County Employees Toss Out Olympics Tales

You’ve watched the world’s best athletes both in person and from afar. And at least one of you came oh-so-close to competing yourself. Here are a few of your best Olympic stories and memories. Got more you want to share? Send them our way at Communications@sdcounty.ca.gov by July 10. The London Summer Games start on July 27!

Here is my story of almost seeing history at the Olympics. Back in 1984, my father surprised the family by winning the chance to purchase Olympic tickets for the Los Angeles Summer Games.  He chose three events: Opening Ceremonies, Track and Field Decathlon and Men’s Platform Diving Finals.   

While the Opening Ceremonies were actually a little boring (I was 13, what did I know), the Decathlon was pretty interesting as events were going on all over the place at the same time. 

The Men’s platform Diving--never got to see it. My Dad spent hours driving around the area looking for the event.  Instead of stopping someone and getting actual directions or at least a map, my Dad refused to believe he was lost.  Turns out we had missed watching Greg Louganis win the gold medal for the US. Later on, he said the Olympics must have moved the venue because, as he stated, “I never get lost.”

-Luigi Diaz, Department of Child Support Services

We went to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at the Sports Arena and watched Evander Holyfield compete in boxing. He went on to win a bronze medal for the USA and later became a professional heavyweight boxing champion.

When we drove to the event, we allowed ourselves several hours of extra time due to expected traffic congestion. However, due to all of the advance warnings about bad traffic there was no delay whatsoever. We even arrived several hours early. We have never experienced traffic that light in Los Angeles. It was like a ghost town.

-Charlie Lackey, ARCC

I went to several events during the 1984 LA Summer Olympics. My brother’s soccer team ran a concession stand at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to raise money and my father made me go with him to work it. It was quite an experience.

One day we sat next to the track as the women’s marathon runners entered the arena in the final qualifying round. We had a front row seat and American marathon runner Joan Benoit, who later won a gold medal, walked right in front of us.

When business slowed on another day, we were allowed to watch. We saw many Americans compete and win including U.S. Track and Field gold medalist Carl Lewis. We watched a women’s relay team that included a woman from San Bernardino, our hometown. She and one of her sisters had qualified, and one ended up running for the gold. After they won they came up to our concession stand knowing we were from the same town and took pictures with us and signed our uniform caps. Somewhere I still have that picture and cap.

-Rosana Hopper, HHSA, North Inland Family Resource Center

I was 15 years old when I competed in the 200 meter event at the 1972 Track & Field Olympic Trials. I placed fourth and was invited to train with the Olympic team prior to the Olympics in Germany.

I flew to Ohio and trained with the females training in the 400-800 meter events. While there, the coaches asked me to be an alternate member of the US Track & Field team for the 200 meter event. This was my dream come true. However, I had a dilemma. By taking the alternate spot, I would be replacing my own teammate who had been partying instead of performing at the training camp.

Painfully, I decided I could not accept the offer. I felt it would be unethical and a betrayal to my teammate despite her behavior. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the 1972 Olympics became infamous and tragic when 11 Israel athletes and coaches and others were killed by terrorists.

The following year I made the American Junior Track & Field team and competed proudly and successfully in Russia, Poland and Germany.  I also had the privilege of carrying the American flag in the Opening Ceremonies. Go USA!

-Maureen Abare-Laudy, Parks & Recreation

The 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles but the Cross-Country phase of the Equestrian “Eventing” competition took place at the golf course of Rancho Santa Fe’s new Fairbanks Ranch Country Club before it was used for golf. I packed a thematic picnic lunch and appropriate beverages with a bunch of friends. We spent the day outdoors watching the horses jumping over logs, stone walls, banks and water features that had been specially installed for the event. The horses were great and the athleticism of both the horses and the riders was amazing. I significantly remodeled my kitchen the same summer. The Olympics was a lot more fun.

-Kaye Hobson, Community Services Group Executive Office

Prior to moving to San Diego, I worked in Washington, D.C. for a huge Canadian Public Relations firm. One of our Canada-based clients was Bombardier, an official supplier to the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. Makers of snow-management equipment, Bombardier provided snow grooming vehicles to prep the slopes for competition in the Snowboard, Alpine, Downhill, Biathlon, and Nordic Jumping events.

From my desk in DC, I was coordinating a media event in Salt Lake for the client to promote its behind-the-scenes involvement. We decided to arrange ride-alongs on a snow groomer following the completion of the Snowboard Half-pipe event, with reporters taking turns in the vehicle as it filled in the half-pipe and prepared the slope for the upcoming women’s downhill.  I received many calls in response to the news release but the best one I got came just a few days before the Olympics were start. It was Bombardier asking that I fly to Salt Lake to coordinate the event in person.

In February 2002, the memory and effects of 9/11 were still fresh, so travel and access to the Olympics was quite an experience. My hotel room was adjacent to the ski slope where the event was to take place, and I could see armed military personnel everywhere.

The day of the event was more than we could ask for, as the U.S. men swept the medals in the half-pipe (to be honest, I guess my Canadian clients weren’t as excited about that as I was). That evening, a crowd of Olympic officials and security, Bombardier reps, reporters and I gathered at the foot of the half-pipe and waited for the arrival of the snow grooming machine. As we waited, the Olympic officials encouraged us to explore the half-pipe. Within minutes, all of us were walking up the side of the half-pipe, dangling our feet over the edge, and then sliding down the walls of the half-pipe like little kids. After we were soaked, freezing and sweating all at the same time, the snow groomer finally appeared. It came to a stop just in front of us, and we each took turns climbing inside the cab to ride with the driver as he made his way up the slope, then turned around to head back down, pushing snow into the half-pipe, filling the void until it was smooth, flat and ready for the downhill skiers.

The event was a great success - even NBC’s Al Roker did a TV spot for the Today Show sitting on one of the snow groomers. But the best part was the incredibly rare and amazing opportunity I was given to be a part of the Olympic experience. And it is a memory that I will never forget.

-Michael Davis, Office of Emergency Services 

The 1984 Olympics were held in Los Angeles. Part of the path of the Olympic torch went through San Diego County, and I watched it from the intersection of 54^th Street & University Avenue. One of my classmates from Crawford High School even carried the torch for a bit. This summer, I will watch the Track & Field and Women’s & Men’s Basketball competitions. Hopefully softball will return in 2020.

-Danita Washington, HHSA, Child Welfare Services-Foster Care

I lived in Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympics. It was a fun time; a 24 hour party. People were trading Olympic pins like crazy. It was great for the City of Atlanta. Since I was on a budget, I went to the free events such as bicycle races and running marathons. There were free concerts at Centennial Olympic Park, which had replaced a slum. The French Olympic team came in to eat at the French pastry shop where I worked. Everything was fine, fun and good until a Tuesday, during the second week of the Olympics, when the crowded park was bombed. Many people were injured and two people died as a result of the blast. That took the air out of the Olympics. It was no longer fun. I stopped going to events. They tried to pin the blame on the police officer who had saved more people from being injured. It took a long time for him to clear his name, however eventually the right person responsible for the bombing was found.

-David S. Pilch, Public Defender’s Office

Like many others, my first experience seeing the Olympics in person was in 1984. My father picked the tickets so we saw Track and Field heats from the back of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. We saw many famous athletes but only from a great distance.

Fast forward to February 2010. My sisters and I had been to Vancouver many times and we had avidly watched the Olympics since the 1970s. So when we heard Vancouver would host the Winter Games in 2010, we knew we had to go.

I strongly advise everyone to go in person to the Olympics at least once in your life. Vancouver is always a lovely place to visit but there was something extra special about the city then. Total strangers talked to each other and locals went out of their way to make visitors feel welcome.

The Games were very well organized. Volunteers ready to help were everywhere and public transportation was free with an Olympics ticket so we were able to see a little of Vancouver before we went to our events.

There were many highlights. We saw Apolo Anton Ohno win his 7^th Olympic medal in Short Track Speed Skating and we saw J.R. Celski get a medal as well. Being Short Track Speed Skating fans, we recognized J.R. Celski’s mother and Apolo Anton Ohno’s father in the crowds.

The best part was meeting people in the crowds. We were all so excited to be there. When we saw one lady, who may have been from Japan, taking a picture of the rest of her group in front of an Olympic banner, we didn’t need to speak her language to know she wanted her picture taken with the rest of her group. We mimicked taking a picture of them and they agreed. So we took their picture in front of the Rings.

Standing in front of the Olympic torch was a magical moment. We spoke with a Vancouverite who was also trying to put the Olympic feeling into words. The best we could come up with was to say that at the Olympics we all felt like we were part of something bigger than ourselves. No matter which flag we were carrying we all felt proud of our country and we were all rooting for our home teams. We were human beings first. We were all part of one big family.

I wish I were going to London for the 2012 Games. Those who are going will have a fabulous experience.

-Brenna Ring, San Diego County Library - Rancho San Diego Branch

I feel very fortunate that I got to see a couple of Olympic events in person in 1984 and 1996.  In 1984, one of my cousins got tickets to the Diving Preliminaries where we watched the great Greg Louganis compete. My cousin and I were also impressed by a diver from Egypt who was only 13 years old at the time. In 1996, my family, along with my sister-in-law and her family drove to Atlanta the day after the bombing. I remember getting calls from friends asking if we would still go on with our trip and of course, you know the answer to that (silly) question. We got to see the superb Michael Johnson strut around the track with his golden shoes after winning the 200 meter event.

-Maria A. Munar, HHSA-Community Action Partnership

The closest I have been to any Olympic event was just before the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. I took my wife and three kids there a few weeks prior to the opening of the Games. (My kids would have school during the Games.) Even then, preparations were already in the final stages and everywhere you looked were symbols of the Olympics. Our hotel was right outside the Olympic Stadium, BC Place, where the opening and closing ceremonies would be held. I felt like I was at the Games when I stood outside the International Broadcast Center, visited Grouse Mountain where the NBC Today Show would broadcast daily, shopped for Olympic souvenirs, saw the Olympic rings illuminated by the harbor and posed in front of the Olympic Countdown. Just without the humongous crowd.

I want to inspire my kids to excel in a sport they love. Since they are into swimming, I enrolled them in swimming lessons and taught them myself. Now my daughters, ages 9 and 11, can swim comfortably in any pool. It’s primarily for their safety in water environments but also for fitness and the chance to earn a college scholarship one day or even a spot in the Olympic Team. Why not?

-Zulim Obispo, Department of Child Support Services