September 01, 2004

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Dream ending in Athens

by Rick Eymer

The 16 days of competition are over. The once-in-every-four-year spectacle known as the Summer Olympics is in the history books.

The United States won 103 medals in Athens, Greece, its most since the 108 won in 1992 and the third most since the lopsided 174 medals won at the 1984 boycotted Los Angeles Games.

These were known at the "Dream Games," primarily for the fact that Athens, the smallest nation to host the Summer Games, was able to get out of the blocks and across the finish line in time. The Greeks, despite an enormous undertaking, $8.5 billion budget and threats of terrorism, overcame the odds and naysayers -- making for a memorable event.

"The citizens of Greece have proven the doomsayers wrong," said Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the man who made the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles so successful. "For four of five years, they heard nothing but criticism. 'You won't be ready. You can't do it. This is silly. This is folly.'"

Added Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, during Closing Ceremonies on Sunday: "These were unforgettable dream Games."

Talk to any of the 40 Stanford athletes, coaches and graduates who participated in Athens and they would agree. Of that group, 15 athletes combined for 17 medals in Greece: three gold, seven silver and seven bronze.

Had the Stanford athletes been entered as a country, they would have surpassed Greece (16), Canada (12) and 56 other countries.

Surprisingly, Stanford's medal count was four shy of the school-record 21 medals picked up by Stanford affiliates at the 1924 Olympics in Paris.

Stanford grad Toby Stevenson put the finishing touches on the Olympic Games with a silver-medal performance in the pole vault last Friday.

Menlo Park's Grace Upshaw also competed on Friday, finishing 10th in the women's long jump while the synchronized swimming team, which included Stanford senior Erin Dobratz and Stanford freshman Sara Lowe, picked up a bronze medal.

On Sunday, the men's water polo team, with Stanford senior Tony Azevedo and Stanford grads Wolf Wigo and Layne Beaubien, defeated Italy, 9-8, in the seventh-place contest.

Stevenson cleared 19-4 1/4 to match his second-place finish at the Olympic Trials. Timothy Mack won the gold with an Olympic record of 19-6 1/4.

"I'm disappointed that I lost, but am I disappointed that I got a silver? Hell, no," Stevenson said. "We've been here two weeks, saying to each other, 'let's get a gold and a silver,' half joking and half serious. And we did it. The crowd really inspired us. It was so noisy; I didn't even know the (rest of the) meet was over. You want to relish the atmosphere, but not get too caught up in it."

Stevenson got off a good effort on his final shot at 5.95 meters (Mack's winning height), but grazed the bar with his upper thigh and then his stomach on the way down, assuring Mack of the gold.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic I won the silver," Stevenson said. "It is the culmination of the last 15 years of my life -- paying my dues, taking all the jokes about the helmet. It really legitimizes my life as an athlete."

At Stanford, Stevenson was the 1998 NCAA champion and the 2000 runnerup. He set the school and Pac-10 record with a vault of 18-9 3/4 inches and won the conference championship.

After graduating, Stevenson spent two years coaching at Stanford before moving to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, where he currently coaches himself.

"Everybody brought their A game tonight, and luckily for us, we got a gold and a silver," Stevenson said. "Tim is a great jumper. He's been jumping well all year."

Upshaw finished 10th overall in the long jump, with a leap of 21-9 1/2 as the Americans were shut out of a medal in the event. Marion Jones was fifth.

"It was exciting. I would have desired a little bit more," Upshaw said. "The women are jumping extremely well out there. I would have liked to be with them for the final three jumps, but it wasn't the case. I made it here and I feel good about that. We have a couple more meets left in the season and I plan to end it on a high note.
Synchronized swimming

Dobratz competed in the team technical routine while Lowe competed in both technical and free routines.

The Americans finished third with 97.418 total points in the team event to medal in the team competition for the first time since 1996.

"We had an incredible swim," Lowe said. "It felt so connected and that is how we wanted to go out."

Team USA was in third place after the first day of the event after scoring 48.584 points in the technical routine on Thursday. The Americans scored 48.834 points in Friday's free routine.

Stanford freshman Courtney Stewart competed in the team event for Canada, which finished fifth.

Tammy Crow replaced Dobratz in the free routine.

A judge allowed Crow to travel to Athens after she pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular manslaughter in the 2003 deaths of her boyfriend and a 12-year-old boy. She was sentenced to three months in jail.

Crow lost control of her SUV and slammed into two trees after being at a party in Northern California. Last week, a three-judge panel denied her appeal, and she is set to report to jail in October.
Men's water polo

Azevedo scored three times in the victory over Italy after recording a hat trick in a 6-5 victory over Australia in a match on Friday.

Azevedo finished the Olympics with 15 goals, tied with Russia's Revaz Chomakhidze for the most at the 2004 Games. The Americans completed a seven-game run at the 2004 Games with a 4-3 record.

Beaubien scored twice against Italy, while Wigo scored against Australia.

"The team came out and played strong," said Azevedo.

By finishing among the top eight, the U.S. team automatically qualified for next year's world championships.
General

Former Stanford women's soccer player Julie Foudy, former softball star Jessica Mendoza and former volleyball star Kerri Walsh each won gold medals.

Stanford affiliates Tara Kirk (women's swimming), Samantha Magee (women's rowing), Markus Rogan of Austria (men's swimming), and Jenny Thompson (women's swimming) joined Stevenson as silver medal winners. Rogan and Thompson each won two medals.

Stanford grads Margie Dingeldein (women's water polo), Ellen Estes (women's water polo), Jackie Frank (women's water polo), Patricia Miranda (women's wrestling) and Brenda Villa (women's water polo) joined Dobratz and Lowe as bronze medal winners.

All three Stanford coaches at the 2004 Olympics also helped coach their athletes to medals. Women's softball head coach John Rittman was an assistant for the Team USA squad that won its third straight Olympic gold medal.

Women's swimming coach Richard Quick served as an assistant for Team USA women's swimming in his sixth Olympic coaching assignment. The American women combined with the country's men's swimming team for an Olympic-high 28 swimming medals.

Former Stanford men's tennis player Patrick McEnroe (1985-88 at Stanford) coached Marty Fish to a silver medal as Team USA's men's tennis head coach.

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