Chef at the University Canteen

Chapter 564 303: Who Else but Me on This Field?!

Liu Xiaohu had just finished warming up, took a sip of water, and rested for a short while when the men's high jump finals for the collegiate group officially began.

According to the competition rules, the contestants entering the men's high jump finals needed to draw lots again before the competition to determine the jumping order. Liu Xiaohu drew number 3.

It seemed like bad luck, as the strongest competitor from the Science and Technology Normal College, Chen Hao, happened to draw number 4, right after him.

This added more pressure on Liu Xiaohu.

He took a deep breath, focusing his attention on the finals that had already begun, trying not to overthink things.

In fact, he understood that at this point, thinking too much was useless, and only by giving his all, fighting with full effort, could he stand out.

In that case, let's see who comes out on top in the arena!

The starting height for the men's high jump collegiate group finals at this provincial games was 1.92 meters. After each round, the bar's height would be raised by 2 centimeters. Contestants could freely choose the starting height for their trial jumps, but failing three consecutive trial jumps would result in disqualification.

Since the contestants in the finals were of varying levels, during the first few rounds after the finals began, Liu Xiaohu, Chen Hao, and another contestant from Jiangzhou Agricultural University all chose not to jump.

It wasn't until the bar's height was raised to 2.08 meters that Liu Xiaohu began his first trial jump of this finals.

By this point, 12 contestants had entered the finals, and 4 had already been eliminated, leaving only 8 contestants. Contestant number 1 ahead of Liu Xiaohu was eliminated after failing three trial jumps at 2.06 meters, and contestant number 2 knocked the bar off on the first jump at 2.08 meters.

Seeing the dejected look of contestant number 2, Liu Xiaohu took a deep breath and slowly walked to the starting point of the runway.

"Relax, don't rush! Keep control of your running rhythm, you can do it!"

Lin Yahu stood aside, clenching his fists to cheer for Liu Xiaohu.

He had a lot of confidence in Liu Xiaohu's abilities, and the only concern now was that this provincial games was Liu Xiaohu's first major competition of such a scale, and there was some worry that nerves could affect his performance.

For a professional athlete, having strong mental resilience is crucial, especially when opponents are at a similar level. Ensuring stable or even exceptional performance is an important guarantee for victory.

As the judge in front reset the bar on the high jump stand and measured the height to make sure it was correct, Liu Xiaohu signaled to the judge, took another deep breath, and began his run-up.

Liu Xiaohu sprinted along the curve like a gust of wind towards the bar, bent one leg slightly, and leaped powerfully. He flew upward like a carp leaping over the dragon's gate, drawing a beautiful arc as he cleared the bar with ease and landed on the mat behind the bar.

"Xiaohu, well done!"

Lin Yahu cheered loudly with excitement.

Although the height of 2.08 meters wasn't Liu Xiaohu's best, as long as he hadn't started jumping, Lin Yahu's heart was always tense.

Now that he had seen Liu Xiaohu easily clear this height, and the height he cleared was far beyond 2.08 meters, Lin Yahu finally took a genuine sigh of relief:

If Liu Xiaohu can maintain this standard in the following jumps, then clearing 2.20 meters is a certainty, and even challenging heights of 2.22 meters or 2.24 meters isn't out of the question.

As long as Liu Xiaohu can steadily clear 2.22 meters, the gold medal in the men's high jump collegiate group is practically in the bag!

After getting off the mat, Liu Xiaohu glanced at the perfectly still bar and didn't seem particularly excited.

Choosing 2.08 meters as the starting height was just to ensure a score and also check his competitive state.

Based on his current performance, it was decent but nothing extraordinary.

Unless something unexpected happens, his strongest rival, contestant number 4, Sun Hao, could also easily clear 2.08 meters on his first jump, as could other capable contestants.

If he wants to win this championship, it still depends on his subsequent performance!

And just as Liu Xiaohu expected, as he was about to take a sip of water on the sidelines, contestant number 4, Sun Hao, easily cleared 2.08 meters on his first jump.

In high jump competitions, each height has three trial jump chances, and only if all three attempts fail will the contestant be eliminated, leading to long and tedious waiting times in between.

After the three trial jumps, 2 of the remaining 8 contestants were eliminated, leaving only Liu Xiaohu, Sun Hao, and 4 others to continue challenging the next height.

"Xiaohu, for the next 2.10 meters, I suggest skipping it."

Lin Yahu glanced at the judge adjusting the high jump bar height, then turned back to seriously suggest to Liu Xiaohu,

"The bar is raised by 2 centimeters each time, and to reach a height of 2.20 meters, there are still five more raises. I don't suggest you jump each time, especially since during our regular training, you can practically clear 2.16 meters every time.

The competition will last a long time, and we need to conserve energy for later in the competition. We can wait until the bar is raised to 2.16 meters to start jumping.

Unless something unexpected occurs, I think contestant number 2 will also choose to skip the next height."

"Okay, I'll listen to the coach."

Liu Xiaohu nodded. To be honest, he's not excited about the 2.10-meter height; it's simply too easy.

As a proud person, he likes to challenge high difficulties!

As expected, from 2.10 meters to 2.16 meters, not only did Liu Xiaohu and contestant number 2 Chen Hao skip with great understanding, but even the contestant number 10 from Jiangzhou Agricultural University also didn't take the field.

As the competition progressed, fewer and fewer contestants were eligible for the next round of jumping. By the time the bar was raised to 2.18 meters, only the last 4 contestants remained.

"Xiaohu, keep it up! 2.18 meters isn't difficult for you, try to clear it in one go!"

By this point, Lin Yahu's expression was also serious. He took a deep breath and patted Liu Xiaohu's shoulder with anticipation,

"Once you clear this height, the real challenge begins!"

Contestants 1 and 2 had already been eliminated at previous heights, and when the bar was raised to 2.18 meters, the first to jump was Liu Xiaohu.

As he was stretching and warming up, Liu Xiaohu stood at the starting point of his run-up, watching the bar erected high up ahead, a surge of unspeakable pride flowed in his heart:

In this arena, who else but me?!