A variety of athletes trained at the US Olympic Training Centre—swimmers, boxers, volleyballers, weighlifters, winter athletes—and there was a wider sense of camaraderie. Different men, competing women, but on similar missions. In this city, the Olympics meant something. I could hear it in the inquisitiveness and enthusiasm of taxi drivers and strangers once they knew where I was headed: what do you play, where do you come from, what are your dreams? In this centre, the Olympics meant everything. The place smelled of fun, ambition, respect, sweat; the centre hummed with energy. It was a place
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