“So you feel less pressure now?”
“It’s a completely different kind of pressure. I’m trying to prove something to myself. That I can still do this, you know? I worked really hard to get back into competitive form, and I feel great, better than I have in a long time. So, basically, I want to show that my career’s not over.”
“I’d say you achieved that. Two gold medals.”
“There’s still a lot of swimming left.”
“And we wish you the best of luck, Isaac. Next up, Doug and I will be cooking up some authentic Spanish dishes. Stay with us for complete Olympics coverage here in Madrid.”
“And we’re at commercials,” said the director.
Isaac nodded and stood, anxious to get out of there. Then a male reporter jogged over. Isaac recognized him as one of the other morning show hosts. “Listen,” the reporter said. Again, he didn’t introduce himself, probably assuming Isaac would know his name, but Isaac was terrible at names. “I’d like to do a more in-depth interview with you. Hopefully we can make time for it before the end of swimming so we can air it as a lead-in. I’d wanted to do the story before the Olympics, but the network vetoed it because they thought you’d crash and burn here.”
And because they were off the air, Isaac said, “I’m only a human-interest story if I win medals, huh?”
The reporter shrugged. “The network controls the narrative going into the Games. You’ve been around long enough to know that. We’re limited to doing a set number of these packages and can only do them for athletes we think will win.”
“Thanks for your faith in me.”
“Hey, I thought you’d do well. This is exactly the kind of story viewers love. You hit rock bottom and then climb back up to win gold? That’s an amazing story.”
“So if we do this, do you want to talk about all of it? The alcoholism, the DUI, rehab, the whole thing.”
“We can discuss that. The important part of the story is really you making a big comeback.”
Did Isaac want to talk about it on national television? Would discussing it work out for him in the long run? “Can I think about it?”
“Sure. Here’s my number.” The reporter handed over a card. Marcus Holt. “Call or text me and we’ll set up a time.”
“All right.”
Isaac pocketed the card and then a PA maneuvered him back to the green room. He poured himself a cup of coffee while Sheri clucked about how great the interview was. Then she said, “We gotta get you back. You have your stuff to go straight to the pool?”
“Yeah, my bag is in the car, remember?”
“Oh, right. Yes. I’ll have Raul take us straight to the Aquatics Center.”
Isaac pilfered an apple but didn’t have time to add milk to his coffee before Sheri led him back out of the network’s offices. But coffee was coffee, and he needed the caffeine fix more than he needed to dull the harsh taste of coffee brewed in a three-gallon urn.
On the ride back, Isaac said, “Marcus Holt wants to interview me.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Sheri’s whole face lit up. “That would be great for you.”
“Well, he wants to do an interview that talks about my comeback, so I’d have to get into everything. I’d have to talk about the DUI and rehab.”
“Oh. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I brought it up. I can’t tell if it’s a good idea.”
Sheri tilted her head and appeared to think about it. “I don’t think it is. I mean, do you really want to air all that? The US Olympic team has already gotten its share of negative press. Like that gay diver who was dating the actor? You don’t want that kind of attention, do you?”
It looked like now was not the time to let Sheri know he’d spent the night with that gay diver. Even if they’d only slept in each other’s arms, and nothing else. “No, I guess not.”
“I mean, I can’t tell you what to do, but my recommendation would be to keep your head down and swim. Forget about the interview. You don’t need that kind of press.”
Some rebellious part of Isaac that bucked at people telling him when to shut up made him want to do the interview, but he said, “Okay. That makes sense.”
A FEW quick text messages led to Tim tracking down Jason. They met at the cafeteria for breakfast.
“Sorry for not coming back last night,” Jason said sheepishly as they sat down with their trays. Tim had opted for a vegetarian egg white omelet that looked delicious. Jason had a plate full of what looked like a variety of breakfast meats on top of a burrito.
“It’s okay,” Tim said. “I’m not your parent.”
“I ran into Becky Lowood last night. She’s that UK diver? The one who won the bronze at Worlds last year?”
“I know who she is, yeah.”
“Anyway, she came by the lounge after you went to bed. She’s good friends with Ginny and Kayla. So we got to talking. And then we kept talking… in her room. I mean, nothing really happened. We made out a little bit. But we didn’t, like, go all the way.”
Tim smiled. He found Jason’s little moments of immaturity charming. “It’s okay, Jason. I ended up going to see Isaac after he got back from celebrating his gold medals.”
“Isaac? Flood?”
“We’ve been hanging out. We’re friends.”
Jason tilted his head. “Friends or friends?”
“Unclear.” When Jason raised his eyebrows, Tim added, “I don’t know how public this is, so don’t go spreading it around, but he’s bisexual. I kind of thought something would happen last night, but he was too tired. Which is fine. Besides, it’s probably not a good idea to get involved with someone on the night before I have to dive.”
“I guess. You like him?”
“Yeah. I like him a lot. But don’t… I mean, I’m telling you this as a friend. Don’t tell anyone. Isaac and I have been hanging out and texting and we like each other, but I don’t really see it going anywhere. We live on opposite sides of the country.”
Jason grinned. “Who cares? It’s the Olympics, right? Everyone here has the dating apps on their phones turned on and is hooking up with everybody else. Ginny said the rhythmic gymnasts down the hall from her have been having a grand old time with a few of the guys from the Ukrainian rowing team.”
“Ha. Isn’t Ukraine one of our gymnastics rivals?”
“Isn’t the Olympics all about peace and love?”
Tim grinned. “I don’t know about all that.”
“It’s cool that Isaac won two races, though. How does he feel?”
“He’s doing well. He went to the broadcast center to do an interview this morning.”
“God, that’s so cool. Do you think we’ll be on TV if we win a medal? I mean, beyond the event broadcast.”
Tim had been all over the network’s programming four years ago, and he’d already filmed a package about his career heading into this Olympics. So he’d be on TV plenty, which meant Jason likely would too. “Yeah, probably.”
“My dad couldn’t fly down here because of work, so I hope he can watch.”
Tim nodded. “My parents are staying at the same hotel as most of the press. They keep running into reporters and, like, the retired Olympians who are here to do puff pieces on the news.”
“That’s amazing.”
Tim shrugged. It was amazing, but he’d gotten his fill of the press. “You feel ready for today?”
“Oh, yeah. I feel loose. Our practice dives this week have been pretty solid, yeah?”
“We’re good, yeah. I feel pretty confident. The trick, though, is to stay loose and calm. If you get nervous, you’ll tighten up and make mistakes. Maybe you don’t think you’ll be nervous, but I can tell you from experience that the pressure of competition? With all the people watching from the stands and the cameras and the Olympic logo everywhere? It can get to you.”
“I’ve got my headphones in my bag.”
“Good. And remember to jump up, not out, off the plat
form so we sync up better, like we practiced the other day.”
“Of course. I got it, Timmy. We got this.”
Tim appreciated Jason’s confidence. “Yeah. I think maybe we do.”
Chapter 11
Transcript of TBC Olympic coverage, profile of Timothy Swan
BELL (voiceover): Timothy Swan has been hailed by many as the next Greg Louganis. He’s an American diver who is universally agreed to have the most beautiful form in the air. He’s the first American diver in a while not to specialize but to compete in both the platform and springboard. And he’s an all-around athlete, getting his start in gymnastics and swimming before focusing on diving. This diving prodigy is a hometown boy. He grew up in Brookfield, Colorado, taking swimming, diving, and gymnastics lessons in nearby Boulder, and then he attended the University of Colorado, where he won the US Diving Championships four years in a row. He continues to train in Boulder with his coach, Donald Westfield.
SWAN: I love the mountains. It’s so beautiful here.
BELL (voiceover): Four years ago, Swan achieved the impossible. At the age of twenty, he performed a series of near-perfect dives and upset the Chinese divers, universally agreed to be unbeatable. But Timothy Swan was focused and flawless, and he comes to Madrid to defend his title in the ten-meter platform.
SWAN: I think I can do well on the springboard too. I missed it four years ago by a handful of points, but it’s there, that podium. I think I can get to it.
BELL (voiceover): But it’s been a difficult four years. He continues to rake up medals at home, but injuries kept him off the podium at the World Championships… twice. Some have questioned whether he’s still good enough to compete internationally, or if that Olympic gold medal was a fluke. And then there’s this.
SWAN (in an online video): This is a hard thing to do, but it’s really important for me to do it. I want my fans to know the real me. So I need to tell you, I’m gay. And this is my boyfriend, Patterson.
BELL: Do you have any regrets?
SWAN: About coming out? No. Never. Even after everything that’s happened… I mean, I get letters. I got one just last week, actually. This kid is a swimmer, not a diver, but he told me… he said his parents won’t approve of him, but he’s gay and he wants to be an Olympic athlete, and my coming out helped him think it was possible. And that’s everything, you know? If my coming out inspired only that one kid, it would be important. But I get letters like that a lot, hundreds of kids, and it’s amazing.
BELL (voiceover): But not everything has been amazing. A whirlwind romance with actor Patterson Wood culminated in a marriage proposal this January. It looked like Swan was on top of the world. But his happiness was short-lived. The couple split this May, mere weeks before the US Olympic Trials.
SWAN: It was hard emotionally. But diving saved me. Getting ready for the Trials and now the Olympics helped get my mind off of what happened with my relationship.
BELL: And how is training going?
SWAN: Really well. I have a new synchro partner, Jason. He’s a fantastic diver. Future of US Diving. You heard it here first.
BELL: Synchronized diving is a relatively new Olympic event. It’s why a lot of divers choose to specialize in the platform or the springboard. They’ll do two competitions in their specialty, the synchro and the individual. But you’re still doing the individual springboard event as well.
SWAN: I decided to give it a go. I did well at Trials.
BELL (voiceover): He did so well, he was the US men’s top qualifier in all of the events he entered.
BELL: You’re modest.
SWAN: I’m trying to be realistic. There’s a stacked field. Brilliant divers from China, Japan, Italy, England, and Australia. The medals could really go to anyone. On the one hand, it’s an exciting time to be diving and to realize that I can compete with all of these men. On the other hand, it’s a tough field to compete against. All I can do is keep training and put my all into it.
BELL (voiceover): Swan is modest, though. He’s an incredibly brave young gay man who is trying, at the age of twenty-four, to dive his way to another gold medal. Will he upset the Chinese again, or are they truly unbeatable? Does he have a real shot here? We’ll have to watch to find out.
Transcript: Men’s Synchronized Ten-Meter Platform Final
HOLLAND: Welcome back to the Domingo Aquatics Center. I’m Al Holland, and with me is Diane Bell. We’re here tonight for the finals of the men’s ten-meter platform final in synchronized diving.
BELL: I like the Americans’ chances in this competition, I have to say. Timothy Swan is the returning Olympic champion in the ten-meter platform. You’ll remember, four years ago, he gave a spectacular final dive that edged out the Chinese divers.
HOLLAND: But you have to admit, the Chinese are pretty hard to beat.
BELL: The team of Xiao and Ting are the reigning world champions, and they’ve been nearly flawless in the last three years of competition. I’m not sure anyone can beat them. Timothy Swan is paired up with a relative newcomer, Jason Evans. Evans was the junior world champion, but he has very little experience at this level. They could surprise us, and they’ve looked good all year, but this is a very deep field.
HOLLAND: In other words, you think the Chinese are going to win gold, but the Americans have an outside shot at a medal.
BELL: Well, yes. Don’t forget about the pair from Great Britain, though. They’re also a factor. They’ve looked great all year. And the Italians are also in the hunt, with the pair of Cologna and Burghini looking very good.
HOLLAND: Before we show you round two, let’s go to some highlights from round one. First up are the Italians.
BELL: These first-round dives are going to have a lower degree of difficulty, but look for the difficulty and the scores to go up each round. For this first dive, it’s all about both divers being in perfect sync with each other.
HOLLAND: All right. Well, let’s take a look at this dive from the Italians.
BELL: That was pretty great. Not a difficult dive. The degree of difficulty is only a 2.0. But both divers are in sync with each other. They’re off the platform together and quickly get into the pike position, then roll out and both enter vertically with very little splash. That’s what you want to do in your Olympic final.
HOLLAND: Still a lot more diving to go. The next pair up are Timothy Swan and Jason Evans.
BELL: Their practice sessions have looked good. Swan and Evans seem like a solid pair. Swan is a little cleaner than Evans and his form tends to be tighter. He’s a beautiful diver. But if these guys can demonstrate good synchronization, they have a shot at a medal. They’re doing the same first dive as the Italians.
HOLLAND: All right, here we go.
BELL: Oh, that was a great dive! You’ll see when we watch it in slow motion, they’re both off the platform at the same time. Evans is a little farther out from the platform than Swan, but that won’t affect the score. They’re very well in sync, as you’ll see here. Into the pike, and then they open up at the same time and they’re into the water cleanly. That was a great entry by both divers.
HOLLAND: And those scores put them ahead of the Italians….
BY ROUND three, Tim and Jason were in third place, behind the Brits and the Chinese, but the margin of difference between them was small enough that if Tim and Jason kept diving well, it was still anybody’s gold medal. The degree of difficulty of Tim and Jason’s last dive was higher than the Brits’, so they had a good chance of at least taking the silver.
Not that Tim was obsessing about the scoreboard.
Jason preferred to ignore it. Right now, he sat at the edge of a hot tub with his headphones on, bopping his head and mouthing the lyrics to whatever he was listening to.
Donnie looked grim when he walked over. “The Chinese have basically been perfect,” he said. “The Italians are right on your tail, only six points behind. If you whiff a dive, you’re off the podium.”
Well, gee. “I know,” Tim sa
id.
“Not that I think you will! You guys looked great out there! No major mistakes. I’m really proud of you. But just so you understand the stakes….”
“I do.”
Donnie nodded. “Okay. You guys are the only divers in the competition doing the double twist in the last dive, so this might be ours if you nail it. You looked great on that last dive, but Jason was a little slow. Remind him to use his abs, get his legs right into the tuck, and get past the hurdle faster. That way at least you’re better in sync.”
“I will.”
“Okay, good.” Donnie looked back at Jason. “What the hell is he listening to?”
Tim followed Donnie’s gaze. Jason looked nearly ecstatic as he mouthed the words to some song. He put a hand over his ears and mimicked being in a recording booth.
“Who knows?” Tim said. “If it keeps him from getting too nervous, that’s all that matters.”
“Yeah. That’s what’s doing the Russians in. Did you see them?”
“No.”
“They’re very nervous. Really tight. They’re not completing their rotations and are going in sideways. Same thing has been happening to that Australian pair.”
“Sherman and Colin? But they’re so good.”
“It’s the Olympics. Nothing is preordained. Keep that in mind. Don’t get cocky.”
“No. I don’t feel cocky.”
“Good.”
The one thing that sucked about competition at this level was that the waiting time between dives could be lengthy. Divers dawdled at the top of the platform, trying to calm their nerves. Judges seemed to agonize over scores, sometimes taking their own sweet time to post them. A few divers had balked, getting to the edge of the platform and then hopping back as if they were suddenly afraid. While it wasn’t illegal, judges tended to frown on that if the actual dive fell short of perfect. So it was a challenge to stay warm, and that was why there were showers and hot tubs near the platforms. Still, it was difficult to keep nerves in check if you had to wait a half hour between dives.
Here Comes the Flood Page 11