Maybe it’s because they’ve learned to live life that bit faster, maybe it’s because they’re doing it for someone they love; in the Olympic cycling time trial, being a mother is no obstacle to getting on the podium.
The American winner, Kristin Armstrong, retired from competitive cycling in 2009 to have a baby.
Few people doubted that she would get back on her bike, though some might have doubted she would get back to exactly where she left off, winning her second straight Olympic time trial gold on Wednesday at age 38.
And Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya, whose bronze was her second after Sunday’s road race, has two small boys at home of barely school age.
How do they manage it?
“My son has given me balance,” Armstrong said. “I can stop thinking about cycling.”
Just like Gold!
Did you like any of the characters? Kate, Jack, Zoe, Sophie, Tom?
What did you think of the topic of sacrifice vs. fleeing responsibilities?
Did you think the backdrop of cycling in the Olympics was well crafted?
Was it exciting to follow the story?
What did you think of the ending?
By the end, I even hated Kate’s goody-two-shoes holier-than-thou existence.
I think it’s incredibly hard to write a novel about the Olympics.
I predict the story will be turned into a Hallmark Channel made for TV movie.
One man’s opinion.
Facing the prospect of never cycling competitively again, Zoe takes a long, hot shower and emerges determined to take back what Kate “stole” from her: her daughter. The most immediate problem with this plan is that, unbeknownst to Zoe, Sophie happens to be in the middle of very serious surgery in the hospital. Thus Zoe hightails it to the hospital to tell Sophie the news.
Call me slightly thick but it took me a day or so to make the connection between this setup and the infamous scene in The Empire Strikes Back , despite it being specifically referenced through Sophie’s drug-induced dreaming. We get the sense that Zoe’s telling Sophie would be such an emotional blow to her that it might tip the scales of her chances of surviving the already risky surgery. I at least got the sense that Zoe was not armed so much with news, but with a dagger.
This idea is of course justified by Kate’s desperate attempts not to let Zoe tell Sophie. Just outside Sophie’s hospital room, Zoe attacks Kate, saying that she shouldn’t have gotten up after the crash to re-race Zoe.
Kate looked up at her though tears. “Is that what this is about? Because you can have it. You can have my place in London. I’ll phone British Cycling right now. I’ll tell them I cheated. I’ll tell them I sabotaged your bike. I’ll tell them anything you need me to, Zoe, just please leave Sophie out of it.”
Here’s Kate’s heroic moment— her realization that she is a mother first and an athlete second. That nothing is more important to her than Sophie.
Again, it reminded me of Annie-Marie Slaughter’s piece on working women, specifically this sentence:
When I described the choice between my children and my job to Senator Jeanne Shaheen, she said exactly what I felt: “There’s really no choice.” She wasn’t referring to social expectations, but to a maternal imperative felt so deeply that the “choice” is reflexive.
Thankfully (and unlike Sophie’s Star Wars dreams), Zoe sees this as proof of Kate’s tremendous sense of motherhood, and ultimately tells Sophie not that she is her mother, but instead that she is so lucky to have the parents she has.
Phew, what an ending! Did you see the Sophie-is-Zoe’s-daughter twist coming? Did you bet on Kate to win the single spot in the Games? In the end, does Kate “have it all”? Let us know what you think. And more from us in a few minutes.
Alright guys. For real this time— our last Tumbly chat for ‘Gold,’ coming to you at 2 pm ET today. As always, you can start submitting thoughts, questions, etc. now.
Sorry y’all we got a little side-tracked today. The good news is that you get a one-day extension to finish our book, ‘Gold’!
We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.
Hope you all have finished ‘Gold.’ What a finale! If you haven’t turned the last page I’d recommend staying away from this Tumblr today, because we’ll have plenty of spoilers up during our chat.
For those of you who have finished, see you this afternoon. Although don’t hesitate to submit any awesome thoughts/questions/discussion points ahead of time.
Thanks for your input on the chat today!
For our next assignment, we’ll be finishing the book by this Tuesday, the 31st. Who do you think will make it to the games!?
Reading Olympics hit novel #GOLD by Chris Cleave? Here’s your companion playlist on Spotify! Don’t forget to join the DAILY BEAST & NEWSWEEK BOOK CLUB #GOLD chat today!
Gold Digger - Kanye West
Goldfinger - Shirley Bassey
Golden Ticket/I Want It Now - Harry Connick Jr.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold - Dinah Shore
Your Gold Teeth - Steely Dan
Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac
Goldeneye - Tina Turner
Fields of Gold - Sting
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
Gold to Me - Ben Harper
Silver and Gold - U2
Golden Age - TV On the Radio
Golden - Jill Scott
Golden Lady - Stevie Wonder
Golden Years - David Bowie
Band of Gold - Freda Payne
Gold On the Ceiling - The Black Keys
From our friends at Simon & Schuster, a Gold-themed playlist.
(Source: Spotify)
