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ASU athletes, coaches prepare to impact in Olympic Games

By Gary Campbell

For a special group of ASU student athletes and coaches, the quest for gold involves much more than just their school colors.

As the Olympic Games open Aug. 13 in Athens, Greece, seven current ASU athletes, three current coaches, and numerous alumni will take part in the festivities. Teams representing 11 different countries will have ties to ASU.

“For the athletic department it really shows we have an environment for young people who aspire to compete and reach their goal,” says Gene Smith, executive director of athletics for ASU. “The Olympics are really the pinnacle of sport, so when we have athletes competing, it shows we can help them reach the top. Also our athletes are coming from all over the world, so it really goes to show how diverse our program is.”

The athletes and coaches from ASU will compete in four sports: swimming and diving, track and field, softball and wrestling.

The largest pool of athletes comes from the ASU swimming and diving teams. ASU’s representatives include ASU Diving Coach Mark Bradshaw (Finland) and sophomore diver Joona Puhakka (Finland); ASU Swimming Coach Mike Chasson (Egypt) and swimmers senior Petra Banovic (Croatia), senior Ahmed Hussein (Egypt), sophomore David Kolozar (Hungary), junior Ágnes Kovács (Hungary) and junior Florencia Szigeti (Argentina). ASU alumnus Gavin Meadows will also represent Great Briton as a swimmer.

The highly decorated contingent of swimmers features a former Olympic and world champion in Kovács (Olympic gold in the 200 meter breaststroke in 2000 and world champion in 1998 and 2001) and three other two-time Olympians in Banovic, Szigeti and Hussein.

In diving, Bradshaw was the 2003 men’s NCAA and Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year and his star pupil Puhakka is a two-time NCAA diving national champion.

In track and field, ASU is represented by sophomore sprinter Lewis Banda (Zimbabwe), ASU alumnus and 4x400 meter team member Michael Campbell and ASU alumnus and long jumper Dwight Phillips.

Banda won the Pac-10 title in the 400 meter dash for the past two years and earned All-America honors in three events in 2004 (400 meter, 4x100 meter relay and 4x400 meter relay). Phillips is a two-time Olympian, won the 2003 World Indoor title and the 2003 World Outdoor title and was an All-American while at ASU.

ASU will be represented in softball by coach Linda Wells and former catcher Stacy Farnworth with the Greek national team. The two will find familiar competition when Greece faces the United States team August 19. The U.S. team features University of Arizona Coach Mike Candrea and his former star pitcher Jennie Finch.

Wells is the seventh-most successful active coach in NCAA Division I history with 851 victories. She has led the Sun Devils to 11 NCAA regional appearances in 14 seasons, including two trips in the past five years to the College World Series.

The tennis competition will feature 1996 graduate Sargis Sargsian participating for Armenia .

In wrestling, former ASU coach Zeke Jones will lead the U.S. men’s freestyle team. Former Sun Devil All-American and Olympic silver medallist, Townsend Saunders will serve with his wife Tricia as coaches of the U.S. women’s wrestling team.

Smith says having one of the athletes from ASU win a medal reflects well on the university and the athletics department. When pole vaulter Nick Hysong won gold in 2000, ASU’s track team and facilities vaulted to prominence.

“It is another exemplar for the program. When you have someone like Nick who is a great athlete and has high character, it’s a huge symbol. During that time, ASU and Tempe were mentioned countless times,” Smith says.

The success also draws people to ASU’s facilities, which in turn helps recruiting, both nationally and internationally.

“We have some of the best facilities in the country, particularly in swimming and track,” says Smith. “We also have great support areas such as the weight room and our outstanding trainers.”

Campbell, with Media Relations & Public Information, can be reached at (480) 965-7209 or (garycamp@asu.edu).