The first Olympics I can remember was 1968 in Mexico City. Remember sitting there every night watching my Dad. While watching platform diving, I noticed an Italian diver with red hair and the first name “Klaus”. I asked my dad what’s an Italian doing with a first name like Klaus. “The German army spent a lot of time in Italy”, he replied. And thus was born a family tradition in our house of watching the Olympics every four years.
As a teenager I wondered if I could if I could compete in the Olympics. Maybe a gymnast or a skier? A wrestler or maybe something on the track? But in 1978 it became serious. My college counselor said I had to add a sport to my transcript. I added not one two, joining the soccer team and taking a fencing class. I took to fencing like a duck to water and soon found myself a member of the local fencing club. My coach had coached the team at West Point and noticed I had a talent for it.
I was soon fencing all over California and by 1979 had won a silver medal for Northern California. I was training for a shot at the Olympic team going to Moscow in 1980. Then the Russians invaded Afghanistan and Pres. Jimmy Carter decided not to send the US to Moscow. That was my one big shot and I missed it.
As a Dad, I tried to carry on the family tradition of having my kids watch the Olympics with me and that ended with mixed results. It seems I’.m only one in the family interested in Curling.
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My dream since 1980 is been at least to go to the Olympics. I was too early in Korea for Seoul. It was too late for Barcelona. I couldn’t scrape up the cash for Los Angeles or Salt Lake City. But my dream is still alive and maybe I’ll attend one.Maybe the kids will come along too.
But this year the Olympics are in Russia and I’ll be blogging all about it. The good the bad and the funny. So stay tuned Loyal Readers. If you could compete in the Olympics what sport would be?
