It was her first international meeting and Magda could be pleased with her performance. She had swum a personal best in the heat and finished a respectable fifth in the final.
Her coach, the tall and imposing Petr Hoiniks, had taken her to one side after the final and congratulated her on her performance. He had also pointed out the things that could be improved upon and told her how her training regime would be intensified in preparation for next year's European Championships.
Magda was contented as she made her way back to the locker room. Her training was on schedule, she had made her international debut at the age of eighteen and she could look forward to representing East Germany in the pool for many years to come.
As Magda reached the locker room she passed three of her East German colleagues as they were leaving, "Hurry Magda, the bus won't wait." They said, stepping aside to let the newest member of the team into the sparse locker room.
There was only one changing room at the Erfurt swimming arena. It was a long, grey concrete room with a wooden bench down the centre and lockers mounted on the walls.
To separate the East German swimmers from those visiting from the United States a series of curtains had been draped across the middle of the locker room; dividing it in two. The curtains were on a cord about eight feet off the ground; leaving a two foot gap between the top of the curtains and the ceiling.
Magda took her sports bag from her locker and reached inside for her towel. As she put the towel to her head to dry her dark curly hair she heard voices from the other side of the curtain. She stood still and listened.
They were speaking English, Magda understood that much, but the voices were too full of excitement for her to understand what was being said.
Magda looked over to the curtain that separated her from the American swimmers. A ball of nervous energy settled in her stomach. Apart from her two races earlier in the day Magda had never come into contact with any westerners before.
Draping her towel over her shoulders Magda looked around to check she was alone in her half of the locker room then slowly made her way towards the curtain.
As she approached the curtain the excited chattering on the other side continued. Magda positioned herself so that she was standing where the curtain met the bench that ran down the centre of the locker room. Her bare thigh was touching the fabric of the curtain.
Magda carefully stepped up on to the bench, it creaked slightly under her weight, but the Americans were too engrossed in their conversation to notice. Holding on to the rail at the top of the bench she turned and looked anxiously at the door behind her. She knew that if she was caught listening to swimmers from the west her own swimming career would be over before it had barely started.
Still in her East German swimming costume Magda took a firm grip on the rail, being careful to avoid the metal clothes pegs, and raised herself on tip-toes.
Over the curtain, in the half of the locker room reserved for the visitors from America, Magda saw two of the women she had raced against in the final. There was the muscular black swimmer Sophie Vine who had won bronze; and the tall willowy redhead Ruth Fleming. Both women had changed into their U.S tracksuits.
The door to the U.S. side of the locker room opened; the two U.S. swimmers and Magda looked over. In stepped Cindy Armour, she was still in her red white and blue one piece swimming costume. Her gold medal was hanging around her neck.
Her teammates cheered and rushed forward to hug Cindy as she entered the locker room. The raised voices made Magda a little nervous. She stepped off the bench, walked to the door and looked outside. The corridor was deserted.
When she resumed her position on the bench the three U.S swimmers were in the middle of their side of the locker room.
Cindy had taken off her medal; Sophie was holding it while she and Ruth listened to Cindy.
Cindy was talking too fast for Magda to understand; but Ruth and Sophie were hanging on her every word as they passed the gold medal between them.
As she continued talking Cindy eased the straps of her swimsuit off her shoulders and pushed it down to her hips. She left her costume below her flat muscled stomach as she towelled her blond hair dry.
There was not an ounce of fat on Cindy Armour, the muscles of her torso and limbs stood out as she twisted to towel herself dry; her breasts were two firm bumps of flesh topped with small pink nipples.
Magda continued to watch over the top of the curtain as the three U.S. swimmers chatted. Casually, Cindy Armour hooked her thumbs into her costume, pushed it down to the floor and stepped out. She was now completely naked. However, the two other swimmers did not seem in the least bothered by Cindy's nudity, they continued to talk and pass her medal between them.
Magda had heard stories of the decadence of westerners. She assumed this casual attitude to nudity was part of that decedent nature.
Although she had been around locker rooms since her talent for swimming was noticed Magda still had a less liberal attitude to nudity. In East German locker rooms the athletes would change quickly. They would turn and face the wall until their privates were covered. It was unheard of for an East German swimmer to stand naked in the middle of a locker room whilst conversing with clothed colleagues.
Magda could not ignore Cindy Armour's nude body in the same way that the two Americans did. She was so taken with Cindy's body and her supreme self-confidence. Cindy was taller than the other two Americans. She had the perfect figure for a swimmer, tall, broad shouldered and long limbed.
Magda was aware that many of the western swimmers shaved their armpits. But as Cindy was standing there towelling off her body Magda was shocked to see that the American champion also shaved her privates. Not just a trim to keep everything inside her swimming costume but a total denuding of her pubic region.
As Cindy was so lean her privates were on full view to Magda. Her pudenda was a distinct lump of pale flesh below her tight abdomen and between her thighs, there was a pronounced split down the middle that formed the thin outer lips.
The American swimmers continued their conversation. Sophie said something that prompted Cindy to shrug her shoulders and throw her towel to the bench. The powerful looking black woman handed Cindy her gold medal. Cindy took the medal and draped the red ribbon around her neck.
She adjusted the ribbon so that the medal settled between her pert breasts. Magda held her breath and watched carefully. Sophie cupped Cindy's breasts in her hands and pushed them together so that the medal was held in place between the pale flesh.
