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Log inWould-be Olympian is honored
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Would-be Olympian is honored
by Outspoken on Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:11 am
Would-be Olympian is honored
BY TRAVIS LAZARCZYK
Staff Writer Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE -- It was late winter, 1980, and Ann Turbyne-Andrews was in the teachers' room at Winslow Junior High School when her Olympic dreams were snuffed out.
"One of the teachers came in and said they heard it on the radio," Turbyne-Andrews said.
In response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan the year before, President Carter announced the United States Olympic Team would not compete in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.
With no Olympic Games to look forward to, Turbyne-Andrews, a Winslow native, went to the U.S track and field trials in Eugene, Ore. She threw the shot 56 feet, 81/2 inches and earned a spot on Team USA. At the time, her throw was the second-best in United States history.
"They called it the Team to Nowhere because we knew we wouldn't be competing anywhere," Turbyne-Andrews said. "I think everybody kept training, hoping (Carter would) change his mind."
This year, with the U.S. track and field Olympic trials back in Eugene for the first time since 1980, the Team to Nowhere was honored by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Turbyne-Andrews almost didn't open her invitation. The envelope read "Eugene '08" and she thought it was a fundraising plea.
"I figured they wanted money," said Turbyne-Andrews, who owns Gilly's Gym and teaches science and health at Vassalboro Community School.
Turbyne-Andrews did get around to opening the letter, and she learned she and a guest would be flown to a ceremony in Eugene on the team sponsor's dime.
Approximately 90 team members made it to the reunion, Turbyne-Andrews said. They were given replicas of the gold medals awarded in Moscow 28 years ago. Each member of the 1980 team also was presented with a congressional medal.
Turbyne-Andrews said she was glad to get a chance to see Al Feuerbach and Lorna Griffin, two of her former throwing teammates.
"(Griffin) was my roommate at many events," Turbyne-Andrews said. "I was really surprised and happy so many made it."
Carter's decision to boycott the Moscow Games stung, Turbyne-Andrews said.
"I supported him because he was president. Was it hard? Yeah, it was real hard to do that."
So hard that Turbyne-Andrews didn't watch an Olympics until the Sydney Games eight years ago.
"I could not watch an Olympic game until the year 2000. It wasn't until then that I was OK. I could watch and not have a knot in my gut," Turbyne-Andrews said.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/5219790.html
Staff photo by David Leaming
BY TRAVIS LAZARCZYK
Staff Writer Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE -- It was late winter, 1980, and Ann Turbyne-Andrews was in the teachers' room at Winslow Junior High School when her Olympic dreams were snuffed out.
"One of the teachers came in and said they heard it on the radio," Turbyne-Andrews said.
In response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan the year before, President Carter announced the United States Olympic Team would not compete in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.
With no Olympic Games to look forward to, Turbyne-Andrews, a Winslow native, went to the U.S track and field trials in Eugene, Ore. She threw the shot 56 feet, 81/2 inches and earned a spot on Team USA. At the time, her throw was the second-best in United States history.
"They called it the Team to Nowhere because we knew we wouldn't be competing anywhere," Turbyne-Andrews said. "I think everybody kept training, hoping (Carter would) change his mind."
This year, with the U.S. track and field Olympic trials back in Eugene for the first time since 1980, the Team to Nowhere was honored by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Turbyne-Andrews almost didn't open her invitation. The envelope read "Eugene '08" and she thought it was a fundraising plea.
"I figured they wanted money," said Turbyne-Andrews, who owns Gilly's Gym and teaches science and health at Vassalboro Community School.
Turbyne-Andrews did get around to opening the letter, and she learned she and a guest would be flown to a ceremony in Eugene on the team sponsor's dime.
Approximately 90 team members made it to the reunion, Turbyne-Andrews said. They were given replicas of the gold medals awarded in Moscow 28 years ago. Each member of the 1980 team also was presented with a congressional medal.
Turbyne-Andrews said she was glad to get a chance to see Al Feuerbach and Lorna Griffin, two of her former throwing teammates.
"(Griffin) was my roommate at many events," Turbyne-Andrews said. "I was really surprised and happy so many made it."
Carter's decision to boycott the Moscow Games stung, Turbyne-Andrews said.
"I supported him because he was president. Was it hard? Yeah, it was real hard to do that."
So hard that Turbyne-Andrews didn't watch an Olympics until the Sydney Games eight years ago.
"I could not watch an Olympic game until the year 2000. It wasn't until then that I was OK. I could watch and not have a knot in my gut," Turbyne-Andrews said.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/5219790.html
Staff photo by David Leaming
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
