We gathered in Stephs room to watch the Olympics, her small black and white telly with the broken volume you needed scissors to change.
The Cameroonians went off fast, and kept on fast, lapping the other runners who'd long since ceased to be competitors. Lia noticed it first, the difference in their stride, then came the booms, like concorde, the cameras struggled to keep everyone in shot until suddenly the Cameroonians ran themselves into a blur that became a hole and then nothing.
It was hard to make out exactly what happened but I remember vividly the other athletes stopping and looking lost, momentarily unsure of what had occurred. Then they knew, some sank to their knees other stood stone still. A scrawny French guy started crying, he's the one I can see still, there in his vest wiping the tears away and crossing himself.
The telly went off after that.
The Cameroonians went off fast, and kept on fast, lapping the other runners who'd long since ceased to be competitors. Lia noticed it first, the difference in their stride, then came the booms, like concorde, the cameras struggled to keep everyone in shot until suddenly the Cameroonians ran themselves into a blur that became a hole and then nothing.
It was hard to make out exactly what happened but I remember vividly the other athletes stopping and looking lost, momentarily unsure of what had occurred. Then they knew, some sank to their knees other stood stone still. A scrawny French guy started crying, he's the one I can see still, there in his vest wiping the tears away and crossing himself.
The telly went off after that.
