Chapter 534: Dai Li Saved U.S. Track and Field
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Shawn Ford won the n’s 200-ter, which was the fifth gold dal won by the U.S. track and field team that day.
On the fifth day, the U.S. track and field team won four dals in a single day. This day was even better, as they secured five.
This was the U.S. track and field team’s 18th gold dal at this Olympics. They had already broken the record for the number of track and field gold dals won by the United States.
Between the 1980s and the 1990s was the best ti for the U.S. track and field team.
In 1984, a total of 19 countries and regions did not participate in the Los Angeles Olympics due to the boycott of the Soviet bloc. The Soviet Union and Germany were among those that did not participate. This made the U.S. a dominant team at that Olympics and the ho team won 16 gold dals in track and field events.
At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, there was a drop in the number of U.S. gold dals as the Soviet bloc participated in the Olympics. However, the U.S. track and field team still won 13 gold dals in track and field.
At the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, the U.S. track and field team won 12 gold dals. In the subsequent Olympics, the team could win about 10 gold dals each ti.
Now, the US team had already won 18 gold dals in track and field, a record for the US team, and the events were not over yet.
The busiest man that night was Frey, the COO of the U.S. Track and Field Association. He was constantly on the phone and made promises to one sponsor after another. He worked until morning without a rest, but he never tired.
The next morning, a headline appeared on the front page of most newspapers in the U.S.: “How the Best U.S. Track and Field Team Ca to Be!”
Eighteen gold dals was the team’s new record, so it was fair to call them the best U.S. track and field team. Before the Olympics began, no one thought highly of the team. The dia called them the worst team ever.
Eight days had passed and the U.S. team had completely changed. It went from being the worst team ever to the best team ever.
The recent performance-enhancing drug scandal was fading from the public’s conscience. Ordinary people are always forgetful. When they saw Arica’s good performance at the Olympics, no one paid attention to their past missteps.
Dai Li, the head coach of the U.S. team, was also in the spotlight
It was controversial when Dai Li first took over as head coach of the U.S. team. As a non-Arican coach, no one thought highly of Dai Li at that ti. However, Dai Li trained the best U.S. team ever, so everyone’s attitude towards him changed radically.
The original questions and criticisms about Dai Li were gone. On the contrary, he now got all kinds of flattery.
Just as Dai Li put it, nationality and race don’t matter at all in the face of gold dals. The glory of honor will overshadow everything.
People get used to judging a person by his success or failure. This is true in competitive sports; the one wins is the hero.
Although the Olympic spirit of solidarity and fraternity was chanted at each Olympics and although the phrase “friendship first, competition second” was often ntioned, none of the athletes participated in the Olympics just with the aim of promoting friendship. If they really wanted to promote friendship, a al at a restaurant or a drink at a bar would be far more effective than a fierce competition.
...
Jas was a well-known sports comntator. He did free-lance work with many different dia outlets.
Right now, Jas was sitting at his computer and watching the Olympics.
The phone rang and Jas saw it was a call from the editor of a sports magazine. Sports magazines sold well in the United States, and Jas had worked with this magazine before.
Jas didn’t hesitate at all, so he muted the TV and answered the mobile phone.
“Hello, Mr. Julian. This is Jas speaking, I’m so glad to hear from you,” said Jas.
“Jas, are you free today? I need your manuscripts and I need them today,” Julian, the magazine’s editor, said.
When Jas heard that Julian wanted his manuscripts, he was instantly refreshed because he knew he could make money. He said imdiately, “Mr. Julian, of course I’m free today. If you want, I can work for you all day. What kind of manuscripts do you need?”
“I need articles about the head coach of the U.S. track and field team, Dai Li,” Julian replied.
“That Chinese coach again,? I’ve written about him before, should I write the sa things?” Jas asked imdiately.
A month ago, Jas published several articles questioning Dai Li’s coaching ability and his criteria for selecting athletes. Jas also concluded that the U.S. team would fail under Dai Li. Two of these articles were published in this sports magazine.
Jas’ conclusion was wrong. Julian said, “Mr. Jas, didn’t you pay attention to the news this morning? This U.S. track and field team has been nad the best team in Arican history. Our track and field team has won 18 gold dals and they’re expected to win more. Readers want to hear the good news, so we can’t belittle the head coach who leads his team to consistent wins!”
“Well, Mr. Julian, what do you an?” Jas asked.
“We’re going to sing his praises! You need to praise him, it should be quite easy for you,” Julian said.
“But I just published so articles criticizing him a month ago. Two of them were published in your magazine,” said Jas.
“So what? Everything is changing. We are a sports magazine, so we write what readers love to read. A month ago, readers wanted to hear criticism of Dai Li, so we criticized him. Now, readers want good news. They want to see a winner, so we are going to show them Dai Li is one.” Julian paused before saying, “Mr. Jas, you have to understand that our magazines sell well only if we publish what the readers want to read. In order for us to pay you, we need the magazines to sell well.”
“I see.,” Jas reluctantly agreed.
Being a professional sports comntator, Jas still wanted to be able to give his professional opinion without being interfered with, rather than acting like a buffoon. F with reality, he had to make compromises.
“You want to complint Dai Li? It’s OK, I will do as you want. I will describe the Chinese coach as the world’s top coach!”
Jas opened his computer indignantly, thought for a while and finally decided his title:
“Dai Li saved U.S. Track and Field!”
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