From Stillness Comes Swiftness

After he retires from competition (he had planned to quit either immediately or within a year after the '84 Games), Salnikov will become a swimming official and earn about 300 rubles ($440) a month. "I'll enjoy that," he says. "I'd like to organize some national meets, so I can see some more of the world. But I always want to come back to the Soviet Union. I understand things there."

His wife spots something in a store window, stops and leans down to look. Salnikov loops his arm around her, bends and gazes, too. Up ahead, the bus pulls away.

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