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Fall Issue 2010 A LETTER FROM WILLIE BANKS U.S. Olympians President “Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It’s five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.” This tag line for the original Star Trek series doesn’t just betray my age...it also expresses the feeling I have regarding the new era seemingly ushered in by a rejuvenated Larry Probst, Chairman of the USOC Board of Directors and the newly hired CEO, Scott Blackmun. Granted, you need to be old to understand the Star Trek analogy but I feel comfort in knowing that even young Olympians can relate to “boldly going where no man has gone before” (in recent episodes of the franchise, the language states “where no one has gone before”). Over the last few months and culminating most recently with a very successful Olympic Assembly, the USOC has expressed a clear and unambiguous desire to embrace the U.S. Olympians as true partners in their mission. Never has there been such a change in attitudes since I’ve been actively involved with the USOC. We, in essence, seem to be breaking new ground with this new sense of partnership. I would like to thank Larry Probst and Scott Blackmun for their support for Olympians. At the Annual meeting of the U.S. Olympic Family, euphemistically called the Olympic Assembly, the U.S. Olympians voted to invite the Paralympians to join our Association. Yes, we expanded our tent to include athletes who have attended the Paralympic Games. Our Association is now known as the “U.S. Olympians and Paralympians Association”. I want to thank my fellow officer, Caryn Davies, for her leadership on the change. Caryn led a group of dedicated Olympians and Paralympians to rewrite our bylaws and constitution to allow the Paralympians to join our group. This is a monumental change in the Association that will leave a lasting legacy. Our organization can be the first to formally begin the integration process with our Paralympian brothers and sisters. Once again we tread on territory where no man (or “no one”) has gone before. In the true spirit of change our organization has been lifted to a special place with the USOC. Because of the inherent value of our members, Scott Blackmun has encouraged our group to start thinking like a Council, similar to the National Governing Body Council, the Multi-Sport Organization Council or the Athletes Advisory Council. Granted, we will not have the same benefits, but we will be significantly better off when it comes to working with the staff of the USOC to promote the mission of our organizations. Speaking of doing something that no one has done before, our World Fit program is getting bigger and better in 2011. Gary Hall, Sr. has been working tirelessly for years to turn World Fit into the premiere program of its kind. Nothing else can come close to its breadth and scope. If you have read early articles you know that this is the U.S. Olympians “signature” program. In fact, we hope to have a congressional resolution in support of the program soon. To top it off the USOC has committed to work with us to incorporate the program into their plans for the future! This is a major accomplishment of which we all should be very proud. Please visit www.worldfit.org and sign up to support the program. Even if you can’t serve a school in your area, please sign up! As you know, we are your democratically elected leadership, and every two years you get a say in who will lead this organization. Each Olympian is equally entitled to run for office, and I invite any interested parties to submit their application to be included on the November 2010 ballot. Contact Cindy Stinger for more information. This is the longest newsletter we have ever produced; and deservedly so. There is a lot to announce and a lot to brag about. In this issue there is something for everyone. As you peruse the following pages, I hope you will think long and hard about your level of participation and join your fellow Olympians and Paralympians in support of the Olympic Movement. You will find a list of Chapters and their Presidents in the back of the newsletter. Please contact your THE nearest President and ask them how you can get involved. If there is no Chapter near you, please let me (willie.banks@ olympian.org) or Cindy Stinger know so we can help you get WILLIE BANKS SPEAKS TO OLYMPIC one started. With your help and support we will “boldly go ASSEMBLY TOWN HALL where no one has gone before!” Official Newsletter of the ONCE AN OLYMPIAN ALWAYS AN OLYMPIAN, U.S.Olympians NEVER FORMER NEVER PAST Olympian Kim Rhode Seeks Fifth Straight Olympic Medal For USA Add up all of her practice rounds over these long years and you may just get an incredible total of two million rounds of those familiar red Winchester AA shotgun shells. All of the hard work and practice rounds paid off for Kim in 1996 when she was selected to represent the USA in the event of International Double Trap for the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. At these Games, Kim’s event was one of the initial individual Olympic events that the U.S. was competing in and expectations were run- ning high that these Games would produce lots of medals for the USA. Kim did not disap- point. She won the gold medal and spent the rest of these Games enjoying her Olympic experience. She returned home to sunny California and was an overnight sensation even in laid back Los Angeles. Immediately upon her return, she attended an “Olympic Celebration” event at the Holly- wood Bowl featuring the music of renowned composer John Williams. In the middle of his ISSF WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL SKEET WORLD CHAM- concert, Williams asked all of the more than 60 PIONSHIP MEDALISTS ARE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT WEI Olympians who were present to stand. Then, NING, SILVER MEDALIST FROM CHINA, KIM RHODE, quite unexpectedly, he gave a personal salute to Kim and told her how proud he was of her gold GOLD MEDALIST FROM USA AND DANKA BARTEKOVA, medal performance. His comments brought a BRONZE MEDALIST FROM SLOVAKIA. thunderous ovation from the 19,000 music lov- ers who were in attendance. If you visit Oak Tree Shooting Range or Prado Shooting Fast forward through time… Sports Park in the Southern California area on a given afternoon, you just may see a familiar sight. There with her Kim wins the bronze at the Sydney Games and follows this father Richard is America’s most decorated female Olym- up with yet another gold medal in 2004 in Athens. Then, pic shooter in history, four-time-Olympic medalist Kim despite the elimination of her event following these Games, Rhode. Day in and day out, Kim shoots under the watchful Kim keeps shooting and makes the complete transition that eye of her father and coach, Richard. is required from International Doubles Trap to the Interna- tional Skeet event. Kim burst onto the scene at the tender age of 13 when she won her first major international championship. Kim For ten months, Kim shoots every day just to qualify for turned her attention to the Olympic Games and qualified THE the USA National Team in this new event. In her first world for the USA National Shooting Team in 1994. cup competition in Santa Domingo, Kim not only wins the Fall Issue 2010 2 ONCE AN OLYMPIAN ALWAYS AN OLYMPIAN, NEVER FORMER NEVER PAST gold medal but also breaks the world record with a score of 98. As they say, the rest is history. Kim earns the right to compete for the USA in Beijing and wins the silver medal for the USA in International Skeet. As this story is being written, Kim has just returned home from Munich, Germany where she has won the World Championship. This victory combined with her other world cup wins earlier this year have now given her a command- ing lead in the race to represent the USA in the London Games in 2012. If she is able to win one more medal at the London Games, she will become the first American Olympian from an individual sport to ever medal in five consecutive Olympic Games. Kim has been shooting competitively since the age of 10 (over 21 years). During these years of grueling training and the recoil of 500 to 1000 rounds of 12 gauge shotgun targets each day, Kim was advised that her career was probably over. She credits elite Physical Therapist Robert Forster with helping her to overcome injuries and strength training to bring her back up to an elite performance level which has enabled her successful career to continue. Currently she is ranked #1 in the world. As the London Games approaches (now less than two years away), Kim is appreciative of all the efforts of those around her who have empowered her with their continued support. According to Rhode, “Quite simply, the costs for a competitive shooter are among the highest in the Olym- pic world. I could not succeed without the support of the United States Olympic Committee and USA Shooting as well as my amazing sponsors. In addition,” she continued, “There are those who are closest to me who are the ‘wind beneath my wings’ and they know how much I appreciate their supportive efforts.” “You should never be afraid of losing because life’s hardest lessons can teach you how to win.” 3 -Nikki Stone, Olympian, Skiing An Open Letter To Olympian Steve Holcomb Steve: I am not sure how or if this email will get to you but I wanted to at least make an attempt.