Page 1 1 of 540 DOCUMENTS USA TODAY October 4, 1991, Friday, FINAL EDITION Maree: A hand for homeland BYLINE: Dick Patrick SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 2C LENGTH: 178 words Sydney Maree, who became a U.S. citizen in 1984, always wanted to help his home country of South Africa. Now, thanks to involvement in two public relations projects, the two-time Olympian and holder of U.S. records in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters thinks he has found vehicles for future contributions. ''South Africa has never needed help more,'' says Maree, 35, who grew up near Pretoria. ''Someone has to take re- sponsibility for the youth.'' Next week, Maree tours California middle and high schools for Shoot For Success, an essay contest and self-help project funded by Fujitsu America. Maree is also a spokesman for the Olympic Job Opportunity Program, which places athletes in jobs allowing them to train, as well as establish non- athletic careers. In South Africa, he says, too many black athletes are restricted to min- ing. His idea is eventually to establish both programs in South Africa: ''We cannot look at the South Africans and say, 'OK, you're free now, get up and walk.' Somebody has to take their hands and say, 'This is how you do it.' '' LANGUAGE: ENGLISH TYPE: Sportstalk Copyright 1991 Gannett Company Inc. Page 2 2 of 540 DOCUMENTS USA TODAY July 18, 1991, Thursday, FINAL EDITION Ex-South African eager for '92 BYLINE: Steve Woodward SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 2C LENGTH: 212 words DATELINE: LOS ANGELES If he qualifies for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, runner Sydney Maree is certain that he will share in a joy- ous, emotional experience. Maree is a U.S. citizen but was born a South African. Recently, the International Olympic Committee reversed a 21-year ban against South Africa's participation in the Olympic Games. At the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain, the assembled athletes will include a team from Maree's homeland. ''I think it will be very difficult to find a dry spot on my face in that particular moment,'' says Maree, 34, who will compete tonight at the U.S. Olympic Festival in the 5,000 meters. ''It will be a very touching moment to see South Afri- cans on the other side.'' Maree is the U.S. recordholder in the 5,000 and 1,500 and was a U.S. Olympian in 1988. Though he suspects a government provision could be made that would allow him to compete for South Africa in 1992, ''I feel (the USA) is where I belong, and that this is who I should represent.'' As long as South Africa adheres to its pledge - promoting unified, non- racial sports participation - Maree says he believes ''sports will bring the people together.'' Until the recent changes, he supported South Africa's isolation from international competition. LANGUAGE: ENGLISH TYPE: Sportstalk Copyright 1991 Gannett Company Inc. Page 3 3 of 540 DOCUMENTS Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA) July 27, 1984, Friday 'Nothing bothers a champion,' not even Los Angeles BYLINE: By Marshall Ingwerson, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor SECTION: National; Pg. 3 LENGTH: 504 words DATELINE: Los Angeles As the last-arriving members of the US Olympic team filtered into the city this week, many athletes showed little concern with the woes of this Olympiad - the East-bloc boycott, Los Angeles smog, or tight living quarters. And they showed little taste for pre-Olympic hype in the press, which many escaped as long as possible at remote training sites. Their first stop, before checking into the tightly guarded Olympic villages, was at a sort of wardrobe assembly-line run by team outfitter Levi Strauss & Co., where athletes were fitted into matching red, white, and blue suits of clothes for Olympic functions. As warm-ups and blazers were fitted to their wildly various physiques, the athletes seemed to look ahead at these games with a competitive vigor only slightly tainted by regret, and then only on the outer edges. ''I don't even think about the boycott anymore,'' says Sydney Maree, a slight 1,500-meters runner who left South Africa seven years ago (he is black) and became a US citizen in May. ''It doesn't even seem like part of the games. ... To me, just to be here is very exciting.'' ''Still you sit back and wonder if the Olympics will ever be the same.'' Michael Carter, a shot-putter from Dallas, trying to find a warm-up suit that would accommodate his massive thighs, has a similar view of the boycott. ''I forgot all about it. I wish (the boycotting teams) were here, but now it's just the Olympics.'' ''It's a shame,'' says August Wolf, world leader in the shot put this season, explaining that the US had a good chance to break up Eastern Europe's recent dominance in his event. The shot-putters can't prove it now to their best competi- tors, he says, ''but we're very, very strong here in the United States.'' Mr. Wolf, from Princeton, N.J., has just returned from three weeks in West Germany ''to get away from all the hype.'' Is he concerned about southern California's recent smog and heat wave? ''My motto is: A champion lets nothing bother him. The more you think about it, the more it bothers you.'' ''I don't have time to think about those things,'' says Sharrieffa Barksdale, a 400-meter hurdler from Harriman, Tenn. ''I just think about going out to run my race.'' Weather conditions don't bother Sydney Maree either. ''We're all going to be in the same boat.'' The heat concerns 50-kilometer racewalker Carl Schueler, who has been training in Colorado. ''But it's cooler than I expected,'' he says. ''If it's like this, I won't complain.'' Page 4 'Nothing bothers a champion,' not even Los Angeles Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA) July 27, 1984, Friday Mr. Schueler notes less Olympic hype than a couple of months ago - ''a little less hype and more fun and competi- tion.'' ''This will be the most visible Olympics,'' says pole-vaulter Earl Bell of Jonesboro, Ark. ''You won't be able to turn around without seeing something on it (in the press). But ... I think that makes it more fun.'' Miss Barksdale figured the full impact of the games would hit her in the opening ceremonies Saturday. ''I've never seen anything like that before. ... I still just can't believe I'm on the team.'' LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: Picture, The coliseum, site of Sunday's opening ceremonies for the Olympics, is locked for a secret dress rehearsal, UPI COPYRIGHT 1984 THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING SOCIETY Page 5 4 of 540 DOCUMENTS The New York Times May 6, 1984, Sunday, Late City Final Edition SYDNEY MAREE'S THANK YOU SECTION: Section 5; Page 2, Column 4; Sports Desk LENGTH: 454 words The runner Sydney Maree, a native of South Africa, became a United States citizen in Philadelphia last Tuesday. This article is the speech Maree gave on behalf of the people naturalized with him that day. WE come from the four corners of the earth, from diverse social, cultural and political traditions, as immigrants, expatriates or refugees from other lands, all in search of the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Some of us have endured hardship, deprivation and persecution in our former homelands, not for things we did or were guilty of, but because of who we were or what we believed in. Now we can reflect on those bitter memories with mixed feelings of sorrow and joy: sorrow, that such needless suffering will continue for others less fortunate than ourselves; joy, that as American citizens we need never tolerate such injustices or indignities again without cause. Today, we find reassurance in the fact that for more than 200 years, the Government of the United States has been a government of laws and not of men, and that the supreme law of the land is embodied in the United States Constitution, guaranteeing life, due process and equal protection for all. These enduring principles provide us with the fundamental right to vote, to acquire an education and to seek gainful employment in all sectors of the economy, values that cannot be taken for granted, especially by those of us who seldom enjoyed such basic freedoms in the past. But even freedom is meaningless unless it is accompanied by a willingness and resolve to be responsible in its daily exercise. So it is fitting that today on Law Day, the day we are naturalized, we proudly renew our commitment to de- mocracy by reaffirming our belief in the rule of law and the benefits that are derived thereunder. As new citizens, we wish to give as much as or more than we will take from this promised land of freedom and op- portunity, whose Founding Fathers were immigrants like ourselves, and whose contributions we can only hope to emu- late. Every new citizen brings with him- or herself a unique array of talents and strengths, and it is through this diversity that we can make our most profound contribution to the national interest. The wealth of opportunities that await our harvest in this country is not only unknown elsewhere in the world, but is also equally available to each and every one of us under mandate of the law. We can and fully intend to use them. In conclusion, I would like only to add, on behalf of all newly naturalized citizens, how tremendously privileged we all feel to finally be able to greet you as ''fellow Americans.'' Thank you, America.