SJMN Operator: NN / Job name: XXXX0045-0001 / Description: Zone:MO Edition: Revised, date and time: 02/04/58, 21:16 Typeset, date and time: 08/04/04, 01:31 080804MOOL0U001 / Typesetter: IIIOUT / TCP: #1 / Queue entry: #0989 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 8/8/2004 MO 1 SECTION OL | SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2004 .... THE ATHENS OLYMPICS THE GOLDEN STATE PORTRAITS No one brings home Olympic medals VIEWERS’ GUIDE An up-close look What to watch at Bay Area Olympians like Californians. Here’s why. and when to watch it PAGES 2-16 STORIES, PAGES 3-7 SECTION T, BEHIND THIS SECTION .... JIM GENSHEIMER — MERCURY NEWS PHOTOGRAPHS SJMN Operator: NN / Job name: XXXX0252-0002 / Description: Zone:MO Edition: Revised, date and time: 05/10/04, 17:52 Typeset, date and time: 08/04/04, 00:00 080804MOOL0U002 / Typesetter: IIIOUT / TCP: #1 / Queue entry: #0918 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 8/8/2004 MO 2 2 WWW.MERCURYNEWS.COM SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2004 The Athens Olympics Welcome to our coverage of the About the Olympic portraits 2004 Games Throughout these pages you will find a se- ‘‘Most Olympic athletes toil away in obscuri- ries of stunning portraits taken over the past ty with little compensation in the form of mon- The Summer Olympics are some- four months by the Mercury News’ Jim Gens- ey or acclaim. Why do they do it? Most will tell thing special to the Bay Area, where swimmers, runners and cyclists are heimer, who has photographed Olympians to you they do it for the love of their sport; for the as much a part of the culture as foot- ball, baseball and basketball players. preview four Summer Games and one Winter self-satisfaction of being good at something. That is why we have chosen the Games. Here is what Gensheimer, who has ‘‘I’ve seen athletes evolve. I photographed theme ‘‘The Golden State’’ for our sections previewing the 2004 Athens done these portraits since 1992, says about his swimmer Jenny Thompson for her Olympic Games. work and the athletes he has photographed: debut in 1992, and for every Olympics since. As Mark Emmons describes in our cover story, beginning on the next ‘‘We mostly see athletes in action, often un- This will be her fourth appearance. Her com- page, California is simply different der bad light with their faces obscured by gog- mitment and tenacity are remarkable. than the rest of the country. ‘‘Ath- THE PHOTOGRAPHER: letes are just drawn here,’’ Olympic gles or helmets. I want readers to be able to ‘‘I see these Olympic portraits as a tribute historian David Wallechinsky told The Mercury News’ Jim Emmons. Indeed, more than a quar- see their faces in a soul-revealing portrait. I to athletes like Thompson and the values they Gensheimer has ter of the athletes competing in Ath- hope to capture athletes’ competitive spirit, represent: honest hard work, passion and ens under the American flag have photographed Olympic significant ties to the state. Emmons’ their personality, their drive and passion. valor.’’ athletes since 1992. story explores the reasons why. Today’s section is just the begin- ning of our coverage of the Games, which will be broadcast almost around the clock and contested un- der a veil of terrorism fears and amid a drug scandal that threatens to over- JESSICA MENDOZA, LAUREN LAPPIN | Softball shadow the competition itself. Reporter Elliott Almond, one of the nation’s authorities on that drug scandal, will be joined in Greece by columnists Mark Purdy and Ann Kil- lion. Photographer Nhat V. Meyer, who has followed aspiring Olympians all year, will offer a glimpse of the happiness and heartbreak that are the Games. Charlie McCollum, writing from your viewpoint — in front of the TV — will dissect the best and worst of the 1,210 hours of coverage by NBC and its stable of networks. And don’t forget to check www.mercurynews.com for up- dates and coverage throughout each day. TABLE OF CONTENTS Portraits and biographies .......... Pages 2-17 Cover story ....................Pages 3-4 FIVE INFLUENTIAL CALIFORNIANS Peter Ueberroth ...................Page 4 Cheryl Miller..................... Page 5 Rafer Johnson.................... Page 6 Mark Spitz...................... Page 6 Florence Griffith Joyner.............. Page 6 Other Californians in the Games ........ Page 17 IN DEPTH: LOCAL ATHLETES AND THEIR SPORTS Patricia Miranda, wrestling ........... Page 17 Andre Ward, boxing............... Page 17 Synchronized swimming team......... Page 18 Khoa Nguyen, table tennis............ Page 18 SECTION T BEHIND THIS SECTION What’s on TV every day........... Pages 2-8 Schedule of events .............. Pages 9-11 COVER PHOTOS Shown clockwise from top left Andre Ward Tara and Boxing, Page 7 Dana Kirk JIM GENSHEIMER — MERCURY NEWS PHOTOGRAPHS Swimming, Page 5 Softball players Jessica Mendoza, left, a Stanford graduate, and Lauren Lappin, a Stanford student. JESSICA MENDOZA LAUREN LAPPIN WHEN TO WATCH Aug. 14: vs. Italy Age: 23 Position: Left field Age: 20 Position: Catcher/infield (alternate) Aug. 15: vs. Australia Residence: Camarillo Residence: Anaheim Patricia Aug. 16: vs. Japan Christine Bay Area connection: Graduated from Stanford Bay Area connection: Attends Stanford Thorburn Miranda Aug. 17: vs. China Cycling, Page 7 Wrestling, Page 6 Aug. 18: vs. Canada Jessica Mendoza was a first-team All- Lauren Lappin is the youngest member of a Aug. 19: vs. Greece American in all four of her seasons at team that is the two-time defending Olym- Aug. 20: vs. Taiwan Stanford, and she helped the school to its pic gold medalist. As a freshman, she led Aug. 22: semifinals and bronze-medal game first appearance in the Women’s College Stanford with a .328 batting average. Last Aug. 23: gold-medal Eric Toby World Series, in 2001. She has been a season she was tops with a .358 mark and game Guerrero Stevenson Wrestling, Page 16 Pole vault, Page 9 standout with the national team ever helped the Cardinal advance to the Wom- since her debut at the 2002 world champi- en’s College World Series. Lappin hit .400 onships, where she batted .313 and drove there and was named to the all-tournament OLYMPICS PREVIEW SECTION STAFF in seven runs as the Americans won gold. team. Section editor Rachel Wettergreen Wilner Writers Mark Emmons, Chris Hutchison Photographer Jim Gensheimer NATALIE COUGHLIN | Swimming Copy Editors Chris Hutchison, Nicole Poell Events: 100-meter backstroke, 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle relay, 400-meter medley relay Picture editors Age: 21 Residence: Concord Bay Area connection: Grew up in Concord and graduated from Cal Wayne Begasse, Caroline Couig Directors of photography Geri Migielicz, Mark Damon It is difficult to decide what about Natalie WHEN TO WATCH Designers Coughlin to admire more: her versatility in Aug. 14: 400 freestyle relay heats and final HyunJu Chappell Hine, Jeff Hindenach Aug. 15: 100 backstroke heats and semifinals News design director the water (six world records, spanning the Aug. 16: 100 backstroke final Kevin Wendt four disciplines) or the fact she has Aug. 18: 100 freestyle heats and semifinals Graphics Aug. 19: 100 freestyle final Javier Zarracina, Karl Kahler, Doug Griswold achieved so much after a serious shoulder Aug. 20: 400 medley relay heats Art director injury nearly ended her career when she Pai Aug. 21: 400 medley relay final Creative director was 16. The backstroke is her best event; Kris Viesselman she was the first woman to swim the 100 in Executive Sports editor Mike Guersch less than a minute. See story, Page 1A. SJMN Operator: NN / Job name: XXXX0091-0003 / Description: Zone:MO Edition: Revised, date and time: 05/15/21, 11:40 Typeset, date and time: 08/04/04, 00:00 080804MOOL0U003 / Typesetter: IIIOUT / TCP: #1 / Queue entry: #0919 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 8/8/2004 MO 3 SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2004 SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS WWW.MERCURYNEWS.COM 3 The Athens Olympics Made in California Golden State has proven to be ideal setting for producing Olympians By Mark Emmons Mercury News Graduating from tiny Graceland College in Iowa back in 1973, the athlete knew he needed just the right spot to train for a shot at Olympic glory. He went through the checklist of requirements. Good weather. Great facilities. A place brimming with other world-class athletes. ‘‘So as soon as I took off my cap and gown, I jumped into my ’63 Volkswagen bug,’’ Bruce Jenner said. ‘‘Pole vault strapped to the roof. Javelins sticking out the doors. Headed West.’’ To the land of athletes. California. When it comes to the Olympics, we are truly the Golden State. In a different time, fortune-seekers rushed here in search of gold. FIVE Today, athletes INFLUENTIAL here are hunt- CALIFORNIANS ing gold med- als. If they we- Profiles of five ren’t born here, people from they pack their the Golden bags and come State who here — like have left their Jenner, the 1976 mark on the decathlon gold Olympics. medalist. PAGES 4-7 We’re the home of run- ners, swim- mers, cyclists, boxers, rowers, fenc- ers and even trampoliners. Twenty-six percent of the 531 American athletes competing in the Athens Games, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee’s offi- cial roster, are from California. But if you include athletes who have other significant California ties — such as attending college here — the figure is more like 30 percent. And that ratio is typical of previous Olympics. ‘‘We once figured out, about the time of Seoul and Barcelona Games, that if California was a sep- arate nation, it would finish fifth in the medal count,’’ said USOC spokesman Bob Condron. Let’s just say we’re the MVP for the U.S. Olympic movement — Most Valuable Place.