Triathlon, gymnastic events praised
By Leila Wai and Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writers
If Hawai'i's success in hosting Olympic-style events last week was any indication, the state could be the site for more competitions in the future.
"We've had several conversations with the city, as well as the state, for bringing additional events here," said University of Hawai'i athletic director Herman Frazier, a vice president of the United States Olympic Committee.
"We will lean heavily on the U.S. Olympic Committee and all these national governing bodies to come here for competition and also be a staging area before the teams go to Beijing in 2008," he said.
Last week Hawai'i hosted two Olympic-style events: The Honolulu Triathlon, which qualified one male and one female for August's Olympic Games in Athens, and the Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships, considered by organizers as the most prestigious gymnastics event ever hosted in Honolulu and a preview of August's Olympics.
"While these two events were going on here, we've had Olympic-committee staff here and some people from our sponsorship programs, and what they're looking at is the optimum, whatever we can do to put our athletes in a position to be successful," Frazier said.
"It sets us up to put on events prior to Beijing that lets other national governing bodies know that Hawai'i can get it done."
Frazier said he envisioned Hawai'i hosting several future Olympic teams, including USA volleyball, softball and track and field. He also mentioned swimming and soccer, and indoor sports such as judo, wrestling and boxing.
Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona said he would like to "make a push" for Hawai'i to host more international sporting events. He said Hawai'i would be a perfect site for athletic events before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
"I think people now are seeing the potential for Hawai'i, and what we offer," Aiona said. "It helps that the next Olympics is going to be in China. I think this is a perfect meeting ground for them on the way to China."
The Pacific Alliance Championships will return to Hawai'i in 2006, according to USA Gymnastics President Bob Colarossi.
Aiona said he was told by Colarossi that the background signage in the Stan Sheriff Center promoting Hawai'i was worth "a million bucks" in national and international television exposure. The competition will be televised on NBC on May 16.
The gymnastics competition was a big hit with the USA athletes. Team USA's Morgan Hamm said he enjoyed the competition and hospitality in Honolulu.
"I love coming to Hawai'i," Hamm said. "This is my second time. This meet has been amazing. The people in Hawai'i are so nice, the crowd is great. I would love coming back here for any event."
Gymnastics fan Ilsy Dibsie of Waikele called Hawai'i a perfect fit for international competitions.
"Hawai'i is so full of 'ohana," said Dibsie, a Hilo Hattie merchandiser who brought her 10-year-old daughter Jasmine along. "To see other nations come together, it seems like a great place to have something like this. Hawai'i is a melting pot. We've never seen something like this before."
USA Triathlon President Valerie Ellsworth Gattis said she is pushing heavily for Honolulu to repeat as a qualifying venue for the 2008 Olympics.
"I'm going to get back and start writing my next report," she said. "Let me tell you, it would be absolutely perfect."
Ellsworth Gattis said that she will also suggest using Honolulu as a training site for regional camps and clinics. She said next year Honolulu will also be the site of a World Cup, one of the premier races in triathlons.
"Hawai'i has poured itself out for this," she said. "It bodes very well for the future. This is going to be the next mecca (for triathlons)."
Triathlete Hunter Kemper, who qualified for the Olympics after being the first American to cross the finish line, said that he thought Honolulu was a great venue.
"The people were so supportive," he said. "The whole city got behind the event, and it's not usually like that. When you go to other big cities, they don't focus on the event so much like they did here."
American Barb Lindquist, the top-ranked female triathlete in the world, said Hawai'i was one of the top venues she has raced in.
"It was great, I felt so safe out there," she said. "The spectators were a captive audience out down there."
John Korff, who was one of the producers of the triathlon, said that he believes Honolulu could be the site of many Olympic-style events.
"We want to make Hawai'i an Olympic-friendly state," he said. "Other national federations will look and say, 'Wow, this is really unique, this place has something magical and special to it.' You want to be known as a state that welcomes and embraces these kinds of events."
Although the triathlon will not be televised nationally, having international athletes compete in Hawai'i should help promote the state.
"Exposure will only help us," Aiona said. "Exposure not only on television, but also to the athletes. We offer much more than a gym. We offer the ocean, the scenery, the people. Everything they want. I think that's a tremendous boost for us."
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457. Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
