Area athletes gearing up for 2008 Olympic games

Imagine trading the picturesque, but fairly quiet atmosphere of Opelika for an international arena of competition halfway around the world.

That scenario will become reality for two Opelika residents who will make the trip to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the next week or so.

Kristin Heaston, 32, and Aretha Thurmond, 31, both of Opelika, will be competing in the shot put and discus events respectively in this summer’s Olympic games in China.

As the pair count down the days until they make the 17-hour plane trip to Beijing, they’re spending time keeping in top form.

“We train five to six days a week for five to six hours a day,” said Heaston, a native of Palo Alto, Ca., who has been training with Auburn University track coach Jerry Clayton for the past five years.

Heaston’s father is also a former Olympic athlete and coach.

“Right now, we’re just trying to get the community excited about the upcoming games,” said Heaston, as she and Thurmond signed autographs and chatted with residents Friday morning at the Toomer’s Coffee Company in Auburn.

Both Thurmond and Heaston had a discus and shot put on hand at the coffee shop that patrons could handle to get a better feel for what the two highly trained athletes do when they compete.

“I think after most of them get a chance to handle the 4-kilogram shot put or a 1-kilogram discus, they walk away with a better understanding and appreciation for all the hard work we put into the sport,” said Thurmond, who still holds the discus record at her alma mater, the University of Washington.

From past Olympic trials to U.S. Outdoor Championships to Pan Am Games, both Heaston and Thurmond still get excited about the prospect of bringing home the gold.

“I still get butterflies before I compete,” laughed Thurmond. “I look forward those butterflies because if I don’t get them, then it’s probably time for me to retire because I love that nervous energy.”
Heaston and Thurmond will leave Opelika for China on July 28 and are currently looking for additional sponsors.

The U.S. Track and Field Program has a separate training facility outside Beijing where all U.S. athletes will go for a number of days before the games begin, according to Heaston.

As far as scouting out the field of competition they’ll face in Beijing, at this point there aren’t any secrets in Thurmond and Heaston’s opinion.

“We’ve had some meets in the past, so we have a good idea of who the competitors are and some of those competitors have put up some really good marks,” said Thurmond. “But those marks don’t matter at this point. All that matters are the marks you put up that day of the Olympics.”

Heaston, whose 2005 personal best shot put distance is 18.68 meters, agrees.

“The Olympics isn’t about politics or medals,” Heaston said. “It’s about the years of hard work that lead up to it for the athletes and coaches participating in it.”

“For us the Olympics isn’t something that just happens every four years,” Thurmond said. “It happens for us every day.”

Local businesses interested in sponsoring Heaston and Thurmond may visit arethathrows.com.