lympics - Phillips Exeter Academy

Exeter
lympics
at the
Firsthand reports from Exeter athletes and
organizers, journalists and joyful fans who
took part in the Beijing Summer Games.
Edited by Mike Catano
Banthoon Lamsam ’71
Carrying the Torch
Banthoon Lamsam ’71 is the CEO of Kasikorn (Thai Farmers) Bank,
one ofThailand’s largest commercial banks. Besides his work for the bank,
Lamsam maintains an active interest in the Chinese side of his family heritage, and has made the study of Chinese language and culture a priority. That led to his selection as one of Thailand’s torchbearers.
T
hailand was chosen as one of 21 countries through which the
2008 Beijing Olympic torch would make its way.The torch
relay quickly grabbed international headlines, mostly because of
the protests that it encountered wherever it landed.
By the time the flame
arrived in Bangkok on
April 18, the Chinese
Olympic torch delegation was pretty battered
up.Security issues became
top priority,and both the
Chinese andThai authorities were all uptight.As if
by celestial specification,
K a s i ko r n b a n k ( my
employer),with its riverside headquarters, was
chosen as the venue to
officially welcome the
torch delegation.On top
of that, HRH Princess
Sirindhorn—much beloved by Banthoon Lamsam ’71 carrying
both the Chinese andThai peo- the Olympic torch through the
ple—graciously accepted an invitation to preside over the reception streets of Bangkok in April.
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fall 2008
party,thereby elevating the status of this evening function to the pinnacle of all social and sporting events inThailand. She came, and she
charmed all the guests into what should rightly be the warmth of the
Olympic spirit. For the first time on their long journey, the Chinese
Olympic torch delegation felt truly welcome.
The next day was the torch run. I was one of 80 people selected as torchbearer,and the only one from the financial service industry, running the eighth leg (my auspicious number,by the way).The
atmosphere was carnival-like. Chinese and Thais have always had a
cordial cultural relationship regardless of ideological politics at any
period of world history.If there were any would-be protestors,they
were essentially drowned out by the cheering and happy crowd. It
all went smoothly. Each torchbearer ran only 130 meters. If the feet
were a bit slow, the heart was soaring in heaven.What an honor!
For me, there will not be another Olympic moment like this.
Lucy Duan ’09
A Witness to History
Yunxi “Lucy” Duan ’09 was a witness not only to the Olympics
themselves (her family’s apartment overlooks several Olympic venues),
but also to the tremendous transformation the games wrought in her home
city of Beijing.
D
uring the month of August, I lived the Olympics. Seven years
ago my window faced nothing but unused land and distant
mountains;now it overlooks a colossal Olympic complex.Ever since
the start of the grand Opening Ceremony, I awoke every day and
fell asleep to the cheers erupting from the Olympic baseball fields
and basketball stadium. During the day the street beneath my window was strewn with enthusiastic spectators waving flags of every
nation.At night, the stadiums glowed and changed colors.
The Olympics fervor was unbelievable.When tickets went on
sale for the last time, 5,000 people set up tents, stools, and bam-
boo mats across the street from us, waiting for more than 24 hours
to buy tickets. Near the Bird’s Nest, foreigners dressed up in all
sorts of national costumes to attract passers-by. They all held
Chinese signs that read:“Tickets needed!” The scene quite bemused
the Chinese and foreign journalists and drew crowds in the
bustling district.
This was the first time that China had hosted such a significant international event, and the city of Beijing underwent a drastic transformation. Since 2001, Beijing has added six more metro
lines; three more ring roads encompassing the outer city; a soaring Terminal 3 to the airport; a brand-new train station; a 1,680acre forest park; and numerous landmarks such as the Bird’s Nest,
the Water Cube, and the Pearl (the National Opera House). One
million volunteers threw themselves into work at every sports venue and every tourist attraction. Olympic flags waved from every
street lamp, the mascots beamed from every street corner, and intricate floral designs and light exhibits popped up every day. Native
Beijingers became voluntary ambassadors. People anticipated the
Olympics like a great national holiday.
When the Olympics finally arrived, all of China turned its attention to the games; all of the world turned its attention to China.
Approximately 840 million Chinese watched the Opening Ceremony on television. I was able to see the entire passage of fireworks from our balcony. At 8 p.m.on August 8,two majestic dragons
burst out above the Olympic forest park.The dazzling fireworks
lasted for 20 minutes and spanned the entire central Olympic district. Through the Opening Ceremony performance, China had
shown its true cultural immensity to the world.
Every Olympic venue I visited was excellent. I watched half a
dozen stunning matches, including the men’s tennis final, the
women’s soccer final, and a preliminary water polo match between
Spain and Hungary,the even- The citizens of China “anticipated
tual gold medalists. I learned the Olympics like a great national
to cheer in Hungarian and
Portuguese, while foreign- holiday,” says Beijing resident Lucy
ers cried out cheers in Chi- Duan ’09, shown here at the
nese. The atmosphere was Olympics tennis stadium.
extremely affecting. Never
had I seen so many nationalities merge together in one place and act as one.
I am truly gratified to have seen my first Olympics in my
hometown. For me, the Olympic Games now rank with the Great
Wall and the Forbidden City as one of Beijing’s greatest accomplishments.
Bill Endicott ’64
‘A Silver’s Like 14th Place’
Whitewater kayaker Bill Endicott ’64 is a veteran of five Olympics, each
in a different role: Olympic team alternate (1972), head coach (1992),
NBC TV commentator (1996), team leader (2004), and this year, consultant to the Chinese team/NBC Olympics Internet blogger. During that
time, he’s been involved in winning gold, silver and bronze medals, and
he has also written several books about his sport. (He also was for many
years a Congressional aide and then a Clinton White House aide.)
I
worked as a consultant to the Chinese whitewater kayak team,
helping them prepare for the Beijing Olympics. My job ranged
from helping design an artificial “river” for our event to coaching
their athletes.During the actual Olympics,though, I was with NBC.
“We only care about gold medals,” the Chinese told me.“A silver’s like 14th place to us.” Their athletes are full-time professionals
starting at age 12. Their Bill Endicott ’64 (right), who served as
willingness to sacrifice is a consultant to the Chinese whitewater
on a different plane than
ours. A coach once told kayak team, with his wife,Abbie, and Li
me he’d seen his 4-year- Tong, a Chinese kayaker.
old daughter only four
times during her life, for a total of one month.
When they learned practice time on the Olympic course was
restricted, the Chinese built a similar course—in 90 days, when it
normally takes a year or two.They also mobilized top professors
from Beijing University (China’s Harvard) to work on the Olympics.
I loved working with all these people. China’s like a parallel universe—people everywhere have the same problems to solve, but
there’s often a Western way and a Chinese way to solve them!
Andreanne Morin ’00
The Quintessential Team Sport
A two-time Olympian, rower Andreanne Morin ’00 was a member of the
Canadian women’s eight. Despite a “too-close-to-comfort” 4th-place finish, her Olympics experience was, she says, outstanding.
O
ne of the highlights of my stay in the Olympic Village was
watching the complete awe and amazement of the first-time
Olympians in my crew when they entered the dining hall. It was
the size of a football field and can seat up to 10,000 people. It’s big!
One of my teammates commented, “It’s a noncookers’ paradise!”
Despite finishing fourth—a position that seems unsatisfactory
given our objective to medal—we had a great performance, and
this is the best crew I have ever experienced.The synergy and cohefall 2008
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35
my residential compound started giving me sharp looks,jotting entry
and exit times on a clipboard for the local police station.
But there was no ambiguity about one thing: how thrilled ordinary Chinese were by the whole thing.When we gave tickets to
our aiyi (maid), she literally hopped around the kitchen for 10 seconds when she realized she would get to see a competition.A group
of tourists from Heilongjiang saw my ID on the subway, surrounded
me and made me sign autographs (there’s a collectible!). I ended
up passing out my entire collection of Olympic pins to them.
Joy Fahrenkrog ’98
Standing Up
sion that existed within our crew Andreanne Morin ’00 (second
was incredibly special.We stood by from right) in action with the
one another through thick and
thin, roomed with one another, Canadian women’s eight durlived out of suitcases together.We ing the Olympics.
laughed and cried in moments of
victory and defeat. From the outside, it may look like the “eight”
is all about power and raw speed, but there is also the camaraderie
and teamwork of nine individuals and a coach.To me, it is the quintessential team sport and the memories I share with those women
are outstanding.
Rich Herzfelder ’70
China’s Double Nature
Rich Herzfelder ’70 served as Olympics coordinator for The Associated
Press,overseeing housing,communications,and troubleshooting for the Olympic
press corps.
F
or those of us who live in China, the Olympics were a living
demonstration of the double nature of China’s development.
There were the amazing stadiums—the ethereal Water Cube, the
delicate Bird’s Nest—where two of our photographers were beat-
en by police during a pro-Tibet
demonstration. The cheerful volunteers at every venue contrasted
with ID checks for foreigners and
home visits by police. Beginning in
June,the normally friendly guards at
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fall 2008
Rich Herzfelder ’70 (right)
and his wife, Kathy Wilhelm,
with some Chinese fans outside the Bird’s Nest venue.
While archer Joy Fahrenkrog ’98 fell just short of qualifying for the U.S.
Olympic team, she still made the journey to Beijing. She covered events
for the Olympic News Service and lent her support to Team Darfur, the
coalition of athletes seeking to raise awareness about China’s close relations with Sudanese leaders.
T
he Olympic flame was lit in my heart as a teenager, the summer before I started at PEA, when I read a book by gold medal
rower Brad Lewis called
Assault on Lake Casitas.After
starting my quest as a rower
(on the novice team at
Phillips Exeter), I eventually turned to archery. For the
past 11 years, the Olympics
have defined the decisions I
have made, large and small.
In Beijing, being a journalist was surprisingly similar to being an athlete. Like
an athlete, I had my own
uniform and I even lived in
a village. I had accreditation
and access to restricted areas.
But unlike an athlete, I was “In Beijing, being a journalist was
able to experience the oth- surprisingly similar to being an ather side of the fence, looking
for story angles and seeking lete,” says former Olympic hopeful
out good quotes.Aiming to Joy Fahrenkrog ’98.“Aiming to get
get things done under dead- things done under deadline was a
line was a performance in
performance in and of itself.”
and of itself.
No sooner had I arrived
than I was told to remove my“Pray for China”wristband and asked
not to wear my Team Darfur clothes. Having freedom taken away
from me for the first time in my life was an eye opener. On July 19,
two days after arriving in Beijing, I wrote in my journal,“I’m glad
that my heart is hurting. For the first time since I started learning
about Darfur, it matters so much that the violence stops because I
don’t have the freedom to express it.”
Nothing compares to how it feels to lose freedom, even if it is
at the very basic of levels. Genocide must be stopped and it needs
activism behind it. Being in China was a good reminder to me to
not become too complacent in my own life and to remember how
important it is to stand up for what is right.
(continued on page 97)
Exeter Olympians
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BILL BECKLEAN ’54
Celebrating a century of world-class athletes, 1908–2008
T
he three Exonians who took part in the Beijing Games join an impressive line-up
of alumni/ae Olympians. In all, 36 Exeter alumni/ae have competed in 18 different
Olympic Games, winning a total of five gold medals, eight silvers, and four bronzes.
Other alumni/ae have been involved in the Olympic Games as coaches and managers.
The following list is drawn from Olympian Exonians, a fall exhibit held at the Academy Library, arranged by Academy Archivist Edouard Desrochers ’45, ’62 (Hon.),
with assistance from Curt Swinehart and Carolyn Crofoot of the Alumni/ae Affairs and Development Research Office.
If you are aware of other Exonians who have participated in the Olympic Games
whose names do not appear on this list, please email them to bulletin@exeter.edu.
We will run any updates we receive in our winter issue.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNE MARDEN ’76
Gold Medalists
Lawrence Stoddard ’21 ........Rowing.....................1924
Julian Roosevelt ’43...............Sailing .......................1952
Dave Wight ’52 ......................Rowing.....................1956
William Becklean ’54 ............Rowing.....................1956
Bob Morey ’54 .......................Rowing.....................1956
Silver Medalists
David Granger ’19.................Bobsled....................1928
John Chase ’24 .......................Hockey ....................1932
Donald Whiston ’48..............Hockey ....................1952
Larry Hough ’62 ....................Rowing.....................1968
Anne Marden ’76...................Rowing ....................1984, 1988
Jon Smith ’79 ..........................Rowing ....................1984
Andy Sudduth ’79 .................Rowing.....................1984
Rowers Andy Sudduth ’79,Anne Marden ’76, and Jon Smith ’79 all medaled
at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and
returned to compete in the 1988
Olympics.
Coaches
Amos Alonzo Stagg 1885.....Track and Field.......1924
Bill Endicott ’64......................Canoe Kayak ..........1992, 2008
Bill Manning ’83......................Rowing.....................2004
Team Managers
William Bingham ’12.............Track ........................1936
Walter Brown ’26 .................Hockey ....................1936
Julian Roosevelt ’43...............Sailing .......................1964
Frank Spain ’31 was a member of the 1936 U.S. hockey
team, which won the bronze
medal.The team manager
was a fellow Exonian,Walter
Brown ’26.
Following the advice of
his rabbi, Milton Green
’32 (left), captain of the
Harvard track team and a
world-record-holder in
the high hurdles, joined a
boycott of the 1936 Berlin
Olympics, in protest of
Nazi Germany’s antiSemitic policies.
PEAN
Alternates
Paul Wilson ’62 ......................Rowing.....................1972
Bill Endicott ’64......................Canoe/Kayak ..........1972
Mahlon Bradley ’75 ...............Figure Skating .........1976
U.S. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM
Competitors
William Rand 1905................Athletics ..................1908
John Paul Jones 1909 ............Running....................1912
Harry Worthington 1913 ....Long Jump ...............1912
Tracy Jaeckel ’24 ....................Fencing.....................1936
James Sloane ’39 ....................Hockey ....................1948
Julian Roosevelt ’43...............Sailing .......................1948, 1956, 1960, 1968, 1972
James Smith ’49......................Rifle Shooting .........1956
Tom Corcoran ’50 ................Skiing ........................1956, 1960
Dave Merwin ’54 ...................Canoe/Kayak ..........1956
Larry Hough ’62 ....................Rowing.....................1972
Jon Smith ’79 ..........................Rowing.....................1980, 1992
Andy Sudduth ’79..................Rowing ....................1988
Gwynneth Coogan ’83.........Track ........................1992
Rajanya “Raj” Shah ’92..........Rowing.....................2000
Sloan DuRoss ’95 ..................Rowing.....................2004
Georgia Gould ’98 ................Mountain Biking.....2008
Sabrina Kolker ’98 .................Rowing ....................2004, 2008
Andreanne Morin 2000........Rowing.....................2004, 2008
PEAN
Bronze Medalists
Tracy Jaeckel ’24 ....................Fencing.....................1932
Frances “Frank” Spain ’31....Hockey ....................1936
Fred Kingsbury ’45 .............Rowing.....................1948
Jon Smith ’79 ..........................Rowing.....................1988
Bob Morey ’54,William Becklean ’54, and David Wight ’52
won gold medals at the 1956
Melbourne Olympics as part
of the U.S. eight-man crew.
Skier Tom Corcoran ’50 competed in both
the 1956 and 1960 Olympics, and later founded the Waterville Valley (NH) Ski Resort.
To see excerpts from the Academy Library exhibit, go to www.exeter.edu/olympianexonians
fall 2008
The Exeter Bulletin
37
Olympics
(continued from page 36)
Charles Cushing ’06
The Agony of Defeat
Charles Cushing ’06 worked at the
International Broadcast Center as
a researcher for NBC. He’s currently enrolled in an intensive Chinese language program at the
Associated Colleges in China,hosted by Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing.
F
or me, one of the most
memorable moments of
the Olympic Games was watching in shock and dismay as Chinese track star Liu Xiang DNF’d
his heat for the 110m hurdles.
It was awesome to be watching
the live, uncut feed, because I
could tell something was wrong
long before Liu took the field.
Backstage, Liu was hobbling
“Don’t know when I’ll be that
close to a gold medal again,” says
Charles Cushing ’06 (right), with
Henry Cejudo, U.S.Wrestling
Team gold medal winner in the
55-kg class. Cushing worked as a
researcher with NBC.
around, halfheartedly doing
stretches, then occasionally
standing up and pacing in frustration and despair.The broadcasters’ banter confirmed there
was something wrong.
InAthens,Liu Xiang became
the first Chinese man to win a
gold medal in track and field,and
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97
the first Asian man to
win any Olympic
sprinting event. He
became an overnight
celebrity in China,and
the 110m hurdles final
was expected to be the
most-watched television event in Chinese
history.
On the day of the
final, he must have
known that he couldn’t run. Any other
athlete might just not
have shown up, but
he had to show that
he was at least trying for all of his millions
upon millions of fans. I watched as he
false-started, then tore the number off his
leg and hobbled off the field. I’m told the
stadium went dead quiet, and within a few
minutes it had become nearly empty—
with no Liu Xiang, people just left.The feed
I was watching followed Liu as he limped
down a side hallway, collapsed against a
wall, and just sat there with a blank, disbelieving expression on his face.And there he
sat, waiting for the fallout and no doubt feeling the disappointment of his country, his
sponsors, his hordes of adoring fans, and
himself. What surprised me most is how
alone he was; the entire time I was watching, nobody was there to help him. No doctors, no coaches, nobody to assist him or
comfort him.
Sabrina Kolker ’98
Looking Forward to the
Next Adventure
Rower Sabrina Kolker ’98 represented Canada in the women’s pair. She is now a first-year
medical student.
O
ne memory that I will always recall
from the Beijing 2008 Olympics is
walking with other members of the Canadian team into the Bird’s Nest Stadium for
the closing ceremonies. I could feel the
energy from the thousands of spectators
cheering from the stands, as well as the
excitement of the other athletes. That
Liana Bonavita ’05 on the NBC broadcast
set at the International Broadcast Center.
Sports, and the prime-time crew to watch
Bob Costas sign off the final segment.As the
closing highlight reel rolled alongside the
credits, we watched the best and worst
moments of the last few weeks.We experienced the emotion as a team, clapping and
crying,knowing we were all an integral part
of sharing these games with our country.
Georgia Gould ’98
Good as Gould
Georgia Gould ’98 competed in the women’s
mountain bike cross-country event. Racing on
the rugged 16.6-mile Laoshan Mountain
Bike Course, she placed 8th overall.
Liana Bonavita ’05
All the Highs and Lows
Liana Bonavita ’05 traveled to Beijing to work
as an intern with NBC, assisting producers and
editors with Olympic coverage.
I
belonged to a department that shared
responsibility for the Olympic opening
and closing highlight reels, as well as indepth features about both the athletes and
Chinese culture.My job description entailed
helping the producers and editors in any way
needed; that often involved finding special
moments caught on camera and the tapes
on which those moments were recorded.
I worked 12-hour days, seven days a week,
for 21 straight days—and in the end, it was
more than worth the time and effort.
On the last day on air, a bunch of us at
NBC crammed into the control room with
Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal
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fall 2008
A beaming Sabrina Kolker ’98 at the
Olympic closing ceremony. Kolker also competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
evening, as I enjoyed the performances,
followed by the extinguishing of the
Olympic torch,I tried to reflect on the journey that had brought me to Beijing—and
the life as a first-year medical student that
I would be jumping into upon my arrival
back in Canada. I took a deep breath, gave
thanks for the amazing privilege to race for
Canada, and looked forward to my next
adventure ahead.