UK Olympians Reflect on the Games

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 3, 2012) — To be able to say that you are an Olympian is a characteristic shared by only a select few around the globe. To be an Olympian you must be dedicated to your sport and to your goals. You must have natural talent and a love for what you do. To be able to represent your country in an event that only comes around once every four years, you must truly give your life to being a successful athlete.

The Wildcat family includes at least two such dedicated Olympians who have played or continue to play a significant role in the life of the University of Kentucky.  They are Micki King, a diver in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and the 1972 Munich Olympics, and Passion Richardson, a runner from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  Richardson continues to work with students in the Gatton College of Business and Economics, while the now-retired King served the UK Air Force ROTC unit and UK Athletics.

 King developed a love for swimming at a young age.  After spending summers at the lake, she needed entertainment during the winter so her parents signed her up for classes at the YMCA.  Compared to the lake, King found the indoor pool boring and quickly became attracted to the deep end and the diving board.

She entered her first diving competition at age 15 and tried out for her first Olympic trials the next year, finishing 29th out of 30.  From this experience grew a fire to make the team.

"Four years later it was 1964 and at 20 I was a real diver trained by a fabulous coach that took me from the YMCA to the national championship," King said.

She was fifth this time but only three could go. King trained another four years and made the Olympic team for the 1968 Games. "I was suddenly in the 'bigs' now and headed to Mexico City," she said.

The three divers selected that year knew they were going to dominate, but on her second-to-last dive King hit the diving board, resulting in a fracture of her arm.  This caused her to fall from first to fourth place.

King had no intention of going back to the Olympics, but after being a spectator at a competition she decided she did not like watching from the stands.  King returned to training, made the team for the 1972 Olympics in Munich and was all business.

"I was on a mission: the glamour was second and competition was primary.  I had the same last dive in Munich but this time I pulled it off and won," she said.  That year King won the gold medal for the three-meter springboard event.

Richardson was 10 years old when she was first recognized for being fast. On activity day in the fourth grade she participated in the 300-yard run and beat all of the boys and girls.

Seeing her talent, her gym teacher entered her into a race in Owensboro, where she was the only 10-year-old. "I did not want to run because I thought I couldn't compete against them," Richardson said.  But her dad still made her run and she ended up winning the race. "This was my first formal running experience where I knew that I wanted to get involved with this sport."

Richardson ran for UK during her college career from 1993 to 1997 where she was All- American four times.  She participated in the semifinals of the Olympic trials her junior year of college, which gave her motivation to try again to make the team.

"For the next four years I dedicated my life and time to making this Olympic team. There was a real possibility that the dream I had dreamt since I was 10 could really become a reality," she said.

Richardson made the 4 x 100-meter relay team for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She competed in the morning heat as the anchor leg and placed first, qualifying her team for the semifinals.  The U.S. women would go on to place third and take home the bronze medal.

When asked what the major difference is competing in the Olympics and other sporting events, both King and Richardson said that the Olympics is special because it only happens once every four years.

“Look at the NBA, football and the Super Bowl.  These are major sports that have a championship title every year. You train for an Olympic sport every four years, and you do it because it is something that you love,” said Richardson.

King agrees that it is a special level of competition. “It only comes once every four years, if you don’t make it you have to wait, and I tried out for the Olympics four different times,” said King.

When asked about their favorite memories both King and Richardson had plenty to choose from.   

“Being at the Olympic Games was my chance to meet people from all over the world," said King.  "I grew up in a factory town in Michigan, so it was very exciting to sit with the Japanese gymnasts in the Village mess hall at lunch and the Romanian rowers at dinner.  I couldn't wait to tell my friends at home about my new Olympic friends from other countries."

Richardson found competing the most memorable part of the experience.

“Going in the stadium a couple days before the race to walk on the track was amazing, but the day of the competition was phenomenal,” explained Richardson.

Another favorite memory for Richardson was the opening ceremony as a first-time Olympian. "It is the largest stage, the ultimate goal of athletes," she said. "Representing my family, UK and an entire nation while all eyes are on you and walking in and hearing the echoes of a USA chant — my heart raced and my emotions were all over the place.”

Being an athlete adds many character traits to a person and both King and Richardson have used these qualities of being an award-winning athlete throughout their lives.

“No doubt being an athlete teaches you discipline, goal setting, healthy lifestyle, perseverance, bouncing back from not making a goal and setting your sights high, so I have learned many life lessons through sports. It may not always be fun and can be hard, but it feels good that you did it because you succeed,” King said.

Richardson implements the many attributes she acquired in athletic competition to be successful in her career as an academic adviser. “I can speak honestly from my experiences. A lot of times students have trouble with understanding how to balance academics and social life or sports. Everything that I went through allowed me to understand them,” she said.

King went into the Air Force upon graduation from the University of Michigan.  At the time of the 1968 Olympics, she was a lieutenant, rising up the ranks to captain when she earned the gold medal in 1972.  The Air Force assigned her to the AFROTC detachment at the University of Kentucky where she was the first woman to command an AFROTC unit.  King retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1992 and joined UK Athletics where she served for 14 years as an assistant athletics director until her retirement in 2006.  She has nine national diving titles and is in seven halls of fame.  King no longer dives but currently has a passion for playing tennis.

Since the 2000 Olympics, Richardson has moved back to Lexington and is an academic adviser for students in the Gatton College of Business and Economics.  

Richardson no longer runs, but she does other things such as Zumba, biking and lifting weights.  "In most other sports what do they use as punishment?  Running. I punished myself for 16 years and I think I am finished," she said.

Richardson is also the Olympian Role Model for World Fit, a walking project in Lexington aimed at middle school kids.  Both Richardson and King play a role in expanding this program. “Using the Olympic name and the positive role it portrays, we get kids to understand that this is something they need to do,” said King.

“This is an effort to combat obesity in youth. We play games and go on walks and try to motivate them,” added Richardson.

World Fit is a six week program where students walk for 45 minutes during the school day. Last year they had 7,000 students participate and hope to have 8,000 in the coming school year.  “The schools responded well and noticed that there were not as many issues with students acting out and some even planned on extending the program well beyond the six weeks because it has made such a positive impact for their school,” Richardson said.

MEDIA CONTACT:   Amanda Osborne or Carl Nathe, (859) 257-3200