THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503290148
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
It was a minor event with major consequences, and Donna Strauss remembers it well.
``An alternate - not a grownup - pulled the uneven board (into position) but didn't know she then had to leave the podium. Five points were deducted. If it weren't for that deduction, the U.S. team would have won the bronze medal.''
Instead, the East Germans won it. The Olympic heartbreaker occurred in Seoul in 1988. Hope Spivey, Suffolk's highly touted gymnast, was on the team.
She had trained hard since childhood, spending most of her teen years away from home, in a school that caters to the finest young gymnasts in the country.
What is the name of that school, and where is it?
It is run by Donna Strauss and her husband, Bill, who have always regarded Spivey as family.
``She is like a daughter to us,'' he said. ``We're proud of her, and we love her a lot.''
That friendship has not faded. Spivey and the Strauss family still keep in touch.
``We asked her to stay with us for a week this summer,'' Donna said. ``She will, if she can get away from Atlanta.''
Spivey, 23, lives and works there. She is an instructor at the Atlanta School of Gymnastics.
A 1988 Sun story explained that the school she attended, which has been training gymnasts for 32 years, always looked for that someone special - an Olympian.
They found it in Spivey who, Bill Strauss said at the time, ``will be the personality of the gymnastic team. She has the charisma.''
Donna called their protege ``a powerhouse, a human dynamo, well-disciplined, determined, with drive.''
A Russian coach described Spivey as ``a very good athlete and a very nice person.''
Spivey was born in Norfolk but raised in Suffolk. Her parents, David and Barbara, still live here.
Their daughter has displayed her athletic prowess in Japan, Russia, France, Italy and in several sections of the United States.
Where in the United States did Spivey train during her teen years? Turn a few pages and you'll find the answer.
You'll find the answers to these questions, as well:
1 - When this versatile actor first came to New York seeking showbiz fame he played piano in a beer hall that featured silent films. His boss asked him to also work as a waiter. When he saw a guest with a napkin tucked under his chin he asked, ``Pardon me, sir, would you like a shave or a haircut?'' Yes, he is known for his comedy roles, but has also succesfully tackled drama. Hint: Sour fruit.
2 - Which president was apprenticed to a tailor when he was 13? He had little schooling so fellow workers taught him the alphabet and his girlfriend taught him to read and write. Eventually, he had his own tailor shop. Hint: He was one of two presidents with this name.
3 - This actor has been around since the '40s. His brother, James Jr. is a millionaire. His father, James, coined the term, ``the beer that made Milwaukee famous.'' Our trivia subject was a skeet shooting champion in the 1930s and once held the world's record of 351 consecutive hits. Hint: He still appears, regularly, on television.
4 - Will you know the answer to this question? What did Presidents Lincoln, Grant and Garfield have in common? Hint: The answer is in the first question.
5 - Sitting Bull was the leader of which Indian tribe?
See answers, page 21 ILLUSTRATION: Staff file photo
Suffolk's Hope Spivey competed for the United States in gymnastics
at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
by CNB