DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Dot Richardson displayed her two Olympic gold medals while in town for a motivational speech.
Timing in softball, as in life, is everything. Timing has made life
great for RichardsonBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comDot Richardson believes that completely, from making that perfect connection with her bat on a softball that results in a game-winning home run, to being in the right place at just the right moment to making a difference in someone's life.
It's the message the two-time Olympic gold medalist and orthopedic surgeon tries to send every time she gives a motivational speech. Today, that was to be at the Junior League of Honolulu's 3rd Women's Conference at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort as part of the "HerStory" program.
"Each of us are special, we can all make a difference in the lives of others," the 41-year-old Richardson said during an interview yesterday morning. "We all have gifts that we shouldn't take for granted.
"That's what I tell kids, to not take your talent for granted, don't take the opportunities for granted. Always try to open more doors for the younger generation. If you do that, then you are truly a champion."
The door was just beginning to open for women in college athletics when Richardson embarked on her long and illustrious playing career. She was a 17-year-old starter for the U.S. team that won the gold at the 1979 Pan American Games; 17 years later, she captained the U.S. team to the gold when softball made its Olympic debut in 1996.
In between, there was a national championship at UCLA, four more gold medals at the Pan Am Games and five gold medals at the World Championships. But it was the Olympic gold that had been Richardson's goal from the time she was 7 years old.
"When I saw the Olympics for the first time (in 1968), that night I had a dream that an Olympic gold medal was put around my neck. But after five World and five Pan Am golds, I wondered if that was what the dream had been about.
"We had been told softball would be in the 1992 Olympics, but it didn't happen. When I had heard that it would be in 1996, I was in disbelief. I thought it was too late for me. I had just graduated from medical school and had been matched with USC for orthopedic residency."
Talk about timing. The same day Richardson found out softball would be in the Atlanta Games, she came home to a message from USC officials saying, "Welcome to the Olympics of orthopedics."
"For them to use that term ... did they know that softball was now in the Olympics?" said Richardson. "Then I wondered if they'd support me to go for the Olympic dream I had when I was 7. Or had I missed my opportunity? But they supported me."
During her internship year, she flew to the tryouts on her off weekends. She was 34, again the oldest member of the team, but it didn't matter. The Olympics were going to be in the U.S. and she was team captain.
Richardson, all of 5-foot-4 1/2, hit the first-ever Olympic home run. Team USA won the inaugural gold as more than 30 of Richardson's family members watched.
The 1996 Games inspired her to write her first book, "Living the Dream." Her experience in 2000 may mean a sequel entitled "Living the Nightmare."
It took Richardson 2 1/2 years to get back on the team. She was then moved from shortstop to second base to give the team more flexibility.
Team USA took a 119-game international winning streak to Sydney and promptly lost three consecutive games. The Americans came back, winning five in a row, defeating Japan for the gold, 2-1 in extra innings.
There were thoughts of the 2004 Olympics, this time as a coach. But Richardson wasn't selected.
However, the door to Athens has not been shut. NBC-TV recently contacted her about working with the network at next year's Olympics, possibly as a commentator.
Not coaching the national team means Richardson has time for other pursuits. She started the Dot Richardson Softball Association -- now the Dot Richardson Sports Association -- as a not-for-profit organization to help girls get involved in sports. It now includes camps and clinics, instructional videos and manuals on a variety of sports, and words of wisdom from Richardson.
Currently, she is concentrating on her position as the medical director of The National Training Center in Orlando, Fla., and is vice chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. She and her husband of 18 months are also raising two Bichon Friese puppies, Minnie and Daisy, and are thinking about starting a family.
"Sports opened the door for me to get a great education," said Richardson. "Softball has been so good to me, but it hasn't always been easy. That's what makes the achievements more fulfilling, when you've had to struggle to get the achievements, that you don't take the success for granted.
"Athletics has prepared me for life's experiences. If there's any gift I could give those I talk to, I wish I could give them the recognition of the gifts they've been given. For them to have that moment in time, like I did when hitting that home run in 1996, to be able to put it all together and know they're where they're meant to be."
Junior League of Honolulu
