We were up at dawn every day, sprinting around the Animalympic village and jumping over everything in our path. The film crew seemed exhausted just watching us, and if we watched one more recording of another famous triple-jumper hopping, skipping and landing in the sand, I thought my head might explode. I was even starting to dream about triple jumping! Krusher and Ruby, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be doing any training at all and lounged around by the pool all day. Maybe Krusher was so good that he didn’t need to practise but I didn’t think so. I couldn’t help wondering if they had an evil plot up their sleeves to cheat their way to the gold medal. By the time the Animalympics opening ceremony arrived, I was super excited. The stadium was gigantic, much bigger than the one I’d been to for the qualifying rounds and it was filled with thousands of people and pets from all over the world. Beneath the gleaming white stands, the oval running track surrounded an island of green grass where the field events would take place.
