So you think you’re a pretty good weekend athlete? Well, you never know, you could be working out next to an Olympian.
Olympic track and field medalist Jim Spivey often can be found running on the Illinois Prairie Path in Glen Ellyn, sidestepping joggers, bikers and families out for a scenic walk.
One town over, in Wheaton, fellow track and field Olympian and 1976 bronze medalist Rick Wohlhuter also hits the ground running for his daily workout.
Nearly every afternoon, 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Betty Okino practices the Okino Flip at Addison’s Illinois Gymnastic Institute.
And, when she has time, four-time Olympian Nancy Swider-Peltz likes to pass on her knowledge to aspiring skaters at the Glen Ellyn Speedskating Club and the Park Ridge Speedskating Club.
Spivey, Wohlhuter, Okino and Swider are only a sampling of the many Du Page athletes who have competed in the Olympic Games since 1972 (going back farther than 20 years would lengthen this story considerably). Tracking down all of them is a sport in itself: The U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado can generate a list only of athletes born in or currently living in the county.
The entire Chicago area is home to dozens of athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Games, in events ranging from the luge to canoe racing. In fact, Illinois ranked seventh of the 48 states that sent athletes to the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, according to a Sports Illustrated survey.
As many Olympians can attest, participating in the Games is a career pinnacle. Walking out in a U.S. uniform during an opening ceremony evokes cheers, goosebumps and patriotic flag-waving among American spectators, both in the stadium and in front of the television. How does it feel actually to march in the parade of nations?
“To be the best in the world is exhilarating,” explained John Kinsella of Hinsdale, a former Olympic swimmer who won a gold medal at the 1972 Games in Munich for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. “There’s a certain high to it that isn’t replaceable.”
Christopher Coletta, a 21-year-old cyclist who grew up in Addison, participated in his first Olympic Games in Barcelona. “You realize that you’re with the best athletes in the world,” he said. “It’s hard to explain. Getting there doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s more of a gradual thing, a natural order of competition, but once you’re there, it’s overwhelming.”
Spivey, 33, of Glen Ellyn agreed: “The main thing is you have so many different nationalities. Everyone has their country’s logo or T-shirt on. In the cafeteria line, you can have someone from France behind you and someone from the United Arab Emirates in front of you.”
Speedskater Swider, who competed in the ’76, ’80, ’84 and ’88 Winter Games, said the Games aren’t without their disappointments. After all, she pointed out, this is competition.
“Having been in as many as I have,” Swider, 37, noted, “I can say that the media overstates that the closing ceremony is just a revelry. There are people there upset that they didn’t do well.” About medalists, she said, “They worked damn hard for it. They’re proud of it and they should be. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
Swider, who lives in Wheaton with her husband, Jeffrey Peltz and two children, Nancy, 6, and Jeffrey, 4, placed seventh in the 3,000-meter event during the 1976 Games, her best finish in the Olympics.
Olympic Games are often remembered by the host city’s atmosphere, Swider added. She participated in the 1984 Games in historic Sarajevo, a city now besieged by a bloody civil war in the former Yugoslavia. Like many athletes who competed that year, Swider laments the loss: “The 1984 Games were interesting. I appreciated the oldness of the city and the beautiful churches. Now it’s beyond belief that nobody cares (about the destruction). Those churches are gone forever.”
Wohlhuter, who grew up in Kane County and attended St. Charles High School, still recalls his first Olympics, the emotional 1972 Munich Games marred by the slayings of Israeli athletes by terrorists. His quarters were quite close to the Israeli compound, he said. “I could see what was going on. … That added a different element to the Games,” he said, adding, “Security was much tighter in Montreal (in 1976).”
Wohlhuter lives in Wheaton with his wife and children. He participated in his first Olympic Games at 23 in Munich, and won a bronze medal in the 800-meter individual event at the Montreal Games.
Spivey, who competed in 1984 and 1992 (he didn’t quality in 1988), said that competing in one’s own country adds to the Games’ excitement. “The ’96 Games (in Atlanta) will be similar to 1984 (in Los Angeles). Any time an American was in a race in ’84, patriotism really came into play. The U.S. media were caught up in it, so you were, too. I didn’t get as caught up in the hype in Spain.” Spivey placed fifth in the men’s 1,500-meter individual event in 1984, and eighth in 1992. Before the Barcelona Games, he won the U.S. time trials for his event.
Then there are Olympic moments that are forever etched in modern memory: gymnast Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10 in 1976, swimmer Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals in 1972, the guts and glory of the 1980 U.S. hockey team.
The ’80 gold medal team is known for dramatic victories over its Communist rivals, particularly its performance against the then-Soviet Union. Jack O’Callahan, a member of the ’80 team who lived in Elmhurst for eight years while he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, said that team’s Olympic experience was a virtual phenomenon.
“It was a very special time in sports. It was a watershed moment for many people and for many reasons,” he said. “The storyline of it drew people in and captured their imaginations.”
Even now, O’Callahan said, people recognize his face or his name and share a story of where they were during the dramatic game against the Soviet team. “In 1992, when the U.S. hockey team won a few games, there were TV cameras at the Merc (Mercantile Exchange, where he worked as a trader) watching me watching the game. The media were calling me constantly, and this was 12 years later.”
Once the closing ceremony is over, some athletes hurry back home to continue training for the next big competition, while others take some well-earned vacation time. After earning a bronze team medal with the U.S. women’s gymnastic team in Barcelona, Okino, now 18, flew back to Elmhurst. “Well, we had to meet the president,” she clarified, “After that, we came home.” Sure enough, a photo of Okino shaking hands with then-President George Bush hangs on the wall of her parents’ home.
The photo is accompanied by several of Okino’s plaques, certificates and magazine profiles. A case filled with trophies, ribbons, pins and her bronze medal sits in her parents’ living room. There are several photos of Okino with best friend and fellow Olympian Kim Zmeskal, who trained with her in Houston for more than three years with famed gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi.
Before traveling to Barcelona, Okino, competing in the American Cup in 1991, broke the record for all-around score set by Comaneci. In 1990, she finished first on the balance beam and second in the all-around competition at the U.S. gymnastics championships. In 1991 she won the McDonald’s American Cup. Also in 1991, her original move on the balance beam (a triple pirouette) was honored by being designated the Okino Flip by the International Federation.
When she returned from competing in the Olympics last year, Okino attended York High School in Elmhurst as a junior. (Her previous two years of high school had been in Houston while she trained for the Olympics.) Of those who may have tried to befriend her because of her fame, she said, “I gave people the benefit of the doubt.”
There were also autograph seekers. “People came up to me in the store. In the mall, I’d be walking with friends and someone would ask, ‘Aren’t you Betty Okino?’ ” she said.
Kinsella, who competed in his first Olympics in 1968 when he was 16, said that people’s reaction to his success varied. “It was a little strange. People expect you to change, but you haven’t. Their perception of you has changed. My good friends were still (supportive). I found some people who were jealous or who looked at me as an Olympic athlete instead of John Kinsella.”
Many communities officially recognize their hometown Olympians, particularly those who bring home medals. Okino said she was honored by the city of Elmhurst with a special event and a key to the city. Spivey lived in Wood Dale at the time of his first Olympics and was rewarded with a Jim Spivey Day. He lived in Glen Ellyn at the time of his second Olympic appearance last year and received the city’s flag during a special City Council meeting. Swider was honored in her hometown of Park Ridge after her first Olympics. She moved to Wheaton in 1985, but hasn’t received that town’s official recognition.
Being an Olympic athlete can be a springboard to other activities. Said Swider: “People really do look up to Olympians as a neat thing, because not everyone makes it. It adds credibility.”
Nelson Diebel, a swimmer who grew up in Western Springs and whose mother recently moved to Oak Brook, broke and Olympic record and won a gold metal in the 100-meter breaststroke in Barcelona. He was the first Olympian to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated that year and agreed with Swider that Olympic success reaps credibility.
“It sort of opened the door,” the 23-year-old said. A junior studying history at Princeton University-he’s had to take considerable time off from school to train-Diebel spends his weekends speaking to young people about success, motivation and overcoming obstacles. “If I hadn’t been a gold medalist,” he said, “no one would want to listen to me. You are judged by what you do. It’s all tied together.”
Diebel, who spent last summer living in Oak Brook and commuting to an internship in Chicago, said he wants to move back to the area eventually. This coming summer, he will be training for the World Championships in 1995 and hopes to compete in the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
Like Diebel, many former Olympians enjoy public speaking. Swider, Kinsella, Spivey, Wohlhuter, O’Callahan and Okino occasionally speak to audiences at churches, schools, athletic clubs, businesses and various charity organizations. Spivey said that besides being of interest to the public, Olympic competitors can aptly address issues like inspiration and personal achievement.
As for their future, many of Du Page County’s Olympians are keeping their eye on new goals.
For Spivey, that means continued training. He’s aiming for the World Championships in 1995 as a short-term goal. As for the 1996 Olympics, he acknowledged, “It would be difficult to do. As time goes on, you realize that things may be coming to an end, but you want to compete as much as possible. Did I do the best I could? That’s what you have to ask yourself.”
When not training or coaching at his Jim Spivey Running Club in Glen Ellyn, Spivey spends as much time as possible with his wife, Cindy, and 3-year-old son, Sebastian, and newborn son, Samuel.
Swider is training for a much more short-term goal: the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. She trains in a Milwaukee rink three days a week, and does cross-training (weights, cycling) on the other days. She also enjoys spending as much time as possible with her husband, a football coach, and two children.
Cyclist Coletta, who placed ninth in the Barcelona Games in team pursuit, is spending the fall semester at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is majoring in education. He manages to fit in four hours of cycling each day.
Coletta will take off the spring semester to concentrate on national and World Championship training. He is looking forward to not one but possibly three more Olympic performances. “Cycling isn’t like gymnastics, where you have to start at a young age. It’s a sport where you peak later, in your 30s,” he said.
Wohlhuter, now in his early 40s, still enjoys athletics and works out often. In addition to running six or seven days a week, he is an avid golfer and competes in a variety of triathlons during the summer. He is a financial consultant for small to mid-size businesses and often coordinates fundraisers for charitable organizations.
At 41, Kinsella isn’t swimming competitively (he did, however, swim marathons until 1979). For the last 14 years he has worked in institutional investments. He lives in Hinsdale with his wife, Kathy, and children, Christopher, 11; Michael, 9; Patrick, 5, and Molly, 3.
O’Callahan, who moved to Oak Park a few years ago, recently started a small brokerage firm with Jack Hughes, a 1980 teammate. A divorced father, O’Callahan said he enjoys spending as much time as possible with his daughter, Rachel, 8, and son, Aaron, 5, who live in Highland Park with their mother. He helps out with fundraising events for the Chicago branch of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Blackhawks Alumni group.
Returning to everyday life is challenging for many Olympic and professional athletes. Kinsella used a recent major news event to explain the end of an athletic career: “Part of it is like when Michael Jordan retired and said he wasn’t excited about it anymore. That was kind of like me. There is an adjustment; you miss the competition, the accolades, pursuing that goal.
“I was invited to speak at a children’s museum one day. A parent said to me, `How difficult it must be to be an Olympic athlete.’ But it’s a lot more difficult to raise a family and do a job.”
Okino walks a balance beam similar to her sport. She is currently a member of the Gold Gymnastics Tour, a professional tour that will take her to several cities and countries this year, mostly on weekends. When she isn’t traveling or studying (“I don’t ask for special privileges,” she says of her schoolwork), she works out at the Illinois Gymnastic Institute in Addison, usually three to four hours a day. Though she talks about her world travels, her success and her plans for the future, Okino remains a high school senior.
Her homecoming dress arrived the day she was interviewed, and she opened it with joy. It’s a beautiful, short black crepe dress. “Does it look okay?” she asked. The TV show “Beverly Hills 90210” blared from a nearby room.
Pondering the impact of her gymnastic success, Okino concluded with a smile, “I think I’m pretty normal. I just went to the Olympics.”
