5.Sun Luli (CHN)
58.1
6.Erika Sheludenko (RUS)
57.9
One-tenth.
The difference is one-tenth of a point, like in team finals, but winning a silver medal feels a whole lot better than losing a bronze. It’s also the highest all-around score I’ve ever gotten, even before my injury. It’s the best I’ve ever done in the most important competition of my life.
Can’t ask for more than that, can you, Audrey? To do your absolute best on the day you needed it the most?
I never thought I’d make it that close, and maybe someday I’ll wish away a deduction here or there, but right now I can’t find it in me.
I won silver. Iwonit. I’m an Olympic medalist, and no one will ever be able to take it away from me.
Chelsea is closest to me, and I let her pull me into a hug.
“Great job, Cap,” she says, squeezing me tight.
A few feet away, Kareva collapses to the ground while her teammates console her, and Dani is sobbing into Janet’s shoulder. As much as this means to me, and it means a lot, I can’t even imagine what’s going through her mind right now. I can’t muster up even an ounce of resentment. Dani won, and that in and of itself is an inherent good thing, like the universe is righting itself after all the shit it’s thrown at her.
“I did it,” she manages to cry out between gasps of breath. “We did it.” She turns to me, and I pull her into a tight hug.
“You were incredible. You weregolden.”
“Oh God, that’s so cheesy,” she yells, swatting at my shoulder, but I smile. “I’m so proud of you. You were amazing, you pushed me so hard today. And that last routine? Rey, that was beautiful.”
The arena is shaking around us, everyone on their feet screaming and clapping, singing along as Queen’s “We Are the Champions” reverberates through the speakers. Dani stands up on the podium and waves wildly to the crowd, and they somehow get even louder, roaring back their approval. Then she waves me up, and a photographer tosses us an American flag. We wrap it around our shoulders, holding out the edges so everyone can see. We’re the two best all-around gymnasts in the world, and soon we’ll have the medals to prove it.
We can’t celebrate for long. Competition officials quickly usher us out of the arena, and we’re escorted back to the tunnel by a volunteer. Irina leads the line, still in tears, Dani behind her, sandwiched between us, where she’ll be on the medal podium. We wave to the crowd as we exit the competition floor.
