Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The shot put clearly passed the 20.50-meter mark. However, before an official measurement was completed, there was no way to know if it had passed Serayegev’s.
Dai Li smiled. He did not actually know whether Vince Jackson’s final effort was able to surpass Sergeyeva. However, it was a result that exceeded the 20.50-meter mark. It clearly meant that it was another form of maximized performance.
Six throws. Three times her form was maximized. The 50% success rate couldn’t help but make Dai Li feel happy. It meant that the state scale was fairly practical. It was only the first day of the track and field competitions in the Olympics. There were other events such as the javelin throw, the hammer throw, long jump, h and the high jump. The state scale was suited to help in all of those events.
Of course, the condition was that the ability gap between athletes could not be too big. If the athlete couldn’t even get into the final through their strength alone, there was no helping them get a medal.
In the stadium, the referee did not immediately announce the result of that throw. As it involved the winning the gold medal, the referee was very cautious, repeatedly checking for the accuracy of the result. There was no room for error.
Finally, on the scoreboard, a number appeared. At the same time, the referee announced, “20.66 meters!”
Vince Jackson had successfully made a complete comeback in her last throw.
Applause erupted from everywhere. The audience began cheering for Vince Jackson, and the camera pointed her way. Many athletes walked towards her and hugged her as if congratulating her.
Sergeyeva looked crestfallen. The gold medal had been within her grasp but, in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared like the wind.
Melklov was doing a deep breathing exercise to suppress the wrath he felt. He wasn’t mad at his Russian athletes, nor was he mad at Russia losing a gold medal, he was angry at the strength of the U.S. team.
Melklov had initially thought that the U.S. National Track and Field Team that was affected by the performance-enhancing drug team was significantly weakened and that they had lost their competitive edge in many events. However, that wasn’t the case. At least when it came to the shot put event, he had been very wrong. The U.S. team sent out an obscure athlete that won the gold medal.
The camera stopped and focused on Vince Jackson. At that moment, the 19-year-old girl did not look excited, she looked dumbfounded. It was as if she wasn’t aware of what was happening, that she had really won an Olympic gold medal.
This was her first time entering the Olympic. Heck, it was her first time taking part in an international competition and she had won the gold medal. To Vince Jackson, it was more fantasy than reality.
She did not prepare anything to say in interviews. She was unprepared for anything related to winning the gold medal, so when the journalists flocked towards and surrounded her, she did not know what to do.
…
In the TV studio, two commentators began discussing the competition.
“I originally thought that she was participating just to gain some experience. Who’d have thought she would win and become the champion? Does this count as an upset?”
“It could be considered an upset. I’d never even heard of Vince Jackson before all of this. She never participated in any international competition, so she had zero points on the International Association of Athletics Federation table. However, she is an American athlete. I feel that when it comes to track and field, an American athlete winning the championship shouldn’t be counted as an upset.”
“That sounds about right. The U.S. is deservedly called the world’s strongest country in track and field. At first, I thought that the performance-enhancing drug scandal would negatively affect the U.S. team, but it seems that they are still showing us just how scary they are. They have far too many exceptional athletes in their country. They sent an unknown athlete out, and she became a champion.”
“This is also the first track and field gold medal for the U.S. team in this Olympics, right? Getting a gold medal on the first day of track and field events. That is certainly a good start.”
…
The CEO of the American Track and Field Association, Williams, was already in bad. He read a book and laid down, ready to rest.
“Dear, the track and field competition starts today, right?” His wife asked.
“Yup, that’s right. The track and field competition starts today,” Williams answered vaguely.
“Why aren’t you watching the games? You are the CEO. Don’t tell me you don’t care about the team?” His wife asked.
“There’s no need to watch. The current team is too weak and there aren’t that many events where the team can win a gold medal. Today is the first day of the track and field competitions, so there are only three gold medals. The U.S. team definitely won’t be getting any of them,” Williams answered.
“Then what about silver or bronze medal?” His wife continued asking.
“The silver and bronze medals are also out of reach for the U.S. team. We got nothing in the women’s 10,000 meters race walking as well as the men’s 20 kilometers race walking in the morning. In the women’s shot put final at night, we only had one unknown athlete get into the final, and it’s her first time participating in an international competition. It was an achievement that avoided elimination in the first three rounds.” Williams turned over and faced away from his wife, clearly done talking about the topic.
At that moment, a phone rang.
Williams was ready to sleep, but someone had to call and disturb him. It made him furious.
Williams looked at the caller ID on his phone. It was Frey calling.
“This bast*rd. Does he not know what time it is? This is my personal time!” Williams snorted coldly. Frey was definitely calling about work, and Williams hated talking about work-related matters on his own time.
“Hello, it’s me. What’s the matter?” Williams picked up the phone, and his tone was icy. He made his dissatisfaction clear.
However, Frey did not feel it at all. He was very enthusiastic. “Mr. Williams, good news, we made an upset! We’ve got a gold medal!”
“Upset? Gold medal? Us? You mean the U.S. national team? Or do you mean a track and field event?” Williams asked immediately.
“It’s track and field! Women’s shot put. Vince Jackson won!” Frey exclaimed.
“Vince Jackson,” Williams repeated the name once but it was unfamiliar. He subconsciously asked, “Are you telling the truth?”
“Of course! Why would I lie to you? If you turn on your TV now, you can still see the awards ceremony!” Frey said.
Williams stood up, walked towards the TV, and turned it on.
The shot put awards ceremony had just begun.
A familiar song rang about. It was the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Oh, say can you see…”
Williams could not help but raise his voice and sing along.