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Thursday, September 14, 2000
Nakanelua an Kaneohe resident Kelsey Naka-nelua was pretty sure he was in the Olympics by last Friday.
Olympian, finally
The Kamehameha graduate is
The other Aussie Olympics
in Sydney to compete in the
100 meters for American SamoaBy Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinBut he wasn't certain.
"Let's put it this way," the sprinter said by phone from American Samoa, which he was hoping to represent. "The chances of me not making it are about the same as me beating (world 100 meters record holder) Maurice Greene."
The Kamehameha graduate was a little more at ease when he boarded the plane to Australia on Monday with the three other American Samoa athletes.
The American Samoa Olympic team's administrative leadership is fractured, and Nakanelua feared he might lose his spot on the team at any time.
"I didn't really feel like Iwas in until I got my athlete's badge (in Sydney). Ikept thinking there would be something wrong, some kind of mix-up," Nakanelua said. "That's what happened to a guy who was getting checked in next to me. There was something wrong with his paperwork, and I don't know where he ended up.
"The tragedy and the politics is fierce and crazy. You hear stories about so-and-so is supposed to be here, but they're not."
But Nakanelua is really there, fully credentialed and fulfilling a dream.
He spent his first day absorbing the atmosphere of the Olympic Village, looking for friends he had made in other international competitions.
"It's overwhelming. In the course of 30 seconds you can hear 10 different languages," he said. "The village is really cool. There's a lot of security, they check your bags constantly. But that's good."
Yesterday (Thursday in Australia), Nakanelua worked out with other sprinters. He is entered in the 200 meters, and also plans to run in either the 100 or 400 meters.
Sprint trials begin Sept. 22.
Between now and then, Nakanelua plans on seeing as many Hawaii Olympians as possible.
"I'm hoping to meet Brian Viloria, and maybe watch some volleyball," Nakanelua said.
Nakanelua, 33, is a four-time winner of the Hawaii's Fastest Human 100 meters, but he has no illusions of winning a medal in Sydney. His goal is to make it out of the first heat in his races, something no other American Samoa athlete has done.
He said there are about 10 first heats in each sprint event.
His best time in the 100 meters is 10.59, but that was in 1995. The world record is 9.79, set by Greene last year.
Nakanelua said his teammate, hammer thrower Lisa Misipeka, has a much better chance of becoming American Samoa's first medal winner in any Olympics.
"That would be really special," he said. "And she has a very legitimate chance of winning one."
Nakanelua qualified for the American Samoa team because his late grandfather was half-Samoan. Nakanelua is also of Hawaiian and German ancestry.
Nakanelua first visited American Samoa in 1999. He arranged a workout in June of last summer, in which he impressed team officials. Several of them hand-timed Nakanelua at under 10 seconds in the 100 meters.
He was a hurdler at Kamehameha, but concentrated on the 100 after high school.
"I took him on as kind of a project," said Dacre Bowen, who has coached Nakanelua the past nine years. "He was a crazy kid, but he's matured a lot and learned to understand what it takes.
"It's a real credit to Kelsey to have done what he has under the circumstances. Nobody was driving him but him."
Bowen was a sprinter on the Canadian team at the Montreal games in 1976. He said Nakanelua epitomizes the Olympic ideal, even though it is extremely unlikely he will win a medal.
"I loved helping someone who worked so hard. Talent and 25 cents will get you a phone call," Bowen said. "Tenacity, hard work and good fortune all have to come together.
"And that's just to get there."
Olympic Profile
Kelsey Nakanelua
Age: 33
Sydney 2000 Olympics
