Twenty Five Races Ch 03

Gold Rush, Twenty-Five Races Part Three

***

My biggest fear became a reality. I didn't perform. It was mid-October, and this was the third World Cup race in a row with disappointing race times.

The races were all over the world, and Eric couldn't accompany me due to his work. We had a lot of video calls, and I told him how I missed him. He tried to cheer me up, but we both knew what I needed. I needed Eric to be around for some intimacy.

The team atmosphere was tense. Team managers were under a lot of pressure. I was supposed to be a gold medal candidate, and suddenly, I was out of shape. My teammates supported me; they all knew about my situation.

Nobody on my team had the nerve to address the giant pink elephant in the room. The Dutch press slowly started hinting that I might not be the best athlete to attend the Olympics. It all hurt a lot.

***

During the third World Cup race weekend in Calgary, Canada, Eric surprised me with a visit. While doing my training laps, I suddenly saw him on the tribune, waving a flag with my name. I skated right to him, "Eric!"

He was grinning, "I came to support my favorite girl."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I wanted to surprise you and help you to show the world you're the best."

Later that evening, the team dragged him to our hotel for food and banter, but after dinner, I went with Eric to his hotel to release weeks of pent-up frustrations. I think I almost killed him by wearing him out. My body wasn't taking no for an answer, and after his third, "Oh God," I made him service me with his tongue. Twice. Poor guy.

The following day, we got back to the team hotel for breakfast. The team has its own cook and dietitian, so we could eat the diet specially designed and made for each individual athlete. Of course, Eric could eat all he wanted.

When we entered the breakfast room, everyone got quiet. I could hear the team manager whispering to one of our medical guys, "Look at her. She's glowing."

Needless to say, that day, I won the race with the season's best time and was back being the number one favorite for the upcoming Olympics. Eric was cheering for me on the tribune.

***

Things changed after dinner.

Eric took me to his room and had a serious look, "We've got to talk. This weekend, you proved to me and the world you're the very best. To be the very best, your body needs sex. Nobody understands it, not even your medical team."

I feared his next words, "You've also proved to me today that you've been faithful. You're willing to risk your chance on gold to stay with me. I don't want you to. I know how hard you worked for it, and I want you to have a great chance to win it. Therefore, because I love you, I have to set you free."

It took me time to process his words, "Are you breaking up with me?"

"Tomorrow, I will fly to Okinawa, Japan, for a research project of five months. In the meantime, I want you to go after the gold medal.

We'll pause our relationship for the next five months. In these five months, you will give everything to win the gold and make me proud. I'll be there during your race to cheer you on. So, you better make damn sure you win."

Tears were running over my face, "Eric, I only want you!"

"Ellen, now's the time to be honest. You want to win the gold medal as much as you want to stay with me. You said for yourself that you can't choose. Therefore, I make this choice for you. I want you to go for the gold. Even if that means you have to fuck some guys. I'm giving you this freedom. But I won't share you. Our love relationship stops after tonight. We'll meet after the Olympic race and see what happens next."

That night, my emotions took over, and we made gentle love. He was my lover and best friend, and he made the most difficult decision for me, the one I couldn't make myself, fully aware it would cost him our relationship.

Would our love be big enough to overcome the next five months? Only time could tell.

***

The following morning, we scheduled meetings with team management and the medical team.

Eric explained our situation, "We all want Ellen to win the next gold medal. Yesterday we all saw she's the very best. To be the very best, her body needs sex. We all know how Ellen's body responds to sex. Yesterday's result was the ultimate proof to me. Therefore, I've decided to give Ellen her freedom. We're breaking up, so if she wants to, she can have sex with other people before the races without feeling guilty and having nightmares and risking yet another depression."

Team managers were aghast. The medical staff were nodding as they understood. Meanwhile, I was crying softly.

Eric continued, "I will fly to Japan today for a five-month assignment. I will help and support Ellen as a friend from a distance. I do have a request. I want two tickets for the Olympic race and access to Ellen in the mixed zone after the race."

The talk continued for over an hour, and in the end, they all agreed this might be the best solution.

When Eric left for the airport, we had a heartbreaking goodbye. I even got physically ill due to the break-up.

***

Team management decided to let me stick to the originally planned schedule. It has a week-by-week schedule of training, racing, and tampering. Tampering means that for a week, you do nothing after a heavy training period. It will allow my body to get in top form.

Eric and I kept having video calls. With his camera, he gave video tours around his new workplace and temporary condo. His workplace was huge, and he had a small condo, but Eric seemed to like it. We talked about my training schedule and progression. We didn't talk about what the future of our relationship would look like after these five months.

***

Pretty fast, I got offers from team members to have sex before the race. Everyone on the team knew of my situation, and a few offered to help me.

Team managers made it clear that I was free to do what I wanted, but they would not allow any cheating and wanted me to keep the medical team posted.

The first offer was from Jerry, one of the physiotherapists. He is a nice guy, about ten years older than me. He is an amateur long-distance runner, with distances of 10 kilometers up to the marathon. After he had done my daily sports massage, he casually remarked, "Ellen, you know I'm not the type of person to be in a committed relationship. I want you to know that my door is open whenever you feel like it."

That night, I knocked on his door for a test drive. He became one of my new regulars.

The second guy was a bit trickier. Sven was a cook's intern, shy and a bit young, not even twenty yet. The cook told me that Sven had the hots for me, leading to lots of laughter.

I first went to our team doctor. Would it be okay for me to hook up with him? I asked our doctor, "I might be his very first. Would that be morally right? Shouldn't it be a girl his age?"

"Ellen, you're every boy's wet dream," winking, "You might be able to teach him some tricks."

With that information, the cook and I devised a plan. The cook would send Sven to my room with some fruit as an evening snack.

When he knocked on my hotel room door, I let him in, only wearing my bathrobe, "Hi Sven, are you my late-night snack?"

I took his hand, walked, and climbed on the bed, and with my bathrobe now open showing him my breasts and pussy, and asked him, "Could you feed me some fruit?"

I had to coach and teach him, which was very rewarding. He became another new regular.

The third offer was a surprise. A female skater, Clarissa, came one day after training, "Ellen, I have to ask, I know you're straight. Have you ever considered being with a woman?"

"No, I never even thought about it. Are you offering?"

She blushed, "I wouldn't mind going down on you. You don't have to go down on me. But I've been wondering how you would taste."

It took me a week, and then my hormones made my decision, fuck it, let's give it a try.

She came over the same night and put a mask on me, "So you can fantasize about all the hunks you did," and sent me with her tongue to Heaven. My God, this woman was something else! Eric was definitely going to get some lessons from her.

She didn't become a regular, but it was a great experience.

***

The holiday season was a regular training period for us. With the upcoming Olympics, we had to. There was no extravagant Christmas dinner because we had to keep to our diet. The cook did try to add some extras, but all within boundaries.

I visited my mum for two days and stayed at her place. My mum knows everything about what happened between Eric and me. We had a video call, and he told us he was invited for Christmas by a colleague. We made small talk and a lot of banter. My mum knows how much I miss him.

"Don't give up, Ellen. That boy loves you."

I hoped my mum was right because I felt the distance between us growing.

***

In the period before the Games, the team dynamics got more hectic. Team managers tried to keep us focused on training and racing. The press and media were pressing for more time from us athletes. I got a lot of media attention because I was a candidate for the gold medal.

My press officer politely but decisively declined all questions about my sexual harassment case, "Ellen is here to prepare for her Olympic race. Let's stay with that."

Meanwhile, Eric was busy finishing his project.

Three days before the start of the Olympics, we arrived at the Olympic Village. We kept our routine and approached this race like a World Cup race.

Team management's game plan was to consider this as one of many races, to prevent extra stress and ensure everyone knows what to do.

We went to the opening ceremony, and walking into the stadium with all the countries waving their flags gave us goosebumps.

Eric was still in Japan, and during our video call, I showed him around our dorms and a bit of the Olympic Village. He would arrive a day before the race.

His last words were, "Ellen, go get them!"

***

"Go to the start."

We were the last couple to race today. My body was full of adrenaline. My muscles were hot due to an intensive warm up. Mentally, I was ready to do the thing I've done a thousand times. My mind shortly wandered off to Eric. He must be sitting someplace in the stadium, probably even more nervous than I was.

"Ready."

I was ready. I was going to show the world that I'm absolutely the best. I owed it to myself and Eric.

"Set."

I was surprisingly calm, focusing on the starter. Breathe and relax.

The start gun went off, "Go!"

From that moment on, I was nothing more than a racing machine. Years of practicing had made my body an automated robot, making my mind shut off and skating the race accurately to the inch. Everything came together, the hard training, the schedules, nutrition, resting, and my skating technique. I felt I had never been this fast, and I was flying.

We were nearing the finish line, and I knew I was way ahead of the girl in the other lane. When I crossed the finish line, I looked up at the scoreboard.

It had in capital letters, "OLYMPIC RECORD. WORLD RECORD."

Unbelievable! Gold! I won Gold! I did it!

The stadium went berserk, and the crowd was cheering. My teammates gathered around me, all screaming, yelling, and celebrating.

People guided me back to the ice to make my lap of honor. I waved to everyone and picked up a few stuffed animals. Next, I pulled off my skates and put my shoes on. I needed to get into the mixed zone. My team promised me that Eric would be there, and I couldn't wait to see him after five months.

In the mixed zone, I spotted Eric immediately. He was waiting with a bright smile, and we hugged. It felt so good having his arms around me. He was holding me tight.

"Eric, I won! Did you see the race?"

"Ellen, you did fantastic. I knew you would do it. I'm so proud and happy for you."

We hugged again, and I could feel my emotions running through my body. Oh, how I missed him.

When I stepped back, I noticed Eric was holding hands with a girl. I didn't understand why he was holding hands with a girl, so I looked at him questioningly.

"Ellen, let me introduce you to Beth."

Beth smiled friendly at me, "Congratulations Ellen."

My team leader grabbed my arm, "Ellen, you've got to go to the Medal Award Ceremony," and pulled me along.

In shock, I walked back with my team leader to the stadium. I tried to wrap my head around it. Eric had been there with a girl, and they were holding hands. It also dawned on me he never promised or said we would get together after the Olympics. He only wanted me to focus on the Olympic race.

I was starting to get mad. The bastard! He had moved on. Then, my breathing nearly stopped. Oh God. No! I've lost him! Tears were running down my face. My anger and denial emotions were fighting each other.

The stadium applauded when the team leader brought me to the podium, where we had to wait for the ceremony to start. First, the stadium speaker would call the bronze medalist, then the silver medalist, and lastly me. I barely noticed my surroundings.

I tried to put on a fake smile, but I couldn't. It was supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, and I was crying my heart out.

The bronze medal girl got called and stepped on the podium. She was a surprise, and her times this season didn't indicate she would win bronze. She was beside herself with happiness.

Next was the silver medal girl. Her second place was as expected. She was beaming on the podium.

I was next and jumped on the podium. The ISU chair stepped forward to put the gold medal around my neck.

When he put the gold medal around my neck, the realization hit me hard. I'd won the gold medal, but I'd lost Eric. Like an old gold miner, the blindness for gold has cost me my future.

Then everything faded to black.

***

"Welcome back at 'Today's News'."

The host started, "Did you watch the race?"

Co-host one responded, "Oh, what a fabulous race was that. She crushed the competition. This race is by far the highlight of these Olympics."

Co-host two added, "Good for her. I'm glad she won, with all the problems she had to overcome last year with the sexual harassment case. Do you happen to know what happened to that boyfriend of hers?"

The host answered, "They've seemed to split up and are not together anymore. But he was spotted in the audience."

Co-host two said, "As he should be. That boy did great, stepping up for her and not letting her down during that harassment case."

Co-host one asked, "Did you also see the Medal Award ceremony?"

The host replied, "Yes, she couldn't stop crying before she fainted, could she? This year must have been an emotional rollercoaster for her.

Anyway, let's move on to the next subject. What do you think of the new PSV midfielder?"

***

To be continued.