KIMIKO
HIRAI SOLDATI
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Fresh faces for U.S. Olympic debuts for new stars
By
David Nielsen Here is a snapshot look at a few of the newcomers who could win medals -- and the hearts of the nation -- in Athens: SWIMMING • Natalie Coughlin. The 21-year-old budding gourmet chef from Cal-Berkeley is a serious medal contender in the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle, plus three relays. "If the American women are on and can give her some support, I think she could be the dark horse Cinderella of the games," said Rowdy Gaines, former Olympic gold medalist swimmer and NBC swimming analyst. • Katie Hoff. Seemingly every Olympics, a swimmer too young to have a driver's license shines for the United States. In Athens it could be this 15-year-old from Abingdon, Md., who won the 200- and 400-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. • Brendan Hansen. Hansen narrowly missed qualifying for the 2000 Olympics when he finished third in both the 100- and 200-meter breaststrokes at the Olympic Trials. He made sure that he wouldn't miss the trip to Athens by setting world records in both breaststroke events at last month's Olympic Trials. GYMNASTICS • Carly Patterson. The 16-year-old from Allen, Texas, is a leading contender for several medals, including the women's all-around. She won the silver medal in the all-around competition at last year's World Championships. • Courtney Kupets. Rebounding from a torn left Achilles' tendon in 2003, Kupets placed first at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, securing a place on her first Olympic team. The 18-year-old from Gaithersburg, Md., was the world champion on the uneven bars in 2002. • Jason Gatson. In 1997 at age 17, Gatson became the youngest man ever to make a U.S. men's World Championship team. But a series of devastating knee injuries derailed his Olympic hopes in 2000. Now 24, Gatson hopes to make up for lost time in his Olympics debut. TRACK AND FIELD • Justin Gatlin. Coming out of high school in Florida, Gatlin nearly accepted a scholarship to art school. Instead he attended the University of Tennessee on a track scholarship, winning six NCAA sprinting titles in two seasons before turning professional after his sophomore year in 2002. Gatlin, 22, finished second in the 100 meters to 2000 Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene, at the recent Olympic Trials. • Alan Webb. Webb, 21, burst on the track scene in 2001 when he broke Jim Ryun's 36-year-old high school record for the mile. He attended Michigan in 2002, but left after a star-crossed freshman season to turn professional and train with his high school coach in suburban Washington, D.C. After struggling through injuries last year, he has run some of the world's fastest times this year in the 1,500 meters, including a runaway victory at the Olympic Trials. • Allyson Felix. The 18-year-old from Los Angeles turned down college scholarship offers, opting to turn professional directly after high school. She won her first national title by capturing the 200 meters at the Olympic Trials. OTHER SPORTS • Wrestling: Freestyle wrestler Cael Sanderson finished his college career at Iowa State in 2002 with his fourth consecutive NCAA championship. He became the first collegiate wrestler to finish his career undefeated (159-0). The 185-pounder won a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships. • Diving: Kimiko Soldati, 30, will try to give the United States its first 3-meter springboard medal since 1988. If she wins a gold medal, she'll be the oldest female diving gold medalist. Her teammates call her "Grandma." • Fencing: Fencer Sada Jacobson, a native of Dunwoody, Ga., became the first American woman to ever be ranked No. 1 in the world in sabre. While training for the Olympics, Jacobson, 21, is taking time off from her studies at Yale, where she won two NCAA championships. • Archery: Jennifer Nichols started shooting at age 11 with a bow her father bought at Wal-Mart. Now 20, Nichols is the nation's top ranked archer and won the individual and team gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games. Nichols was home-schooled by her mother in Cheyenne, Wyo.
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