Janette Collins shook all their hands before sitting down on the couch opposite them. Her co-anchor, Michael Johnstone, smiled at them. He was a kind and gentle foil to Janette Collins’s sharkiness.
Mara had been interviewed by both over the years. Janette more recently. Michael during the Beijing Olympics.
“This evening, we have the three veteran medalists on the Women’s US Cross-Country Ski Team,” Janette said. “We spoke yesterday with the whole relay team about their emotional thirdplace finish, but we wanted to highlight the historic nature of these Games by talking to the racers who have the experience to understand its impact.”
Mara smiled like she was supposed to at that. She glanced at Kirby. Lindsey was between them on the couch.
They hadn’t spoken since before the relay. Kirby had mouthed “Thank you” during the celebration after the bronze, but Mara hadn’t gotten close since then.
She’d wanted to. But she also couldn’t imagine putting herself, or Kirby, through that again.
“Were you expecting the US Cross-Country Ski Team to come home with so many medals?” Janette asked. “With the potential for more on the horizon, by the way, with the team sprint and the fifty-kilometer mass start still upcoming.”
Mara didn’t answer, hoping someone else would. Kirby could typically be relied on for that.
“We all want to do our best,” Lindsey said. “And often our best is medal worthy. But things have to align. There are a lot of variables in cross-country skiing.”
It was a perfect, media-trained answer.
“Mara, as the veteran here with the most Olympic starts, and the most lifetime Olympic medals, why do you think these Games have been so special?” Michael asked.
“Kirby will pass me,” Mara said. “On the medal front.”
That didn’t answer the question, and she wasn’t sure why she’d said it.
Both women on the couch looked at her, but Kirby turned away quickly.
“I mean.” Mara’s face got hot. She didn’t know what it was about speaking to the press lately. She just couldn’t say the right thing. “I think she will. Eventually.”
“We have a lot of tenacity,” Lindsey said, taking the focus from Mara. Thank God for friends. “A lot of fight on this team.Mara and Kirby are a great example. They have this rivalry that’s momentous. They push each other to be better.”
Michael asked a few meatball questions about training and teamwork. Lindsey answered the majority of them. Mara added a rote answer here or there. Kirby didn’t say a word.
“KB,” Janette said, her eyes a bit narrow. It was supposed to be a fluffy interview, but Mara was worried Janette had smelled blood in the water and wouldn’t hesitate to bite. “You haven’t said much. Are you looking forward to the team sprint? The unfortunate news dropped today that Brandilyn Rogers won’t be skiing it with you.”
“Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”
Mara frowned, confused by Kirby’s demeanor. She’d watched every interview Kirby had done since getting bronze in the relay. Kirby had been her usual sly and playful self. It might have been a front, but Mara didn’t think so.
Kirby had moved on, moved past their personal upheaval.
So Mara didn’t understand why Kirby was acting so strange now.
“Do you know yet who will race the team sprint with you?” Michael asked.
Kirby shook her head. “Not yet. The coaches are figuring it out.”
“Well, there are two incredibly fast racers next to you. Could it be either of you ladies?” he asked of Lindsey and Mara.
It was a well-meaning question, but Lindsey wasn’t a sprinter, and Mara had been focusing on distance races for years. She raced sprints on the World Cup circuit, and raced them well, but it wasn’t her priority.
Lindsey laughed. “KB does not want it to be me. We have many, many skiers who are better suited to that event.”
Mara didn’t know what to say. It would be the coaches’ decision, and they would never ask her.
“The US Ski Team likes to focus on the individual needs of racers,” Kirby said. Her voice was wobbly. “We’re all different. We have different training needs, off-season needs, and competition needs. Once in race mode, I get better through the course of competition, with repetitive starts. If I take breaks that are too long, too many days apart, I lose momentum and that killer instinct, so I prefer to compete in as many events as I can. I don’t want to speak for Mara, but I think it’s fair to say that she’s different. She needs different things. She skis better with rest, recovery, and mental and emotional space between events. Her focus is and should be the fifty-k. I would never want to jeopardize that.”
It was a decent answer but devoid of the humor and cleverness Kirby was known for. It honestly didn’t sound like her at all.
