Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Part 142, Chapter 2572
Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-Two
21st July 1976
Montreal, Canada
The first few days of the Olympics were marred by further disqualifications. A Coach from the German teams had been caught dumping syringes and bottles containing residue of proscribed drugs into the Saint Lawrence River and anyone remotely connected to that man had gotten scrutinized twice over with a few of the members of the Track & Field team getting axed. Fortunately, Sabastian had not been a part of that circle, but it showed just how seriously they were taking doping this year. Sophie recalled some of the tests that she had been subjected to in the weeks leading up to the games and knew that nothing was considered outside the realm of possibility. Then one of the Russian competitors in the Modern Pentathlon, of all things, had been caught with a modified foil that would electronically record a touch if it merely got near an opponent. Suddenly, there was a whole lot more riding on those who were not seen as tainted by the various revelations. Or if Sophie was being particularly cynical, those who had not gotten caught yet.
This was the first year that they were holding Women’s Individual Road Cycling as an Event and there wasn’t much interest until the press caught wind of the events that had occurred during training between Sophie and her old rival Connie. It was just cutting comments and not subtle put downs, but this was exactly what they had been looking for. An honest to God rivalry between the best of their respective countries, that it was between a German and an American, so much the better. Then they found out about Sophie’s biography and that was just rocket fuel. That Sophie was from Reinickendorf which someone had told the American press was mostly housing estates, which were called projects in the United States. Sophie had tried to issue a statement correcting this by pointing out that she had lived there before the old decaying apartment tenements had been torn down to build the housing estates. That had not helped matters any and that stood in stark contrast to Connie, whose seemingly idyllic childhood in a Wisconsin suburb could not have been more different. While the American press had just shrugged at this news, the rest of the world had put in print that Sophie was a tough competitor who had fought hard to get where she was. That basically implied that the opposite was true with Connie.
What all of that meant was that by the time the race on the hilly Montreal Bicycling circuit was about to start that morning, Connie looked at Sophie with pure loathing. Looking over at the gathered crowd near the start/finish line, Sophie saw that her most of her adopted family, Kat, Doug, Jo, Tat, Kol, and Marie were watching. Doug was pointing a camera at her, making the most of his press credentials. Aunt Marcella’s poor health meant that she had not been able to travel but had sent a letter with Kat telling Sophie that she was really looking forward to watching her on television.
Then suddenly, the race began, and Sophie knew that it was everything that she had worked for over the last few years. Still she understood the strategy as she took her place in the middle of the pack as started what would be the first of several laps around the circuit. The start of the race was going downhill but after the first turn it became the arduous climb up Mont-Royal in the center of Montreal, Sophie had been told that she would need to be patient and conserve her strength for the final lap. The result was that the initial race wasn’t that exciting as it slowed to go up the hill. It was a twisty road with a cemetery on one side and a park on the other. Sophie ignored the various methods used to follow the race, including the helicopter overhead as she reached the top of climb and shifted gears to speed up going down what was called Remembrance Way, then was the next climb after a sharp right-hand turn, then several turns before the fast run east through the campus of the University of Montreal. To Sophie’s surprise the course was lined with students from the University many of whom were cheering her on specifically. Then the next climb was though a neighborhood full of stately homes as they went over a different part of Mont-Royal. It was then that the course went back to the wide avenue where the race turned around near the start/finish line.
Sophie lost track of time as she rode the first couple of laps, then she completed the circuit again and noticed that there was growing excitement. A glance at the clock revealed that she had made it to the final lap of the race. This had been the part that she had been saving her strength for as she peddled hard up the climb up Mont-Royal to break out of the pack. She wasn’t the only one though, a few others were breaking away including Connie. They crested the hill and descended in the highest gear before making that hard turn towards the university. Sophie realized that she was completely disregarding safety as she ran through the course. Getting ahead and staying there was all that was important.
As Sophie made the final descent on Avenue de Mont-Royal, it had become a real battle for first as she, Connie, and a pair of other riders who she didn’t know were racing only a few centimeters apart. They were French and British according to colors of their jerseys. As they made the final turn onto the final avenue Sophie pushed herself harder knowing in the back of her mind that there would be a price to pay for this later. The others kept pace as they made the fast turnaround on the avenue to approach the finish line. It was then that something happened which would be examined again and again in the coming years. Connie collided with Sophie. A photograph would reveal that the front wheel of Connie’s bicycle basically folded in half as she lost control and went down hard just a few meters from the finish line. Sophie only heard the clatter as she crossed the line while struggling to keep upright. There was cheering as Sophie skidded to a stop as the French and British riders crossed the line.
Looking back, Sophie saw what had happened to Connie who was getting to her feet. One of her knees was badly scraped and the way she was holding her arm suggested a potentially serious injury, her bicycle was not going another centimeter. It was the despondent look on her face that stuck with Sophie. She had wanted to win, but not like this.
21st July 1976
Montreal, Canada
The first few days of the Olympics were marred by further disqualifications. A Coach from the German teams had been caught dumping syringes and bottles containing residue of proscribed drugs into the Saint Lawrence River and anyone remotely connected to that man had gotten scrutinized twice over with a few of the members of the Track & Field team getting axed. Fortunately, Sabastian had not been a part of that circle, but it showed just how seriously they were taking doping this year. Sophie recalled some of the tests that she had been subjected to in the weeks leading up to the games and knew that nothing was considered outside the realm of possibility. Then one of the Russian competitors in the Modern Pentathlon, of all things, had been caught with a modified foil that would electronically record a touch if it merely got near an opponent. Suddenly, there was a whole lot more riding on those who were not seen as tainted by the various revelations. Or if Sophie was being particularly cynical, those who had not gotten caught yet.
This was the first year that they were holding Women’s Individual Road Cycling as an Event and there wasn’t much interest until the press caught wind of the events that had occurred during training between Sophie and her old rival Connie. It was just cutting comments and not subtle put downs, but this was exactly what they had been looking for. An honest to God rivalry between the best of their respective countries, that it was between a German and an American, so much the better. Then they found out about Sophie’s biography and that was just rocket fuel. That Sophie was from Reinickendorf which someone had told the American press was mostly housing estates, which were called projects in the United States. Sophie had tried to issue a statement correcting this by pointing out that she had lived there before the old decaying apartment tenements had been torn down to build the housing estates. That had not helped matters any and that stood in stark contrast to Connie, whose seemingly idyllic childhood in a Wisconsin suburb could not have been more different. While the American press had just shrugged at this news, the rest of the world had put in print that Sophie was a tough competitor who had fought hard to get where she was. That basically implied that the opposite was true with Connie.
What all of that meant was that by the time the race on the hilly Montreal Bicycling circuit was about to start that morning, Connie looked at Sophie with pure loathing. Looking over at the gathered crowd near the start/finish line, Sophie saw that her most of her adopted family, Kat, Doug, Jo, Tat, Kol, and Marie were watching. Doug was pointing a camera at her, making the most of his press credentials. Aunt Marcella’s poor health meant that she had not been able to travel but had sent a letter with Kat telling Sophie that she was really looking forward to watching her on television.
Then suddenly, the race began, and Sophie knew that it was everything that she had worked for over the last few years. Still she understood the strategy as she took her place in the middle of the pack as started what would be the first of several laps around the circuit. The start of the race was going downhill but after the first turn it became the arduous climb up Mont-Royal in the center of Montreal, Sophie had been told that she would need to be patient and conserve her strength for the final lap. The result was that the initial race wasn’t that exciting as it slowed to go up the hill. It was a twisty road with a cemetery on one side and a park on the other. Sophie ignored the various methods used to follow the race, including the helicopter overhead as she reached the top of climb and shifted gears to speed up going down what was called Remembrance Way, then was the next climb after a sharp right-hand turn, then several turns before the fast run east through the campus of the University of Montreal. To Sophie’s surprise the course was lined with students from the University many of whom were cheering her on specifically. Then the next climb was though a neighborhood full of stately homes as they went over a different part of Mont-Royal. It was then that the course went back to the wide avenue where the race turned around near the start/finish line.
Sophie lost track of time as she rode the first couple of laps, then she completed the circuit again and noticed that there was growing excitement. A glance at the clock revealed that she had made it to the final lap of the race. This had been the part that she had been saving her strength for as she peddled hard up the climb up Mont-Royal to break out of the pack. She wasn’t the only one though, a few others were breaking away including Connie. They crested the hill and descended in the highest gear before making that hard turn towards the university. Sophie realized that she was completely disregarding safety as she ran through the course. Getting ahead and staying there was all that was important.
As Sophie made the final descent on Avenue de Mont-Royal, it had become a real battle for first as she, Connie, and a pair of other riders who she didn’t know were racing only a few centimeters apart. They were French and British according to colors of their jerseys. As they made the final turn onto the final avenue Sophie pushed herself harder knowing in the back of her mind that there would be a price to pay for this later. The others kept pace as they made the fast turnaround on the avenue to approach the finish line. It was then that something happened which would be examined again and again in the coming years. Connie collided with Sophie. A photograph would reveal that the front wheel of Connie’s bicycle basically folded in half as she lost control and went down hard just a few meters from the finish line. Sophie only heard the clatter as she crossed the line while struggling to keep upright. There was cheering as Sophie skidded to a stop as the French and British riders crossed the line.
Looking back, Sophie saw what had happened to Connie who was getting to her feet. One of her knees was badly scraped and the way she was holding her arm suggested a potentially serious injury, her bicycle was not going another centimeter. It was the despondent look on her face that stuck with Sophie. She had wanted to win, but not like this.
There are so many athletes who have that * next to their names because they are suspected of doping, but it hasn't been proven. Records set in the 1970s & 80s that still stand today are a good indicator of drug cheats, ruined health in later years is another, as are premature deaths due to organ failure. Worse still are those who did not know that they were being doped by their coaches and/or team doctors and who still suffer the consequences to their health decades later.
I really hope that fear of Kat keeps Sophie's biological "family" from trying to re-insert themselves into her life.
I don't think Aunt Marcella is going to be with us for much longer.
They're cheering on their classmate's sister. I love that.
If we go by what happened IOTL, the Women's Individual Road Race is the only road cycle race for women for the next couple of Olympics until they have the team relays.
For Sophie, this means her Olympics are done for these games, and except for a couple of public appearances such a photo op with Kaiserine Suga among other things, her time now belongs to her, and she can do practically anything she wants to do within reason, but first the big Victory Party at the Blackwood's with everyone getting a chance to hold the Gold Medal and get photographed with it (including Margot).
Douglas Blackwood's photograph of the looks on both Sophie's and Connie's faces at the finish line showing the look of dismay and compassion on Sophie as she sees Connie in pain and Connie realizing that she had lost, has been named as one of the best sports photographs of the Twentieth Century.
For Sophie, this means her Olympics are done for these games, and except for a couple of public appearances such a photo op with Kaiserine Suga among other things, her time now belongs to her, and she can do practically anything she wants to do within reason, but first the big Victory Party at the Blackwood's with everyone getting a chance to hold the Gold Medal and get photographed with it (including Margot).
Douglas Blackwood's photograph of the looks on both Sophie's and Connie's faces at the finish line showing the look of dismay and compassion on Sophie as she sees Connie in pain and Connie realizing that she had lost, has been named as one of the best sports photographs of the Twentieth Century.
I wonder if that will be the start of Connie's transformation from loathing to respect for Sophie?
Part 143, Chapter 2573
Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-Three
22nd July 1976
Montreal, Canada
Sophie had gotten a gold medal yesterday which made Niko happy, he knew that if anyone deserved that honor it was her. That had come as his chances of getting any medals at all had grown further out of reach. He was going against older, stronger athletes who had more experience in the cross disciplines required for Modern Pentathlon. It wasn’t that he was doing badly in the events, it was that there were others who were simply better than him. That had grown apparent during the Equestrian of the first day when Niko had made what he had thought was an extremely good run in the Cross-Country Riding event only to come in third place.
Niko had had a brief bit of hope on the second day when Boris Onishchenko had been disqualified when he had been caught cheating, then found himself facing a British Soldier with two decades of experience on him in Fencing. He had made Niko look like a rank amateur and had made short work of him. While Niko had done much better in the other matches knew that he would need to place far higher than he had in Fencing to overcome the Swimming event, which was his weakest event on the fourth day. To his amazement, Niko had beaten the entire field on the third day at the Shooting event. It was tradition to use the Service Pistol of the host nation and the Canadian Army used a licensed version of the Walther P66 much like the one that Niko had trained with and carried throughout his time in Argentina.
The Fourth day hadn’t been as bad as Niko had feared it would be. He had come in second on the Three Kilometer Cross Country Run on the Fifth and final day of the Pentathlon and when the points had been tallied. In the end he came in fourth place overall with the German team barely edging out Sweden for the same fourth place finish. The worst part was that he had been doing it in front of his family and Bas’ who had flown in just to watch him compete. Niko had known that he had been facing long odds from the start, that didn’t mean that he liked to have such an outcome though. He was also at loose ends for until the Decathlon started the next Thursday, and he could watch Bas hopefully do better than he had. Perhaps he could go join Marie who had been dragooned into playing babysitter for a teenaged gymnast based on her language skills despite Romanian being a language that Marie didn’t actually know…
“Well, the man of the hour” Niko heard his grandfather say with a smile. It wasn’t just his grandfather, but his father, and Bas’ father as well. As if to add the exclamation point, Niko’s little sister Ingrid was peaking out from behind his father. He had no idea when he had picked up the habit, but Niko found himself snapping to attention whenever he was in their presence. An Admiral and two Field Marshals was at least a metric ton of brass.
“Hardly” Niko said, “You can’t hear that?”
God Save the Queen was playing as Jeremy “Jim” Fox, the same British Soldier who had beaten Niko so soundly in Fencing received a gold medal. The response by Niko’s grandfather was to laugh.
“He reacted exactly as you said he would Opa” Mathilda, who he had noticed until she spoke said.
“My God Niko” His father said, “You came in fourth at this level at the age of eighteen, give yourself a bit of credit.”
“He just hates to lose” Opa said, “I would expect nothing less.”
“Four years isn’t a long time as these things go and I’d wager that you’ll do better in Moscow” Tilo said. He and Aunt Nancy had arrived in Montreal with Bas’ sisters and had gotten a bit more than they were expecting. It had only been a few minutes before they had learned about Henni because Bas, that idiot, had told them. According to Gretchen, they were uncertain about how exactly to react to such a completely unexpected circumstance. There was also what Tilo had just said about Moscow. That was a real possibility, wasn’t it.
----------------------------------------------------------------
It was hard not to feel sorry for herself. Connie had left Berkley where she had been attending the University of California for Montreal with high hopes. Now only days later she was going back with her arm in a cast after having blown the race inches from the finish. She remembered what had happened in vivid detail, her trying to lunge past Sophie Sommers at the last possible second. Sophie been so focused on crossing the line that she had hardly noticed the collision while Connie had the handlebars wrenched around in her hands and the light-weight front wheel of her bicycle had collapsed as force had come from a direction it had not been built to take. Next she thing knew was the feeling of her body hitting the pavement and the sickening sound of bone snapping. Even if by some miracle she had been able to get back on her bike and cross the line it had already been too late as the pack of riders was crossing at that point. She had gone from being one of the leaders to dead last in an instant.
Finally, there was the photograph.
The newspapers had played up how it had been an exciting race with an unexpectedly close finish. The photograph that had run with that was of Sophie Sommers looking back after she had realized what had happened. Connie might have expected the look of smug superiority that Sophie always seemed to have at the end of a race. Instead, she looked dismayed and concerned . Connie had not noticed that at the time and Sophie had vanished into a crowd of her supporters seconds later.
22nd July 1976
Montreal, Canada
Sophie had gotten a gold medal yesterday which made Niko happy, he knew that if anyone deserved that honor it was her. That had come as his chances of getting any medals at all had grown further out of reach. He was going against older, stronger athletes who had more experience in the cross disciplines required for Modern Pentathlon. It wasn’t that he was doing badly in the events, it was that there were others who were simply better than him. That had grown apparent during the Equestrian of the first day when Niko had made what he had thought was an extremely good run in the Cross-Country Riding event only to come in third place.
Niko had had a brief bit of hope on the second day when Boris Onishchenko had been disqualified when he had been caught cheating, then found himself facing a British Soldier with two decades of experience on him in Fencing. He had made Niko look like a rank amateur and had made short work of him. While Niko had done much better in the other matches knew that he would need to place far higher than he had in Fencing to overcome the Swimming event, which was his weakest event on the fourth day. To his amazement, Niko had beaten the entire field on the third day at the Shooting event. It was tradition to use the Service Pistol of the host nation and the Canadian Army used a licensed version of the Walther P66 much like the one that Niko had trained with and carried throughout his time in Argentina.
The Fourth day hadn’t been as bad as Niko had feared it would be. He had come in second on the Three Kilometer Cross Country Run on the Fifth and final day of the Pentathlon and when the points had been tallied. In the end he came in fourth place overall with the German team barely edging out Sweden for the same fourth place finish. The worst part was that he had been doing it in front of his family and Bas’ who had flown in just to watch him compete. Niko had known that he had been facing long odds from the start, that didn’t mean that he liked to have such an outcome though. He was also at loose ends for until the Decathlon started the next Thursday, and he could watch Bas hopefully do better than he had. Perhaps he could go join Marie who had been dragooned into playing babysitter for a teenaged gymnast based on her language skills despite Romanian being a language that Marie didn’t actually know…
“Well, the man of the hour” Niko heard his grandfather say with a smile. It wasn’t just his grandfather, but his father, and Bas’ father as well. As if to add the exclamation point, Niko’s little sister Ingrid was peaking out from behind his father. He had no idea when he had picked up the habit, but Niko found himself snapping to attention whenever he was in their presence. An Admiral and two Field Marshals was at least a metric ton of brass.
“Hardly” Niko said, “You can’t hear that?”
God Save the Queen was playing as Jeremy “Jim” Fox, the same British Soldier who had beaten Niko so soundly in Fencing received a gold medal. The response by Niko’s grandfather was to laugh.
“He reacted exactly as you said he would Opa” Mathilda, who he had noticed until she spoke said.
“My God Niko” His father said, “You came in fourth at this level at the age of eighteen, give yourself a bit of credit.”
“He just hates to lose” Opa said, “I would expect nothing less.”
“Four years isn’t a long time as these things go and I’d wager that you’ll do better in Moscow” Tilo said. He and Aunt Nancy had arrived in Montreal with Bas’ sisters and had gotten a bit more than they were expecting. It had only been a few minutes before they had learned about Henni because Bas, that idiot, had told them. According to Gretchen, they were uncertain about how exactly to react to such a completely unexpected circumstance. There was also what Tilo had just said about Moscow. That was a real possibility, wasn’t it.
----------------------------------------------------------------
It was hard not to feel sorry for herself. Connie had left Berkley where she had been attending the University of California for Montreal with high hopes. Now only days later she was going back with her arm in a cast after having blown the race inches from the finish. She remembered what had happened in vivid detail, her trying to lunge past Sophie Sommers at the last possible second. Sophie been so focused on crossing the line that she had hardly noticed the collision while Connie had the handlebars wrenched around in her hands and the light-weight front wheel of her bicycle had collapsed as force had come from a direction it had not been built to take. Next she thing knew was the feeling of her body hitting the pavement and the sickening sound of bone snapping. Even if by some miracle she had been able to get back on her bike and cross the line it had already been too late as the pack of riders was crossing at that point. She had gone from being one of the leaders to dead last in an instant.
Finally, there was the photograph.
The newspapers had played up how it had been an exciting race with an unexpectedly close finish. The photograph that had run with that was of Sophie Sommers looking back after she had realized what had happened. Connie might have expected the look of smug superiority that Sophie always seemed to have at the end of a race. Instead, she looked dismayed and concerned . Connie had not noticed that at the time and Sophie had vanished into a crowd of her supporters seconds later.
Last edited:
Will Mathilda be able to spend some time with Opa in Western Canada, courtesy of Sir Malcolm? A whole different set of flora and fauna that she can get to see and experience and Opa might get to see something too.
With Kat just across the border how many folks in the US agency that are known by just their initials having to change there underwear on a repetitive basis every time she leaves the house?
Are we shipping Bas and Henni yet or do we wait till after the Olympics?
With Kat just across the border how many folks in the US agency that are known by just their initials having to change there underwear on a repetitive basis every time she leaves the house?
Are we shipping Bas and Henni yet or do we wait till after the Olympics?
Nadia Comaneci getting a 10 might distract him, isn't she a little young at 14 though?
Romanian language is a romance language like Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian, so Marie should be able to pick it up fairly quickly,
Also, IOTL, the French language was spoken by a lot of people in Romania before the 1948 Communist takeover, so Marie may be able to communicate that way.
Also, IOTL, the French language was spoken by a lot of people in Romania before the 1948 Communist takeover, so Marie may be able to communicate that way.
This is where, once the pain fades and the bone heals, that the respect will start to grow.
I'm looking forward to the middle distance running. With no apartheid in South Africa, the African nations won't boycott in response to the All Blacks rugby tour of South Africa. This means that the New Zealand and Finnish runners will have the Kenyans and Ethiopians to compete against.
How about the rivalry between the US Women Olympic Swim Team and the German Women Olympic Swim Team without the OTL 'roided up East Germans.
The scene in Top Secret! with the East German Women's Olympic Team with the team being the obvious visual gag has been butterflied in TTL.
And now we sing the National Anthem...
Hail, Hail East Germany
Land of fruit and Grape
Land where you'll regret
Any try to escape
No matter if you take a running jump
Or tunnel under the wall
Forget it, the guards will kill you
If the electrified fence doesn't first!