Citius, Altius, Fortius

The weirdest thing about being a two-time Olympic medalist is the mixed reactions I get when people find out. There are three main reactions we’ve come across.

Some people get really excited. Little kids who are into diving think I’m the coolest person they’ve ever met. They ask for my autograph and treat me like I’m some super famous celebrity. I love those moments.

Some people my age also treat me like I’m a celebrity. A lot of the people I’ve met in college have thought it’s just “so cool” that they know an Olympian. Aubrey and I have a feeling they just want to be able to tell their friends back home that they know us. Or they want to use us to increase their own popularity. But we understand that. We’re the exact same way with some of the other Olympians and real celebrities that we’ve met. It’s less of a problem, considering it’s the most common reaction. It mostly just gets annoying after a while.

It’s not just other students, either. Some of my professors are like that, too. There’s one in particular who loves when Aubrey and I take her classes. Her niece is a fan of ours, and in turn she has become one as well.

There are also people who truly don’t care. And that’s okay with us. Some professors barely even recognize that we’re student athletes. They just treat us like we’re regular students. And quite honestly, it’s refreshing at times. There’s no special treatment, no lingering side glances, and no blurred lines.

Finally, there are the people who act like they don’t care. The people who act like they don’t care annoy me more than anything else. Honestly, I don’t really care either way if you do or don’t care about my diving career. But don’t act like you’re indifferent if you think that’s what it will take to become friends with me.

Aubrey and I ran into that problem last spring. A girl in our art history class was like that throughout the entire semester. She sat near us in class, joined us in the student center for lunch afterwards, and even invited herself to join us for our group project. Which of course included inviting her to our apartment to work on it.

The entire time, she pretended like she didn’t know about our careers. She never once mentioned London or the fact that we dive for the school, even though we basically wore nothing but OSU Diving clothing the entire semester. And that didn’t bother us. We figured maybe she just thought we were nice.

Then, right before finals week, one of our friends on the basketball team told us that he had overheard her talking about us in another class. She apparently was telling her friend all about the inside of our apartment, our personalities, and other very personal things that she’d noticed over time. He said it seemed as though she was almost a super-fan, hiding behind a fake personality.

Aubrey and I learned in that moment that we need to be more careful with who we let into our lives. Because in reality, we don’t know their true intentions. Outside of the other student-athletes and friends we already have, we’ve agreed to refrain from inviting people to our apartment anymore.

I think our saving grace sometimes is that diving really isn’t a popular sport, and OSU is a rather large school. Many people just pass by us without any clue about who we are, and what we’ve done. At such a large school, we can easily blend in with the crowd and avoid difficult situations.

Unfortunately, our anonymity isn’t going to last long this year. We’re both taking an upper level public speaking class, and the first assignment is to give a ten minute presentation introducing ourselves to the class.

Aubrey is the very first presenter in the class, and I can tell right away that most of the other students are intrigued when she starts talking about watching me in Beijing and competing in London. It makes me a little nervous to see how many people perk up when she clicks to the slide showing us receiving our medals. I know for sure there are a whole bunch of people who now want to be her friend. And when they find out I’m in this class too, it will get worse.

I know I have to bite the bullet, so I volunteer to go as soon as she’s done. I shift uncomfortably in my pencil skirt while my professor pulls up my presentation, and Aubrey gives me a small smile and a thumbs up.

“Hi, everyone.” I address the class. “My name is Victoria McKinley, but you all can call me Tori. Aubrey is actually my cousin, so some of the information and pictures you’re going to see will be repeats. I apologize for that.”

A couple people chuckle, and I loosen up a little. I click to the first picture, which is of my immediate family from this summer.

“I have a very large family. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Renee and Gregory McKinley. I am the fourth oldest out of six children, including four brothers. I have six nieces and nephews, five aunts and uncles, and nineteen cousins.”

I click to change the picture to one of me with my grandparents.

“As cousins, Aubrey and I share a set of grandparents. So this is where some of the information will overlap. My mother’s parents are Bruno and Helen Dabrowski. They immigrated to Pittsburgh from Warsaw, Poland when they were just teenagers. A couple years later, they settled down and had my mother. Like Aubrey, I also speak almost fluent Polish. It’s one of the things about myself that I am most proud of.”

I change the picture to another photo, this one of my paternal grandparents.

“Unlike my maternal grandparents, I have never met my father’s parents. My grandfather passed away a couple years before I was born, and my grandmother followed a couple months later.”

I change the photo again, and show a picture of Aubrey and myself as little girls at one of our first diving meets. This next series of pictures is one of my favorites that I’ve put together, since it highlights the best points of my career so far.

“Now, on to the part that you guys probably really want to hear.” I smile. “Aubrey and I both started diving when we were six years old. By the time we were twelve, we were ranked nationally as a pair, and I was ranked nationally on my own.”

Click.

“In 2008, as a fresh-faced junior in high school, I grabbed the final spot on the United States Olympic diving team and competed in Beijing, China. At just sixteen years old, I placed fifth overall and was the highest scoring American woman in the ten meter platform competition. At the time, it was the most amazing experience of my life. Even though I was disappointed with my placement.”

Click.

“Two years later, I signed on here at Ohio State University to compete with the women’s diving team. I don’t think anyone should be surprised to see that Aubrey was right by my side, signing her own contract as well. OSU was always my first choice. While my heart has lied with the University of Pittsburgh since birth, the swimming and diving program here is phenomenal and something I’ve wanted to be a part of for a long time.”

Click.

“Freshman year, the two of us led the Buckeye women’s diving team to one of the best seasons in the program’s history. Together, we dominated competition. And individually, we pushed each other to the best of our potential. Both our freshman and sophomore years, we won the national championship for synchronized diving. Freshman year, I came in second place at nationals, and sophomore year I finally came home with the individual championship.”

Click.

“Then came the 2012 Olympics in London, England. These Olympics were even more important to me than Beijing, because I finally had my partner in crime next to me.”

Click.

“No one expected the two American collegiate divers to seriously contend with the competition. They certainly didn’t expect us to medal. But Aubrey and I don’t like to listen to people who don’t believe in us. And together, we brought home the first ten meter synchro medal in a really long time.”

I can’t help but smile like a fool, saying that. It truly is one of my greatest accomplishments in my career. Click.

“Ten days later, Aubrey and I both competed in the individual competition. I- It still sucks to talk about this.” I laugh, nervously. “But I lost the gold medal to China’s Chen Roulin. By only two tenths of a point.” I sigh. “That really sucked. At the time, I thought it was the lowest moment of my career. I was beyond upset with myself and as soon as I came home, I threw myself into training as hard as I could.”

I swallow. This is always a rough topic to talk about. Very few people know about my downfall after London. My whole family doesn’t even know everything that happened.

“Unfortunately, last year- my junior year- I was unable to compete for the national championship. Two weeks prior to the competition, I over-rotated a dive and took a nasty face-plant into the pool, fracturing my nose and both cheeks. It sucked, watching from the sidelines. But I was proud when Aubrey brought home the individual title to OSU.”

Click.

“This year, I’m turning over a new chapter. Not only am I focused on my diving career, but I’m also fully focused on my future after diving. As a sports marketing major, I know I’ve got a head start on the networking aspect. But I also know that my skills on the job have to be able to match my skills in the pool.”

Click.

“My goals for this year are pretty simple. First and foremost, graduate college.” I smile. “Second, I’d like to finish with a solid GPA. I have a 3.2 right now, and I know I can raise it even higher if I do the very best that I can. Third, I’d like to be chosen for an on-camera internship with NBC Sports for the upcoming Sochi Olympics. I’ve already applied for it, and now I’m waiting for the first round of interviews.” I cross my fingers dramatically, and hear a couple people laugh. “And finally, I’d like to bring three national championships to Ohio State. The women’s team championship. The women’s synchro championship. And the women’s individual championship.”

I breathe a sigh of relief, satisfied with my presentation. My professor smiles at me and the whole room politely claps.

“You did great, motylku.” Aubrey whispers as I slide into my seat next to her.
“Thanks, zabko. You did, too.” I smile.
“I know.” She winks, and I can’t help but laugh.

The next kid up is a junior guy from Moscow, Russia. We’ve had a couple classes with him, and he’s one of the few people outside of the athletes that we consider our friend.

“Hello, my name is Alexander and I am not an Olympic medalist.” He jokes in his Russian accent. The class laughs, and he winks at the two of us.

I spend the rest of his presentation listening to the way his voice changes with the depiction in his words. Aubrey and I have always been fascinated with his accent, and have been know to occasionally tell him to talk to us just to hear him speak. It’s truly beautiful, the way he speaks.

Our friend Drew used to joke that he was going to lose me to Alex when we used to date just because of his voice. Drew and I didn’t work out as a couple, but we’re still friends. And he still makes fun of us for our odd love for our Russian friend.

That night, Drew and Alex are two of the people who join us in our apartment to watch the first Penguins game of the season.

Our teammates Rachel Lewis, Alexis Curry, and Troy Fisher also join us, along with Drew’s roommates Nick Porter and Will Harris.

“So how excited are you two for the start of the season?” Will asks, pulling his OSU Baseball hoodie over his head.
“Very!” Aubrey cheers. “Especially now that we’ve got connections to the team.”
I snort.
“We? Bree, I think you mean now that I have connections to the team.”
“Oh, shut up!” She laughs. “You know what I meant. Your connections are my connections.”
“Yeah yeah.” I chuckle.

“Oh, that’s right! Little Miss Superstar spent some time with hockey superstar Patrick Kane!” Nick jokes. “How was that?”
“It was great, actually. He’s a really sweet guy. And I happened to get to know a couple of other NHL superstars at the same time.”
“We’ve got tickets in Chicago and Pittsburgh whenever we want!” Bree brags.
“You’ll be bringing us, right?” Drew asks.
“Sure, whatever.” I laugh.

I tune out the rest of the group, instead turning to re-read my conversations from earlier on my phone.

Sunshine: hope ur watching 2nite’s game!
Tori: Of course! Wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Sunshine: :)

Tori: You better win tonight.
Pauly: Or what?
Tori: I’ll come home and kick all your asses.
Pauly: Well then. Yes ma’am ;)

Patty: Any chance you’re watching my game tonight?
Tori: When the Pens are at commercial :)
Patty: :( I’ll make u a Hawks fan. Just watch.
Tori: I’ll wear my pretty Hawks hat just for you.
Patty: I guess that’s acceptable. Snapchat or it didn’t happen.

“Puck’s about to drop!” Aubrey yells, pulling my attention back to reality.

I pull Pat’s hat onto my head and take a quick Snapchat selfie and send it to Pat. It’s game time, and the 2013 season is finally starting.

I can’t help but smile at the end of the game. My Penguins won, a decisive 3-0 shutout victory over the New Jersey Devils. I shower and pull on my favorite Pirates shirt, crawling into bed with my marketing text book and highlighter. I’m almost at the end of the chapter when my phone rings. I can’t help but smile when I see the goofy blonde photo pop up.

“Hey, Sunshine!” I answer.
“Tori! Did you watch the game?” Beau slurs.
“Of course I did! Have you been drinking?”
“Of course I have! We won!” I can’t help but chuckle.
“Beau, you have another game soon.” I chide, still chuckling.
“I know. But we’re all here and we’re all drinking. Not a lot, though. We have another game soon. Actually, I don’t know how much I’ve had to drink. Should I know?”

I laugh at my friend’s antics.

“So why are you calling me?” I ask.
“To make sure you did what you said! Also, last week Bortz said there’s no way I’m friends with you. Because you’re too hot. And I said I am. And now he’s saying it again. And he said prove it. So I called you. Say hi to Bortz.”

Suddenly the phone is passed to another male voice.

“Is this really Victoria McKinley?” He asks.
“Yes?” I laugh.
“Are you really friends with Sunshine?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Wow. You’re totally way too hot to be friends with a loser like him.”
“I think he’s a very nice guy.” I chuckle.
“Well apparently I need to learn from him. Who would have guessed?”

There’s a shuffling sound on the other end of the line and I bite back a laugh when I hear Bortz yelling at Beau to take his phone back.

“TORI!” Beau yells into the phone. “Did you tell him we’re friends?”
“Of course I did.”
“Good. Now maybe he’ll leave me alone. I gotta go, though. There’s this really hot blonde chick making eyes at me. I want to take her home tonight.”
I laugh, thinking about how drunk he clearly is.
“You do that, Beau. Use protection. And say hi to Pauly and Brooks for me.”
“Yeah! I’ll do that! Also, I’m mad at you for winning your Olympic medal before I was on the team. Because everyone else remembers you and I only just met you. But also I’m not mad at you because you’re American. And I got to hang out with you at camp and we’re friends now and only Pauly and Brooks can say that too.”
I chuckle.
“Okay, Sunshine. I accept that you’re mad at me and that you’re not mad at me. Now go pick up that hot blonde, okay?”
“Yeah! I will. Thanks Tori!”

We hang up and he immediately texts me a picture of the blonde girl. I wouldn’t go as far to say that she’s hot. But she is attractive. I can tell she’s definitely not looking for more than a one night stand, though. Which I guess is good for Beau.

I tell him to go get her, and plug my phone in before turning the light off and snuggling up to my Steelers pillow.

Due to the amount of Penguins hockey swirling around in my brain, I don’t have a normal dream tonight. Instead, it’s more like a memory.

“I can’t believe we’re actually going on the ice!” Aubrey says, jumping up and down. Her bronze medal bounces with her.
“Relax, crazy!” I laugh, staring at my own bronze medal.

I made the executive decision to only bring my bronze medal with me, despite the advice of those around me. I figured Aubrey and I are both being recognized. As a team. And rather than call individual attention to myself, I want to present Aubrey and I as a united front.

“How can you be so calm!? You were like this at the Steelers game, too.”
“I don’t know. Because I’m not as emotional as you?”
“Are you even excited about this?” She asks, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Of course I am!”

I can’t believe she would even think I’m not excited. Out of Pittsburgh’s three professional sports, hockey is my favorite. Followed closely by football. Baseball is a distant third, simply because it gets so boring to watch on television.

“Ms. McKinley? Ms. Wright?” The door opens and an official-looking man steps in.
“Yes?” I ask.
“Coach Bylsma would like to invite you two into the locker room now.”

Aubrey squeals and I blush, slightly embarrassed of her.

“Okay.” I say to the man.
“This is so exciting!” Aubrey whispers in my ear.
“Do you think there’s any way you could control yourself?” I ask, smiling at my cousin.
“I will! I promise. I mean, I’ll try.”

I roll my eyes fondly. I know she won’t. But it’s not really a big deal. This is just how Aubrey is. It’s the one area we’re not similar. I like to be seen as professional, and Aubrey doesn’t really care how she looks to others.

We reach the giant black doors with the Penguins logo on it and Aubrey squeezes my hand so tight I think I might lose circulation. The doors open and the repugnant smell of sweat and body odor hits my nose.

“Hello. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Dan.” Coach Bylsma says, reaching out a hand as soon as we’re through the doors.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you too. I’m Victoria.” I say, shaking it.
He shakes Aubrey’s hand and I take my first glance around the room.

There they all are. The Pittsburgh Penguins, in various states of dress. I get the same feeling in my stomach that I did with the Steelers, a mixture of awe and nervousness. And a desire to present myself the best I can.

“Boys, listen up!” Dan says, getting everyone’s attention. “I’d like to introduce you to the two young ladies who have completely enamored our city. Victoria McKinley and Aubrey Wright. For those of you who don’t know who they are, together they brought home the United States’s bronze medal in synchronized diving this summer from the London Olympics. Victoria also brought home the individual silver medal. The organization is honoring them tonight for their success. Please make them feel welcome.”

He turns to us and gives us a warm smile before retreating to his office. I instantly feel like he’s feeding us to the wolves. How are we supposed to act now?

“Congratulations on your medals.” A deep voice says next to me.

I turn around and- holymotherfuckingshit. Sidney Crosby is holding his hand out.

“Thank you.” I say, swallowing and grasping his with mine and hoping like hell it’s not sweaty. “I’m Victoria, but you can call me Tori.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Tori.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

He turns his attention to Aubrey, who’s completely in awe. She’s holding it together fairly well, though.

One by one the Penguins come up to us and introduce themselves. Some, like Crosby, simply say hello and congratulations. While others chat for a minute before returning to their pre-game rituals.

Aubrey is talking to Fleury and I’m in the middle of a conversation with Paul Martin, who is telling me about his hopes to make the 2014 Olympic team, when the door to the hallway slams and I feel a large presence fill in the space behind me.

“Who this?” A rough accented voice asks. It reminds me of my friend Alexander, so I know it must be Russian. I turn and find Evgeni Malkin standing behind me.

“G, this is Victoria McKinley and Aubrey Wright. We’re honoring them tonight.” Paul says.
“For what?” He asks, eyeing me.

I feel a shiver run through my body under his intense gaze.

“They’re Olympic medalists. From this past summer in London.”
“Oh. Nice to meet you.”

He gives a curt nod to both of us and breezes past, headed towards his locker. My eyes can’t help but follow this strange man.

“You’ll have to forgive him.” Paul says, getting my attention again. “He’s an.... interesting person.”

He laughs and I let out a nervous chuckle.

“Ms. McKinley? Ms. Wright?” The same official man asks, materializing between us. “It’s time for us to leave the locker room.”

“Okay.” I turn to thank Paul for talking to me, but he’s already headed for his locker. He sends me a smile and a wink, though.

Aubrey and I head out of the locker room and down a corridor to an elevator. The official man, who’s name I still haven’t learned, punches the button for the top floor and the doors close.

“Where are we going?” I ask.
“To Mr. Lemieux’s office.” He responds.

I see Aubrey’s eyes go wide, and know that for once I’m doing the same. Mario Lemieux. We’re going to be meeting Mario Freaking Lemieux!

The elevator dings and I take a deep breath. I catch Aubrey’s eye and surprisingly she’s the one who’s giving me the encouraging look.

The official man walks us down a hallway and knocks on an office door. It swings open instantly and we’re suddenly face to face with one of the greatest hockey players in history. With one of this city’s greatest athletes.

“Hello, ladies. Please, come in.” He says. “Thank you, Tom. I’ll take it from here.”
I follow Aubrey into the office and he shuts the door behind us.
“Mr. Lemieux, thank you so much for inviting us to the game tonight.” I say.
“Please, call me Mario.” I blush. “And it’s an honor to have you ladies here with us tonight. I have a good feeling about what this season could be, but I think the city and the team needs something to celebrate. We’ve had a major setback with the lockout. Morale is down both in the locker room and amongst the fans. We need something to get us off on the right foot. And that something is celebrating the success of our city. The success of our Olympians. Your success.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Lem- Mario...” Aubrey smiles. “I think I speak for both of us when I say that I’m kinda confused. How do our medals from last summer get the Penguins off on the right foot?”

“Being around excellence makes people work harder to be the best.” He says. It’s one of the most profound statements I’ve ever heard.

“So... you’re hoping that us being here will inspire the team to want to win?” I ask.
“Exactly.” He says with a smile. “Now, granted most of our team aren’t Americans. And most of them aren’t Olympians. And diving is very different from hockey. But winning.... winning is universal.”

Aubrey and I both nod our heads.

We chat for a while about what’s expected out of us before an alarm on his phone goes off.

“It’s almost time for the start of the game. We need to get you two dressed and ready for the puck drop.”

He leads us out to the hallway and back to the elevator, where a young woman hands him two jerseys.

“We didn’t know what number to put on them. We wanted to put 12 on the back to honor the 2012 Olympics, but since we’re starting the season in 2013 we weren’t sure. So we left the entire back blank.”

Aubrey and I follow him into the elevator and pull our jerseys over our head, checking each other’s hair. As always, Aubrey’s looks perfect. Mine, however, needs a little work.

Mario hands us a puck and I take it, rolling it over in my hand. It’s rough around the edge and smooth along the surface. I admire it for a second before handing it over to Aubrey, who does the same.

The doors slide open and we follow Mario out, where Tom is waiting for us again.

“Ladies, it has been a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for gracing us with your presence. You are both welcome any time you’d like. I have some things I have to attend to, so Tom will take care of everything else for you.” Mario says, shaking both of our hands.

“Thank you, Mario.” I say, and Aubrey repeats me.

Tom leads us through a maze of tunnels and hallways and doors until suddenly we’re standing right next to the zamboni. He stands, attentively watching the two teams warming up, and Aubrey and I kinda hang back a little.

“There are so many people.” She whispers.
“I know.” I respond, looking up at the thousands filling in the seats.
“What if we mess up?”
“How could we mess up? We just smile and drop the puck.”
“I don’t know...”
“Zabko, trust me. We won’t mess up.”

She takes a deep breath and I grab her hand, squeezing it.

“Alright, ladies. It’s time.” Tom says.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and join us in welcoming tonight’s honorary guests.” The announcer says as a red carpet is rolled out onto the ice. “I’m sure you’ve seen their faces all over the city, celebrating their accomplishments this past summer at the Olympic games in London. Together, they brought home two Olympic medals for our country. And tonight, the Penguins are honored to have them here with us. Dropping the ceremonial first puck of the season, let’s hear it for Victoria McKinley and Aubrey Wright!”

I give Aubrey one last smile before walking out onto the red carpet. My medal feels slightly heavy around my neck, a reminder of why I’m here.

‘I’m here because I deserve it.’ I try to convince myself.

We wave to the crowd, who are all on their feet for us. It’s not nearly as loud as it was with the Steelers, but considering the vast difference in attendance, that’s no surprise.

We get to the end of the carpet and both team captains skate up to us. Sidney is on my side, and the Leafs’ Phaneuf is on Aubrey’s side.

“Congratulations, ladies.” Phaneuf says.
“Thank you.” We say in unison.

Together, Aubrey and I hold the puck out. We pause for a little drama and smile at each other before dropping it to the ice.

Sidney scoops up the puck and hands it to us before turning to pose for the cameras. He hesitates for a second before casually placing his arm around my shoulder. I notice Phaneuf is already doing the same with Aubrey.

“Have a good game, guys.” I say when the four of us break.
“Thank you.” Sidney says, before turning towards his bench.

As soon as Aubrey and I are off the ice and somewhere deep in the bowels of the CONSOL center, I let out a huge breath I didn’t realize I was holding all evening.

“Holy shit, Bree.” I laugh. “What a fucking day!”
“Dude. You had Sidney Crosby’s arm around you! Do you know how jealous I am?”
“He was so awkward, though! Like. I saw Phaneuf slide right up next to you and hug you. Crosby took like a whole moment to prepare himself before he decided to just go for it.”
“But that’s just how he is. Everyone knows that. The real story is.... you had Sidney Fucking Crosby’s arm around you!”

I laugh, feeling the rest of my nervousness slip away.

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t go as we had hoped. The Penguins lose 5-2, and it’s no where close to being pretty. Malkin scores the first goal, off an assist from my new friend Crosby. The Leafs tie it up in the second and take the lead a couple minutes later. Sidney ties the game again less than a minute after that, and the crowd is on it’s feet.

But then all hell breaks loose. James van Riemsdyk scores his second goal of the game towards the end of the period, and the Leafs score two more in the third. The Penguins just can’t seem to figure it out, and it’s an embarrassment.

“The next game we come to will be better.” Aubrey says on the way out.

Notes

Well this is much better than waiting three weeks!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day! I did absolutely nothing but sit on my ass and do homework and write. It was great.

Also, I found out my best friend from high school is coming home from Kuwait next month!!!!!

So I'm really excited about that.

I actually don't have too much homework coming up this week, and I've got the next chapter pretty well planned out in my head. So hopefully it doesn't take me too long to write and edit and make perfect.

As always, comments are most appreciated :)