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San Antonio, prepare to shed your baby fat and find the Olympian underneath. Though the S.A. populace is usually ranked among the heftiest in the nation, this city and surrounding areas can boast a connection to more than a dozen Olympic athletes heading to Beijing this year. From basketball titans Manu Ginobili and Becky Hammon to the Paralympics athlete Casey Tibbs, a pro at the long jump despite missing a leg — we’ve got an athletic side that’s been overlooked for way too long. Read the profiles below and be sure to check out our Web-exclusive profiles here.
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Kelley Hurley
Age: 20
Representing: United States in women’s fencing — individual epee competition
Humble Beginnings: She grew up in a family of fencers. Her parents met fencing, and her sister is hot on Hurley’s heels with hopes to go to the Olympics in 2012. Epee is a weapon that is heavier and has a larger bellguard than a saber or foil. Hurley graduated from Warren High School in 2006 and is a junior at Notre Dame, where she studies psychology and environmental science.
Athletic Feats: “This year, I had a lot of really exciting bouts,” Hurley said. “I won the NCAA, and in my last two bouts, one to get into the gold, I was down by two touches with seven seconds, and I caught up and won in seven seconds, which is really difficult to do in epee.” A touch occurs when Hurley hits the other person with her weapon. But being so good comes with a cost. “I’m the only women’s epeeist in the U.S. in this Olympics,” Hurley said. “It’s a little lonely. I don’t really have anybody that I can train with. It would be kind of weird to train with people I might compete against ..... but my sister will be there, and my family will be there, so it’s all right.”
Nemesis: “My biggest competition, personally, (is) everybody,” said Hurley with a laugh. “I think everybody to a certain point is pretty evenly matched, and anybody can win, especially because it’s epee and anybody can get the touch at any time. ..... But (for) the U.S., I think the biggest competition is China, for sure, because they’re loaded. ..... All of them are muscular. I know the women’s epeeist, the Chinese rule.”
Alter Ego: Hurley packs a Game Boy to her training sessions. 210SA hopes it’ll give her an edge in the hand-eye coordination department. “Game Boy is my relaxing thing for my workouts,” she said. “I just bought ‘Super Mario Bros.’.” The athlete also gushed a bit about her beaux, fencer Soren Thompson, who went to the 2004 Olympics. “I’ve fenced with him a couple times, but I really don’t like doing it because he always beats me,” Hurley admits. “Well, he’s really strong.”
The Aftermath: “The things I’ve had to give up have kind of all balanced out with the rewards I get from it,” said Hurley, who hopes to fence again in the 2012 Olympics. “The more I travel, the more I train, the better the results I get from it, so it kind of evens out. I don’t really think I miss anything. Maybe a few parties here and there or, like, birthdays sometimes or some holidays. Nothing that I’m really disappointed about missing.”
TiVo Time: Women’s fencing — individual epee competition live streaming coverage on NBCOlympics.com, Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Liza Hunter-Galvan
Age: 39
Representing: New Zealand in women’s marathon
Humble Beginnings: Hunter-Galvan moved to the U.S. from New Zealand in 1988 on a track scholarship to attend UTSA. She earned a bachelor’s in kinesiology and a master’s in counseling from UTSA.
Athletic Feats: She raced her fastest time at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2007. She completed the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 30 minutes and 39 seconds. She also finished 51st in the women’s marathon in the 2004 Olympics. What does she want from the Olympics? “I don’t necessarily have a placing or a time goal,” she said. “I just want to go and do the best I can do.” She’s been training by running up to 100 miles per week. Hunter-Galvan has been seriously into marathons since 2003. “That’s what I’m good at,” she said. “I don’t really have any choice. I can’t really play football or basketball. I’d be in the NBA any day if I had a choice. ..... Once you realize what you’re good at, you just stick to it.”
Nemesis: Hunter-Galvan wouldn’t say who she thought her toughest competition would be in Beijing. But she did say the heat and pollution would make the run much more challenging. “I’ve never ran a marathon in pollution,” she said. “I’ll know after the race, when I’m coughing and sputtering. Pollution is going to stop you from getting as much oxygen as you can to your muscles, so obviously it’s going to make you run slower.”
Alter Ego: Hunter-Galvan is married with four kids who she says keep her grounded. She used to teach seventh-grade science as well. Lately, she’s been juggling her marathon training with trying to move from Helotes into San Antonio proper.
The Aftermath: What has the marathoner taken away from her competitive running? “The characteristics that I’ve learned in running have definitely carried over to other parts of my life,” she said. “I went back and got my master’s degree. That right there was due in part to the development of my character due to running. I think it helps me to be a better mom, get all that stress out on the road, any frustrations, so I don’t come home and take it out on the kids.”
TiVo Time: Track & field — women’s marathon on NBC and NBC HD, 6:30-11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16
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Casey Tibbs
Age: 28
Representing: United States in men’s 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, long jump and pentathlon
Humble Beginnings: Tibbs is originally from Lake Travis and graduated from Lake Travis High School in 1999. After high school, he joined the Navy and was stationed on Lackland Air Force Base from 2002 to 2006. He now lives in San Diego, Calif.
Athletic Feats: Tibbs will travel to Beijing for the Paralympics in September. After a motorcycle wreck in 2001, Tibbs lost his right leg below the knee. In 2004, he became the first active-duty military member to compete in the Paralympic Games and ended up with a silver medal in the pentathlon and a gold in the men’s 4x100-meter relay. In this summer’s games, Tibbs might emerge as a track and field star. “I’m pretty much doing it all,” said Tibbs. “I’m happy with all my events. But I’d say I’m probably most happy with my long jump: 6 meters 66 (centimeters), that’s my current jump. That’s about 22 feet.”
Nemesis: By entering this many events, Tibbs has pretty much taken on the world.
Alter Ego: Naval Petty Officer First Class Tibbs works as a peer mentor for amputees returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at Navy Medical Center San Diego.
The Aftermath: Tibbs said he participated in track and field in high school, but only up to the regional level. It wasn’t until after his amputation that he began competing at a higher level. “I lost my leg; I just found out that there was this thing called the paralympic sports, and it was elite competition for people with disabilities. I saw the results, and I saw what people were doing, and it was something I really wanted to do. I applied myself.”
TiVo Time: The 2008 Paralympic Games are Sept. 6-17 in Beijing.
Source: United States Olympic Committee
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Keith Sanderson
Age: 33
Representing: United States in the men’s 25-meter rapid-fire pistol
Humble Beginnings: Sanderson said he was born in Plymouth, Mass., “but then moved to San Antonio on the last day of school in first grade, so I pretty much grew up there.” He attended Marshall High School and then served in the Marine Corps for eight years. Afterward, he joined the Army Reserve and attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for a year. “I started shooting in the Marine Corps, and I wanted to be the best at anything that was graded with an objective score,” Sanderson said. “Shooting in the Marine Corps brought me to a different level.”
Athletic Feats: Sanderson said one of his most rewarding victories was the 2005 Military Rapid-Fire Pistol Championship. “I was the only person to beat the Chinese in a pistol event,” he said. “Chinese were really dominant, so the Russians gave me a bottle of vodka for beating them.”
Nemesis: “The Chinese are definitely dominant,” Sanderson said. “They are making a really strong push in the shooting sports, and so is Russia. Russia is dominant in all the pistol events. There are a handful of really good shooters out there. Another enemy is the ‘fight or flight’ response. A lot of athletes have this response, which could be advantageous to some, but in shooting, it is detrimental.”
Alter Ego: Sanderson is an infantryman in the U.S. Army. While Sanderson said he doesn’t have a ritual or lucky charm for competing, he does wear certain types of clothing for competition. “I wear dark-colored shirts because I don’t like to see light colored things in my peripheral vision when I raise my arm to shoot,” he said.
The Aftermath: After the Olympics, Sanderson said, “I’m going to take two weeks off almost immediately, and go home to San Antonio; if I don’t, my parents will kill me. I didn’t let them come to China this year. I don’t need that kind of pressure.”
TiVo Time: Men’s 25-meter rapid-fire pistol live streaming coverage at NBCOlympics.com, Thursday, Aug. 14, and Friday, Aug. 15.
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Mike Hazle
Age: 29
Representing: United States in men’s javelin throw
Humble Beginnings: Hazle grew up in Temple and graduated from Temple High School in 1997. He then attended Texas State University and earned his bachelor’s in 2001 and master’s in 2003. Hazle said he started javelin-throwing as an undergrad. “I picked (javelin-throwing) up when I got to college, but I was also playing baseball. I didn’t focus on it until my junior year, when I tore my ACL and got cut from the (baseball) team in 2000.”
Athletic Feats: On May 9, Hazle threw the javelin an impressive 82.51 meters. He’s currently ranked 10th in the world and hopes to medal or at least place in the top eight. He was expected to place first in the national championship that qualifies U.S. athletes for the Olympic team, but after his worst throw of the year, he placed second instead. “Even though I didn’t win, making the Olympic team this year was kind of strange and bittersweet,” Hazle explained. Before a major competition, he said he tries not to stray from his training. “If you try to change your game plan then, you’re not going to get the desired performance,” Hazle said. “You do the same thing you do in training, you just do it a little faster and a little bit harder.”
Nemesis: The reigning Olympic champ from Norway and the Finnish world champion.
Alter Ego: During the offseason, Hazle DJs twice a month and is a community mentor for In the Arena, an athlete role-model program. He is sponsored by Nike and doesn’t have a second career. He said being a track and field athlete demands a lot of time. “There is a sacrifice in almost every aspect of life to compete as an American track and field athlete,” Hazle explained. “In track and field, if you don’t win, you don’t eat. There is no, ‘Oh, well we didn’t win, maybe next time.’ You have to be successful every time or else your way of life is in jeopardy.”
The Aftermath: After the Olympics, Hazle said there will still be 1/.1/2 months left in the season. He will compete in events across Europe before the World Athletic Finals in Stuttgart, Germany. He said he plans to take a week off after the season ends to decompress and travel Europe before going back to training in October.
TiVo Time: Men’s javelin throw on NBC and NBC HD 6:30-11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23
Sources: usatf.org; nbcolympics.com
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Dominic Grazioli
Age: 44
Representing: United States in men’s trap shooting competition
Humble Beginnings: His father was in the Air Force, so Grazioli lived in many places growing up. “Every three or four years, we’d pack up and move someplace new,” he said. He was born in New Jersey, and since then has lived in Oklahoma, Florida, Kansas — even Spain — before ending up in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he went to Socastee High School. From there, he went to the Air Force Academy and graduated in 1986. Now, Grazioli considers San Antonio home, and he’s lived here since 1992.
Athletic Feats: Grazioli’s weapon of choice is the shotgun. He’s aiming to add a gold medal to the slew of medals he’s already collected. His most memorable medals were earned at a World Cup in Brunei Darussalam in 1998, where he earned gold in trap shooting and bronze in double-trap shooting. It earned him a spot competing in the World Cup Finals, where he placed third. “It’s the best shooters,” he said, “and being able to walk out of the World Cup Finals with a medal means that you’re the best of the best of the best.”
Nemesis: Grazioli will have his hands full at this year’s Olympics. There’s Bret Erickson, an American who, like Grazioli, is highly regarded in the international trap-shooting world. Grazioli also considers the Russians and Italians a threat to his shot for the gold, as well as many other shooters who are capable of winning.
Alter Ego: Grazioli is a civilian now and works at Randolph Air Force Base. He is still an Air Force reservist.
The Aftermath: Grazioli began shooting the event in 1987 with the Air Force shooting team. But all of his accomplishments have not come easy. “My family has given up a tremendous amount for me to compete,” he said. He’s put serious thought into retiring after competing in these Olympics, but hasn’t come to a decision.
TiVo Time: Men’s shooting trap competition at NBCOlympics.com live streaming coverage, Friday-Saturday, Aug. 8-9; Trap Gold Medal Finals on MSNBC, 4 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10
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Manu Ginobili
Age: 31
Representing: Argentina in men’s basketball
Humble Beginnings: He might have one of the most well-known faces in San Antonio, but Ginobili wasn’t always a Spur. He comes from a family of prominent basketball players in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, where he began is professional basketball career in 1995. The Spurs drafted him in ’99, but instead he played in Italy. He didn’t sign with the Spurs until 2002.
Athletic Feats: Ginobili has already claimed the Olympics gold medal playing with Argentina once in 1994 and helped the San Antonio Spurs win three NBA Championship rings — in 2003, ’05 and ’07.
TiVo Time: Men’s basketball — Lithuania vs. Argentina on USA and USA HD, 1 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10; Argentina Game on MSNBC, 4 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14; Argentina vs. Russia on MSNBC, 4 a.m.-4 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 18. Olympic basketball is scheduled every day from Aug. 9 to Aug. 24, with the finals taking place Aug. 23-24; nbcolympics.com
Sources: NBCOlympics.com
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Dusty Jonas
Age: 22
Representing: United States in men’s high jump
Humble Beginnings: Jonas went to La Vernia High School, where he made a name for himself as a high-jumper. The University of Nebraska’s athletics program considered him among the best prospects in the country. He placed in a number of competitions and won the 2004 AAU National Junior Olympic Games. Jonas went on to the University of Nebraska in 2005 majoring in horticulture and just finished his senior year.
Athletic Feats: Jonas set school and conference records during his senior year, after jumping 7 feet-8/.3/4 inches at the Big 12 Championships. It was the highest in the world between May 18 and July 13.
TiVo Time: Men’s high jump on NBC and NBC HD, 7-11 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Sources: University of Nebraska Athletics Web site
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Becky Hammon
Age: 31
Representing: Russia in women’s basketball
Humble Beginnings: Becky Hammon played at Stevens High School in Rapid City, S.D., then went on to have a very successful career at Colorado State University. In 1999, Hammon was undrafted by the WNBA, but she signed with the New York Liberty and played in spot duty as a backup point guard for a few years. Hammon became a starter and quickly made a name for herself. In 2007, Hammon was traded to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for second overall pick in the 2007 draft, center Jessica Davenport. Hammon plays professionally in Russia, too, and was eligible to represent the nation in the Olympics.
Athletic Feats: With a distinguished career at Colorado State, Becky gained All-America honors as well as Colorado Sportswoman of the Year. . She also became the WAC Mountain Division player of the year, edging out University of Utah (and later NBA player) Keith Van Horn as the WAC’s all-time leading scorer.
TiVo Time: Olympic women’s basketball — Australia vs. Russia on MSNBC, 4 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17; nbcolympics.com
Source: beckyhammon.com
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Leonel Manzano
Age: 23
Representing: United States in men’s track and field 1,500 meters
Humble Beginnings: Born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico, Manzano and his family gained legal residency in the U.S. and moved to Texas when Manzano was 4 years old. He attended Marble Falls High School and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin earlier this year. Manzano became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2004. He recently told the San Antonio Express-News: “I didn’t think about the race; all I thought about was the way the fans pumped me up. I’m honored and excited to represent my country. Muchas gracias.”
Athletic Feats: After finishing second in this year’s Olympic trials, Manzano will be competing in the 1500-meter race in Beijing. Manzano recorded his personal best in 2007 when he ran a 1,500-meter race in 3:35.29. He even started his college athletic career off with a bang by finishing the 2005 season undefeated after becoming the NCAA Outdoor champion, NCAA Midwest Regional champion, Big 12 Outdoor champion and Big 12 Indoor mile champion.
TiVo Time: Men’s 1,500 meters on NBC and NBC HD, 7-11 p.m. Tuesday, Aug., 19.
Source: usatf.org; nbcolympics.com
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Fabricio Oberto
Age: 33
Representing: Argentina in men’s basketball
Humble Beginnings: Oberto was born in Córdoba, Argentina. At age 17, he tried out for AD Atenas de Córdoba, and was selected to start the following year. In 1998, he was chosen as the MVP of the Argentine league. Soon after, he transferred to the Greek Olympiacos, then played in the Spanish league for two years with TAU Cerámica before playing with Pamesa Valencia, which is where he was when the San Antonio Spurs signed him.
Athletic Feats: In only his second NBA season, Oberto became more of a key player on the perennial powerhouse team, the Spurs. During the Western Conference finals, he showed up huge in Games 1 and 2, averaging 31 minutes and 14 points. The Spurs went on to win the championship. Oberto was also a key member on the 2004 Argentina team that won the Olympic gold medal.
TiVo Time: Men’s basketball — Lithuania vs. Argentina on USA and USA HD, 1 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10; Argentina Game on MSNBC, 4 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14; Argentina vs. Russia on MSNBC, 4 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18. (nbcolympics.com)
Sources: draftexpress.com; NBA.com
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Darold Williamson
Age: 25
Representing: United States in men’s track and field 4x400-meter relay
Humble Beginnings: The San Antonio native ran for Holmes High School while attending Health Careers High School. He earned his diploma in 2001 before graduating from Baylor University in 2005. He’s now one of the most decorated athletes in Baylor’s history.
Athletic Feats: This 400-meter speed demon is a two-time gold medalist in the World Outdoor 4x400-meter relay. In his senior year at Baylor, he ran his personal best in 44.27 seconds. Perhaps the track-and-field athlete’s greatest feat is running the anchor leg for the 2004 gold medal 4x400-meter men’s relay team.
TiVo Time: Men’s 4x400-meter relay on NBC and NBC HD from 6:30-11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23.
Source: usatf.org; nbcolympics.com; San Antonio Express-News
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Marshevet Hooker
Age: 23
Representing: United States in women’s track and field 200 meters
Humble Beginnings: Hooker was raised in San Antonio, where she earned her diploma from Southwest High School in 2003. In 2007, she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. Her father, Ricky Hooker, is a former San Antonio Spur and her sister, Destinee Hooker, placed sixth in the high jump at the 2008 Olympic trials.
Athletic Feats: After placing fourth in the 100-meter race at the Olympic trials, she ran a swift 22.20-second 200 meters and placed third, which qualified her for her first Olympics. In the first heat of the 100-meter quarterfinals of the Olympic trials, she crossed the finish line in a wind-aided 10.76 seconds. Although it cannot be counted as an official time because the wind was blowing more than 2 mph, only four women have ever run faster than Hooker.
TiVo Time: Track & field — women’s 200-meter, NBC and NBC HD, 7-11 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21
Source: tf.org; globalathletics.com
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