Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 884 - 631 Shot Put Final_2

The first round of the competition allowed each athlete three attempts, with the top eight performers given three more throws.

Unlike the Universiade, both rounds' results are counted, meaning the best result is chosen from the six attempts.

Link appeared in the 12th position in the first round.

Ahead of him, American athlete Adam Nelson led with a 21.16-meter throw, the Ukrainian Bilonog was second with 21.08 meters, and the Dane Olsen was third with 20.98 meters.

All three of these athletes' preliminary results surpassed Link's Asian record of 20.81 meters set last September in the Philippines, showing ferocious competitiveness.

Before Link's turn came up, half of the Huaxia delegation leaders arrived.

There were even higher-ranking officials than the head of the delegation watching from the stands, leaving coach Li Yabing very anxious, reminding Link to relax, that standing here was already a victory, and not to be too nervous or overly concerned.

Link gave him a look, grabbed some anti-slip powder, and walked into the throw area.

"Hey, isn't that Link? What's he doing throwing the shot put?"

In the stands, Sean Gibbons, Dmitry Salita, and a few others were baffled to see Link appear at the field; they had just seen this guy boxing yesterday, and now he's here throwing the shot put. Such a cross-sport move was incredibly astonishing.

"Could he have a twin?"

It wasn't just them; many media journalists who hadn't done detailed research beforehand also showed surprised expressions.

Luckily, with modern telecommunications, they quickly pulled out their phones to inquire about the status of athlete number 302 from Huaxia in the shot put.

The results confirmed that this athlete was also called Link, and he was indeed the same person who competed in the boxing event.

Besides, this person didn't just participate in the boxing and shot put events; he had also qualified for the javelin throw and the 5000-meter long-distance run.

Therefore, this Link was the only athlete at this edition of the Olympic Games who participated in four different events and was also the first in Olympic history to qualify for four different events.

Upon receiving this news, many media journalists looked as if they had seen a ghost.

In the Olympics, it's not uncommon for competitors to enter multiple events, like USA Swimming Team's Phelps who participated in freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, and relays, and there are track and field athletes who qualified for the 10000 meter, 5000 meter, 3000 meter, and relay races.

But these are all of a single type, either swimming or running.

The four competitions Link took part in, though 5000 meters and shot put, and javelin are all track and field events, had major differences and diverse demands on an athlete's abilities, not to mention an entirely unrelated boxing match.

Journalists couldn't understand how Link managed to qualify for so many events, but the novelty and intrigue made them involuntarily pick up their cameras and camcorders, focusing on Link.

No matter the outcome of Link's shot put performance, his story would become an anecdote of the Olympic Games for some time, and if he performs well enough to surprisingly win a medal, he would garner even more attention.

The journalists didn't want to miss this great story.

At the field, Link stood in the throwing area with the spherical shot put in hand, practicing a few rotational movements.

As the field official signaled ready for throw, Link took a deep breath, spun his body, and pressed down forcefully, tightly twisting his body muscles into a rope.

This was the glide technique that Link had practiced for a year with the national team, using the side stretch reflex of the body to increase explosive power.

When the energy was fully charged at its peak, Link roared and lunged forward, thrusting the shot put forth vigorously.

Bang!

The 7.26 kg shot put followed a parabolic trajectory through the air, crashing heavily to the ground.

"18.77 meters!"

The official with the measurement flag announced the position where the shot put landed.

"18.77 meters?"

The journalists shook their heads; such a result might be decent in the Asian competitions, but this was the Olympics, where the finest shot putters in the world competed, almost all of whom could throw beyond 20 meters.

With just an 18.77-meter throw, Link ranked second-last, ahead only of the Zambian athlete who had a notably poor performance in the first round.

The athletes who had completed the first round shook their heads dismissively upon seeing Link's result, suspecting he might have cheated to qualify for the Olympics.

"Go Link! Just perform as usual, that's all we ask, just don't underperform."

Coach Li Yabing muttered to himself while wiping the sweat from his face.

On his second attempt, Link stood in the throwing area, holding the shot put calmly as he gazed ahead at the landing sector.

As the referee signaled for the throw, he took a deep breath and, following the same procedure as his first throw, twisted his body, coiling his muscles tightly together, and then harnessed the power from his waist and the side stretch reflex to launch the shot put.

"Let's go!"

As Link pushed his body to the limit, he shouted fiercely, raising his hand high, passing the force through his legs, waist, and shoulders in a chain of movements, focusing all the power into his palm and using the explosive energy to propel the shot put forward.

Boom! freēwēbnovel.com

The shot put drew a fuller arc through the air, landing firmly within the 21-meter range.

"What's the distance this time?"

The spectators and journalists watched the landing sector intently, as the cameras from several major TV stations zoomed in on the gray shot put.

The measurers and referees walked into the sector to plant the flag and measure.