The track-and-fielders were excited to see Mrs. Fitch walk over to the area set up for javelin throw next. She leaned down and picked up the javelin.
The javelin reminded Kyle of an enormous toothpick. The spear was at least eight feet long and skinny. It was white and had a blue stripe painted down one side.
At least this one can’t weigh very much, Kyle thought.
“The javelin throw is different from the other throwing events,” Mrs. Fitch explained. “For the shot-put, hammer, and discus, you have to stay within a circle to make your throw. With the javelin, you run almost a hundred feet before throwing.”
“Can you throw the javelin any way you want?” Sam asked.
“No,” Mrs. Fitch said. “The javelin must be thrown overhand, and you can’t twist your body. You’ll need to hold it in the palm of your hand, high off the shoulder.”
Mrs. Fitch placed the javelin in the palm of her hand to demonstrate. Then she ran smoothly toward a line in the grass, cocked her arm back, and threw.
The javelin sailed through the air and landed, sticking up from the ground.
“Nice,” Kyle said. He couldn’t wait to give it a try.
The students lined up to take turns. Everyone else seemed to do pretty well. When it was his turn, Kyle remembered what Mrs. Fitch had said.
Palm of the hand, Kyle thought. High off the shoulder.
Kyle ran toward the line. The javelin flexed a bit with every step. As he got closer, he pulled his arm back. He stopped short of the line, planted his front foot, and threw as hard as he could.
The javelin left his hand and rose in an arc out toward the field. He could hear some of the other guys behind him cheer. After what seemed like a long time, the javelin dropped and stuck into the grass.
“Wow,” Mrs. Fitch said. “Very good, Kyle. You’re a natural.”
Kyle turned and smiled. A couple of the other guys nodded and clapped. Trevor just sneered at him.
Kyle looked down. He’d come close to stepping over the line. “What happens if you step over the line in any of these events?” he asked.
“In the Olympics, that’s a foul and won’t count,” Mrs. Fitch said. “In our Olympic Fest, if you step over the line or step outside of the circle, you’d be disqualified.”
“Wow,” Kyle said. “That’d stink.”
“But just for that event, Kyle,” Mrs. Fitch said. “And, instead of awarding a medal for each event, the gold will go to the best all-around track-and-field competitor.”
Kyle looked around. From the looks on the other boys’ faces, he could tell they didn’t know what she meant either.
“The scoring works like this,” Mrs. Fitch explained. “Each event will be scored on a scale of one to five. Five points for the best, four points for second, and so on. The highest total score gets the gold medal.”
“So a twenty is perfect,” Trevor said. He looked confident, as if he already had the gold medal in the bag. “Fives across the board.”
Great, Kyle thought. I’m only good at one event. There goes my shot at the gold.