Gold Medal Summer (16 page)
Authors: Donna Freitas
There's that wild cheer from the crowd again.
This is pretty great. I mean, I could seriously get used to this.
The head judge finishes giving the silver to Sarah Walker and stops in front of me.
It's time. It's here.
The
moment.
My
moment.
I lean forward and she drapes the gold medal around my neck.
“Congratulations, Miss Jordan,” she says formally, smiling.
“Thank you,” I say.
I stand there, waving again, taking in the crowd, this day, this achievement that I will never forget, the faith from the people I love that helped to get me here, and the dedication and sacrifice this sport requires, and I think to myself,
It's all worth it
.
Gymnasts may not get to have normal lives, but we get to have
this
.
I like it up here. I like it a lot. It feels good. It feels like I belong.
And I don't cry at all while this happens. Not even a single tear.
I just smile really,
really
big.
Donna Freitas
began her career as a competitive gymnast at the age of eight. She regularly medaled on beam and floor at the State level, and competed at the Annual Regional Championships with her team until an injury led to her retirement at age fifteen. The author of three young adult novels â
The Possibilities of Sainthood, This Gorgeous Game
, and
The Survival Kit
â and four adult nonfiction books, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Text copyright © 2012 by Donna Freitas
Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Kyle T. Webster
All rights reserved. Published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Freitas, Donna.
Gold medal summer / Donna Freitas. â 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: After fourteen-year-old Joey experiences her first kiss and learns that her best friend wants to quit competitive gymnastics, she considers giving up her dream of winning gold medals to have a normal life, even as her sister and assistant coach urge Joey to reach a new level.
ISBN 978-0-545-32788-6 (hardcover: alk. paper) [1. Gymnastics â Fiction. 2. Interpersonal relations â Fiction. 3. Sisters â Fiction. 4. Competition (Psychology) â Fiction. 5. Family life â Rhode Island â Fiction. 6. Rhode Island â Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.F8844Gol 2012
[Fic] â dc23
2011029500
First edition, June 2012
Cover art © 2012 by Steve Rawlings
Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi
e-ISBN: 978-0-545-48379-7
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