				SKATING FOR GOLD (Chapter 101)

"So, have you set a date?" Mrs. Kelleher asked Warren and Sophia. They were getting a late supper after the OD.

"Well, we've got two possibilities. We have to get married in the summer. Late July or August," Warren said.

"After the tours end, so all our skating friends can be there," Sophia clarified.

"So," Warren continued, "We have two choices. We can get married this summer, which means we'd get married before the baby came, but Sophia would be walking down the aisle very pregnant. Or, we wait until next summer--which means the baby gets born to unmarried parents, but Sophia won't be getting married in a frilly tent."

Sophia giggled. "Also, waiting a year gives us more time to plan."

"So, that's what you're leaning towards?" Peg asked them.

"Yup. We'll make a final decision after the Olympics," Sophia told her.

"I'm just so glad it's actually going to happen," Peg smiled.

"You got that right!" Ellen chimed in.

Sophia and Warren laughed. "We agree," Sophia said.

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Sophia suitemates in the Olympic village, Andrea and Liz, had gone out dancing, giving Sophia and Warren a couple of hours where they wouldn't be disturbing anyone. They enjoyed themselves and each other, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Sophia emerged from her room in the morning. "Liz? Andrea? Are you guys here?"

"Yeah" Liz called from her room.

"Me too," said Andrea.

"OK, Warren's here, so you might want to be decent when you emerge," Sophia giggled.

"Oh, must we?" Andrea joked. They all came out and decided to get some breakfast together.

"You guys ready?" Liz asked them over breakfast.

"Yes, we are!"  Sophia told her.

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Sophia put her hair in rollers after breakfast, while Warren caught them both up on some of the internet postings. Then they were ready to head to the rink.

The final group had five skaters. Sophia and Warren were smack in the middle, the third pair to skate, after Sharon and Steve and the Canadians, and before the two Russian couples. 

As they took the ice for the warmup, the French were in first. They had been all the way in sixth before the free dance, however, so weren't a factor for the medals.

The warmup ended, and the final group was ready to skate. Sharon Nicholas and Steve Coleman were the first to skate of the final group. Warren and Sophia liked their program--skated to the soundtrack from some heroic-warrior movie--but knew it had some deficiencies. The judges saw that, too--Steve and Sharon were placed behind the French.

The Canadians, Renee and Christian, were next. Sophia and Warren made sure to stand by the boards and watched, because they were very fond of the soul/funk free dance that their friends had come up with. It was upbeat, and energetic, and the crowd loved it. Most of the judging panel at least liked it, as seven of the nine judges put them in first place.

Warren and Sophia took the ice, took their starting positions, and waited for Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet" to start. It did, and Warren skated down the length of the ice to meet Sophia, as their program began.

Compared to Nationals--where they got 7 perfect sixes for the presentation mark--this was better. Technically they had upped the ante a bit more in the weeks after nationals. Artistically, this was a free, uninhibited, attacking performance. They hit each position, performed each step, executed each turn and edge, with an easy grace and style. 

They finished the program in a happy, excited embrace. They skated off, greeted June and Kathy, and waited for their marks.

"Can't do it any better than that," Kathy told them. The technical marks came up. Mostly 5.7s and a few 5.8s. 

"Not a problem," June said. "These will go up," she said, waiting for the presentation marks.

They did--in fact, there were three more sixes. They moved into first place on every judge's card.

"Waitaminnit....did we just win an Olympic medal?" Warren asked.

Kathy checked out the ordinals. "Yup. Actually, Yatserova and Vaglach can't catch you, so, you've won no worse than silver."

"OHMYGOD!!!" Sophia shouted in realization. She tackled Warren, as the crowd roared, realizing that Sophia and Warren were in the medals. They practically bounced out of the kiss and cry, backstage, where they were congratulated by friends.

"Highest finish in the Olympics by an American ice dance team in history, you know," Kathy said.

"And you could still be the first American gold medallists," June pointed out.

"Don't count on that," Sophia smiled.

Yatserova and Vaglach were the second-to-last to skate. When their marks came up, Sophia and Warren heard, from down the hall backstage, the delighted whoops of Renee and Christian. They had defeated Yatserova and Vaglach, and thus would stay on the podium.

Olga Bradochkina and Nikolai Zhargov, four-time World Champions, were the last to skate. They hadn't lost a competition in four years. Heck, they had never lost a phase of a competition until yesterday. They were shoo-ins, the gold would be theirs, no doubt. That was the assumption.

Olga and Nikolai were skating a typically-intense program to typically-intense music. They were technically brilliant, They were demonstrative and overdone. They were......Bradochkina and Zhargov. It was the same stuff they had been doing for four years. It had always won.

Olga and Nikolai left the ice, to the kiss and cry, happy with their performance. They waited for the marks. The technical marks were very high. The presentation marks were, however, lower than Sophia and Warren's. This was close. They waited for the ordinals, as Warren and Sophia did backstage.

Kathy was figuring them out. "Olga and Nikolai got.....first....first.....second....second.....first.....
Second.....second....first.....first." She sighed. "One judge."

"Huh?" Warren asked.

"Olga and Nikolai beat you by one judge. You lost the gold medal on a five-four split."

"We DID?" Sophia asked in amazement. Before they had a chance to digest that, the TV people wanted an interview.

As they suspected, that was the first thing they were asked about: "You lost the gold medal by one judge. Your thoughts?"

"We're amazed," laughed Sophia. "We expected nine. Hey, we're the first ever American ice dancers to win a sliver medal at the Olympics. Does anyone expect us to be upset?" 

"We're thrilled," Warren reiterated. "We knew we had won at least a silver after we came off the ice. That was shock enough. We never figured on gold, never, ever, not for a second."

"Plus, it gives us something to shoot for four years from now!" Sophia pointed out.

"We're not going anywhere. Well, we're going to have a baby, but after that, we'll be back," Warren laughed.

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They were genuinely happy for Olga and Nikolai. They were thrilled that Christian and Renee had made it to the podium. And they were ecstatic for themselves.

 The newly-engaged, parents-to-be, Olympic silver medallists stepped up on the podium, accepted their medals, and beamed with pride.

"Does it get any better than this?" Warren asked.

"Yes," said an eavesdropping Olga Bradochkina, "but you'll have to wait four years to find out!"

"That's OK. This is heaven enough for now," Sophia told her.



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