THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 9, 1996 TAG: 9608090469
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHEN HARRIMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: 101 lines
As the Olympic glow dimmed over Atlanta this week, many of the U.S. athletes who made the Games shine took their glitter on tour.
Traveling in a fleet of motorcoaches, nearly 200 members of Team USA visited the White House, then turned southward Wednesday and made a beeline for Busch Gardens.
On Thursday, they mingled with the crowd of about 20,000 regular visitors at the Wiliamsburg amusement park as they began two days of rest and relaxation after years of training.
They came as guests of Anheuser-Busch Theme Parks, the official theme park sponsor of the Atlanta Games.
You'd think they'd want to be headed home, but these young athletes, all outfitted in blue polo shirts with stars around the collar, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves . . . and the adulation.
No, some of the big names weren't here. The basketball team wasn't. Dan O'Brien wasn't. The sprinter with the ring in his eyebrow wasn't, and neither was the woman with those fingernails. The munchkins of the women's gymnastic team weren't here. And where's Carl? He didn't make this relay either.
If they had been there, I might not have - probably wouldn't have - gotten to meet Kimberly Rhode of El Monte, Calif. She was sitting alone at a table in the shade of a media tent writing a postcard to her friend Meghan, who is in the hospital at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Kimberly had her hair tied back and sported an Olympics-ring face painting on her right cheek.
``What is your sport?'' I asked.
``Shooting,'' she said. ``Double trap.''
How did you do?
``I won the gold.''
Oh.
No matter how hard I try as I look at this slightly built 17-year-old who is about to enter her senior year in high school, I cannot imagine her with a 12-gauge shotgun on her shoulder blasting four-inch clay targets to bits as they fly past at 110 miles an hour.
She's been away from home since July 14 - Mom and Dad were at the Games to see her compete - and she's only going to be home for a day before going off again for a promotional appearance sponsored by her gun maker. But she says she's glad she came here.
``A few minutes ago,'' she volunteered, ``I was in a rush to get over here, and a man pushing his son in a wheelchair stopped me and asked me to sign his son's hat. He had cancer. I just had to do that. I'm glad I did.''
Those are things that make a hero.
Mostly these were athletes just like Kimberly - at least in their attitude toward the crowds of people who surrounded them for autographs as soon as they emerged into the hot August sun from a breakfast in the cavernous and cool German village Festhaus.
Most had not, in fact, won medals, but they were Olympians - the best America could send up against the world - and that was enough for the visitors. See a blue shirt, thrust a pen and pad at them. ``Can I have your autograph, please?''
There was Jill Savery from the gold medal synchronized swimming team, her copper brown hair tied back but now without the gel that slicks it down for performances. She was signing autograph books, T-shirts, jackets, Wheaties boxes - anything thrust at her.
``Why, you're so short,'' a woman said. ``You looked so tall on TV.''
Yes, sometimes they do seem larger than life.
There was Mary Ellen Clark, the bronze medalist in platform diving, still offering that broad, toothy smile that sometimes looks like a grimace. Wearing a ``Gold Medal for Courage'' that a fan gave her, the crowd around her was creating a traffic jam.
Four women from the soccer team - Julie Foudy, Tiffany Roberts, Cindy Parlow and Brandi Chastain - wondered aloud what would come next for them. They had won the gold medal by beating China, 2-1, before 76,000 spectators, and now there was no next step, no pro teams. Not yet anyway.
I learned more about badminton than I had ever known from Linda French and Erika Von Heiland, who together are the U.S. team. Erika plays singles and doubles, Linda only doubles. They competed in the Barcelona Games before Atlanta. They didn't medal, and this is the end of the road for them.
Linda, a University of San Diego law grad, is planning to take the bar exam in February. Erika, an Arizona State grad who has endured five knee operations to keep competing, hopes to land a marketing job with Coca-Cola.
About badminton. They say it is the second most popular sport in the world - that is, everywhere except the United States - after soccer. That's the sport known in most countries as football, but that name was already taken in the United States.
Also, the shuttlecock that they slap around with those thin little rackets is made from four feathers from the left wing of a goose. That gives it a special spin.
``They don't kill the goose,'' Erika explained. ``They just pluck out four feathers from the left wing. You can tell the geese that have made a contribution to badminton. Look out the window. If you see any geese flying around in a circle, those are the ones.'' MEMO: The color photo was improperly credited in the printed edition.
Today the athletes have time all to themselves. All have invitations
to Water Country USA. Tonight they will be special guests at a concert
at Busch Gardens featuring country music star Trisha Yearwood and the
pop/R&B group All-4-One.
The concert is open to the public. Admission is $29.95 and includes
entry to Busch Gardens after 4 p.m. Tickets are available through
Ticketmaster. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN, The Virginian-Pilot
Cliff Sunada, who competed in judo, has to use his fast hands to
keep up with autograph seekers Thursday at Busch Gardens. by CNB