Sunday, August 6, 2000

On a Friday night in September, Sharon Donnelly will finally finish her long Olympic quest

By ROB BRODIE -- Ottawa Sun

There is a little box tucked away ever so carefully somewhere in her dresser, so special are its contents.

What it lacks in size, the box more than makes up for with the magic it contains.

Memories of Olympians past, of athletes who put stars in the eyes of an admiring nine-year-old girl.

Even today, more than two decades later, Sharon Donnelly talks with amazement about those 1976 Canadian Olympic team cards, pictures of 25 childhood heroes she can still think about with a sense of awe.

"The things you find when you move," said the triathlete from Ottawa, who now resides in Kingston with husband Dave Rudnicki. "I opened this little box in my dresser and there were these trading cards from the 1976 Olympics ... I'd kept them all these years.

"That was the first Olympics that I remember, and it made a really big impression on me."

Nobody impressed her more than the swimmers -- 20 of those cards depicted swimmers, Graham Smith and Nancy Garapick and the rest of Canada's best in the pool.

"I was fascinated by the swimmers," said Donnelly, who was growing up in Toronto at the time.

GOLDEN GOAL

Thirty-nine days from now, the competition at the first Summer Olympics of the new millennium will begin with some of the world's finest female athletes churning through the waters of Sydney Harbour, swimming their way toward a golden goal.

Sharon Donnelly will be among them.

You might still have to pinch her today to remind the engaging 33-year-old that it's all real.

"My God, I'm here now," said Donnelly of an Olympic dream that, many miles and years later, is about to come true at last. "It hasn't really hit me yet ... I don't think it will until after the race.

"It's so big to me. I've only ever seen it on TV, or heard from some of my friends what it's like."

The journey that has brought her to this point is perhaps almost as big a deal as the final destination itself. Four years of criss-crossing the globe, proving she belonged with the world's best, earning the necessary results to put Sydney on her radar screen, spending months away from her husband training during winters in Australia -- Donnelly made a world of sacrifices, never losing sight of her final goal.

"It was a quiet focus, that this is what she wanted to do," said Ken Parker, her former running adviser with the Ottawa Athletic Club Racing Team. "A lot of people say they want to go to the Olympics. But when Sharon first said it ... you could tell it was not a spur of the moment thing.

"She was going to make all the necessary effort for four years to reach this goal."

Parker was so impressed by Donnelly's drive that his company, Sirius Consulting Group -- an Ottawa-based professional services consulting firm -- agreed to sponsor her in 1997, all the way through to the Sydney Games.

In his spare time, Parker built a website (www.SharonDonnelly.com) that chronicles her journey to the Olympics, a resource that has grown remarkably in depth as the weeks and months have gone by. His family is travelling to Australia for the Olympics -- Donnelly's mother, Phyllis, and older brother, Allen, will also be there -- and Parker doesn't expect to be disappointed by what he sees.

"On the day (of the Olympic triathlon), Sharon will do what she always does -- the best that she can do," he said.

Donnelly's best brought her a gold medal at last year's Pan American Games in Winnipeg, a result that thrust her into the world spotlight and stamped her as a serious contender in Sydney.

"I don't think I'd be here today without that (victory)," said Donnelly, who heads to Victoria today for a month of training before heading Down Under on Sept. 1. "Each good race boosts your confidence a little bit more.

"I did well at the Pan Am Games, and I did it when it counted. I know if I could do it there, I can do it (in Sydney)."

Another boost came last month, when Donnelly finished second in a World Cup triathlon in Toronto behind fellow Canadian Carol Montgomery, who reeled her in on the final running segment of the gruelling three-event test.

Perhaps more significantly, both Canadians finished in front of world champion Michellie Jones of Australia. Even a year ago, the Aussies were convinced a medal sweep was in the cards in Sydney. Now they are in turmoil, their final team selections being questioned by a series of court cases.

AUSSIES FACE THREAT

"It's quite conceivable there could be two Canadians on the podium, if the tactics work out and the conditions are okay," said Donnelly. "Toronto was a good indicator ... I think the Aussies are pretty concerned."

If Donnelly is to contend for gold, it all starts with a strong opening leg in Sydney Harbour. And perhaps that is almost fitting, considering her Olympic dream might well have been played out in the pool 12 years ago.

Had Donnelly chosen another path, she'd have taken her best shot at making Canada's swim team for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Instead, four years earlier at 17, she decided school was more important and enrolled at Royal Military College in Kingston.

"Who knows if I could have made it?" said Donnelly, a competitive swimmer for 10 years. "I might have burned out before then. But I think it all worked out for the best.

"I'd have never joined the military, where I've learned many great things."

Joining the army -- she's now a captain in the reserves -- taught her time-management skills that are vital as the clock ticks toward Sydney. It led her to the friend who introduced her to triathlon in the first place. And it led Donnelly to Rudnicki, who will be with her on Sept. 16, the day women's triathlon makes its Olympic debut -- an event that CBC will televise live (it'll be Friday night in Canada).

Says Donnelly: "If I had to do it all over again, I would not change a thing."

So it is that she'll arrive in Sydney on Sept. 12 -- her second wedding anniversary day -- with the finish line squarely in sight.

The journey is almost over, and those heroes that still shine brightly in her memory will soon get some worthy company.

"I am going to be an Olympian," says Donnelly. "How many people can say that?"

Not many.

AT A GLANCE

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