OLYMPICS

TONY AZEVEDO, U.S. Men’s Water Polo Olympian, July 28, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: It must be nerve wracking to spend so many hours over years training for events. At what age did you being training for the Olympics, and how much time in total have you put into training?
AZEVEDO: I started playing water polo when I was 8. At the age of 14, after coming back from the ’96 Olympics as a spectator, was when I realized I wanted to be an Olympian. Over the next three years, I drastically changed my swim times and weight and made the 2000 Olympian team. All in all we work out seven hours a day. In an Olympic year, we work out 10 hours a day. 8 ½ of that are in the pool itself.
CZIKOWSKY: Don’t you wish there was a professional water polo league where star athletes made millions of dollars a year? Do you see the public and more television stations becoming more aware of water polo and demanding that the sport be shown more?
AZEVEDO: How to recruit folks and get them interested? Well, I think the best way is to show them the atmosphere by showing them the personalities in water polo. Water Polo guys are outgoing, successful, and friendly. I think it might be having to do with wearing Speedo half your life. Laughter….Ha-ha. But, seriously, I’ve found that water polo athletes tend to be also more successful out of the water, too. I think there is more a success rate in that arena (like in business) than in other sports.

KATIE HOFF, U.S. Swimming Olympian, July 20, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: You must have nerves of steel: to spend so many hours practicing for an event that is over so quickly and decided by such a small margin. At what age did you start, and how many hours do you practice?
HOFF: I started at age 7 and I practice anywhere from 2 to 4 ½ hours a day in the pool. Outside of the pool, I’d say an hour a day…most days.

GEORGE V. SAVVAIDES, Greece Ambassador the United States, August 10, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How true is it that there are Olympic tickets and hotel spaces left? Is it possible for last minute travelers to make it to the Olympics and have a good time there?
SAVVAIDES: I would say yes. Despite the fact that the tickets are being sold at a very fast pace, as I already mentioned, no one can guarantee their availability until the last moment. I would submit that there is always time in terms of accommodation, availabilities, or tickets purchases, especially if there is not a very exclusive choice for a particular event for someone to decide to come to Athens and enjoy the Games. He or she has to make their plans very quickly and act accordingly.

RHADI FERGUSON, U.S. Judo Olympian, August 11, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How good were your Judo skills when you left the sport at age 13? What made you decide to take up the sport of Judo again?
FERGUSON: My judo skills were above par when I left the sport at age 13. They have become more defined and refined as I took the time to smooth out my sporting rough edges.
What made me decide to take it up again was my desire to be an Olympian.

NANCY HABERLAND and LIZ MERRIFIELD FILTER, U.S. Sailing Olympians, August 11, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How excited were you when you learned women’s keelboat competitions were added as an Olympic sport? When did you think being in the Olympics would ever be a possibility?
HABERLAND: I was thrilled when a women’s keelboat division was established for this quadrennium. Having sailed and raced for over 30 years, I know some of the best women sailors in the world are sailing keelboats these days. It is now our time to shine.
CZIKOWSKY: What are each of your responsibilities while sailing?
FILTER: I am the ‘middle’…I fly the spinnaker downwind and upwind I keep an eye on the main sail shape and monitor our speed, always comparing it to the boats around us and making adjustments.
HABERLAND: I have several tasks. I trim the jib going upwind and handle the foredeck responsibilities downwind. I am also the tactician on the boat all the way around the race course positioning to our skipper. As well, I am the one who scrambles around the boat when needed—changing sails, climbing the mast to adjust the spreaders, etc.

ANGELA HUCLES, U.S. Women’s Soccer Olympian, August 12, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: At what age did you begin playing soccer? How many hours have you been practicing in preparing for the Olympics? I am glad to see it seems to be paying off.
HUCLES: I started playing soccer when I was 7 years old. In preparation for the Olympics, we’ve been training for seven months starting in January after the World Cup. We’ve been playing in various tournaments and international competitions throughout this year. Normally, we train two hours a day on the field, sometimes with double sessions and weightlifting.
CZIKOWSKY: I see you majored in Anthropology. Do you plan to go into Anthropology for a career? Maybe you could teach it and coach soccer. What do you plan to do?
HUCLES: I loved Anthropology as an undergrad at the University of Virginia. I have not used the degree in term of my career path as of yet. I’d like to continue to play soccer for a few more years and see where I wind up. But coaching is definitely something I’ve thought about.

JOE JACOBI, U.S. Canoe and Kayak Team Olympian, August 12, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: In addition to practicing canoeing and kayaking, what other types of training do you recommend that help in your sport?
JACOBI: What I have learned in the last few years, I like to do sports that I enjoy and are fun to do. For me, those have been mountain biking, our coach taught us how to cross country ski (I love that) and I also enjoy trail running. The main point is I choose the sports that I really enjoy doing and are fun.

TIOMBE HURD, U.S. track and field Olympian, August 16, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: At what age did you start running and, if I may please ask, at what age did you lose your depth perception? How have you made any necessary adjustments when running?
HURD: I’ve had my vision impairment since I was born. I started running in Seattle when I was young. I’ve always had glasses and contacts that I’ve worn so the loss of depth perception was always with me.

MARIEL ZAGUNIS, U.S. Fencing Olympic Gold Medalist, August 19, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: I always appreciated that our local high school instituted fencing as a sport. There seems to be relatively few opportunities for young people to get involved in fencing. How did you get involved at age 10?
ZAGUNIS: It’s not a popular sport in America. Hopefully now there will be more resources available. I followed my brother who fenced before me and I thought it was really cool. There’s a great club in Portland. I think if people want to get involved they should look on the Internet and see what clubs, camps, and programs are in your area. They are there if you look for them.

REID PRIDDY, U.S. Men’s Volleyball Olympian, August 20, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How many years have you been playing volleyball, and how practice did you put in for training for the Olympics?
PRIDDY: I’ve been playing volleyball since I was about 15…so about 11 years. It’s a pretty full time deal. I’ve been on the national team for 4 years and we go 6 days a week and lifting also. There is team stuff, individual drills. During the summer it was a lot of team strategy. When he have the team together and that’s rare. September through April we go over to Europe and play in the different professional leagues. We don’t have those leagues in the States to Italy and Greece. So we get a lot of experience playing matches and teams.
CZIKOWSKY: I see you were a communications major. Might you be broadcasting the Olympics someday? What are your plans after the Olympics?
PRIDDY: Laughter. That’s funny. You ask that b/c right now around my neck is my brand new camera w/a mic boom. I’m definitely interested in the communications field. Maybe make some volleyball DVDs and I’d like to show what the world of volleyball looks like. I’d like to get that into accessibly form for people who are interested.

MATT SMITH, U.S. Crew Olympian, August 20, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How long have you been rowing? How many hours did you train for the Olympics?
SMITH: I started rowing in the fall of 1992 at Woodbridge High School. The number of hours I’ve been rowing to train: countless! In the immediate past two years, three hours a day 360 days a year. I think we got T-giving, Christmas, and maybe the 4th of July off.

ERIC GUERRERO, U.S. Freestyle Wrestling Olympian, August 23, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: At what age did you being wrestling? How much did you practice for the Olympics?
GUERRERO: I began wrestling at the age of 8. I was really fortunate. Our town had four or five wrestling clubs and I was able to float around and learn from a lot of different coaches. I think that was important. It seems like little kids clubs have faded away for a while, but they seem to be coming back now. I think it’s really important. There should be more youth clubs. It is different from any other meet, but at the same time it’s not. I know that may sound like an oxymoron. You prepare as you always have done as far as being disciplined and going through your regime and doing things that have been successful and stripping away those things that haven’t been. But the reality is it is two days and it comes down to who wants it those two days. Because it is the Games, you’ll leave no stone unturned. You make sure you get in all the extra things that you know are going to be beneficial. The focus has been on wrestling. Weight lifting is not a priority because we are getting so close to competition.

SUSAN BARTHOLOMEW-WILLIAMS, U.S. Triathlete Olympian, August 23, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: At what age did you realize Olympic dreams and begin training for the Olympics? How many hours did you put into training?
BARTHOLOMEW-WILLIAMS: In triathlon, it was 1997. So, I would have been 28 years old. A typical week is probably 25 hours of training. It depends on the time of year. The winter would be off season so I would have some off time so cross country skiing, hiking, etc. About January, we start triathlon training specifically with our base plan so a lot of miles.

CAROL TOLLEFSON, Olympic athlete, September 9, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: At what age did you start training and about how many hours did you put in preparing for the Olympics?
TOLLEFSON: I started running when I was in seventh grade but actually training for the Olympis didn’t start until after 2000. I ran my first Olympics trials in 2000 and learned so much and I walked away hoping to be on the next Olympian team. So it was form that moment on that it was in the back of my mind and trying to improve as much as possible. I can’t say how many hours I put in but I typically run about 80-90 miles a week including core and strengthening exercise. Lots of hard work.

JEANETTE BOLDEN, U.S. Olympics Women’s Track and Field coach, July 10, 2008
CZIKOWKSY: What were your thoughts in the midst of competition at the 1984 Olympics and what were you thinking when you realized you had won a Gold medal?
BOLDEN: The competition was great during the ’84 Olympics. I was thrilled to be competing in front of my hometown crowd. Because I got fourth in the 100m, I was overwhelmed to get a second chance at the Gold medal in the 4x100 relay.
CZIKOWSKY: When you were competing, did you desire to eventually become a coach? How did you get into coaching?
BOLDEN: I went to UCLA and graduated with a BA degree in Sociology. My lifelong dream was that I wanted to become a social worker. I took a year off from school to rain for the ’84 Olympic games. Once I won my Gold medal, I wanted to continue competing and then help others to achieve their goals. I started off as a volunteer coach at UCLA and worked my way up from there. I just finished my fifteenth year as the head women’s track and field coach at UCLA. (I definitely believe that my Society degree has come in handy with being a coach.)

MARTHA BIXBY, Team Darfur Executive Director, August 6, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Have any international leaders spoken against the revocation of the visas (to Joey Cheek and to Brad Greiner who were to attend the Olympics)?
BIXBY: Members of the U.S. House and Senate have issued statements in support of Joey. Senator Feingold’s statement sums up many people’s sentiments:
“China’s decision to revoke Joey Cheek’s visa undermines the spirit of the Olympic Games and China’s role as host. As a world leader deeply engaged in Africa, and as host of the Olympic Games, China has a responsibility and an opportunity to help bring peace to Darfur. I call on the Chinese government to use the Olympic Games to push for an end to the conflicts in Sudan and I call on President Bush to raise this issue specifically with the Chinese government during his visit.”

DAVID MARANISS, author, August 7, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: How has television altered our view of the Olympics? Is the requirement of visual interest detracting from the spirit of competition?
MARANISS: First, consider what the first commercially televised Olympics were like. CBS bought the rights to broadcast the Rome games. They paid half a million bucks. NBC for Beijing is paying over a billion dollars. NBC has sent 2,900 employees to Beijing. CBS sent fewer than 50 to Rome. It was just before the era of transatlantic satellites, so the games were not televised live in the US. Film and videotape canisters were loaded onto commercial jets in Rome and flown back to New York every day. Jim McKay, hosting his first Olympics (for CBS…ABC would hire him the following year) was not even in Rome, but at the New York studio, tapping out his evening script on a portable typewriter. That is how it all began.
It is impossible to overstate the effect TV has had on the Olympics since then. The synergy of television and commercialism made things grow exponentially. I have always heard complains that it is hard to just watch the events on TV without wallowing in all the excesses of the coverage than have nothing to do with the sports themselves.

MICHAEL LEE, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 13, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: I notice I never see any Chinese characters on the Olympics field: everything is in English. I do know that English is taught in Chinese schools. Is English the international language of the Olympics?
LEE: I think it is. This is my second Olympics. When I was in Greece, everything was in English. I had no trouble getting around. I was a bit surprised that I haven’t seen anything with “Beijing 2008” written in Chinese characters anywhere. I think that’d be cool. At least I could find “Athens 2004” in Greek. I’m not complaining, though. It makes it easier to get around.

JERRY COLANGELO, USA Basketball National Director, August 21, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: How does one keep professionals as hungry for winning a Gold as amateurs are?
COLANGELO: Well, I think there’s a gray area between professional and amateur, at least in the international athletics. So many athletes go pro so early now, in tennis, golf, basketball. If players buy into a vision, share a passion, get with the program over a period of time, and this is where continuity is important, there’s an attitude that’s created and perpetuates itself, and that’s what we have here with this current team.

JUSTIN SPRING, 2008 U.S. Men’s Olympics Gymnastics Team Member, August 22, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Did you stay in the Olympic village? If so, what was it like? Do you get to intermingle with athletes from around the world and, if so, what do you discuss with each other?
SPRING: We stayed in the village. We spoke with a bunch of other athletes from different countries. Most other athletes speak English, and we usually talked about the differences between our individual sports and what we thought about the village and the games.