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Q&A U.S. Olympic diving team members Keim and Davison
U.S. divers Jenny Keim and Michelle Davison talked with members of the media after earning a berth (3-meter springboard) on the 2000 Olympic team. Question: Jenny, your coach Randy (Ableman) had said it's really helped you to go to the University of Miami, and you seemed to be really happier there. Can you talk about that a little bit ... what happened in those four years? Keim: I think in general it just has to do with the fact that I am a more well-rounded person. I'm doing excellent in school and I love school, so I have really high expectations in my educational career as well. I've been home schooled all my life, so now it's a little different -- a little more enjoyable. I have a great social life. I have some great friends now. So I was very isolated before, I didn't have many friends. So I have a social life, I have a boyfriend. And my family has been great, they were always there for me before as well, but I think this time, just all around, I am a much happier person. I am not just Jenny Keim the diver -- I have a lot of other parts to me that are just as important. Question: Are your parents in Sydney? Keim: Yeah, they moved down there about three years ago, so it's going to be kind of fun. I can go home. Question: What does your dad do there? Keim: He is working for Neverfailed spring water. It was a business move. That's why they went. Question: I know that you went to the Olympics the last time, how is the experience going to help you? Keim: I think the experience is going to help a lot. I'm sure that it came down to experience for me. I've been diving well, but that's what it comes down to -- it's a mental thing, the experience has helped me a lot. After the last Olympics I had completely retired and I was done, so this is kind of a long way from where I thought I would be four years ago and I am really excited and it makes it just that much better. Question: Michelle, how did you collect yourself after the fourth dive and what were your thoughts before the last dive? Davison: I just told myself to breathe and relax. I had to do a lot of jumping around to get it all out of me. I had a lot of nerves inside and I was just trying to relax. I really wasn't following the scores, but I knew it was close. So I just told myself to be confident and do what you know how to do. Question: What was the final count of the family members that were there? Davison: I don't know, probably about 16 or 17. Keim: It's great because our families have always been really close, ever since we were really little. So it's going to be fun. And then my whole family is out there too. Question: What advice would you give for kids who want to make sports their whole life? Keim: For me, it's been great to make sports your whole life, but I feel like what I've learned in my career is that your not going to do extremely well unless your happy outside your sport. You can't completely put one hundred percent of yourself into it. I mean you do every day -- one hundred percent day in and day out in practice, but as soon as you leave the pool, or leave where ever you are, there has got to be more to you, and you have to have a good education so you can keep things in balance. Davison: Yeah, I agree balance is a big key. I think sports are great. I think all kids should really be involved in sports. There's experience, social skills, everything -- it's good to have a life outside of you sport to have that balance. You need to be happy not just at the pool or on the track, you gotta be happy outside in your life. Question: Michelle, since this is a dream of yours, what do you think the Olympics will be like for you? Davison: Icing on the cake. I mean, there's more to the Olympics, I am going to enjoy myself when I'm there, but I still want to represent my country really well. I want to hope for a medal. I am going back to training really hard, but I am going to enjoy myself in the meantime, I'm not going to sit there. I am going to make sure I enjoy myself. Question: Are you planning on staying in the village? Keim: J. Oh yeah. The village is a lot fun. Davison: M. Most definitely. Question: Jenny you said you were retired after the 1996 Olympics? Keim: I was retired for at least a year. And then, my coach now, Randy Ableman, was trying to convince me to come to (University of) Miami. I was able to get and receive a full scholarship, so when that was all done it sort of happened. And then I started diving again. I figured at that point it would be a great way to get through school, but I never at that point had any dream of being back here, but once I was on the boards again ... you can't just dive and not give it your all. Question: What are you majoring in? Keim: Political science Question: So, was your year away beneficial? Keim: Yeah, at that time, I hadn't even finished high school yet. I really basically did nothing for a year. I think from spending my life the way I did as a young child, and never doing what I wanted to, it was a good year for me. Question: What did you do? Keim: Sat on my couch for a year. Finished high school and that's pretty much it. Question: . What would you tell Michelle about her first Olympics? Keim: Be ready for an experience. There are things that you can never even believe would be possible. It starts when you go in for outfitting and you're given a shopping cart and you go thought and you get more stuff than you own right now. And that's just the first day -- it's unbelievable, and it just builds from there. Question: Q. Do you have any superstitions?Keim: I try to pretend like I don't, but today it turned out that I did every single thing I did yesterday. Including what I ate for dinner, what I ate for lunch, what I wore, what I washed my hair with. Question: How about you Michelle? Davison: You know, I try to tell myself I'm not superstitious, but I find myself doing the same thing, like I'll jump in the water a certain time and I'll wet my chamois a certain way. I try to block all that out, because anything can happen to get in the way. Question: Michelle, do you remember the first Olympics you watched? Davison: Yeah, very vividly. The '88 Olympics. Question: Were you diving then? Davison: Yeah, just for two years. I was watching Greg Louganis and Michele Mitchell and it was just one of those things. Wow, they're representing their country. I mean it looked like they were having a great time and the camaraderie. They panned to the stands and they showed the team cheering everyone on. I thought that I wanted to be a part of one of those teams.
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