The Michigan Daily -Wednsday, February 9, 2000 - 13
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Michigan standout Shannon Shakespeare muses over collegiate, Olympic career
By David Horn and David Roth - Daily Sports Writers
11 across the world, the name
Shakespeare is synonymous
with excellence. Over the past
Few hundred years, most of the praise
has been given to the playwright
William - but here at Michigan,
:nother Shakespeare has emerged who
might be equally deserving.
A supposed descendent of William
Shakespeare's brother, this
Shakespeare writes masterpieces too,
just hers are in the water. Michigan
wimmer Shannon Shakespeare scripts
r own works by furiously stroking
her arms in the chlorine-filled con-
fines of Canham Natatorium.
Shannon's midsummer night's
Dream is just a bit different than
William's. No Oberons or Pips, but
gather Sydney - Australia that is.
Shakespeare, a 1996 Olympian on
the Canadian national team, envisions
being atop the world while swimming
0own Under" this summer, as she
orepares herself for the 2000
Glympics.
No matter where she swims, one
,onstant remains.
"I don't like to lose" Shakespeare
a.id.
SHANNON WOULD CAESAR
OPPORTUNITIES
Four hundred years ago, the Bard
used upon the River Avon. Although
te Red River flows through her home
town of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Shannon
did her swimming in the provincial
.wimming clubs of Canada. Shannon's
Jove with the pool. has always been a
family affair. Her father, David, was a
swimming coach when Shannon was
young. Her brother, Justin, swam com-
petitively at Arkansas.
Shannon swam her first competitive
Ace when she was four years old.
"I've been swimming my whole
life," Shakespeare said.
But Shannon's athletic prowess goes
beyond the swimming pool. She com-
peted in such Canadian favorites as
hockey, ice skating and soccer. But
before she was 10, Shannon honed in
on the sport with which she would
exhibit unparalleled success later in
life.
"I cut everything else out to focus on
swimming," Shakespeare said. "Speed
is just a part of my physiological make-
up It's still something you can work
on, but I have natural speed. I was
always a quick runner."
The future Olympian wasn't able to
compete on the scholastic level: Kelvin
High School, like most Canadian high
schools, did not have a swimming
team. Instead, Shannon swam for the
Winnipeg Club, where she had access
to professional Hungarian coach Pal
Temesavari.
"By the age of 13 or
14 she was breaking
provincial records,"'
David said.a
"Swimming was
always a large part of
her life. We have hilar-
ious pictures of her
swimming in the eight-
and-under category. At
that point she was real-
ly just having fun."
ever in the Big Ten," Richardson said.
In addition to bringing her athleti-
cism to the pool, Shannon tried to
make the Wolverines more team ori-
ented.
"I was very passionate about making
this team a team that could be proud of
itself," Shakespeare said. "If there was
anything I really put everything into, it
was turning Michigan swimming
amongst teammates was the price to
pay for success in the pool.
"In her first two years, things were
different (than they are now)," team-
mate and fellow senior Emily Cocks
said. "There was no team unity. We
became aware of what team unity was
together. In two years we've grown to
appreciate what it means to be a team.
Now she is very motivating - she dis-
Beyond the fun of college, there
have been pressures on Shakespeare
that are unique to Canadian athletes
competing in this country.
"I was given a hard time for coming
to school (in the United States),"
Shakespeare said. "The Canadian
national team doesn't really support
me. They make me come home seven
days after school is over."
The reason for the
early return north is
worth it. Shakespeare
makes the trip back
north to begin training
with the Canadian team
- for the 2000 Olympic
Games.
WINNER'STALE
Recruited by
Stanford, Florida and
some Canadian col-
leges, Shakespeare had
never thought about
the opportunity to 'go
blue.' But Michigan
swimming coach Jim
Richardson met a
friend of Shannon's at
an Athletes In Action
function in Colorado,
and was told about her
unparalleled speed.
One trip to Ann Arbor
and it was Shakespeare
in love.
THE MERCHANT OF
SYDNEY
It is each swimmer's
dream to compete in the
Olympic Games. In
1996, Shannon had her
first chance.
"Shannon was a little
overwhelmed at her first
Olympics," father David
said. "This time she'll do
well with the 100
freestyle - it really
depends on the day. We
weren't sure whether she
would retire after
NCAA's. She wants to
get on with her life after
what will probably be
her last competitive
race."
Shannon's thinking is
won a silver medal with her 400-;and
800-meter freestyle relay teams.
"In 1996 1 was concerned more with
just getting (to the Games) and not
with competing," Shakespeare said. "I
was just into 'fulfilling the dream.'
Four years later, I have a lot of racing
experience. There's a lot more mental
focus."
PROSPERO
Shannon describes Olympic swim-
ming as a personal event, but her
swimming for Michigan affects every-
one on the team.
"Shannon is a team person all the
way down the line," Richardson said.
"She acts as a catalyst to elevate every-
one else's performance."
Richardson's perception of his star is
not unique. Her teammates' respect for
her sensational swimming is only
topped by their respect for Shannon as
a person.
"She's is just an awesome person,"
Cocks said.
Shakespeare's coach couldn't agree
more.
"Shannon is one of the finest Peole
we've ever had in our program,"
Richardson said.
Richardson commented that
although Shakespeare is one of the
elite to ever take a dip in Canham
Natatorium, it is likely that her true
greatness will only be realized after
her years at Michigan are over.
"There's not a single athlete who I
think has more to offer as a person,
who can make such an enormous dif-
ference outside the sport of s.wim-
ming," Richardson said.
Shakespeare has always emphasized
being a person over being a paddler.
"I think you can get wrapped up in
athletics, but it's unhealthy,"
Shakespeare said. "I always try really
hard to have other things going on."
It is likely that this will be
Shakespeare's last year involved in
competitive swimming.
She doesn't want to coach and she
doesn't want to train for anpther
Olympic Games.
Shannon Shakespeare is a poet of
motion. She is prepared to represent
the maple leaf this summer at the
zenith of her career. Shannon will then
pass the torch of excellence to the next
generation Wolverines.
KRISTIN GOBLE/Daily
Shannon Shakespeare, 17-time NCAA All-American, will compete for her native Canada this summer at the Olympics.
But during the first
two years there was trouble in paradise.
"My first two years here there were
major power struggles among the
senior class;' Shakespeare said. "We
reached rock bottom during my sopho-
more year. I told coach that I would
have given up a Big Ten championship
for a team that gets along."
Over the next four years, Shannon
became an invaluable adhesive that
helped to bring the team together. In
her first three seasons, Shakespeare
captured 17 NCAA All-American hon-
ors, 15 Big Ten Championship victo-
ries, and set records in the 100 -and
200- yard freestyles along with the 200
individual medley.
"She's one of the best swimmers
around so that it was a team who had
integrity and performed as a team."
This year, to show their appreciation
for Shannon's ability to bring the team
together, the team arranged for the
Canadian flag to be raised on Senior
Day and memorized the Canadian
national anthem.
"It was Shannon's wish to have one
meet with the Canadian National
Anthem playing, so we secretly
planned it," freshman Heather
Dehainaut said. "It was really special
to her and really special to us."
The development of team unity has
been "a reward" for Shannon and other
seniors. They recall a time earlier in
their careers at Michigan when turmoil
plays a humble confidence that affects
the rest of the team.
"The last two years have been great.
It's like a reward for us, and we've
been happy to have had these last years
with a team that cares about each
other."
Shannon has helped build team
unity in other ways. The Panchero's
Club is now a proud team tradition.
"Someone from every class is in the
Panchero's club," Shakespeare said of
the Mexican restaurant on campus.
"We go to Panchero's several times a
year. For your initiation, you have to
finish an "El Gordo." and the freshman
is not supposed to do it faster than the
other three."
akin to her father.
"This is the last round," Shakespeare
said. "I hope to go out well. I don't
think I've achieved what I'm capable
of. I'd like it to be the best race of my
life."
Shannon's ability to swim the best
race of her life would be within her
capacity. She placed 17th in the 100-
meter freestyle at the '96 games in
Atlanta, with a time of 56.63 seconds.
Her Canadian team placed seventh in
the 400-meter relay, and fifth in the
800-meter relay.
The Olympics was not her only
chance for international success. As
captain of the 1997 Canadian Pan-
Pacific Championship team, Shannon
Red Wing legend
bel dead at 81
DETROIT (AP) - Hall of Famer Sid
Abel, the leader of the Detroit Red
Wings' famed hi-scoring "Production
Line," died Tuesday morning. He was
81.
Abel died of heart failure in the emer-
gency room of Botsford Hospital in
Farmington Hills, said Karin Abel, his
daughter-in-law.
"He just had a number of setbacks
Ocr the last few years and he seemed to
beat them all," said Joanne Lindsay, wife
of Ted Lindsay, who also was a
Production Line member
Abel also had suffered from cancer,
emphysema and a hip problem, she said.
Ted Lindsay said despite all the health
problems, Abel had remained mentally
sharp.
"No problems with conversation, just
ry weak," said Lindsay. who said he
ited him about every 10 days or so.
Abel was a player, general manager'
coach and broadcaster in his 32 years in
the Red Wings organization.
Abel began his NHL career as the
team's center in 1938 in Detroit, spend-
ing nine full seasons and parts of three
others with the Red Wings. He was cap-
tain of the team in the 1942-43 season
and f om 1946 through the 1951-52 sea-
son.
tamby knee injury
not season-ending
NEW YORK - Marcus Camby's
knee injury is not as bad as the New
York Knicks had feared, meaning he is
certain to return to the lineup this sea-
son, the team said Tuesday.
Camby's knee buckled when he was
led by P.J. Brown of Miami on a
ast break during the Knicks' victory
Sunday over the Heat.
The team had said Camby had a par-
tial tear of the anterior cruciate liga-
ment, and an MRI exam performed
Monday left the team wondering
ij ... ..,
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