LIVING THE OLYMPIC DREAM-WHITNEY PING

WHITNEY PING WITH MOUNTAIN VIEW TEAMMATE KHOA NGUYEN AT THE CLOSING CEREMONIES OF THE 2004 ATHENS OLYMPICS.

I don't even know where to start -- how do you describe, in a few
paragraphs, the best month of your life, the dream becoming a reality,
and the journey it took to get there?  Making the US Olympic Team was
one of the greatest moments of my life, and it was a culmination of a
lot of sacrifices, effort, and risks.  I can't say that I was more
qualified than any other athlete, but I believe I earned my spot
rightfully, with appropriate thanks to my doubles partner, Jasna Reed,
who has become a very close friend of mine and my family.

Jasna and I won the North American Olympic Doubles Trials in April of
2004, and it was non-stop action after that.  Immediately after I got
home, my cell phone rang constantly (let's not think about my cell
phone bill!), with calls from friends and family with their
"congratulations," the local news stations and newspapers, and more
notable names such as Sports Illustrated, USA Today, the David
Letterman show, and Nike.  I had my five minutes of fame and
recognition, but soon found out that I only really liked the first two
minutes of it, though I embraced the position as an ambassador of the
sport of table tennis and the US Olympic Team, and did my best to
answer all interview requests.  Following the Trials, my family and I
began searching for sponsors to help curb the costs of the traveling
that Jasna and I would take on in order to prepare for the Games.  I
was and am very fortunate to have received support from Merrill Lynch
and Wilshire Credit Corp, Platt Electric, Nike, and others.

Jasna and I played in ITTF Pro Tour tournaments in Singapore and
Korea, where we also met our fellow Team members, Gao Jun and Khoa
Nguyen.  We also went to Europe three weeks prior to our scheduled
arrival in Athens, and we road-tripped through many countries and
trained in Croatia, with Tamara Boros and Cornelia Vaida, and Hungary
at the famous Statisztika club in Budapest.

We arrived in Athens about ten days before competition in order to get
acclimated to the environment and playing hall, and to practice.  The
Olympic Village was like a small town, except that the town was
tailored to the world's best athletes!  Buses ran 24 hrs a day,
transporting athletes to and from different areas of the village, with
the main stop being the dining hall.  Our table tennis team lived
together in one apartment with five rooms, and shared our building
with the entire swimming team.  The competition venue was beautiful
and well set-up.  Heading into the Games, I think it is every
athlete's intention to win a medal, but unfortunately, Jasna and I
lost in the second round (after a first-round bye) to a team from
Singapore, who would go on to reach the quarter-finals.

While the loss was disappointing, it wasn't the end of my Olympic
experience by any means; in fact, it was just starting.  I watched the
rest of the table tennis competition, and then ventured out to cheer
on my teammates from other sports -- swimming, basketball, volleyball,
soccer, track, etc.  I was able to meet a lot of really great
athletes, and the best thing about being an Olympian is that I found
that the barriers that one would think would normally exist between
those who are famous and not, as well as those coming from different
nations with a variety of cultures, values, and rivalries, did not
exist.  For one month, the world as I knew it was perfect, as the
inhabitants (athletes, coaches, team leaders, and doctors) of our city
(the Olympic Village), lived in peace and harmony.

Looking back now, I can't believe that it has been nearly a full year
since my trip to Athens.  I think about it all the time -- the people
I met, the places I went -- so that I don't forget, and also to spur
my motivation for even bigger sights in 2008!