Students at Oak Elementary School got a first-hand glimpse at some of the struggles and triumphs Olympic athletes experience when former Olympians Susan Roy and Mike Bruner shared their stories with them Feb. 2.
Roy, a Mountain View resident with a son at Oak, competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City as a member of the United States swim team. Bruner captured the first gold medal of the 1976 Olympic Games in the 200-meter butterfly with a world record time of 1:59.23 and helped the United States earn another gold medal in the 800-meter free style relay. He also qualified for the 1980 Olympics in Russia, which the United States boycotted.
Their school visit was part of the Northern Californian Olympian Association's campaign to encourage more local youth to train for the Olympics.
About 16 athletes from the Santa Clara Valley competed in the 1968 Olympics, Roy said. She said the area dominated swimming throughout the World during that time.
"There was a special legacy when I competed that doesn't exist anymore," Roy said. " I want kids to know that they can achieve this. They just need to set goals."
Roy told the students she didn't like swimming or water as a young girl.
"I was afraid of the water. When my parents would take me to the beach, I wouldn't go near the ocean," she said. After her brother and sister made the school swim team, 8-year-old Roy made swimming a goal.
Achieving that goal was not easy, she said. Roy spent 10 years training before she made it to the Olympics. Roy said she spent much of those days walking around with sore red eyes because swim goggles weren't available in the '60s. "Everyone used to ask why I was crying," she said.
By age 14, Roy had qualified for the 1963 AAU Nationals, where she ranked as 6th best breast stroke in the United States. She competed again in the 1964 Nationals, placing third best breast stroke. That same year, she competed in the Olympic trials, but didn't earn a place on the Olympic team until the 1968 Olympics.
"What paid off was my determination," Roy said.
Like Roy, Bruner experienced many failures before qualifying for the Olympics. Bruner said he didn't have a lot of time for friends, television or much else besides swimming. He practiced five hours everyday, starting his workout at 5:30 a.m. Bruner said "getting a gold medal" was his only goal. Sometimes this distracted him from winning, he said. After several disappointing races, Bruner finally earned the "lucky third" spot on the 1976 Olympic swim team.
"I got into the Olympics by my finger nails," he said.
For sixth-grader Jessica Howard-Anderson, their speeches were especially inspiring. Jessica said she, too, has made swimming in the Olympics her goal.
She practices two hours everyday and has already earned herself the reputation of being "one of the best swimmers" on her Sunnyvale team.
"Going to the Olympics changed my life," Roy said. She said the students are at an exciting age where they can do anything they want.
Roy said she hopes that they "realize that if you set goals, you can achieve the best at whatever you try."