Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the sixth day of the track and field events, the finals for the women’s long jump, women’s 200 meter, and women’s 200m hurdle were scheduled.
The U.S. team had superior strength in the long jump, both men’s and women’s. There were two U.S. athletes in the final, Barrett, a veteran, and Seid, the record holder of women’s long jump in the Indoor World Championships. They were both likely to win the gold medal.
Barrett was 31 years old, making her a real veteran. In the qualification matches in the US, Barret didn’t win the qualify. However, due to the dosing scandal, the athletes ranking higher than her dropped out, which gave her a spot.
Seid was the champion in women’s long jump in the last Olympics.
Seid also won the Indoor World Championship and had the record for that competition. Scores for indoor competitions were usually lower than outdoor ones. The world record was 7.52 meters, the Olympic record was 7.40 meter, while the indoor world record, held by Seid, was only 7.22 meters.
Both the world record and the Olympic record were created in the 1980s and 1990s and weren’t comparable to the scores nowadays. A result of 7.22 meter would win the athlete any world championship.
In the last Olympics, Seid won the champion with a result of 7.12 meters. While to win this Olympics, the athlete would have to get better than 7.10 meters to win the gold medal and better than 7.00 meters to win a bronze medal, according to gambling companies.
It was not difficult for the two U.S. athletes to jump higher than 7 meters without the help of the state scale.
Dai Li loved this scale so much now. It was as if it was custom-made for the U.S. team because they could lock in a championship if they have one lucky maximum condition from the scale.
The competition went much as Dai Li expected. The two U.S. athletes got their higher-than-7.10 results on their fourth and fifth attempt and locked in the gold and silver medal before the match finished.
Finally, Barrett won the gold medal with 7.17 meters and Seid failed to defend her championship and won a silver medal.
Barrett was very excited about winning the championship. She had always been one of the best in the world, yet she had never won any gold medal in a world class event. Being 31 years old, she had intended to retire after this Olympics and this gold medal was the best award of her career.
With a gold medal, the US team led by Dai Li continued their show of winning at least one gold medal every day.
The next final was the women’s 200 meters, which was one of U.S. team’s strengths. The U.S. team would not be defeated by any opponent other than Jamaica.
The two best players on the Jamaican team won the gold and silver medals in women’s 100 meters. They also dominated the women’s 200 meters, winning the gold and silver medals by the same two players, leaving only the bronze medal to the U.S. team.
The last match was the final of women’s 100 meter hurdle.
In this event, America’s dominance was almost unchallengeable. They could win the championship in the Olympics even if they sent their second class players.
It turned out that they not only won the gold medal, but also won silver and bronze medals.
The gold medal was planned. Dai Li was not surprised. He had not expected that they also would win the silver and bronze medals.
For the second time, three U.S. flags were raised in Maracana Stadium..
Downey, standing next to Dai Li, began singing The Star-Spangled Banner along with the music. It hurt Dai Li’s ears, but Dai Li could feel Downey’s excitement.
The U.S. athletes and coaches were much like Downey, watching the flag raising with great joy.
This reminded Dai Li of the Asian Games he had went to several years ago. When the Chinese team won the championship, Dai Li had been exactly like Downey was now.
This is what Olympics are for! It’s not only high-level competition, nor only about victory and passion. It’s about the honor of the country. In times of peace, nothing can give people honor like this. Dai Li couldn’t help but sigh.
…
The reporter Ran Liu wrote a report and sent it to China immediately after she finished the interview with Dai Li. She didn’t even have time for supper.
The ringing of her phone woke Ran Liu up from her dream. She checked the time, finding that it was a little past two o’clock in the morning. The caller was her section chief back in China.
Ran Liu was a little annoyed at waking up in the middle of the night. She knew, however, it was a normal time for her section chief, as it was afternoon in China. He called her for work.
This is what journalism was like. She took up the phone and said, “Hello chief. This is Ran Liu.”
“Ran, I’ve read your article on the interview of Coach Li,” her section chief said.
“Ok. Is there anything that should be revised?” Ran Liu asked, resisting her sleepiness.
“No need for revision now.” He paused, and then said, “It won’t be published now.”
Hearing that her hard work was rejected, Ran Liu didn’t feel sleepy anymore. She asked immediately, “Why?”
“There is a problem with your article. You wrote that Dai Li was transferred to the Intangible Application Committee for Taijiquan after the strike and then he resigned. This will cause a misunderstanding among the readers and they may think Dai Li was transferred to the committee because he was oppressed by someone,” Ran Liu’s section chief said.
“Chief, you really think that is misunderstanding?” Ran Liu snorted and then said, “Our best coach was transferred to a committee to apply for the intangible heritage status for Taijiquan. Isn’t that deliberate oppression? What I have written is the unbiased truth. The readers will think as their reasoning tells them.”
“Ran, it is for your own good that I reject this article. You should know that those things are really complicated. If your article was published, you would offend a lot of people. I did this to protect you,” the section chief said.
You are protecting yourself, nothing more! Ran Liu thought to herself. She despised what her section chief was doing, but she didn’t say it. There was nothing she could do about the article’s rejection. Her hard work had been in vein.
On the telephone, her section chief continued, “Ran, we are in pursuit of harmony everywhere. We, as the media, should remember this and stop writing anything that would affect this harmony. Harmony first, right?”