Returning athletes savour experience
of Olympic games

By Kris Kotarski

The 12 athletes and four coaches who made up University of Calgary’s Olympic contingent have returned home from the summer games. Three students, two alumni and seven club athletes represented two countries in seven different disciplines in Athens, and although no one returned home with a medal, the U of C Olympians came back with some world-class results.

Six-time world champion wrestler Christine Nordhagen (left), who coaches and competes at the U of C Wrestling Club, was one of Canada’s best hopes for a medal but she did not get the fairytale ending she was hoping for. Nordhagen lost only one match at the Olympic Games, but because the loss came in the pool round, she could only finish fifth. China’s Wang Xu—the only woman to defeat the Valhalla, Alberta native — won the gold medal.

“ I had never been at such a low in my life,” says Nordhagen.

“ I wanted to crawl under a rock and not face anyone. But after a couple days and realizing that my family and friends were not disappointed in me but proud of my efforts I was able to feel good about myself once again.

“ Now I find myself bursting with random smiles throughout the day. It has been awesome.”

In the pool, U of C Swim Club’s Rick Say was one of the bright spots on an otherwise unspectac-ular Canadian Swim Team in Athens. Say finished in sixth place in the 200m Freestyle Final, which was the marquee swimming event at the games. In the final, Say lined up against five gold medalists: Australians Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett, Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband and Americans Klete Keller and Michael Phelps.

Other U of C Olympians may not have done as well, but the thrill of making it to Athens gave encouragement, and hope for the future.

“ As a person, qualifying for and competing at the Olympics proved to me that with a very specific goal, a detailed plan, and a lot of focus and dedication, dreams are possible,” said Environmental Design student Malindi Elmore, who competed for Canada in the Women’s 1500m race and plans to be back in four years. “I always dreamt of making the Olympics, and it finally happened.

“ As a person, I know I can successfully employ the same strategy for almost anything I dream of doing in my life ... it’s just up to me to decide what it is I want to do.”