"That's impossible!"
"That's absolutely impossible!"
Two cries of disbelief rang out as two judges measured Richie's distance.
"2.99 meters!"
Richie walked away, leaving the judges marveling behind him.
If Richie hadn't been wearing ordinary shoes, they would have suspected he had springs for feet.
Only after Richie had gone some distance did the judges begin discussing whether the boy's result should count.
After all, the event wasn't over, and there was no explicit rule about the order of competitors. An occasional participant taking a turn out of order wasn't a problem.
There had been precedents at Eden Academy, so the judges unanimously decided to award Richie first place.
Richie left after his jump. He had done his best; the rest was up to the judges!
That all-out leap had drained quite a bit of his strength.
He distinctly felt a momentary dull pain in his heart, and his breathing began to grow uneven.
Alone, he braced himself against a wall and spent a long time recovering.
The long jump didn't require much space and was held in the center of the stadium, so most spectators couldn't make out what was happening there.
Unless they had binoculars.
Naturally, they didn't know what had happened at the long jump venue that day, either.
Results wouldn't be posted during the competition. After the five-thousand-meter race, the results of all the day's individual events would be announced at the sports meet's closing ceremony.
Richie returned to the stands to rest, still chewing on some chocolate.
When he returned to Twilight and Yor, Twilight scooped him up and checked him for injuries.
"Richie, do your legs hurt? Don't forget to stretch. It won't be worth it if you accidentally strain something."
Richie wrapped his arms around Twilight's neck. "Father, Richie warmed up and stretched properly.