Almighty Coach

Now, the bar was 6.03 meters high and Pat Riley only had one more chance. If he failed this time, he would be knocked out and only win the bronze medal.

Even he succeeded jumping over this height, he had to face the two competitors in the next round.

At this time, Pat Riley regretted that he passing at 5.98 meters. He was so arrogant that he lost the chance of adjusting himself.

In fact, the 6.03 meters were not insurmountable. He could jump that height in his daily training and he had also achieved the height in real competitions. However, when going directly from 5.93 meters to 6.03 meters, Pat Riley couldn’t get used to it immediately. His first two attempts failed, leaving him in a desperate situation.

All of the audience was watching at Pat Riley. As the last Olympic champion of men’s pole vault, he was considered the favorite to win before the competition, but now he may be the first to be eliminated.

“Can Pat Riley jump over 6.03 meters high?”

“I think it’s too hard. After all, he’s failed twice. I don’t think it possible to succeed a third time.”

“According to the statistics given before the game, he once jumped even higher than this. I think he still has a chance.”

The audience clapped their hands in a rhythmic manner, like the drumbeat before a gladiator’s battle, a unique way of cheering for the pole vault. They were expecting that the defending champion could successfully jump this height and then continue to give them a good show.

At this moment, however, the camera was on the referee. He was holding a microphone to announce a message.

Pat Riley had chose to pass on the height!

He wanted to skip the height 6.03 meters and directly challenge the 6.08 meters.

According the rules, the athlete could request not to jump after the failure of the first and second attempts at a certain height, but the number of times to continue the attempt at the subsequent height can only be the number of times remaining after the failure of the previous height. Pat Riley had made two attempts at 6.03 meters high. Therefore, even as he chose to pass the height, he only had one attempt in the next height.

To be or not to be, this is his last chance.

…

“Pat Riley chose the way with the highest risk-reward ratio,” said Downey, the team leader of the United States.

“Or maybe Pat Riley had no confidence.” Dai Li proposed another possibility.

Pat Riley had failed twice at height 6.03 meters, and even he had succeeded at the third jump, he would have had to compete with the other two competitors. If he failed in the last attempt, he would win a bronze medal and say farewell to this Olympic Games.

Now, he had chosen to pass the height and go directly to the next height. At least he was on the same starting line as the other opponents. Although he only had one chance, he would be the champion if he succeeded and the other two competitors failed. If both he and his opponents succeeded, he also entered the repechage group, and if he failed, he still won the bronze medal.

From this point of view, since he could win a bronze medal, he still had a shot. If he was lucky enough, he may even win a gold medal. If not, he still had nothing to lose. He at least could win the bronze medal.

…

The height rose another 5 centimeters reaching 6.08 meters, which was really close to the world record 6.16m. This was really a world-class competition.

Muller looked serious. 6.08 meters was his highest height in his training. Now in real competition, the final of Olympic Games, Muller seemed to be lacking confidence.

Muller’s first attempt failed as expected.

In fact, few athletes had the strength to challenge the height at all. Naturally, the ability to challenge it didn’t mean that he could succeed. The person who had the highest likelihood of success must have been the Russian athlete Kurayev. Two years ago, in the World Championship, Kurayev showed the world that he was the best athlete today both in terms strength and mentality.

However, it was 6.08m now, which had not appeared in any Olympic Games before. It was really a difficult challenge!

Faced with this height, Kurayev’s first attempt also failed.

Then it was Pat Riley’s turn, his last chance.

Holding the pole tightly, Pat Riley looked straight ahead, took a deep breath and started to accelerate. He began to take his last try.

The long pole hooked on the ground, Pat Riley jumped up high, dangling, swinging, raising his legs, pulling up, a series of smooth movements.

At this moment, even Pat Riley could see the hope of winning.

Unfortunately, he didn’t do well in holding his belly in. His body touched the bar as he was crossing it.

Pat Riley fell on the spongy mat. Hearing the sound of the bar falling hitting the ground, he couldn’t have been upset. As the last champion of men’s pole vault, it was the end of this Olympic Games.

…

“Pat Riley failed! He is knocked out! I didn’t think Pat Riley would be the first one to be knocked out!”

“I thought it would be the young American athlete. I didn’t expect it to be Pat Riley,or that that young American could make it this far.”

“I think that American athlete will be knocked out very soon. It is 6.08m high. I don’t think anyone can make it except for Kurayev.”

People began to discuss the game. The competition was nearing its end and there were only two athletes on the field, both of whom had two attempts. For both of them, one attempt may determine the final winner.

Standing on the field, Muller was very nervous. Before today, he had not participated in any competition outside the United States. Now, he not only stood at the final of the Olympic Games, but he also had to face Kurayev in the final competition. He was definitely nervous.

Dai Li also felt the change of Muller’s mood.

For Muller, 6.08m high is an extremely hard challenge. After hesitating for a moment, Dai Li moved the weight to the other side of the state scale at last.

Before this, the state scale was on the extremely stable side and Muller’s performance was so stable that he had reached 6.08m high. However, it was not enough for Muller to jump over this height. Therefore, Dai Li decided to take a risky bet. Maybe Muller would be lucky enough to jump over the height 6.08m.

Muller began to accelerate in rhyme. With the long pole stuck into the ground, he jumped high.

“Oh, no!” Dai Li felt something was wrong immediately.

As soon as Muller was in the air, Dai Li knew he wasn’t going to clear this jump. Muller was going to fail this attempt.

Obviously, this was not what Dai Li wanted.

With the second attempt failed, Muller had only one chance left. The situation was not looking good for him.

Then Kurayev began his attempt.

Muller’s failure surely relieved Kurayev’s pressure. Now, he had one more chance than Muller and the situation was more favorable.

Besides, Kurayev was confident that he could jump over 6.08m high.

He stood on the starting area now, but he didn’t jump immediately. Instead, he kept adjusting they way he held the pole as well as adjusting his mental state.

Then he began to murmur, as if he was praying to remind himself some key strategy.

At this time, the audience started to clap for Kurayev in rhythm. The applause was getting faster and faster. Any athlete who heard this kind of applause would feel his blood boiling.

Finally, Kurayev started to run and then jump. His body moved smoothly and he crossed the bar.

The bar was slightly shaking. Maybe his body touched the bar or it was caused by the wind.

Kurayev raised his head as soon as he fell on the mat. The bar was still there firmly.

“Yes! Yes!” Kurayev roared with excitement.

“He made it! 6.08m high, Kurayev made it!” The commentator also shouted with excitement.

Cheers erupted from the audience as the large screen played back Kurayev’s attempt. In slow motion, Kurayev’s body in the air was literally attached to the bar. If Kurayev had been a centimeter off, the bar would have been knocked down.

“Whoa…” The cheers turned to exclamations. The tiniest things causing great results was part of the charm of sports.

…

Since Kurayev cleared the height of 6.08m, the situation was not favorable for Muller. No one would think it unreasonable if Kurayev started celebrating.

This was pole vault. If the athlete failed in the first two attempts, he was not likely to succeed in the third.

Now, Muller’s situation was the same as Pat Riley’s just a few moments ago. If he failed in his third attempt, he would lose the game. If he succeeded, he would enter the next height.

Muller could choose to pass on the height. He could use his last attempt and challenge the next height.

“How about we pass the height?” asked Dai Li.

Muller didn’t answer him directly but, instead, said, “Coach, the next height is 6.13m. I have never jumped that high before. Even in my training, I have never tried that height.”

“Franz, listen to me, if you fail at the height of 6.08m, you will lose the game and you only receive a silver medal. If you succeed, you would face the height of 6.13m anyway. So, why don’t we avoid the possibility of failure in the third attempt and directly challenge 6.13m high? Kurayev cleared the height of 6.08m, and if you want to defeat him and win the gold medal, you must jump over 6.13m high!” said Dai Li.

“I have no confidence. I’ve never tried that height before,” said Muller hesitantly.

“I believe in you!” Dai Li patted Muller on his shoulder. “You never attended the Olympic qualifiers, but I still ignored over all dissenting views and recruited you onto the national team. Do you know why? Because I believe in you! I believe you will be the dominate the men’s pole vault for the next decade, and today is only your first step. All you need to do is have faith in yourself. Don’t hesitate and don’t be afraid. Today, 6.13m high is just a small challenge to you. In the future, you must be able to break the world record. Now, you only need to believe that you are the best!”

…

A glow of excitement shown on Merkulov’s face. He said, “That American guy chose to pass on the height! It looks like we can celebrate the victory ahead of time!”

“Yes, both of his two attempts were failed at height of 6.08m. How dare he try the height of 6.13m!” said the deputy head coach Igonagave.

“6.08m high is the new Olympic record now, 0.11m higher than before. I don’t know whether Kurayev has the interest to rewrite the record again,” said Merkulov.

Muller chose to pass on the height. Therefore, both of them had to challenge the height of 6.13m. However, Muller only had one attempt. If he failed, he had no scores both in the height of 6.08m and 6.13m. Since Kurayev had cleared the height of 6.08m, he would win the championship without attempting the height of 6.13m if Muller’s attempt failed.

However, according to the rules, if Muller’s attempt failed, Kurayev still had three attempts. He could continue to try the height of 6.13m and even higher levels if he wanted to.Then his challenge would not be about the gold medal but about the new Olympic Games record.

This was all assuming that Muller couldn’t clear 6.13m.

…

Muller had never tried this height in his training.

Dai Li also knew that if Muller wanted to clear that height, he must outdo himself. Just as Igonagave said, if he couldn’t jump over 6.08m, how could he make 6.13.

Now, Dai Li only could pray that luck would come to him.

A perfect balance! He must have perfect balance! Dai Li prayed in his heart.

In fact, Dai Li knew that even Muller if had just the right balance, he still might not clear the height of 6.13m. Although Muller’s talent level was S+, he was too young. Besides, he had only been trained by Dai Li for one month. He was not yet the king of the pole vault.

“But maybe you will be crowned for the first time today!” murmured Dai Li.

…

Looking ahead of him, Muller’s face seemed extremely calm. Instead of feeling nervous, he felt excited and expectant.

Muller moved, he started to accelerate, and then he made a series of technical movements of pole vault. He had done that for numerous times. He could skillfully complete this movements even sleepwalking.

As Muller’s body was rising in the air, the bar was coming closer and closer.

6.13m is really high! Suddenly, Muller had a strong will take over him. He must clear this jump!

The expectation turned into the faith to win as the excitement turned into the desire for victory. At this time, a kind of potential seemed to unlock in Muller’s body. In the face of the desperate situation, he really exerted extraordinary strength.

Perhaps this was the special ability of a king!

Finally, Muller’s hands were off the pole. He was like a dancer, performing his most elegant dance!

Perfect! Dai Li unclenched his fists. Although Muller’s body had not crossed over the bar yet, Dai Li could see that Muller would make it!

A second later, Muller had successfully cleared the bar.