Olympics notebook

By Jennifer Starks

STAFF WRITER

Trevor Runyan doesn't get paid for his paddle prowess.

He's just one of two Americans on a team of six, living in a country where his previous foray was limited to a stop at a local airport.

Yet for the past four months, Runyan has been making his way in Hohr-Grenzhausen, Germany, willingly leaving behind the familiar surroundings of the Concord Table Tennis Club to hone his skills with the German Bundesliga. It was a big move but one Runyan knew he had to make if he was going to improve.

"In order to get better," he said, "you have to go overseas."

Runyan, a College Park High School graduate, is temporarily back in the States for the U.S. Olympic trials, which start Thursday at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

"This is going to be a really good experience, (but) there are only two spots for North Americans," Runyan said. "It's going to be pretty tough."

Runyan, 19, will take his first steps toward the Beijing Olympics during Thursday's qualifying tournament, which will cut the field to 24 -- 12 men and 12 women. Beginning on Friday, those who survive move on to round-robin competition. From there, the top four finishers from each division advance to the North American Trials, which begin April 4 in Vancouver, Canada.

That's where the final Olympic berths will be awarded. The top-20 ranked players in the world get an automatic spot at the games.

"He's an outside shot, but he could have an excellent trial," Concord Table Tennis Club founder Phil Schafer said of Runyan. "Table tennis is getting much better than it used to be, but we're still far away from being considered a major factor. We need someone to do really well, and then maybe it will take off."

China has long been a dominant player since table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988. The Chinese won three gold medals at the 2004 Athens Games and some are predicting even more success this summer.

The U.S. has never won an Olympic medal in table tennis. Ilija Lupulesku could be the one to change that. A five-time Olympian, he is the No. 1 seed at the trials (Runyan is No. 16). Lupulesku teamed with Zoran Primorac and took home the silver at the 1988 Seoul Games, while competing for his native Yugoslavia. Athens was his first Olympics representing the U.S.

"It's hard to get good training (in the United States)," said Runyan, who plans to return to Germany in February. "A lot of people just quit. ... It's hard to keep training here because there's no future in it. You're not going to get anything back from it, except the love of playing. If I was going to pursue it, this was the best time to do it. To get to the Olympics, that would be amazing."

GOLDEN BEAR: With the Pac-10 swimming season about to commence, Cal women's coach Teri McKeever treated her team to a special warmup: a training trip to Australia.

The Bears tested their mettle at the Victorian Championships in Melbourne, racing against Olympians as well as members of the U.S. national junior team. It was a pretty nice deal, especially for junior Lauren Rogers. A Carondelet High graduate and Olympic hopeful, Rogers won the 50-meter backstroke in 28.78 seconds, out-touching Belinda Hocking by one-tenth of a second.

Olympic champion and former Cal star Natalie Coughlin, who continues to train with McKeever, also made the trip. She posted top times in the 50 and 100 freestyle semifinals but did not swim in the finals.

QUICK HITS: Former Stanford softball star Jessica Mendoza joined on as part of Pro Sports MVP Olympic Heroes Tour on its goodwill tour of Afghanistan. The 10-day journey began earlier this week in Doha, Qatar.

Contact Jennifer Starks at jstarks@bayareanewsgroup.com.