Herman Frazier goes to Athens as the first gold medalist to lead the U.S. delegation as chef de mission. More surprising, the University of Hawai'i-Manoa athletic director is the second chef from Hawai'i in the past three Olympics.
Frazier follows in Dr. Ralph Hale's distinguished footsteps. Hale, a longtime Honolulu physician, chose Frazier to be his assistant chef at the 1996 Games.
Hale said he picked Frazier for his exceptional organizational ability and "willingness to work," along with a thorough knowledge of most summer sports, "not just track and field."
Frazier competed in the 1976 and '80 games as a runner, winning gold in the 4x400 relay and bronze in the 400 in '76.
Hale also favored Frazier because he was someone "who could take over if I was unable to complete the job, and who would be willing to commit body and soul to the effort."
Committing body and soul is basically what Frazier will be doing at this Games, already haunted by security fears and rumors of rampant drug use. If there is any problem with the 536 American athletes, Frazier will be the first to deal with it.
He admits that in "a perfect Olympiad," the chef de mission would be one bored official. Realistically, he knows it will be a hectic two weeks. It's been a hectic 1 1/2 years of preparation, particularly with security worries and the BALCO steroid investigation tainting track.
"We had a 4 1/2-hour briefing on security alone about a month ago," Frazier said. "It goes all the way up to the highest security people in our country. The main person on the ground for us is coordinated out of the ambassador's offices in Greece. I've seen it all and this is the first time I've ever seen something of this magnitude put together for the safety of our delegation, but more important for anybody else who is American."
Frazier recalls training with New York state troopers before the 1976 Games in Montreal — the first Olympics after the Munich massacre. Athletes traveled to Canada in caravans with police escorts. From the border, Canadian soldiers escorted the Americans in helicopters and other vehicles. When Americans trained in Montreal, their buses always had two armed guards.
Frazier says none of that compares to what is being planned for Athens. But whatever fear he feels is overwhelmed by the anticipation of what he describes as the next-best thing to actually being an Olympian.
"Other than being in the Games as an athlete, this is the ultimate," says Frazier, who just ended his second term as a U.S. Olympic Committee vice president. He has been active with the USOC more than 20 years.
Seen but not heard
Leilani Okuda, a 1983 McKinley graduate, is one of a dozen softball officials selected for the Games. Aaron Chaney, a 1975 Punahou graduate, will be poolside as a water polo official, fulfilling a dream he pursued with a vengeance.
Chaney quit his job at Iolani, where he was an honored educator during his 18-year career, to move to California four years ago. His sole purpose was to plant himself in water polo's hotbed and earn an officiating reputation that would take him to the Olympics. He also coached at Corona del Mar High School and tutored to get by.
He worked the past two World Championships before being chosen for the Games. Chaney was part of UC Santa Barbara's only national championship team, in 1979. He started on one of Punahou coach Ken Smith's first teams, as an eighth-grader.
"Everything Aaron has had to do as a player, coach and referee, he has really had to work hard at it," Smith said. "He was always a real student of the game. Same thing when he got into refereeing.
"People don't give him credit for what he's accomplished. How many people win an NCAA title, become coach of the year in Southern California and referee at the Olympics? It's pretty amazing."
Okuda joked that she leaped into the upper echelon of softball umpiring because she was "always the cheapest ticket" when tournament organizers needed someone in the Pacific Region. Clearly, that's not true for Athens.
The McKinley PE teacher and softball coach can be found all over O'ahu.
At those games, she's free to say hello to familiar faces. It will be different at the Olympics, though she will be familiar with at least three players — Australians Stacey Porter and Brooke Wilkins, out of UH-Manoa, and Canadian Kristy Odamura, who is from UH-Hilo.
"I don't get to jibber jabber with them," Okuda said. "I just let them be players. Kristy is really personable and the Australians always give me a 'Hi Leilani.' It's going to be fun."
Seen and heard
University of Hawai'i associate track coach Andy McInnis will be a track analyst for Canada's CBC network. He figures he earned this gig back when he coached Canada's track team at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
McInnis will be watching athletes from all over the world for more than CBC. He says many countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, bring in a "wealth of young athletes" with college eligibility. The Rainbow Wahine have scholarships to give.
"For sure I'll be looking," McInnis said. "It's an opportunity to gain exposure for our program. It also reinforces our recruiting situation with a lot of the Commonwealth countries and we want to infiltrate Great Britain for sure — bring one island to another. Being associated with the Games in any capacity is a positive."
Heard but not seen
Ralph Hale attended four Olympics between 1988 and '96 ('88-'92-'94-'96) as part of the U.S. delegation. He is missing this one in part to protect the integrity of his newest position — chair of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Hale, a Honolulu physician for some 30 years, moved to Virginia in 1993. He is the executive vice president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
He was appointed to the USADA board when it was formed in 2000. The USADA "is responsible for guiding the testing, research, education and adjudication programs" for the American Olympic and Paralympic athletes, but is completely independent.
Hale describes the USADA's mission as "to protect and preserve the health of athletes, the integrity of competition and the well-being of sport through the elimination of doping."
The USADA is also involved in research initiatives and educational programs. It administered nearly 3,000 drug tests from April to June of this year, the largest number in its short history. The USADA is also closely involved with the BALCO performance-enhancing drug investigation.
"It does keep us on our toes to know about how the other side is working to avoid detection as well as creation of undiscoverable new steroids," Hale said.
Punahou graduate Chris Duplanty is missing his first Summer Games since he was a U.S. Water Polo goalie in 1992 and '96. Duplanty helped coach the 2000 women's team and had been on the USOC board.
"I was really active trying to give back the USOC," said Duplanty, who lives in California. "I was on the task force that restructured the USOC board from 125 to 11. That was an incredible experience. As a result, I voted myself out of office."
