Carrie couldn’t believe what he was asking her to do. Was he insane?
This was going to be her career-defining moment. He knew that. He’d been with her through this entire journey. Why was he asking her to do something so reckless?
“So, what do you think?” he asked.
“I’m assuming that you’re taking the piss. This is a joke, right?”
“No, I’m deadly serious.”
“Let me get this straight. You want me to train with Oriana? My biggest competition for the gold medal.”
“She’s not your enemy. She’s just your competitor. It is common for competing athletes to be friends with each other you know.”
Carrie wasn’t having it. She was the talent. It was up to her how she would train and who with. It was madness to even consider willingly exposing her weaknesses to the competition. She would get another coach if he kept pushing the point.
“This is a consistent issue with you, Carrie.”
“What is?”
“You just jump in, going with your gut instinct.”
“It’s never let me down before.”
“Yes, but if you never take a chance and try something different, then one day it’ll hold you back.”
“Fine, I’ll think about it.”
She’d give the impression that she’d slept on it, but her mind was already made up.
That evening she discussed it with her mother.
“This is your problem, Carrie. You think emotionally, rather than strategically.”
“I want to win the gold medal.”
“I know you do, but don’t you think it’s sensible to know the strengths and weaknesses of your biggest competition.”
“Yes, but then she’ll know mine as well.”
“That’s up to you, but that stubbornness has always held you back. You don’t have to do everything on your own.”
“I’m not stubborn, I just know I’m right about this. I can feel it in my gut, that this is a bad idea.”
“Sometimes, you need to listen to what your head is telling you, and not just rely on your gut, especially if you want that gold medal.”
***
Carrie had been training with Oriana for three weeks, and it was going well. There was nothing between them in terms of skill and speed. The thing that Carrie hadn’t expected was for her performance to improve so much because of how they were pushing each other. She also hadn’t expected Oriana to be such a warm and funny woman. She put across a focussed and diligent persona in competition, so she appeared cold, but that was far from reality. They were becoming good friends. There was no hiding that they were competitors, although Oriana had summed up how she thought the race would go.
“I think it will be down to a bit of luck on the day.”
“How do you mean?”
“Look at all our practice sessions. We’re equally matched. Sometimes I win. Sometimes you win. Even then, there’s only a fraction in it. If we are both fit and healthy on the day and the conditions are right, it will just come down to luck and who can get across the line first.”
Carrie knew she was right but didn’t want to admit that something she had trained for her entire life would simply come down to a quirk of fate on the day.
The women’s friendship grew as they continued to train. They would spend time together after training, having fun and enjoying each other’s company. It was Oriana who made the first move, which Carrie reciprocated. They knew that they couldn’t tell anyone how their relationship had developed. Their coaches would stop them training together. Even though both women were public with their sexuality, thankfully something which had less hostility in athletics compared to other sports, they still had to keep their relationship secret.
As the women spent most of their time training, there was no issue with them finding time to be together. They were both committed to the upcoming championship, and their training regime only increased the time they spent in each other’s company. The relationship was always secondary to the upcoming race, but that didn’t stop them finding time to be together, away from the track.
***
After six months of intense training, it was the big day. The stadium packed with fans and spectators. Neither woman had a home crowd advantage. Both were in top physical condition. The weather was perfect. They had an equal score in practice races. It didn’t matter what Oriana had said about luck: Carrie was winning the gold medal.
As both women had qualified with an equal time, they occupied the middle lanes. It would be strange being so close to each other and in those few seconds, one of them would become the champion, whilst the other would have to settle for silver. There was no question of someone else coming in and taking that from them. They were the best in the world by a long way. It was all about who would get the silver and who would get the gold.
They took their lanes at the starting line and shared a brief smile with each other, before taking their place in the blocks. It would be over in a matter of seconds. Carrie shut out the noise of the crowd. She focussed solely on the marksman. Waiting for him to pull that trigger.
Her head was down, ready for the signal. She had to be out the blocks bang on time, not a millisecond late, or early. The last need thing she needed was a false start.
“On your marks. Set.”
Bang!
They were off.
Carrie focussed on the finish line She didn’t break her concentration as she powered down the track. She could sense that Oriana was right with her, but she didn’t look. She just kept running as fast as she could. Completely focussed.
They were past the halfway mark when she sensed someone on her left as well. Could someone else be up there with them? That hadn’t even registered as a possibility. All the buzz was around Carrie and Oriana. The rest were just racing for the bronze medal.
Carrie wanted the gold, but she wanted Oriana to have the silver. They had worked so hard to push each other. They couldn’t have someone else come in now and take it from them.
The finish line was within touching distance. Carrie glanced to her right to see how Oriana was doing. A millisecond break in her concentration. That was all it took. Oriana crossed the finish line first.
Carrie had just won a silver medal, but the reality was that she’d lost.
Oriana was jumping around the track. She had won the gold medal. It was devastating for Carrie, but if anyone had to beat her, then it could only be Oriana. She wanted to congratulate her but knew that the cameras would pick up everything. They’d have to be careful. It could only be a brief congratulatory hug, for now.
Carrie waited for Oriana to come back over from celebrating with her coach. It was customary for the athletes to hug and congratulate each other. Carrie used this time to reflect on her stupidity. She had allowed her feelings for Oriana to get the better of her. Her mother had told her to be strategic. If they hadn’t developed such a close bond, then Carrie wouldn’t have cared if someone would have pipped her to silver. Her mistake was because she cared about someone. That couldn’t be a negative. She had to shake those feelings off. She may not have the gold medal, but she was still true to herself.
Oriana finally came over, and the women hugged briefly.
“Congratulations, we’ll celebrate later,” whispered Carrie, making sure no microphone could pick up what she was saying.
“I knew your emotions would get the best of you.”
It felt like a gut punch, as she realised was Oriana was saying.
“Enjoy your silver medal!”