Olympians on the floor
By Kevin Hampton
Corvallis Gazette-Times
Seven athletes at this week’s NCAA championships have competed on a bigger stage
For most gymnasts competing in Gill Coliseum this week, the NCAA Championships will be the biggest meet of their careers.
There are a few, however, who have been on a bigger stage.
In town are seven gymnasts who joined athletes from around the world in the Olympic Games.
Alabama’s Terin Humphrey was a member of the 2004 Team USA silver medalists in Athens. Humphrey also took silver on bars.
“It was the best experience, just watching our flag being raised was one of the best experiences someone could have,” Humphrey said. “It showed that all the hard work paid off and that’s what you get for all those years of training.”
Humphrey, who was the NCAA bars champion last year, said she enjoyed staying in the Olympic Village with the other athletes and met tennis star Andy Roddick, swimmer Michael Phelps and Chinese basketball player Yao Ming. The American gymnasts also met the Russian team and spent some time getting to know each other.
The gymnasts stayed around the compound during their competition, but were able to get out on the last day.
“We went on a one-day cruise,” Humphrey said. “We went to three islands and we went shopping.”
Humphrey said the biggest difference between elite and college gymnastics is the importance of working as a team and said last year’s meet was less stressful because she had the support of her teammates.
“Now it’s more important to get a team title than it is get an individual title,” she said. “When I trained, I didn’t have teammates. You have to go out there and be by yourself basically.”
Georgia freshman Courtney Kupets won a bronze on bars and silver with Team USA alongside Humphrey and shared many of the experiences throughout the Olympics.
Kupets enjoyed the colorfulness of the event and the brightness of the venues.
She didn’t enjoy was the pain she endured during the training and competition. What was thought to be a pulled hamstring turned out to be a fracture hip joint.
“I was in a lot of pain going through the competition, so it wasn’t the most enjoyable to compete in,” Kupets said. “But one thing I had was determination and I was very proud I could finish the meet.”
Five weeks of rest and Kupets was ready to go.
Kupets and Humphrey had the chance to tour the country to do exhibitions, but they chose to stick with their college teams instead.
“When the tour came around it was a chance to take money or stay with the NCAA, but it didn’t compare with staying in college,” Kupets said.
Nicola Willis was in Athens to compete for Great Britain.
Willis, now a member of the University of Florida’s team, was among the first gymnasts to perform in the first round and missed the big crowds that came in later.
She spent her time among the members of the English Olympic team and met many of the top athletes from her country while she was there. She was able to root on the track athletes and divers during their sessions.
“That was my dream for a long time, to go to the Olympics,” Willis said.
When it came time to pursue higher education, Willis checked out Florida and was taken by the excitement of college gymnastics.
She didn’t compete in the NCAA meet last year but was able to go.
“I think it’s amazing,” Willis said. “The fans are a lot louder, everyone cheers, everyone wears their team colors. I love it.”
UCLA’s Tasha Schwikert made the team in 2000 as an alternate and then moved into the lineup when an injury knocked a team member out.
“It was kind of like a whirlwind,” Schwikert said. “I was young and I didn’t really know anything. One thing did do is train.”
She also made the 2004 team as an alternate. An Achilles injury forced her to water down her routines prior to the team selection.
“I pretty much had the thought that I’d be an alternate, but it was a great opportunity just to go over there,” she said. “In a way, the fact that I was 19 years old helped. I really got take it in more. I realized what was going on around me.”
Along with shopping, spending time at the beach and watching the Team USA basketball games, Schwikert received a first-hand look at the Greek culture. She said they eat dinner at later hours and the way of life is generally more relaxed than in the United States.
“The restaurants kind of didn’t go by their hours, when they were ready, they opened,” she said. “That was amazing to see the contrast.”
Schwikert won the NCAA all-around title for the Bruins in 2005 but is coming as an individual competitor this year along with teammate Kate Richardson after UCLA finished third behind Florida and Arkansas in the Southeast regional.
Schwikert said it will be tough to compete without her team, but that’s part of college gymnastics.
“Being able to share the joys and triumphs and also the devastation one of the most amazing thing to go through,” she said. “Being a part of something greater than you is so much more rewarding.”
Richardson was a member of the Canadian team in the last two Olympics and finished seventh on floor in Athens.
In 2004, Richardson was the teammate of Alabama’s Melanie Banville and Nebraska’s Kylie Stone, who are also in Corvallis for the NCAA meet.
Like Schwikert, Richardson was younger for her first one and appreciated the 2004 Games more.
“It was just an incredible experience all around,” she said. “That was my ultimate goal from the time I was 10, so just to be there and be a part of the opening ceremonies and staying in the Olympic Village was just surreal.”
Meeting the American gymnasts was fun for Richardson, who got to know Kupets, Humphrey and Carly Patterson as well as UCLA athletes Jamie Dantzscher and Kristen Maloney.
Fellow Canadian Yvonne Tousek also went to UCLA and impacted Richardson’s decision to go to Westwood.
“So there was a bunch of girls I knew going into college,” Richardson said. “It’s nice to see them enjoying the college experience so much, too. They all worked so hard.”
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
n WHEN: Today through Saturday
n WHERE: Oregon State’s Gill Coliseum
n TICKETS: Available at the OSU ticket office or 800-GO-BEAVS
|
|
You must be logged
in to comment.
It's free and quick!
|
|
|
 |
RSS 
GT Reader Comments