Chapter 632 The First Gold Medal

At the Ancient Olympia Stadium, the second round of the men's shot put event is in progress.

Link's first throw in the second round was 21.14 meters, breaking the Asian men's shot put record again and creating his personal best in the event.

But in this competition, this result is still behind Ukrainian player Bilonog and American player Adam Nelson.

As the second-to-last athlete in the second round, he needs to show better results if he wants to get a medal.

Second round, second throw.

After Link's warm-up, at the signal of the referee, he held the shot put and continued to use the back sliding shot put technique, using the body's positive arch anti-vibration function to maximize the whole body's strength and push the shot put out at the last moment.

"Go!"

After the accumulation of power, Link shouted angrily, twisted his body, held the shot put with his palm, and pushed the shot put out with force.

The shot put drew a parabola in the air and hit the grass in the 21-meter area heavily, splashing mud.

The on-site surveyor entered the triangle area and put up a flag to measure the distance.

Under the gaze of countless spectators on site and in front of the TV, it was announced that Link's throw result was 21.16 meters.

"How much? 21.16 meters?!"

Upon hearing this result, Coach Li Yabing trembled, and then a huge surprise burst out from his heart.

According to the Olympic shot put competition regulations, each athlete usually has 6 throwing opportunities, and the best result is taken as the final result. If two or more athletes have the same results, the ranking is determined by the second best result.

Link's current best result is 21.16 meters, and the second best result is 21.14 meters.

The first best result of the current No. 1 Ukrainian athlete Bilonog is 21.16 meters, and the second best result is 21.08 meters.

According to this situation, if the eighth player does not create a miracle, Link will have a great chance to win a gold medal.

A gold medal in the shot put event!

This will be the first shot put gold medal won by Chinese and even Asian athletes in the Olympic track and field arena.

It's too valuable.

"Great, Link is great!"

"Link has done a great job today."

"Old Li, congratulations, you've become a champion coach!"

"Yes, Old Li, remember to treat us."

After cheering for Link, several track and field coaches turned to look at Coach Li Yabing, envious.

Link is a junior this year. He took a break for half a year last year. He has only studied with Coach Li Yabing for two years. Now he is expected to win the Olympic Games.

Coach Li Yabing is equivalent to a champion coach who picked up the title.

How can these old coaches who have worked in the track and field team for decades but have not been able to bring out a track and field champion not be envious?

Everyone's eyes were red with envy. If they had known that Link was so good, they should have tried their best to transfer him to the national track and field team base for training last year instead of letting him roam freely in the Sports University.

"Haha, let's celebrate together, but let's not be too happy too soon. There is another player behind, and there may be accidents."

Li Yabing said with a smile on his face.

"No surprises, even if the Australian athlete behind is upset, Link can still get a silver medal, which is also a cause for celebration for our track and field team."

The other coaches said.

Li Yabing nodded repeatedly, then turned his back and smiled fiercely.

"Link, awesome!"

"Link, good job!"

"Link, you are our pride."

After the results of the second throw came out, hundreds of Chinese spectators cheered loudly and excitedly, and the athletes of the Chinese team also cheered for Link's performance.

Link was also excited after hearing the results, but the game was not over yet, and if he was too happy too early, he would easily encounter the embarrassment of opening champagne in the middle of the game.

He took a deep breath, stabilized his emotions, bent over and picked up a shot put from the ground, and prepared for the third throw.

Although the current results can get him a medal, his goal is to break the Olympic record and world record in the shot put event, leaving an important mark in the history of world track and field, and also bring glory to the country.

So when faced with these results, he will not be easily satisfied.

The referee signaled to get ready.

Link held the shot put, rotated backward and lowered his body, first swung his left leg, then stretched his right leg, and with the torso forming a side arch and the left leg forming a strong support, he fully utilized the force of the lower limbs to turn his hips and body, and then pushed his right chest forward to accelerate the shot put actively.

This is the core part of the back-sliding shot put technique, and it is also the part that Link practiced the most, from holding the ball, sliding, switching, to the final force, hundreds of times a day from last year to this year.

With his super high athletic talent, he also needs to practice more than 100,000 times to reach the current level.

When the body completes a series of throwing movements, the whole body's strength is gathered in the arm, which is also like the accumulation of power in boxing.

Link shouted angrily, used his arm to turn his shoulder, and pushed the shot put out with force.

The 7.26kg shot put drew a long parabola under the gaze of countless people, and finally hit the grass with a bang.

There is a 21-meter area, which seems to be a little farther than the previous throw. The specific amount of excess needs to be measured.

Therefore, when the two surveyors entered the triangle area, countless Chinese viewers at the scene and in front of the TV stared closely at the silver-gray shot put.

"21.18 meters!"

The referee on the scene announced.

Buzz!

After the results came out, the audience immediately became agitated, shouting Link's name excitedly. For a while, the stands were full of red flags and shouts.

Link waved his hand, left the throwing area, and watched the three throws of Australian player Klaus in the waiting area.

Klaus' best score in the first round of three throws was 20.92 meters, failing to break the 21-meter mark.

The second round of throws was the same, with the best score of 20.89 meters in three throws, ranking seventh in the second round.

After Klaus's results came out, the men's shot put competition ended.

In this competition, Link had two rounds and six throws, with a best score of 21.18 meters, ranking first among all the contestants, and won the men's shot put championship without suspense.

The runner-up was Ukrainian player Bilonog, and the third place was American player Adam Nelson.

After the competition, the Olympic Committee held an award ceremony at the Ancient Olympia Stadium. Link wore the Chinese team uniform and stepped onto the highest podium, and the President of the International Olympic Committee Rogge hung a gold medal on him.

The ancient Olympia Stadium also sounded the Chinese national anthem for the first time in history. It is considered to be the moment when the two ancient civilizations completed the historical intersection, which is quite commemorative.

When the five-star red flag rose slowly, the Chinese media also focused on Link and transmitted the picture of him standing on the highest podium to the country.

At this moment, countless people cheered for Link's success.

Link's image was also transmitted to thousands of Chinese households through satellite TV, and he received more attention than after becoming a singer and appearing on the Spring Festival Gala of Kyoto TV.

"Link became the champion of the men's shot put?"

"How did he do it?"

"Incredible, isn't he a boxer?"

In the stands, Sean Gibbons, Bob Arum, Dmitry Salita, Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren and others looked at Link on the podium with shock.

If Link won the 16-to-8 match by knocking out his opponent in two rounds, it would surprise everyone.

Now he won the men's shot put championship, which is purely shocking and unbelievable.

Although both boxing and shot put rely on arm strength, the difference between them is too big, even bigger than the difference between humans and monkeys.

In the history of world sports, no boxer has ever been an excellent shot put athlete at the same time, and no shot put athlete has become an excellent boxer after changing careers.

Now Link has done it. He not only performs extremely well in boxing, but also becomes the Olympic champion in shot put.

Bob Arum frowned, feeling a little worried.

When Link just debuted last year, he dared to ask for a signing bonus of 5 million US dollars, showing great greed and confidence.

Now he has become the Olympic champion in shot put and a sports star.

If he also achieves good results in boxing, his offer will probably be higher at that time, and 5 million US dollars may not satisfy his appetite.

Bob Arum thinks that he should contact Link in advance to see his attitude.

At this time, not only Bob Arum thinks so, Eddie Hearn, Nora Dewar, and Frank Warren also have the same idea-Link has great potential and should be signed earlier. It is best not to let such a person fall into the hands of competitors.

——

After the award ceremony, Link left the scene with the gold medal and a bouquet of flowers. He was cheered by the Chinese audience, praised and congratulated by his teammates, and surrounded by many media reporters.

CCTV5 reporter asked him how he felt?

Link said he was fine.

The reporter continued to ask him if he was surprised to win the gold medal in the men's shot put event because he had only participated in the Universiade and the Asian Championships before the Olympics and had never experienced large-scale track and field events. His best performance was only 20.81 meters.

Link said no, his goal was to break the world record. This time he only won a gold medal but did not break the record, so he was not too surprised.

The reporter asked him if he had ever thrown a better result than 21.18 meters in training before.

Link said it was a secret.

The Associated Press reporter asked him why he won the championship this time when he was only 69 kilograms and had not achieved good results in previous international competitions? Asked if he knew magic?

Link smiled and knew what the other party wanted to ask, that the other party suspected that he was taking stimulants.

This is a habitual operation of European and American reporters in sports competitions. As long as Chinese athletes achieve good results in certain fields dominated by European and American athletes, they will be suspected of using stimulants.

Link said that he does not know magic, and that his ability to win the championship is the result of countless training. If you want to win the championship only by magic, then the American team should be able to dominate this sport because they have many famous magicians.

He paused and continued to say that the British team can also do so, because they have Harry Potter, Hermione, Voldemort, and the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

There was a burst of laughter at the scene.

Currently, two "Harry Potter" series of movies have been released, and they have earned more than 1 billion US dollars in box office results worldwide, and have also made a group of magicians become famous movie characters.

Link's answer can not only avoid the sharp questions raised by the Associated Press reporter, but also link up with "Harry Potter".

CCTV reporters asked him why he could do this from the first to the sixth throw, and finally surpassed his opponent and his performance in the fifth throw. The reporter asked him what drove him to do this?

Link said it was belief, honor, and sense of responsibility.

Standing on the track and field arena of the Olympic Games, he not only represents himself in the competition, but also represents all track and field athletes in China. Only by doing his best can he live up to everyone's expectations.

Clap, clap!

There was a burst of applause and cheers around.

Then the media from various countries asked other questions. In this Olympics, in addition to the shot put event, he also participated in boxing, 5000-meter long-distance running, and javelin. He was also the first athlete in Olympic history to fill in multiple different types of sports competitions at the same time.

In addition, he just won the shot put championship.

As a result, there are many things worth exploring about him.

However, due to limited time, Link picked a few questions and then left with the coaching team.

After returning to the hotel where he stayed, companies such as Top Promotion, Main Events, and Competition Room Promotion sent people to discuss the signing.

These companies made it clear that as long as he agreed to sign, 5 million US dollars would be immediately credited.

Link did not go to meet them, but told them over the phone that he would concentrate on preparing for the competition before the end of the Olympics and did not want to talk about signing for the time being. If they were willing to cooperate with him, they could talk after the competition.

——

On the second day of the Olympic Games, the Huaxia Sports Team won two gold medals and one silver medal again.

These three medals came from the men's shot put, the women's 52kg judo, and the men's weightlifting 56kg.

Currently, the Huaxia team has won 6 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze, ranking first.

The next day, August 16, Link came to the Kalaiskaki Stadium to participate in the men's boxing 69kg quarter-finals.

Influenced by the shot put competition, he has now become a star in this Olympic Games and is also quite popular in Greece.

During the competition, there were about 5,000 spectators in the audience.

His opponent in this game was the Korean boxer Kim Jung-joo, who is 23 years old, 178 cm tall, with a wingspan of 182, and won a gold medal in the boxing event at the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

The opponent is a technical boxer with flexible movements, skillful combination punches, and good defense, which makes him win in amateur competitions.

His shortcomings are also obvious, with average punch weight, average physical strength, and low resistance to blows.

He is a typical amateur elite.

After the game started, Link still took the initiative to attack, using fast punches and heavy punches to destroy the opponent's defense.

However, considering that the opponent's resistance to blows is average, but the technology is good.

During the game, Link was not in a hurry to knock down his opponent. He used superb offensive and defensive techniques to have a highly technical game with the opponent.

In the first round, he punched 126 times and hit the opponent's effective parts 26 times, while the opponent punched 168 times and hit his effective parts 3 times.

He won the first game with a big score.

In the second round, he continued to compete with the opponent with technology, using superb combination punches to attack the opponent, and using flexible steps and evasion techniques to avoid the opponent's attack.

At the same time, he firmly controlled the rhythm of the game, took the opponent around the ring, and made the opponent sweat.

At 82 seconds in the second round, he dodged sideways, causing his opponent to lose balance and stumble to the ring.

In this round, Link threw 95 punches, hitting his opponent 21 times, causing his opponent to fall to the ground 3 times.

The opponent threw 121 punches, but only 2 were effective.

Before the third round began, the opponent's coach voluntarily admitted defeat.

Link easily won the game and entered the 69kg quarterfinals.