Athlete of the Week: Parkway South grad Haskins achieves Olympic dream, heads to Beijing
Haskins headed to Beijing
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| Photo provided Parkway South graduate Sarah Haskins, right, strips off her wet-suit at a USA Olympic triathlon race in Tuscaloosa, Ala., earlier this summer. She will represent America at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing this August. |
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Could she indulge?
Would she?The icing was red, white, blue and layered oh so thick.
The cake was yellow and chocolate. Maybe she could resist one flavor, but both, in the same piece?
You'd think a woman who, every week, swims 20 miles, bikes 200 miles and runs another 50 miles could easily put away that piece of cake and everyone else's without a second thought.
Haskins is no ordinary woman.
She is an Olympian.
The 27-year-old Parkway South graduate will represent the United States of America in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing this August.
The 5-foot-7 1/2 Haskins will compete in the women's triathlon Aug. 19 in Beijing.
She is one of three women representing America in the triathlon.
Haskins and her competitors will swim one mile, bike 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) and run 10 kilometers (a little over six miles).
It's taken over a year for the Journal Athlete of the Week to earn her spot on the national team. It's been a dream since she was a mere minnow with the Parkway Swim Club.
It wasn't until last week Haskins made that dream a reality.
Sarah Haskins was always a triathlete, even if she didn't know it.
She started swimming at 5.
At 8, her family signed her up with the Parkway Swim Club. She spent every day staring at the bottom of a pool and smelling like chlorine.
She loved it.
In elementary school, Haskins discovered track and field.
While some kids look at the track and wonder "How will I ever get around that four times and not die?" Haskins saw it as an opportunity.
The record for the mile at the school's sixth grade track meet was six minutes.
"I always enjoyed the mile-run in elementary school," she said. "I wanted to break the six-minute mile."
With the help of a teacher, Haskins trained before school. She ran 400-meter dashes in less than 40 seconds.
When the race came, Haskins ran the mile in 5:57.
"That got me motivated to run," she said.
By the time she graduated Parkway South, Haskins was a two-time state champion. She won a state cross country title in 1997 and a swimming championship two years later.
She wasn't with the Parkway Swim Club long before Haskins realized her dreams of being an Olympic swimmer were not within her grasp.
Instead of her stroke, Haskins' motor earned her a scholarship to the University of Tulsa. She joined the Golden Hurricanes cross country and track and field programs.
"I wanted to change it up," she said. "I'd been swimming all year round. I wanted to run."
Sarah Haskins hops off her bike and nearly collapses.
It's June of 2003 and she's in the middle of Missouri, participating in her first triathlon.
After a 700-meter swim, Haskins just finished a 27-mile bike ride. As she attempts to hit the ground running, her legs decide they need a moment.
"I got off the bike and almost fell over," she says. "My legs weren't used to it."
Her body figures it out. Haskins goes on to take second in that race.
"I just started for fun," she said.
When she was 12, someone told Haskins her background was perfect for the triathlon.
She wasn't so sure.
After taking second in her first race, she decides there could be something to that old advice.
Haskins continues to participate in amateur races for another year before turning professional or "elite."
To be an elite triathlete, you must be licensed. In order to qualify for a license, you must meet certain requirements set by USA Triathlon, the governing body of the sport (see breakout).
Once Haskins becomes elite, she intensifies her pursuit of the Olympic dream.
She moves to Colorado Springs to train with other elite triathletes. She competes in races about every month from March until November.
She traverses the globe to compete. Of the seven continents on Earth, the only two she has yet to race on are Africa and Antarctica.
"My passport is almost full," she said. "I need to get some new pages."
When not competing, her focus is training.
The characteristics she showed in the pool and on the track as a youth become more ingrained over time. Training is something Haskins enjoys and takes pride in.
"I love training hard, racing hard and setting goals," she said.
Her workouts caught the eye of Women's Health Magazine. It featured her and her regimen in its edition last month.
She trains two times a day. It's a combination of swimming, biking, running and strength work.
"I like pain," she said with a laugh.
Her current coach doubles as a nutritionist. He keeps her focus on refueling her body. That means five meals a day with an emphasis on protein and carbohydrates.
There's little room for error. Heading into the final qualifying race, Haskins is holding on to the third and final spot for the Olympic team.
If the last race in Des Moines, Iowa doesn't go well, Haskins could kiss that Olympic dream goodbye.
Sarah Haskins doesn't know what to do.
Flooding is wreaking havoc in Des Moines and there is doubt as to whether or not the final Olympic trial, the Hy-Vee Triathlon, will be held.
The original course for the triathlon is nixed. The flooding throws the water's bacteria count out of whack, making it unusable.
If the race isn't run in the traditional swim, bike, run format, there will be an alternate process used to pick the Olympic team.
No one wants that.
Haskins fears the organizers will be forced to switch up the race and make it a biathlon. One of the alternatives that could be used to make the final Olympic team selection would be a scheduled race in Minneapolis the second week of July.
Haskins wants no part of that.
"I didn't want to prolong the process," she said.
Finally, days before the Hy-Vee, the race is moved to West Des Moines and goes off without a hitch.
Haskins has one objective headed into the final trial.
She needs to finish ahead of Sarah Groff.
The process is a long one, but it essentially boils down to points. You earn points by where you place in designated races. The three competitors with the most points make the team.
Groff is nipping at Haskins' heels in the standings. If Groff can win the Hy-Vee, she'll make the Olympic team and leave Haskins at home.
The chances of Groff pulling out the win aren't great. But, as the race gets closer, the two competitors ahead of Haskins (Julie Ertel and Laura Bennett) send out signals they might not compete.
Their spots in Beijing are all but locked up. One of them is feeling under the weather and the other is nursing a nagging injury. If they decide to sit, the pressure mounts on Haskins.
She doesn't feel it. Instead, she goes the other way.
"I knew I was in control of what I needed to do," she said. "It was me, I was in control."
Her father, Brian, isn't so calm.
He strolls the aisles of the local grocery store at 5 in the morning, killing time before the race begins in the early afternoon.
Haskins takes the drama out of the race as the bike portion comes to an end. As she begins the 10K, Haskins has all but solidified her spot in Beijing.
After she crosses the finish line, she drapes herself in Old Glory. She finally achieves an athlete's highest honor.
She'll represent her country.
As much as Sarah Haskins wanted to make the Olympic team, her father, Brian, wanted it more.
Brian plays the part of a proud father well.
At her celebratory press conference last week at Pegg's in High Ridge, Brian couldn't wipe the grin off his face.
In one corner of the room are two tables covered with pictures, awards and newspaper clippings. They provide a step-by-step story of how the little girl who hopped into the pool became one of the world's elite athletes.
Draped in a black shirt with the red logo from this year's Olympic Games, Brian moves throughout the room shaking hands, slapping backs and showing off his teeth.
He can't help it, it's his baby girl.
Brian was so confident, Sarah explains, he bought a plane ticket to China months ago.
She goes on to say she had the largest cheering section last week in Iowa.
Her father and her family are part of the reason she's achieved so much.
After a long afternoon of interviews and well-wishes, Sarah Haskins decides to indulge.
She takes a forkful of cake and relishes it. She slowly enjoys a few bites before finding someone to share it with.
Her 14-month-old niece, Sarah Lauck, sits on her lap. Big Sarah tries to guide the fork into little Sarah's mouth with mixed results.
The icing goes everywhere.
But, it's OK.
In their own way, both Sarahs enjoy wearing the red, white and blue.
