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Tuesday, September 19
Sterkel knows glory could have been hers
By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com
Jill Sterkel can see the Olympic commercial in her head. It has bright lights, flashy graphics, and a deep, energetic voice, "Coming up later tonight, 33-year-old swimmer Dara Torres will become the first American to swim in four Olympics. You won't want to miss it."
Though the ad will be entirely accurate, it's only by a technicality. On the other side of that asterisk is Sterkel, the Texas women's swimming coach, who was the first swimmer to qualify for four Olympics, only to have the 1980 U.S. boycott keep her out of competing in all four Games. The boycott also kept Sterkel from becoming the first female to medal in three straight Olympics. That honor went to Torres too, in 1992.
"I guess the way I look at it is I'm still the first person to make four and nobody can take that away from me," Sterkel said recently. "I see all this on TV and sometimes it's like a little knife turning in me. It's like, 'Gosh, you know, give me at least a little bit of respect.' But I've learned to take things in stride. I know how good I was even if other people don't. If I waited for the press to validate who I was a swimmer, or a person, I'd be waiting a long while."
Sterkel made her Olympic debut in 1976 at the age of 16, winning gold as a member of the 4x100-meter relay team. She repeated the feat in1984, and then won a pair of bronze medals (4x100, 50-meter freestyle) in 1988. She was a three-time captain of the U.S. team ('80, '84, '88) and in between Olympics spent her time putting Longhorn swimming on the national map. She was a two-time national swimmer of the year and in 1981 was named College Female Athlete of the Year.
No, her story isn't about the crushing blow the boycott dealt her or the difficulty she had regaining her peak. It's about resiliency, and a defiance to quit no matter what the odds. Sterkel's performance in '88, at the age of 27, paved the way for ageless wonders like Torres, who now believe they can achieve Olympic success well after their college years.
"If anything, the boycott opened the door for me to swim longer," Sterkel said. "I decided to keep training and in doing so, maybe it was a small step for female swimmers to show that in fact, you don't have to retire at 17 or 18. I guess I was kind of a trail blazer."
Sterkel took a year off between the '84 and '88 Games and said the grueling task of getting back into shape helps her appreciate the trials of Torres, her roommate at the '84 Games, even more. Torres returned to competitive swimming last year after a seven-year hiatus and qualified for the Sydney Games last month.
"I saw her in a meet last December and my chin was on the floor," Sterkel said. "At first I was like, 'Yeah, OK' because I knew how hard it was, but she was absolutely incredible. I think it ranks maybe not with Lance Armstrong's comeback, but in the same vain. It's very inspiring."
Sterkel, now 40 and the co-head swimming coach at Texas, has found coaching Olympic athletes just as rewarding as being one. In 1996 she coached former Longhorn Whitney Hedgepeth and this year she's behind Texas sophomore Erin Phenix, who surprised many by making the same 4x100-meter relay that Sterkel starred in. Phenix was considered at best a long shot to make the U.S team.
"It's such a neat feeling, so pleasurable to sit back and watch something like that happen," Sterkel said. "The look on somebody like Erin's face when they touch that wall and accomplish something nobody thought they could do, that's worth a million dollars right there. I think I get more excited watching my athletes do things than I did when I swam."
When Hedgepeth competed in '96, Sterkel said she could barely watch. Hedgepeth went on to win a gold in the 4x100-meter relay, as well as a pair of silvers in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. Sterkel said she'll be in the stands in Sydney supporting Phenix. The experience and wisdom she passes to her swimmers is priceless.
"Situations always come up that trigger memories," Sterkel said. "Sometimes there are a lot of questions and fears and someone will look at me and say, 'Well, you don't understand, you never lost and we're never afraid.' And I'll latch into that and be like, 'Guess what, you're wrong. We all are afraid, we all have nerves. You have to learn from them.' I'm able to share my experiences and they learn from that."
Sterkel has learned about having thick skin. Though she's one of the most successful U.S. swimmers ever, her name is rarely mentioned along the likes of Torres, Janet Evans, and others. Still, she holds little bitterness.
"I'm proud of my career," Sterkel said. "I was never going to be the darling of U.S. swimming or anything like that and that was fine with me. People always find the first person for this and first person for that, even if I had competed in 1980, Dara probably would have been the first person to do something.
"Our paths have crossed a lot over the years and with it we've become pretty good friends. To accomplish what she has? I don't know how she does it. It's phenomenal."
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com.
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