Chef at the University Canteen

Chapter 565 304: That's a Championship

The men's high jump finals for the college group were fiercely contested and quite tense.

At a height of 2.18 meters, Liu Xiaohu, as expected, succeeded on his first attempt.

This feat didn't seem too impressive to either him or Lin Yahu, as Liu Xiaohu could almost always clear this height in his usual training.

What surprised both of them was that the fourth competitor, Sun Hao, followed closely and also succeeded on his first attempt at crossing 2.18 meters.

From what they knew, Sun Hao's best performance in training was only 2.18 meters, and he didn't always succeed. Who would have thought that in the tense competition, Sun Hao would manage to succeed on his first try? It was quite bewildering.

As for the other two competitors, they failed in all three attempts, finishing with a score of 2.16 meters.

"It seems that Sun Hao is a competition-type athlete; he tends to perform exceptionally in major competitions."

Lin Yahu said gravely to Liu Xiaohu, who was standing beside him, while watching Sun Hao, who was still chatting casually with his coach not far away.

"Perhaps in this competition, he could break his limits and successfully clear 2.20 meters, which makes him a formidable opponent!

But don't worry, 2.20 meters isn't an insurmountable height for us. If we want to win, we need to aim for 2.22 meters."

Saying this, he turned his head, staring intently at Liu Xiaohu with an encouraging expression, and asked,

"Xiaohu, do you have confidence?"

"Yes!"

Without thinking, Liu Xiaohu nodded vigorously.

Meeting a strong opponent in a major competition also excited him inside. Only then would the gold medal truly be significant. If winning was too easy, wouldn't it be boring?

Moreover, he was looking forward to winning the gold medal to attend the celebratory dinner that Senior Brother Jiang had meticulously prepared.

Just thinking about the delicious dishes Senior Brother Jiang personally made made Liu Xiaohu's mouth water uncontrollably, making the desire to win the gold medal grow wildly, like spring grass in his heart!

"That's the spirit!"

Lin Yahu patted Liu Xiaohu's shoulder hard, encouragingly said,

"Now, all the others are almost out. It's just you and number four left. Perform well, and you can do it!"

Liu Xiaohu said nothing, pursing his lips tightly and fixing his eyes on the high bar ahead. He suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of impetus flooding his body, continuously pushing him forward...

Champion, here I come!

...

The excitement on the track field wasn't limited to just this event.

While Liu Xiaohu was passionately sprinting towards the championship, the women's 800-meter short run final was also about to kick off.

In the Jiangzhou University track team, there were several female sprinters, but their usual training performances weren't remarkable. Not to mention winning the championship in this provincial games, even entering the finals seemed beyond their confidence.

It wasn't just them who lacked confidence; even Coach Yin Tao had no expectations for them either.

To put it bluntly, Yin Tao brought them to the competition simply to make up the numbers, to give the impression that the Jiang University track team was "rich in talent."

However, when it came time to compete, these female sprinters' performance took everyone on the Jiang University track team by surprise!

In the preliminary and semi-final rounds of the women's 800-meter short run event held over the past two days, out of the three female sprinters from the Jiang University track team competing in the event, two unexpectedly made it to the final!

One of them, a sophomore named He Lihua, even advanced to the final with an impressive second place in her semi-final group, just 0.03 seconds behind the first place!

This meant that as long as He Lihua maintained her excellent semi-final performance in today's final, winning at least a medal was almost a certainty even if not the championship.

Yin Tao was initially stunned to see two female athletes make it to the women's 800-meter final but was soon overjoyed!

He had never expected He Lihua and the others to win any medals, so their performance came as a delightful surprise!

What does this mean?

This means that Coach Yin's effective guidance had transformed the previously mediocre team members into outstanding competitors on the field!

For a moment, Yin Tao felt on top of the world, and his smile never left his face from the semi-finals until now.

Ever since Lin Yahu retired from the national team to teach at the Jiangzhou University track team, Yin Tao always felt a bit insecure, worrying that one day Lin Yahu might take away his head coach title.

After all, Lin Yahu had a reputation as the Asian Games men's high jump champion, while Yin Tao, though a former track and field athlete at the provincial level, never achieved any remarkable results.

Comparing the two, he couldn't help but feel somewhat inferior.

But now, all previous worries and anxieties vanished like bubbles in the sunlight, as he felt full of confidence.

Because even Lin Yahu couldn't turn ordinarily performing athletes into competitors who made it to the provincial games final!

Yin Tao's smugness lasted until the day of the finals, when he suddenly realized:

Celebrating seemed premature, as the final was still ahead!

His athletes making it to the finals was certainly good news, but they had yet to stand on the podium!

Only if He Lihua and the others won medals in the finals would it bring true glory, elevating his status as their coach within the School of Sports as well.

Thinking about this, Yin Tao became excited. Even before their turn to compete, he called He Lihua and another finalist over for earnest advice:

"Xiao He, you did remarkably well in the semi-finals yesterday. In the upcoming finals, I won't set specific goals for you to avoid undue pressure. Just do your best.

Especially you, Xiao He; although you achieved a good result in the semi-finals, there were still shortcomings. I noticed that you seemed to lack endurance in the final 200 meters of the sprint stage yesterday.

What does this mean? It means your energy allocation needs improvement.

So, in the upcoming finals, you don't need to rush too much. Let others take the lead, and just stay closely behind them.

This way, you can reserve enough energy for the sprint stage, and if you have ample energy, catching up and overtaking your opponents won't be a problem!"

With that, Yin Tao clenched his fist, looking intently at the two female athletes before him with glowing eyes, saying,

"Xiao He, you must do your best!

If either of you wins the championship, not only will you enjoy the celebratory feast meticulously prepared by Master Xiao Jiang, but I also promise to personally treat you to a grand meal at the Seven House restaurant!"

Winning the women's 800-meter short run championship would make one meal at the Seven House restaurant trivial!

Even dining at the Seven House for a week straight would be worth it!

After all, that's the championship!