The Gold Medal

Prologue

A new story...in honor of the beginning of the London 2012 Olympics. It's crazy to think I could have been competing in it if I were a year older. :) But good luck to all the countries competing, and may the odds be ever in your favor. I hope you all enjoy this new story...

PROLOGUE

"One more time, Fray! On that full twisting double back dismount, remember to go with the full twist, tuck your knees and head in! And make sure you get some height on the last back somersault. Run that routine again!"

I sighed, walking over the pedestal that held a small bowl of white chalk. My coarse hands were burning with anticipation, sweat beading on my forehead. I dipped both my hands into the bowl of chalk, sliding the rough substance equally over the palms of my hand and in between the crevices of my fingers.

I had been going through my beam routine for an hour now. There was no doubt that I had the hardest dismount in the competition, as Ronald had once told me. It was difficult to perform such complex skills on a narrow piece of equipment, where even the slightest wobble can make the judges deduct points from your final score. The Olympic judges wanted to see grace and poise combined with balance, coordination, and skill. But I had been doing this for years, since I was four years young.

The execution of tricks Ronald and I had planned for my routine were challenging, but had such elegance and poise it was strikingly beautiful. There was no doubt that I would have strict competition in London 2012. China, Russia, and America’s team never failed to impress, claiming the top three medals in gymnastics. Great Britain wasn’t much of a country for gymnastics. Our Olympic teams mostly consisted of gold medal cyclers and sailors. We came in fourth place for the total number of medals we had won in Beijing 2008, but unfortunately, Great Britain gymnastics had came home with one bronze medal from Louis Smith on the pommel horse. Gymnastics wasn’t a ‘bring it all home’ sport to everyone in Britain, but I was determined to change that.

When I was younger, I had always dreamed of competitive gymnastics. It was never a game for me. I knew I wanted to compete professionally when I won my first all-around gold medal at my gymnastic club’s annual meet when I was of eight years. Since then I had been training with the UK’s spot-on coaches for this moment. I couldn’t compete in Beijing 2008 because I was only thirteen. Now I’m seventeen and leading Great Britain Women’s Gymnastics Team to a much deserved victory. It was a surprise for me, becoming the captain of the women’s team. I was the youngest. My teammates and competitors were at least eighteen years of age. I considered myself a newbie, although my coaches thought otherwise when I took the Olympic trials by storm. So with four other young gold medal hopefuls, we were hard at work to bring home Britain’s gold medal for women’s gymnastics.

“One more time, then you can leave, Fray,” Ronald said as I scooped some chalk into my hands and rubbed it across the soles of my feet. The chalk helped us grip, especially on the balance beam. Not only must we have incredible strength for all apparatuses, but we must be able to endure the burn and pain in our hands from the rough friction of the uneven bars, balance beam, and even matted floor. By the end of the day, our hands were calloused and worn out, but years and years of training had paid off and made my hands used to the hard work I always put them through.

As much as I loved beam, it was one of the more harder events for me. Which was why Ronald, my personal and head coach of the GB Women’s Olympic team, was working his arse of to perfect my routine. It would be quite a show. If I would just stick my landing.

I did a full mount onto the beam, completely focused on time an durability. The beginning of my routine was quite easy, but the problems always came at the end when the tricks got a bit more challenging. I did two back handsprings into a back layout, pulling my arms above my head to keep balances. Doing a simple front pike, I transitioned into a standing tucked full then a switched split leap step out to a pike back. My left leg wobbled a bit to the side, and I mentally cursed myself for that. I saw Ronald shake his head from the corner of my eye. He saw everything. And if he saw it, the judges would have probably seen it and deducted a third of a point.