Friday, July 15, 2016

EDITOR'S NOTES: Watch for familiar faces at Olympics in August


David Kennard

I love the Olympics. I love the pageantry, the drama, the underdog stories, the rivalries and the camaraderie between nations that this world sporting event fosters.

The Summer Olympics Games are just three weeks away, and I was excited to learn this week that we’ve got at least two local athletes planning on competing in Rio.

Summerville High School graduate Carvin Nkanata will participate on the Kenyan track and field team. His skill in the 200-meter dash earned him not only the recognition of his father’s home country, but also an ACC championship with the University of Pittsburgh and before that a Class AAAA state championship with Summerville High School in the 400.

Also expected to go to Brazil is Fort Dorchester High School grad Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who will compete for Puerto Rico because her mother is Puerto Rican. Like Nkanata, she’s collected many trophies in track and field including an NCAA title with the University of Kentucky as a redshirt freshman.

Read more about these outstanding local athletes in Roger Lee’s story today on page 1B.

I think my love for the Olympics comes from the Saturday and Sunday mornings I spent as a young boy hanging out with my father watching Wild World of Sports, as well as the Olympics and other televised events. Dad loved boxing, and growing up in the Muhammad Ali era only fed my love of the sport as well.

For some reason, I gravitated toward swimming – mostly because my parents had all us kids take swimming lessons every summer.

In junior high school, I joined the swim club because there was no actual team at the inner city school I attended. I practiced laps, but never got any real competition until I entered a high school open meet when I was still in the eighth grade. It was a 200-meter medley. I lost horribly behind all the much older high school boys, but finished the race all the same. My father was there to watch and cheer me on. He told me he was proud that I finished.

Later in life, my swimming prowess landed me a job as a college lifeguard, which helped pay for tuition and other expenses.

Getting the job was no small feat. I was one of 50 candidates trying out for eight positions. The first elimination event was at 400 meter freestyle.

They lined us all up in heats along the edge of the Olympic-sized pool, boys and girls together.

When the gun sounded, I began swimming my guts out, the whole way thinking I should pace myself and remembering the shouts of my father all those years ago. But every time I turned my head to take a breath, I saw this girl who entered the water right next to me. I did my best to stay ahead of her, but for the life of me I could not lose her.

I finished only a second or so in front of her but fast enough to realize that we both were well ahead of everyone else in our heat. After we stopped gasping for air, she said, “Thanks, you set a real good pace.”

We ended up working together that summer and became good friends. I still swim once in awhile, but nothing on a competitive level anymore.

As you can imagine, the Olympic swimming events are one of my favorites and, despite his notorious history, Michael Phelps’ races will be recorded as we watch the Olympics in August.

As a community paper, we won’t be covering the Olympics like other news outlets will, but we’ll be sure to cover our local athletes with news of their accomplishments.

David Kennard is the executive editor of Summerville Communications, which publishes the Berkeley Independent, Goose Creek Gazette and Summerville Journal Scene. Contact him at dkennard@journalscene.com or 843-873-9424. Follow him on Twitter @davidbkennard.

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