shot put was thrown from her hand, forming an arc that landed on the grass in the distance.
“It went over the 19-meter mark, she will totally make it to the final.” Yang pointed to the athlete and asked, “Who is this person? I have never seen her before, but she is quite good.”
“Her name is Vince Jackson, this is her first time representing the U.S. team in an international competition.” Dai Li’s furrowed his eyebrows. He then said with a somewhat imposing expression, “Coaching young athletes is tough. Their ability fluctuates too much”