up for the next Olympics married and have to do those fluffy news pieces about your epic romance and it will be super adorable.”
“Doubtful,” said Tim, though he smiled and wished that would turn out to be the case. “In order for that to happen, I’d have to marry Isaac, who I’ve only known for, like, nine days, and I’d have to make the Olympic team four years from now, which who even knows if I’ll be able to do.” He spoke softly. The crowd around them jumped and cheered, so he didn’t think they’d be overheard, but he was hyperconscious of the fact that the wrong person would report what he said to the media.
“How old are you, Timmy?” asked Ginny.
“Twenty-four.”
“Well, I’m twenty-eight, and as the older and wiser of us, I can say that you, my dear, will most definitely be able to make the next Olympic team, barring injury. Knock on wood.” She looked around as if she were trying to find wood to knock on, but there were only the plastic benches of the stands, so she knocked on Jason’s head.
“Ow,” said Jason.
“Well, from your lips to God’s ears,” said Tim. “I mean, you realize he’s going to have to do a ton of press now, so I may not even get to see him much.”
“Like you haven’t been spending every night together,” said Jason.
Ginny grinned triumphantly.
Heat flooded Tim’s face. “Fine. Whatever, guys. Plan our wedding. But, again, Tom Daley didn’t make the finals.”
“Nah.” Ginny grinned and threw an arm around Tim. “It’s too perfect. It will work out.”
Chapter 21
Day 11
Transcript: Men’s Three-Meter Springboard Final
HOLLAND: Who are your favorites going into this final?
BELL: Well, the Chinese divers, of course. Wao Yan has looked fantastic through all of the preliminary rounds. Near perfect. His countryman He Qian less so. He had a rough semifinal and barely made this final, but it doesn’t matter. All of the previous scores are thrown out. If he dives cleanly today, he has an excellent shot at a medal. Other favorites are Kevin O’Roarke from Australia, who is tremendously strong. He’s the reigning Olympic champion in this event. And we’ve got divers from Italy, Portugal, Canada, and Russia who are in this mix.
HOLLAND: And we can’t forget the Americans.
BELL: No, we definitely should not count them out. Lance Steele is the current American champion, and he looked good through the prelims, qualifying in fifth. But, of course, there’s Timothy Swan.
HOLLAND: It’s rare for divers to do both the springboard and platform events these days, right?
BELL: It’s true, divers today tend to specialize. Jumping off the platform is a different skill than jumping off the springboard. And now that synchronized diving is in the mix, doing three events is too much for a lot of athletes. But Timmy Swan is not just any athlete. He’s stronger off the platform, but he’s a solid springboard diver too, and he qualified for both at the Olympic Trials, so he’s doing both here. But three events can be pretty hard on the body. I half expected Swan to scratch this event, but no, here he is.
HOLLAND: What do you think his chances are?
BELL: I like him better for a medal in platform diving, but if he keeps his dives clean, he’s got some of the hardest difficulty-level dives we’ll see today, so he can get big scores. If he keeps it clean.
HOLLAND: Looks like we’ve got some familiar faces in the audience too. There are a few members of USA Swimming sitting in the stands. There are a pile of medals between them. Luke Rogers, Katie Santiago, and Isaac Flood practically need a wheelbarrow for all the hardware they will be bringing home.
BELL: Nice to see them coming out to support their Team USA colleagues.
HOLLAND: And there’s Greg Louganis. He’s become something of a mentor to the US divers. Tim Swan in particular has called Louganis his hero.
BELL: That might be part of why he’s doing platform and springboard here. Louganis did both in his day.
HOLLAND: Swan will get a few days’ rest between events, at least.
BELL: That is true, and he’s not even the only diver entered in both. Roberto Jimenez of Mexico is also doing both and is a diver not to be overlooked. Mexico has a long tradition of sending excellent divers to the Olympics, and Roberto is pretty great. The difficulty level of his dives is not as high as the Chinese divers’ or even Timothy Swan’s, but if he dives well,