Speed Skater: Bonnie - the Blur - Blair

American it was pure gold Bonnie the Blur

She had felt nervous earlier in the day and, scared of getting an upset stomach, limited herself to a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich for lunch. But as she glided up to the starting line for the 500-meter sprint at Calgary's Olympic Oval, American Speed Skater Bonnie Blair felt confident, even though minutes earlier her rival, the powerful East German skater Christa Rothenburger, had set a new world record of 39.12 sec. Blair glanced at the stands, where a score of rooting family members were clustered around heartening banners (GO, BONNIE, GO). Moments later, she burst away from the line in one of...

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