APA OLYMPIANS
U.S. Decathlete Clay Hopes for Gold Redemption
Bryan Clay's sixth grade teacher said the boy he struggled with in physical education class some 15 years ago in Hawaii was stubborn and mentally strong.
The characteristics he showed even back then played a significant role in his success in the decathlon, a grueling two-day, 10-event competition of running, jumping and throwing that harkens back to ancient Greece.
He is one of the world's greatest athletes, among the favorites to win the decathlon at the Beijing Olympics.
"The only way I can explain to people is that it's mentally, physically, spiritually draining on a daily basis," he said. "People go out and play basketball for fun, play golf for fun, jog a few miles for fun, but not a whole lot of people go out and do a decathlon for fun."
Clay, silver medalist in 2004, sealed his second Olympics by winning the U.S. trials with the best decathlon score by an American in 16 years, and the best in the world in four years.
Clay's total of 8,820 points at the 2004 Athens Games was the fourth highest total in Olympic history (it was his personal best until the 8,832 points he scored at the trials in Eugene, Ore.). But Czech great Roman Sebrle set an Olympic record with 8,893 points.
"Everything leading up to the silver medal was the dream, the kind of out-of-body experience," said Clay. "To be in the stadium with 75,000 people cheering and seeing the U.S. flags raised throughout the stadium; I actually start crying when I got to the long jump because I was so overwhelmed by where I was and what was going on around me."
The following year, Clay won the world championships. Hampered by injury last year, this spring he won the heptathlon at the world indoor championships.
Clay uses determination to make up for his stature - at 5-feet-11 and 185 pounds, he is undersized for the sport.
"I guess you could say I'm the smallest decathlete; everybody's taller than me," he said. "There are some things that they get a certain advantage with the height, but I think it all equals out."
The first decathlon event, the 100 meters, is among his strongest, and the last, the 1,500 meters, perhaps his weakest. So he might have to build a substantial lead heading into the decathlon finale if he is to win Olympic gold.
'08 APA Summer Olympians
They will dive, run, tumble and push their bodies to the limit for a chance to touch glory. Who will you root for?
BADMINTON
Returning Olympian Howard Bach (San Francisco, Calif./Orange, Calif.) will be leading the all APA team. Bach qualified in both men's doubles with Khan "Bob" Malaythong (Rockville, Md./Orange, Calif.) and mixed doubles with Eva Lee (Orange, Calif.). Lee also qualified for women's singles, mixed doubles with Bach and women's doubles with Mesinee "May" Mangkalakiri (Garden Grove, Calif.). Raju Rai (Atlanta, Ga./Anaheim, Calif.) rounds out the team having qualified in men's singles.
DIVING
Haley Ishimatsu, 15
Hometown: Seal Beach, CA
Current Residence: Indianapolis, IN
Inside Scoop: The former gymnast, who takes online courses through California's Halstrom High School, started diving in 2004. She is one of only three female divers to perform a back 3-1/2 pike at a 3.6-degree of difficulty. Her sister Tory is also a diver.
FENCING
Emily Cross, 21
Event: Women's Foil
Hometown: New York, NY
Inside Scoop: Cross currently attends Harvard University, where she is fencing and majoring in biology. She's also an avid saxophone player.
James Williams, 22
Event: Men's Saber - Replacement Athlete
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Current Residence: Long Island City, NY
Inside Scoop: Williams was a two-time NCAA All-American in fencing. If he sees action during the Games, he may burst out in Russian - the Columbia University graduate student is fluent.
FIELD HOCKEY
Kayla Bashore, 25
Position: Midfielder
Hometown: Shoemakersville, PA
Current Residence: Bloomington, IN
Inside Scoop: Bashore, who was adopted from South Korea, plans to travel to her birth country with her sisters after the Games. "It will be very special because it is the first time back to Korea since we were adopted at a very young age," said Bashore, an Indiana University graduate with a degree in biology and chemistry.
Amy Tran, 27
Position: Goalkeeper
Hometown: Grantville, PA
Inside Scoop: "I think that we are in a very fortunate position with the pool assignments. Our two biggest challenges will be Argentina and Germany," said Tran, who started playing field hockey because it was the only fall sport offered at her high school. In 2002, she graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in Communications Studies and Speech and Hearing Sciences.
GYMNASTICS
Kevin Tan, 26
Program: Men's Artistic
Level: Senior
Hometown: Fremont, CA
Inside Scoop: Tan's parents enrolled him in gymnastics class as an outlet for his "hyperactive" nature. He's come a long way - Tan was captain of the men's team for the 2006 World Championships. His favorite event is the rings, and he managed to squeeze in a finance degree from Penn State.
The U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team was not finalized before deadline.
JUDO
Taylor Takata, 26
Weight Category: 66-kg
Hometown: Wahiawa, HI
Current Residence: Colorado Springs, CO
Inside Scoop: The Hawaii native has represented the U.S. at the 60-kg division level at Junior and Senior World Championships. He's won at the Pan American and U.S. Open Titles before moving up to the 66-kg division in 2004. When he's not throwing his opponents to the mat, he likes to fish.
Sayaka Matsumoto, 25
Weight Category: 48-kg
Hometown: Richmond, Calif.
Current Residence: El Cerrito, Calif.
Judo Rank: Sandan (3rd-degree black belt)
Inside Scoop: After missing out on two other Olympic Games, this year Matsumoto's dream may come true. Her father David Matsumoto has been coaching her Japan-born daughter since she was five years old. One of her favorite techniques is the Uchimata, an inner thigh throw.
SHOOTING
Sandra Fong, 18
Events: Air Rifle, Three-Position Rifle
Hometown: New York, NY
Inside Scoop: Shooting is a family activity for Fong - her dad taught her how to shoot. Her sisters Abby and Danielle are both shooters too. Fong also competes in track and field and swimming. She will be attending Princeton University in the fall, where she will major in theater and history of jazz.
SOCCER
Natasha Kai, 25
Position: Forward
Hometown: Kahuku, HI
Inside Scoop: The team has Kai to thank for her two goals against Costa Rica in a victory that qualified the U.S. for the '08 Olympics. She is the first-ever player from Hawaii to play for the full Women's National Team (WNT) and to make a Women's World Cup Team. But her best record may be her tattoos - 19, by far the most ever for a WNT player.
The U.S. Men's Soccer Team was not finalized before deadline.
SOFTBALL
Lovieanne Jung, 28
Position: Second Base
Hometown: Fountain Valley, CA
Inside Scoop: Sometimes it's hard for a returning Gold Medal winner. "I think everyone is definitely out to get us this time," said Jung, who was a part of the U.S. team's 2004 win. "We have seen a couple teams this year and everyone looks much better than they were in 2004." But the University of Arizona graduate is looking forward to the opening ceremonies - they missed out last time because they had a game the next day.
SWIMMING
Nathan Adrian, 19
Hometown: Bremerton, WA
Current Residence: Islamorada, FL
Inside Scoop: Adrian beat out some veterans in the 50-meter freestyle final to qualify. He's an aspiring doctor at the University of California, Berkeley who earned the nickname, "Bok Choi" because he's half Asian.
SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING
Annabelle Orme, 21
Hometown: New York, NY
Inside Scoop: To get pumped up for competition, Orme listens to Al Pacino's speech from "Any Given Sunday." Her ipod will be blaring in Beijing where she's hoping to perform her favorite moves - jump ups and rockets.
Becky Kim, 23
Hometown: Redwood City, CA
Inside Scoop: Kim tried gymnastics and figure skating before settling on synchronized swimming. She plans to win Gold and then go back to Ohio State University to get her degree in Korean.
TABLE TENNIS
Olympic veteran Jun Gao started playing table tennis when she was five.
Her first lesson was to learn how to bounce the ball against the wall without letting the ball drop. Now, she is hoping for glory alongside her all APA teammates: Crystal Huang, Chen Wang and David Zhuang.
Also look out for these other potential APA Olympians: Ivana Hong (gymnastics), Lee Nguyen (soccer), Logan Tom (volleyball) and Lindsey Berg.
The Pacific Citizen Web site gives you a sampling of the stories currently in the print edition of the P.C. Click here to subscribe and get two months free!
Print This Article-
Email This Article