Do you/have you ever 'known' any Olympic athletes??

[floridafam]

My Ds's Gym teacher, Mr. Behm, in East Lansing was one.

I believe he has a Gold and a Silver medal for Wrestling.

 

[grlpwrd]

My dad knows Bryan Clay and his family. Bryan does the decathlon and is from Hawaii. I think he knows Tommy Kono, too, who won weightlifting medals in the 50's and 60's.

 

[LadyyRedd]

Yes!!! I know Derek Parra, Jennifer Rodriguez her husband KC and the new and famous Chad Hedricks....Grew up In-line skating with them years ago when they were just average skaters... Derek use to be right here from Dover Del.... I must say it is so nice to see them all switch over and do so well.

Oooohhhhh...Chad.... Is he single?

Kimya

 

[kpm76]

Hey KPM76 something else in common! Sara DeCosta (women's hockey goalie). Her dad installed and maintains our sprinkler system. I have many of her hockey sticks in my garage!!!

LOL, RI is such a small place They are a very nice family.......

 

[2Xited4Disney]

Scott Wescott (snowboarder from this year) is one of my professors sons

 

[CamColt]

When we were kids, I skated in a skating show with Nancy Kerrigan. And now as adults, it turns out she is my neighbor's (one of DS's best friends father's) cousin. We have been at parties with her.

Ironically when my DS was born the first thing the nurse said was "Oh, Nancy Kerrigan had a boy too, last night".

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

These are cool!
Don't know any Olympians personally but I had a co-worker that dated Oksana Bayul (not sure if that's spelled correctly).
Also, there is someone from one of the rowing teams from the 2004 Olympics. He won a gold medal. He was very cool about it and brought the medal around to the local schools. Turned out he was the captain of a local volunteer rescue squad and some family friends knew him. It was cool to see it and my DH got to ask the question he asked during the entire games......"What did you do with the laurel wreath they put on your head?" I'm so glad he asked because the entire time the Olympics were on, he repeated the same thing during every medal ceremony. And the answer... "My mother has it in a glass case."

 

[sandramaac]

Yes, my dd who is 12, is a figure skater. Her coach was the bronze medal winner for pairs skating in the 1960 Olympics. She also trains at the same facility as Kimmie Meissner, although Kimmie skates different sessions as my dd. One of my dd's other coach's also was in the 2002 Olympics, pairs skater Tiffany Scott.

 

[goofy!]

.....

 

[Papa Deuce]

My wrestling instructor, when I was 15 was an Olympic wrestler. He must have been awesome because he got me trained well enough where I qualified for the junior olympics.... where I got CRUSHED!

 

[jennyl772003]

My DH told me the other night that Dan Jansen used to go to the same gym as my DH, and that DH had spotted for him. Dan wouldn't know my hubbie from Adam though.

 

[taximomfor4]

I don't, but one of dh's very best friends used to date Tanya Kwiatkowski. DH always thought it was so odd that she looked, just, bigger than the other figure skaters, but IRL was really tiny. Of course, now dh's friend is married to someone else -- I think it was a college relationship.

 

[Feralpeg]

My DD goes to school with a girl who is an Olympic gymnist.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I've met Bruce Baumgartner a few times -- my uncle is close friends (and golfing buddies) with him.

My high school girlfriend trained with the same skating coach as Caryn Kadavy, who, I believe went to the '88 Games, but had to withdraw due to illness.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Hopefully we know two future Olympic gymnasts, 2 girls at my kids gymnastics are training for the 2008 Olympics. They've already been on the National team and one was just named the "one to watch" by a Gymnastics magazine too. It's amazing to watch them train and they such nice girls too.

 

[puffkin]

Don't know any personally, but there have been quite a few from my hometown (most recently Kristy Kowal for swimming).

I went to a field hockey camp in middle school and one of the coaches/helpers made the U.S. field hockey team a few years later. I saw her, but she was coaching the high school kids so didn't get to meet her.

I currently work at the same company as Allison Baver's sister (short track speed skater. Dates Apollo Ohno, and I think she skates tonight). I don't know the sister, but our paths have crossed through emails a few times. It was kind of neat, a few months ago they were doing some fundraisers to help her family raise money to go to Torino to see her compete. They also follow her very closely in our local newspaper.

 

[RadioNate]

As a child Jenni Meno was my cousin's next door neighbor. My uncle used to freeze a rink in his front yard every winter and we'd all skate together. Yes I realize how white trash freezing your front yard is, lol.

They moved away when we were Jr High aged but I know my aunt and uncle kept in touch with her parents. While I'm sure she doesn't remember me by name, I know she does remember the front yard skating. She mentioned it in an interview during the Olympics.

 

[KLAIT]

When I was in college, Beth Heiden Reid( 1980 Olympic Speed Skater)was working on her Masters degree. She was the Lab instructor for one of my classes.

 

[Caropooh]

In 1991 I went to the same physical therapy clinic as ice skater Todd Sands. He was there for a shoulder injury and I had torn my ACL. I talked to him a couple times. The owner of the clinic, who was also one of the therapists was one of the trainers for the 1984 USA Olympic track team.

 

[Viking]

My Phys Ed teacher in highschool won Gold with his hockey-team in Munich 1972.
And Michael Gross, nicknamed the Albatros, who won several medals in the Olympics and also was multiple times Worldchampion as a swimmer works out in the gym where DW and I are members.