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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 15, 2024 9:59:06 GMT -8
Inkar had pretty much stopped crying by the time she saw Timur's texts, but she was still very full of emotions. There were congratulations from so many people in her phone, and her national coach had told her as she'd come back into the prep area that the last time the national record had been broken was summer 2004.
She messaged Timur back, "I am having so many emotions right now, that record's been standing for 20 years, I wasn't even 4 yet when it was set."
She overall just felt good though. She'd made it through to both semifinals without having to sit around and wait, or worse go to the repechage. She closed out of everything on her phone except her actual texts because her social media was starting to get honestly overwhelming. She added in her messages to Timur, "I'm going to have to look through all the articles and social media and stuff after I'm done with my races. Right now, it's overwhelming and I've been off the track for less than half an hour."
---
Allan texted Timur back, "That's impressive. Actually, the magazine I work for potentially wants me to do an interview with her and Cedar Beach's other Olympian. You might know Elizabet Gambold, she and Inkar are apparently pretty good friends?"
---
[Skipping forward to the next day, August 6, 2024.]
Inkar had slept surprisingly well for how much she'd been worked up after the national record the day before. She woke up quite well rested, and mostly just excited for the 400 m hurdles semifinals that day. She glanced at her phone in the morning, mostly to see if there were any texts she actually needed to respond to, decided that none of it was urgent (she hoped that she wouldn't feel like she was wrong that afternoon) and tucked her phone away in her bag.
She knew that it would be harder to qualify through on placement for the semifinals than it had been for the finals, so a good chunk of her morning routine was spent mentally preparing herself to wait on the time results alongside physically preparing herself to be ready to run.
She was buoyed by the national record from the day before, still riding the excitement of that feeling. She was in lane 4 for her semifinal, less ideal for her than her lane 2 placements for the heats, but still at least not an outer lane. And it was a semifinal, everyone in it was fast. She wasn't going to worry too much about having someone to chase down.
When she made it out to the track for her semifinal, she was happy and smiling for her wave to the camera, but immediately focused and in the zone as she got into the blocks. She was ready for this, she was fast, the track was fast, she loved hurdles.
The race started and Inkar felt fast as she worked on making up as much ground as she could on the people outside of her in the lanes, knowing that the world record holder was just a few lanes outside from her, inside of her range of view. The first hurdle seemed like it was coming up awfully soon, and Inkar was suddenly extremely glad that she was someone who usually switched legs for hurdles, letting autopilot take over and going over the first hurdle with the opposite foot than she usually did. A passing thought went through her head that she must have gotten to the first hurdle an entire step early. The rest of the hurdles were her normal alternating, and about halfway through the race, she realized that the only person she could see was the world record holder in lane 7. She couldn't think about it, couldn't let herself worry that someone inside from her was actually ahead and just hidden by the stagger from the start. All she could do was run her race, and she felt like she was flying just a little bit.
When the race was done and she turned to check the board, she was expecting a personal best. At first, she couldn't even process the number she was seeing on the screen. She saw the PB, and she saw the .80 at the end, the same ending as she'd run two days before. Only then, did she process 53.80 s, and the NR, another national record. It wasn't just a personal best, it was by an entire second. She'd not had that big of a break through run since she was starting seasons early in high school. Only then did she register that she was in second in the heat and through to the final. Her first Olympic final.
She realized that she'd been standing there in open-mouthed shock for several seconds when her competitors started coming up with congratulations, handshakes and hugs. She returned the gestures, but she sort of felt like her brain was floating in a cotton cloud, repeating "Holy shit!" over and over. She was a little bit in love with this pretty, fast blue track. It was giving her good results.
On her way off the track, she was stopped by one of the US interviewers, and she answered in a bit of a daze, hoping that she didn't say anything ridiculous.
She couldn't even think what to say to Timur or anyone when she got back to the prep area. Her national coach had bundled her into a bear hug the second they'd been in the same place and congratulated her several times, but she was just still reeling inside. Finally she settled on sending Timur, "This national record was six months older than me, I think I'm slightly in shock, but like good shock."
---
COMMENTARY
MC: "Inkar Mun, representing Kazakhstan, has been having a great Olympics so far. She is coming off a personal and national record in the flat 400 m heats yesterday, securing herself a place in the semifinal for that race. I'm sure that today, she's glad that she didn't have to do the repechage earlier. She's got a tough semifinal race here, with the world record holder just a little to the outside of her."
FC: "Inkar has said many times that she likes having someone to chase, and she's sure going to have that here. She's been fast so far this Olympics, and she looks confident getting into the blocks today. We've not seen a lot of Inkar this season up until now, since she's graduated and isn't on the NCAA circuit anymore, but what we're seeing of her now looks like she's in the best running form of her life."
As the race started, they continued to commentate.
FC: "Inkar's fast out of the blocks, faster than I've ever seen her, and she's closing on people ahead of her and that first hurdle really fast. Oh wow, she went over the first hurdle with the opposite foot from usual."
MC: "Doesn't seem to have thrown her off much. Her form over the hurdle was pretty much perfect."
FC: "Inkar usually switches feet between hurdles, so it makes sense, but she got to the hurdle a whole step sooner than she usually does."
About halfway through the race.
MC: "We knew that the world record holder would pretty much run away with the race, there's no one in this semifinal with the times to challenge her, but we've got someone else running away with it a little too."
FC: "In a really clear second, and with a split that is way faster than anything she's ever run before, Inkar Mun is looking like she's going to secure her way to her first ever Olympic final, if she can hold onto this pace."
MC: "There's always a chance she went out too fast and is going to fade, but she's not looking like she's feeling it at all. Really efficient technique over each hurdle."
At the end of the race, the excitement was high in the commentating box again.
FC: "Inkar Mun is taking another national record for Kazakhstan with a personal best of a second faster than she ran two days ago!"
MC: "I really need to emphasize how rare that big of a personal best is at this level. Usually athletes are pushing to shave a tenth of second off. I wonder if not having competed very much this year, we're seeing some big strides in technique and form that have happened this year for Inkar all at once."
FC: "For sure, but the environment of the Olympics also just unlocks some pretty special things for some people. Inkar has said time and again that she runs her best when she has someone to chase, and I think this really showed this. Sure she couldn't quite keep up with the world record holder, but she was the only person in this field who looked like she was in the same race. The two of them left everyone else behind by the middle of the race. That's impressive, and she didn't let the strange start to the race rattle her at all. I know that back when I ran this, I would have been so thrown off by getting to the first hurdle a full step early."
MC: "And now we've got a chance to talk to Inkar Mun as she's coming off the track."
Interviewer: "Hi Inkar, you've just had the race of your life, third in a row these Games. How are you feeling?"
Inkar [grinning]: "It's incredible, the energy here is incredible, and I love how it feels to run on this track."
Interviewer: "A personal best of a second is huge! And another national record. What are you thinking right now?"
Inkar [laughing a little first]: "I honestly don't know yet, a little shocked, amazed. I always run my best when I have someone to chase like this, but I've never had a race like this. I got to the first hurdle a step early. This track is so fast."
Interviewer: "Good luck with your semifinal for the 400 m tomorrow, I'll let you go, thanks for your time!"
Inkar [smiling]: "Thank you!"
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Post by Timur Mun on Sept 15, 2024 10:59:59 GMT -8
Timur was still receiving messages from family to tell Inkar congratulations and to treat her to something nice, which he was already planning to do anyway, as he settled into his spot in the stands to watch Inkar's next race, making sure his phone was set up and ready for the commentary. He had told Allen he'd did kind of know Liz and that he'd ask Inkar if she'd be up for an interview once they were back in the State and get back to him. He silenced the family group chat as two messages cut into the beginning of the commentary. He watched the race, feeling like he was holding his breath the entire time. The world record holder was fast. But his little sister was keeping up. Not out-running, but keeping up.
As she finished, his eyes immediately went to the board. She got a new personal best, how exciting! And then there was the NB again, this time he remembered what it stood for, and he couldn't help but get excited again. When he got the text from Inkar, his breath actually did catch in his throat. "Oh my god..." He breathed, rushing down to the prep area to meet up with her, ready to give her possibly the biggest hug he'd ever given any of his siblings (which he decided he'd unpack that later). He sent an exclamation reaction and an enthusiastic 'congratulations!!!! I'm waiting in the prep area to see you!'
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National Athlete.
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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 15, 2024 14:41:12 GMT -8
Inkar went to meet Timur in the area where friends and family were allowed to wait to meet up with athletes. She smiled a slightly watery smile at him. Somehow having her big brother there was making her go from flabbergasted grinning, to a well of tears. She burrowed into the hug, her face mashed into his chest, and grumbled, "Why are you so tall. Thank you for being here."
She realized that they'd never really hugged like this. She'd hugged all her other siblings and their mom plenty, and even sometimes their dad, though he was a little bit less hug prone than the rest of them. She realized that she wasn't even sure if she'd known if Timur liked hugs.
Eventually she pulled away from the hug and told him, "Thank you, really, for being here, for cheering me on. It means so much. We are going to spend our vacation after the competition is done getting so much time to celebrate, and I'm so excited."
She sighed and said, "I am on a schedule though. I've got stuff I need to do to be ready for tomorrow and the days after. But just, thanks Timur, love you brother."
---
[August 7, 2024 - day of the semifinal for the 400 m.]
Inkar felt like she was much much more in the spotlight all of the sudden. She'd had several quick interviews in Kazakh and English, mostly they were on a tight time limit set by her national coach, and she was hugely relieved that he was there, and focused on allowing her not to get distracted. At least two more days of competition loomed before her, this one and the final for the 400 m hurdles, hopefully three if she got through to the final for the flat 400 m that day.
Two national records in as many days, and the knowledge that if she made any more personal bests, they'd all be national records felt like a lot. She knew that she would have huge amounts of messages and requests and attention to deal with after her races were done, but right now, she just wanted to focus on the races. She wondered if her brother was paying attention to all the buzz. She hoped he was enjoying being in the audience at least.
She was in the first semifinal for the 400 m. Lane 4 again, with the people with the best times in the race further out in the lanes than her, which had worked out the day before. She had found a calm but excited place in herself by the time she got to the track. In some ways, even though the 400 m was her less preferred event, it was the simpler one. There were no hurdles to contend with, all she had to do was run. Everyone there was very very good at that though, so she had to run her absolute best.
She wasn't quite as exuberant for the camera as she had been the three previous days, serious and focused. She didn't think that anyone would begrudge her that though.
She settled into the blocks feeling pretty good. The race was fast, and she kept chasing and chasing, trying to catch up to the runners in lanes 7 and 8. She knew she hadn't passed them by the end of the race, but she'd kept up, she'd been close. Third wasn't an automatic qualifier though, her time was good. Another personal best and national record at 50.15 s, she was a little astounded at the time she was shaving off her personal best here. But now came the dreaded waiting. There was a little waiting room where she and the runner in fourth in the first semifinal heat would get to wait while the other two semifinal heats ran to see if they'd made it through in one of the two precious time qualifications spots.
She had a shot at the final though, a shot at two finals in her second Olympics, in contrast to Tokyo where she'd been just out of the finals in both of her events.
In the second semifinal heat, no one bumped either her or the other runner out of the waiting box, but she knew that there were really fast people in the third semifinal heat. Her eyes were glued to the screen, stretches somewhat forgotten, as the third semifinal heat ran. It took a few seconds for it to hit that she'd made it through in the second time qualifying spot. She waved and said, "Good race," as the runner who had waited with her headed back, and she took a moment let herself smile. She was into two finals in her second Olympics. She was the national record holder for Kazakhstan in both the 400 m and the 400 m hurdles.
She texted Timur, "This means I've made my big goal for this Olympics, finals in both events. That was closer than comfort."
---
COMMENTARY
FC: "Inkar Mun, representing Kazakhstan, has been one of the stories of Track at these Games. She's been running the best she's ever run, and yesterday, she set a huge personal best and qualified for the finals with a national record for the 400 m hurdles. She also set the national record for the flat 400 m in the heats. The big question for her is will she be able to qualify for the final in this tough field for the 400 m? In an interview yesterday, she said that one of her big goals was to make it to the final in both of her events, since she didn't manage to get past the semifinal in either in Tokyo."
MC: "By time, she'd be cutting it pretty tight, but she's set a personal best every race she's run this games, so it will be exciting to see what she does today!"
At the end of the race, after discussing the two runners who had qualified directly they came back to talking about Inkar.
MC: "Inkar has been a little bit of a dark horse here, but now she's going to get to sit in the waiting box to see if her time holds up. 50.15 s is fast, a new personal best and national record. It's really impressive to see how fast her time is coming down. her personal best before these games in the 400 m was 50.90 s. It's not as immense as the difference in her hurdles time, but 0.75 s is still huge at this level. There's a lot of fast people left to run!"
FC: "If I had to make a guess, she's going to make it in the second and final time qualifying spot, but if someone has the run of her life, Inkar could get bumped down and out of qualifying."
After the second semifinal heat, they commented.
FC: "Things are looking good for Mun with no one in this heat running fast enough to get into the waiting room. There's only three people in the next heat that usually run faster than her 50.15 s, and if no one else pulls a surprise, that would put her into the final. I don't think that anyone had her on their lists for who they expected in the final at the start of the Olympics."
After the semifinal heats were over.
MC: "And there we have it, Inkar Mun, representing Kazakhstan, but born and raised in Cedar Beach, WA, makes it to the final in second time qualifying spot with a time of 50.15 s. I bet that a lot of the kids she coaches are watching and cheering from home. Most of her family wasn't able to be here with her, but her older brother Timur is cheering her on from the crowds."
FC: "I bet that everyone's really excited for her to have made it in to both her finals! It's a huge huge accomplishment."
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Aerospace Engineer.
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06/10/1991.
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Post by Timur Mun on Sept 15, 2024 18:56:44 GMT -8
Timur was still on the high of excitement from the last couple days. He had told Inkar he was happy he could be there, too, but they didn't have a ton of time to talk. Being alone was starting to get him, but one of the baristas at the cafe off-handedly asked what he was in Paris for so long for, and he mentioned his sister was in the Olympics, excited to add that she had just made a national record twice now for Kazakhstan. The barista seemed a little excited, or at least was good at pretending.
He headed over to the track after breakfast, finding his usual spot in the stands and setting up the commentary. He was surprised when she made another personal best record, but even more surprised with how the commentators were talking about it. 'Do people usually not make improvements on their running?' he asked his sister. A few seconds didn't seem like that big of a deal, but he didn't know anything about track and field until just a few days, so what did he know. He was bit surprised to get a shout out, noticing he was on the screen, and felt a bit flustered, but cheered for her. He had been warned this could happen, but it was still unexpected.
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National Athlete.
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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 17, 2024 1:19:54 GMT -8
Inkar was honestly a little surprised to see Timur asking her a question about her sport. He'd been great being there so far, actually bothering to care about her competitions, but it was still a surprise for him to actually ask such a specific question.
She texted back, "At this level, people have really pushed themselves to their limits, so big personal bests are rare. We're usually like chasing tenths or hundredths of seconds. Before this year, my last personal best was from the Tokyo Olympics, though most of my races were hanging out pretty close to that. I got personal bests in both 400 m hurdles and flat 400 m in Oslo back in May, by 0.02 s in the 400 m and by 0.08 s in the 400 m hurdles."
She gathered her thoughts for a moment and sent a second text, "I know that I do better when I have someone to chase, which I haven't always gotten, though when I was still in college, I did actually see some of these athletes on the NCAA circuit. This track is also super super fast, like I don't even know how to explain how surreal it was to get to a hurdle a full step early."
She realized that she had a little bit more to add, hoping that she wasn't boring Timur, "Between the heats and the semifinals, I've taken 0.75 s off my 400 m time, which is huge. Like that is about twice the amount of time as was between me and the person who was behind me in the semifinal today, and I've seen the replay, there was so much visual distance between us. And the 400 m hurdles is even more intense, I've brought my personal best down by 1.04 s. That's about the time difference between me and the person who was three behind me in that race. I've not had a time breakthrough like that since the start of my sophomore year of high school. My times were steadily going down from then to Tokyo, then have stayed pretty steady for the past three years, and it's like I don't know, I saved up all of my personal bests for three years to have here. It's kind of intense, like I feel great, I'm running great, but I'm probably going to cry more about it after it's all over, like good tears, but still."
She put her phone away then, knowing that she needed to focus on getting ready for the next day and her first ever Olympic final.
---
[Moving forward to August 8, 2024, the day of the final for the 400 m hurdles. This race happened pretty late, at 9:25 pm.]
Inkar had gotten to spend the whole day getting ready. She was mostly glad that she'd had the down time after her roller coaster of the past few days, but she'd also been awake enough hours to have time to be nervous during the day. Overall, she felt like she was managing it pretty well though. She'd raced well in the 400 m hurdles. Even if she was dead last in the final, it would be an accomplishment: she'd made it to the final in the Olympics. Even so, she hoped she wasn't dead last. She knew that there wasn't really any chance of her getting a medal, she didn't wish the circumstances that would need to happen for that (something like a bunch of the top runners in the world hitting hurdles), but she was so proud of how she'd done up to that point. One more Olympic 400 m hurdles race in Paris, and then she'd have to make it another four years in her career to run this race in the Olympics again. She hoped that she had that in her, but a lot could happen in four years.
She had lane 3, a lane that she was pretty happy with. Running from the inside, or at least inside from some of the best runners in the world had stood her in pretty good stead this Olympics, as always, it was her favorite place to run from. Everyone she knew that she really needed to chase was outside from her, though there wasn't anyone in this race that she'd won against before.
She gave a little wave and smile to the camera that panned over the runners before the race started, but she almost felt like she was in a trance and the race was happening to her as she got into the blocks. And then the starting gun went off, and she was fully present in her body and nothing but the race and chasing down her competitors and each hurdle was real. She was prepared this time for the first hurdle to get to her a step earlier than she was used to, and she felt like the whole race went more smoothly. This race was fast though, and she knew that she hadn't caught many people. She'd passed the runner in lane 4, just outside of her, fairly early in the race, and then she'd spent most of the race so tight with the athlete next to her in lane 2 that she had no idea who had come in first between the two of them.
It took her a few moments after the race was over to have enough breath and steady enough legs to turn and look at the board. There were the PB and NR labels by her time again, 53.30 s, another half a second off her time two days prior. She was in 7th, she hadn't quite caught the runner in lane 2, behind her by one hundredth of a second, but she didn't really care. She wasn't last, she'd run her best race ever, she'd made a mark on this race and this event here, and people weren't going to count her out in the next few years as she kept running. She congratulated her competitors, enjoying the feeling of it being over and the joy at scores and races run on the track. She wasn't the only one with races left to run, since several of the other women had their nations' 4x400 m relays left, but not many people did the flat 400 m too.
As she headed off the track, she was stopped for more than one quick interview, and she just felt like she was floating a little. She'd done it! She'd made an Olympic final and run her very best. Maybe next time, she could do even better, but she'd shown that she could keep up, that all the training and time that she'd put into this was worth it. She had one more race here, one more final, and she couldn't wait.
---
COMMENTARY
As the finalists for the 400 m hurdles were lining up, the commentators chatted a little bit about each one, reminding people who they were, where they were from, from and what their training was like, in part because there would be people who only tuned in for the finals on the track, and it would go in the highlight reels.
MC: "Inkar Mun, in lane 3, competes for Kazakhstan, but she was born and raised in Cedar Beach, WA, just north of Seattle. Until she graduated in 2023, she was running on the NCAA circuit competing for the University of Washington, but for the past a little over a year, she's not competed all that much, just making it to a few events on the Diamond League and some events in the Asian circuit."
FC: "She's continued to train with her former team at University of Washington some, but a lot of her training happens on the high school track in her home town, where she was training when she very first started going to international level competition. She coaches the middle and high school teams, as well as the community college team in Cedar Beach, and I bet that all of the kids she coaches are watching in a great deal of excitement right now."
MC: "She's been a bit of a story of this event. Until this year, her previous personal best was set at the Tokyo Games, where she was one placement short of making it to the finals with a time of 54.89 s. Earlier this year, at the Bislett Games in Oslo, she broke that personal best with a time of 54.84 s. She brought it down a little further in the heats with a 54.80 s, to get her into the semifinal."
FC: "Then she was in the semi final race with the current world record holder and crushed her personal best by a second, with a time of 53.80 s. We really don't know what we will see from her in this final! She's been a surprise here and in the flat 400 m, where she will compete in the final tomorrow. That time from the semi finals broke a national record for Kazakhstan that has stood for twenty years, and she very well could break that again."
As the race was getting going, they commented on various parts of the race.
FC: "Inkar Mun has gotten to the first hurdle a step earlier than usual, the same as day before yesterday, so it looks like she is well on track for a similarly fast time."
At the end of the race, there was a little bit of excitement.
MC: "I really couldn't tell between Mun in lane 3 and Salmon in lane 2. It was neck and neck right up to the end, and it's going to come to a photo finish, and probably who had the better lean. There we go with the times now, Salmon has it by one hundredth of a second."
FC: "Inkar Mun has really continued her story of these games though. That's another huge personal best with a time of 53.30 s, another half second faster than she ran two days ago. Over the course of these games, she's taken 1.54 s off her personal best time, and set and broken a national record. I'm going to be really excited where her career takes her over the next four years."
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Aerospace Engineer.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/10/1991.
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Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Timur Mun on Sept 17, 2024 8:13:38 GMT -8
Timur was kind of surprised the finals were so late in the day, but he was planning to be a tourist that day. He stopped by the cafe as usual after he left the hotel, sitting and enjoying his breakfast as he people watched. Paris was nice, he enjoyed it. The cafe still wouldn't let him speak French, but other locals seemed to understand when he spoke it. He still only knew a few phrases, and usually began conversations with a polite greeting and then asking if the person he was talking to knew English.
After breakfast, he went to the Louvre, but avoided actually looking at the Mona Lisa after seeing the crowd. There were other things to look at there, so he didn't feel like he missed out much. He took a picture of the crowd at the Mona Lisa, which had a bit of the painting in it. He sent the picture to Inkar with a disgusted emoji, and a simple, 'I tried'.
After the Louvre, he went to find lunch at a place his coworker had recommended, and Timur could see why his coworker liked it so much. It was cheap and delicious. Then he did a bit of shopping, finding things to bring home as souvenirs, though he had to message his mom and ask what his siblings even liked. Another thing to unpack later.
By the time he had finished shopping for everything and dropped off the bags at his hotel, it was just about time to head to the track to watch the finals. His family had been sending congratulatory messages to the family group chat all day, and at least this chat included Inkar so he didn't have to be a messenger for the little bit of time he got to actually chat with his sister. After Inkar's explanation the day before, he had done some research on track and field and realized what she was talking about. She was really making good improvement.
He settled into his spot in the stands and waited for the race to start, his headphones already set up and playing music until it was time for commentary. He knew Inkar was up against the best runners in the world, but to be able to say she was one of them was so cool. He was a little disappointed when Inkar didn't get into the top 3, but she still once again beat her personal best, so he was still proud. 'You did great!' He texted her.
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National Athlete.
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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 19, 2024 14:42:50 GMT -8
Inkar saw Timur's text partway through the day, though she was mostly ignoring her phone. She sent back a laughing emoji and then replied, "Maybe we'll try again on like a weekday in the week after the Olympics when some of the tourists have gone home."
She had the family group chat muted at the moment, but she did pop in briefly during her lunch break, saw the huge amount of chatting and almost backed right out, but she did see some of the congratulations, and posted a quick, "Thanks! Not looking at my phone much so I can focus, but love you all."
She also sent Nika a quick text, "One more race to go! It's been such a good Olympics so far in comparison to Tokyo, like I've talked to people and there's a lot more friendly interaction possible. Miss you though."
Her texts with Liz were some of the easier ones, Liz knew what it was like. She just sent a smiling face back to Liz's, "I hope your last race this evening is a satisfying finish to the games for you! You've got this!"
Then her phone went away again. She knew that she'd have a lot of social media and texts to go through once her races were all done and all she had left was the closing ceremony, but that was a problem for later.
---
[Moving forward to August 9, 2024 - the day of the 400 m final. This race also happened quite late (this was so it could be televised live at a reasonable time in more places) at 9:40 pm]
Inkar felt ready, she felt good and like this had been an amazing Olympics. By the end of Tokyo she'd felt kind of hollow and lonely, even though she had also been so proud of herself and what she'd managed, but Tokyo had been weird. She'd not made any good friends or anything, but so many of the other athletes had been casually friendly, and she'd enjoyed a little bit of socialization in the Olympic Village. She had even added some people as friends on social media, though she didn't know that any of it would stick.
She was all smiles for the camera as it panned over the athletes in the 400 m final. Having done well in the 400 m hurdles, she felt good about this, and even if she was in absolute last, that would mean she was still one of the top eight 400 m runners in the world, something that she had not been able to even consider saying about herself a week prior.
She was in lane 3, and she was relieved that she'd managed to almost completely stay in inner lanes the entire Olympics, she knew that for her, it was a contributing factor in how well she'd been able to do. Whatever happened in this race happened, as long as she ran well for herself, she was happy with it.
She was peaceful but also excited to run as she settled into the blocks, and as she launched into the race, she felt like she was fast and she was keeping up, though she wasn't really gaining on the field. It was a good race, it felt good, she felt strong. Though as she passed the finish line, she was pretty sure she was last.
She looked back at the score board, eighth place was what she'd expected, so that wasn't a disappointment. She was still top eight in the world. She saw the new personal best and national record next, and then she processed the time: 49.95 s. The first time she'd ever run under 50 s, a bit of a milestone.
The enormity of her Olympic experience this time hit her a bit then, and she realized that she'd started crying again, though there was a huge smile on her face. There were congratulations being passed around between her competitors, and she was able to pull herself together for them, but she felt like she was floating. Every personal best that she ran from now on was going to be a national record as long as someone else didn't come up in the Kazakh national team to push her. She was an under 50 s 400 m runner now. She'd been in both her Olympic finals. She wanted to do it again. She knew that another Olympics was a very feasible thing to have in her future, but she'd have to work for it and keep working for it.
---
COMMENTARY
Like with the 400 m hurdles final, the commentators gave slightly longer introductions for the athletes, trying to give a better picture to people who were only tuning in for the finals.
MC: "Inkar Mun represents Kazakhstan, where her parents are from, though she was born and raised and still lives in Cedar Beach, Washington, just north of Seattle. She's been having quite the Olympics, setting national records in both the 400 m hurdles and the 400 m, and she's improved on her Tokyo results by making the finals in both her events."
FC: "She was seventh in the 400 m hurdles last night, and you have to wonder if the back to back days of races for six days in a row are going to be dragging on her today. But so far, she's been faster and stronger looking each race she's run of these Olympics. This fast track that so many of the athletes have been commenting on has really been an experience from her based on what she's said in interviews."
MC: "This is a tough field, and Inkar is probably mostly looking to keep improving on her personal results, her goal was to make it to the final at all, but definitely watch out for her from here on out!"
At the end of the race, the commentators were reviewing how the race went for the athletes.
FC: "This is the second time we've gotten happy tears from Mun at the results of a race. She may have been in eighth place, but this is the first time she has ever broken 50 s in the 400 m, with a time of 49.95 s. Over the course of this Olympics, she's brought her personal best time down by nearly a second, and interestingly, that's exactly a second better than her time in the semifinal in Tokyo that didn't quite get her into the final."
MC: "I hope that all the young athletes that she coaches at home are watching how she did here and getting the chance to cheer her on, along with the friends and family watching back home. Only her older brother Timur is here with her in Tokyo, and I'm sure having someone to cheer her on here has been huge, but I'm sure that there's so much support back home in Cedar Beach as well as in Kazakhstan!"
FC: "Inkar's also mentioned in an interview that she's already really hoping to compete again in Los Angeles in 2028, and that this experience in Paris makes her so excited for the chance to keep competing, even though it's been hard not having the same amount of training structure that she did when she was still in college."
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Aerospace Engineer.
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06/10/1991.
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Post by Timur Mun on Sept 21, 2024 11:04:41 GMT -8
Timur was a bit bored, but was enjoying that the late night events meant he could sleep in a little more. He was lazy for most of the morning, relaxing in bed on his phone before finally his stomach got him out of bed and dressed to go to the cafe. He even brought along a notebook and did some sketches as he ate his brunch and enjoyed some coffee. Instead of trying for more touristy things, he decided to wait until he could go to them with Inkar, and explored the city, stopping into shops that looked interested as he meandered. By the time it was time to head back to to the hotel, he'd accidentally collected more bags of things, including a few leftover Pride items he found in clearance bins, which he was excited about, and felt like Inkar would appreciate them as well.
He headed to the track and waited with anticipation. He wondered how Inkar would do for this round. He was still fighting off the urge to feel disappointed that she didn't place the day before, but she was happy about how she did, and that was what counted. As the race began and ended, he once again shook off that disappointment. He looked to his sister, she was smiling, and crying. Again, he rushed to the area where he could talk to her, ready to offer another hug if she wanted. 'You did so well.' He texted.
--
Nika had sent back a simple 'I miss you too, good luck!' at the time she had received Inkar's text. She had been watching every race Inkar was in, ready to shower her girlfriend with praise and gifts as soon as she was back in the States. A National Record was no joke, especially considering how long the Kazakhstan ones had been standing, Inkar deserved a proper congratulations. She was still working on roping her housemates into helping her throw a party for Inkar, though.
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National Athlete.
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10/19/2000.
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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 21, 2024 11:25:38 GMT -8
Inkar went to find Timur once she'd gotten through the gamut of interviews and congratulations. At least none of the interviews were long, though her national coach told her that the Kazakh news sources that were there would probably want a longer interview the next day. While she'd not medalled, she'd made quite the story. Inkar had known that she'd probably be looking at some interviews, and she wasn't too worried about it now that she didn't have any more races to run.
When she found Timur, she went for another hug. She wasn't quite as overwhelmed as the other day, but it was nice to be able to get that support from Timur. She hoped that maybe, when they got back to the States, hugs sometimes would be a part of their dynamic going forward. She liked living with her brother, but there were times that it still really felt like they were figuring each other out.
She told him, "Thank you for being here to support me. It was something that made a huge difference between this Olympics and Tokyo."
She added, "So what did you think?"
She was still reeling over having broken the 50 s mark. Every single race she had run in Paris had been a break through, something new and exciting. She wasn't entirely sure that she'd ever run that fast again, do that well again, but she really hoped that this was the start of good momentum for the next Olympic cycle.
She also told Timur, "I've got one more night in the Olympic Village, and some interviews in the morning tomorrow. Then my only other Olympic commitment is going to the closing ceremony on the eleventh. I'll have to look at the schedule to see what I want to go watch tomorrow though."
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Aerospace Engineer.
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Post by Timur Mun on Sept 21, 2024 15:59:54 GMT -8
Timur smiled warmly at his sister, "You did an amazing job." He praised simply. He nodded at her explanation of what to expect in the upcoming days, trying to hide his excitement for getting the chance to spend time with her properly. He wondered what other events Inkar would drag him to, but was doubtful of how invested he'd get if his sister wasn't participating. "I look forward to actually getting to see you properly." He added.
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National Athlete.
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10/19/2000.
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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 21, 2024 17:36:45 GMT -8
Inkar was a little bit surprised at how much it startled her to hear Timur say that. She said, "I'm looking forward to seeing more of you too. Also to not having to sleep on the Olympic Village beds for much of the rest of the trip. I'm sure that you've seen the memes. The hotel beds are much much nicer."
She smiled at him, and saw her national coach standing with a reporter and waving her over. She said, "Unless you want to be in an interview, I'll see you in the morning at the hotel? I think that I'll make it over there around eleven, so you've got plenty of time to sleep in."
---
[The next day.]
Inkar had made it through about six interviews that morning, having already finished packing the night before and first thing in the morning once she used the things she needed that morning. She was looking forward to being out of the Olympic Village, though she was looking forward to the show of the Closing Ceremony too.
Between the interviews, more than she'd expected honestly, she started catching up on social media. Posting quick excited stories with video clips of her finals races to her more public facing social medias, with captions in Kazakh, English, and Korean. She responded to things on those accounts too, mentions from other athletes, several congratulations from semi-notable people, mostly Kazakh, a few Korean.
She put more focus into the personal things. Exchanging some messages with Nika, Liz, Thomas, and Kangwan before diving into the family chat. It was nice to see how stoked everyone was for her, and she didn't leave long responses, but she left hearts on a bunch of messages from her family members, and she was thrilled to see a congratulations from Serik too, even though her little brother had been mad at her since she'd moved out.
Finally, right around eleven, as she'd predicted, she made it back to the hotel where she and Timur had booked their stay. She figured that her first order of business was going to be for them to go find good food, especially since now that she was done with her competition, she could be more adventurous with her food choices.
Once she made it up to the room, she dumped her stuff on the floor near the bed she was using and told Timur, "I made it. We should go get something to eat."
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Aerospace Engineer.
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Post by Timur Mun on Sept 22, 2024 9:04:25 GMT -8
Timur made a note to set an alarm for the next morning when Inkar said when she'd probably arrive at the hotel. He hadn't been sleeping in that late, but just in case, he wanted to be ready. By the time the door opened and Inkar came through, he was dressed and ready, chilling at the table with an empty mug by him, watching videos on his phone. He paused what he was watching when Inkar came in, and closed YouTube and stood up. "You sure did make it. And I'm down for food. I found a place that's really good I want to bring you to. My French coworker suggested it, and their suggestion was on point." He told her simply, double checking to make sure he grabbed the hotel key before making his way out the door.
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National Athlete.
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10/19/2000.
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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 22, 2024 13:04:18 GMT -8
Inkar grinned at Timur and said, "I'm looking forward to getting to try foods that sound good instead of having to worry about how food will treat me on a competition day. I've not gotten to do much food exploration yet, even though from what I've heard, the food in the Olympic Village was pretty good if you were willing to be more adventurous. That's one of the downsides of having your competitions in the second week of events I guess."
She thought about it and added, "I've not actually got a specific thing that I was really hoping to watch today. Speed climbing seems maybe entertaining, and there's some Tae Kwon Do. I actually talked with some of the Korean Tae Kwon Do athletes in the Olympic Village and they were nice, but no one competing today. Actually, it was interesting, I probably socialized with the Korean athletes more than anything else. I think that there's a little bit of diving too."
She stretched as they headed down from their room, glad to not be carrying her bags anymore and said, "I'm not feeling deeply motivated to go to any events today though. So if you want to just wander around and show me what you've liked in Paris so far, I'd be down for that too. How've you been getting by in French anyhow? I can't remember what language you took in high school."
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Post by Timur Mun on Sept 22, 2024 19:12:24 GMT -8
Timur smiled, "cool, we'll go to that restaurant, then." He led the way towards the restaurant he had tried a few days earlier, "I'm willing to be dragged to events like I promised, and the Tae Kwon Do at least sounds interesting to me."
He wondered if he ever even mentioned what language he chose while in high school. "I took a year of Spanish and then decided to test out of the language requirement using Korean instead. I would've done Kazakh, but it wasn't an option at the time, and it was before the high school got Korean as a language option, not that I would've enjoyed the classes, being already fluent." He explained. At the time, he had been debating between trying a new language or testing out in either Korean or Russian, but eventually decided he was more confident with his Korean. he tried Spanish, but he struggled with it a lot. "As long as I keep it simple, I'm doing okay in French. Though the cafe banned me from trying to speak with them." He added with a laugh.
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Post by Inkar Mun on Sept 23, 2024 9:58:05 GMT -8
Inkar giggled and said, "OK, I can be main French person, though I only took two years of it in high school before also deciding to do the language proficiency test. Did it for Korean and Kazakh actually. And I get the being banned from speaking a language in a cafe thing. It happens to me all the time with Russian speaking places when I visit Kazakhstan. Either they switch to English or they switch to Kazakh with me. I mean, I usually try for Kazakh, it feels appropriate, but I guess a lot of people can tell by accent that I'm an English speaker when I try basic phrases in Russian."
Her stomach growled, and she said, "Hopefully this cafe of yours isn't too far away though, I'm apparently quite hungry."
She considered things for a moment and said, "We can go to the medals session for Tae Kwon Do later in the day then. But before that you should pick a few things in the area that you think that I should see from your earlier wandering."
She hesitated when another message came in on the family chat, which she'd finally unmuted, though it wasn't directly relevant to them. She said softly, "It's been nice to see you so active in the family chat this week."
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