Nelsen, a javelin athlete, was planning on attending the Olympics because he came in third place in the Olympic qualifiers.
The drug scandal sent him into panic. Although Nelsen's name was not mentioned in the investigative report, he had used illicit drugs before. He was worried he would be caught like everyone on the list had been.
Once he found out the International Anti-Doping Agency had come to America, he became even more terrified.
Nelsen wasn't able to concentrate on his training at all. He looked at his phone on the sidelines from time to time as if he was waiting for an important call.
Finally, the phone rang. Nelsen stopped his training and ran quickly to answer the call.
"Hello, it's me. We can talk now." Looking around, Nelsen didn't see anyone watching him.
He asked the voice on the phone, "What's going on? Are those rumors true?"
"They are not rumors. The situation is even more serious than it looks. The President of International Anti-Doping Agency came to America in person with the latest drug-detection technology. Every athlete named in the report was investigated and more than 95% of them were found to have drugs in their systems. The tests of the other 5% came back unclear, so officials could not be positive that they used illicit drugs," said the man on the phone.
"God, it's so serious! It seems that the new drug-detection technology is really powerful." Nelsen took a deep breath.
"Exactly!" The man paused for a moment before asking, "So what do you plan to do?"
"I..." said Nelsen softly, "I want to withdraw from the Olympic Games."
"Withdraw? You've trained four years for this! How can you withdraw?" said the man on the phone.
"I don't want to but, if I don't quit and I'm discovered, my whole career is over!" said Nelsen restlessly.
"That's a waste of four years! You may never get another chance. What if you don't qualify for the next Olympics?" said the man sadly.
Nelsen was struggling. He really didn't want to quit, but his mind told him it was his best option.
"I know, I will lose a lot. However, I'm going to lose more if I don't do this! If I quit the Olympic Games, I still can participate in other competitions. I'll be suspended if they find drugs in my system. Then I wouldn't be able to participate in any competitions!"
...
Richardson was a very good long jumper. Even in the United States, he was considered one of the best.
Unfortunately, being one of the best in the United States didn't get you to a spot on the Olympic team. Only the top three athletes qualified and the long jumping competition in America was intense this year. .
After all, America typically won the long jump. With so many excellent long jumpers in America,all the athletes were under pressure. Richardson got the fifth place, which meant that he would miss the Olympic Games.
Richardson was extremely disappointed. During the qualification trial, the athlete who got first place was only 0.1 meters farther than him.He had been 0.1 meters away from going to the Olympics.
To his surprise, his luck turned. In the afternoon, he received an email. At first, he thought it was a bill or an advertisement. When he read it he realized that some of the athletes who had placed above him had been disqualified and he was being asked to be their substitute.He was going to the Olympics..
Richardson was overjoyed. He immediately called the United States Track and Field Association to confirm the authenticity of the letter and became more excited when the letter was authenticated.
Participating in Olympics was the lifelong dream of many athletes. However, as an American track and field athlete, this dream was very difficult.
Richardson felt lucky. With great excitement, Richardson called his coach immediately, hoping to share the good news. When he told his coach, his coach didn't seem excited.
The coach didn't answer for a long time and Richardson realized that something was wrong. He asked, "Coach, are you there? Why aren't you excited?"
"I'm listening." Finally, the coach responded to Richardson. "Listen to me. You can't go. You must refuse the association!"
"Refuse? Are you kidding me? It's the Olympic Games! This chance only comes once every four years! There are only three spots in the long jump event. This is a golden opportunity for me," said Richardson.
"Do you know why those athletes withdrew from the competition? Do you know why they asked you and not the guy who placed in fourth? Did you ever think about that?"
This time Richardson fell silent.
"The drug scandal is really serious. According to the molecular formula of the illicit drugs' ingredients released in that report, the International Anti-Doping Agency has upgraded their drug-detection technology. You should have heard the rumors. If you go to the Olympics, the drugs in your system will be detected and you will probably be suspended."
"It's the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I can't give it up!" said Richardson bitterly.
"Are you going to bet your career on whether the technology of the International Anti-Doping Agency is advanced enough to detect the drugs?" asked the coach.
"Maybe their detection technology is not as good as they say," Richardson tried to argue.
"Maybe? If you think so, go ahead!" said the coach with a grim tone. "I want to make this clear in advance. If you're found out, don't tell anyone that I was involved. I'll claim to know nothing about it. Don't try to get me in trouble."