i Page 18 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, July 20, 1984 Encore. 1980 boycott behind her, Seufert gets 2nd chance By PAUL HELGREN Not long ago Chris Seufert stood patien- tly in line at the White House to meet President Carter. As a member of the boycotting 1980 U.S. Olympic team the former Michigan diver accepted Car- ter's congratulations, as well as a congressional medal. The medal was only temporary consolation, however. Seufert had a different ornament on her mind. "When I got my medal," re- called the 27-year-old springboard ar- tist, " I thought - this isn't the medal I want." SEUFERT, quite frankly, wanted the gold. Four years after the disappointment of 1980, Seufert earned what she says will be her final chance to reach the pinnacle in her sport. She is America's second diver in the three-meter springboard and will hit the water against the world's best August 5-6. Like many Olympic athletes Seufert remembers the American boycott with resentment. The United States led a western boycott of the Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. That decision proved to be one of the most unpopular of the Car- ter regime, especially among the athletes. "AT FIRST," Seufert explained in a recent telephone interview, "I thought, well I'm an American and I should sup- port it. But in the long run it didn't prove anything. It only proved the power of the president over the athletes." Denied her chance for Olympic glory, Seufert got back up on the board and began working toward the next Olym- piad. She quit her job at Chelsea High School last December to concentrate full time on diving. Her devotion paid off earlier this month at the U.S. diving trials in Indianapolis when she finished second to Ohio State's Kelly McCor- mick to qualify for the games. Her mentor, Michigan and co- Olympic diving coach Dick Kimball thinks that the letdown of '80 may have ultimately improved her chances for a medal. "THE FACT that she made the Olympic team in 1980 has a lot to do with the fact that she's still around," said Kimball, who first coached Seufert at his camp in Brandon, Fla. in 1974. "It's given her incentive." "Dick Kimball said it might be a blessing in disguise for me," said Seufert, a native of Ambler, Pen- nsylvania. "He told me I hadn't reached my potential yet." Kimball draws parallels between Seufert's situation and that of a former Kimball diver, 1972 gold medalist Micki King. King broke her arm on a dive at the '68 Olympics in Mexico City but looks and everything. That made me feel pretty good." If Seufert is to match King's achievement, she must better her own teammate, McCormick. Seufert, who calls McCormick "my buddy," likens their relationship to that of Bruce Kim- ball and Greg Louganis - competitors most of the time, but teammates at Olympic time. She and McCormick have discussed the possibility of a 1-2 American finish at L.A. "Oh, yeah. We've thought about that. After the trials we looked at each other and said, 'Bring on the Chinese.' We were ready." SEUFERT SEEMS to exemplify the ideal teammate. As the oldest athlete in the Kimball Divers group, she relishes her leadership role. Whether she makes cookies for the other 15 Kimball divers before a meet, or just wishes them good luck, Seufert enjoys the close, family- like relationship the athletes share. Often she speaks of fellow teammates in such glowing terms, an outsider is apt to misinterpret her. One recent story referred to Seufert and teammate Ron Merriott as "sweethearts." Seufert denied any romantic interest between the two divers. "Ron and I are teammates and we're really close," she said. "We really care for each other. But I wouldn't say that we're boyfriend and girlfriend. "I think I told someone I really care for Ron and they interpretted that as saying he was my boyfriend. Maybe .1 shouldn't have said that. I don't think my personal life should be in the papers anyway." What Seufert would rather see in the papers one day very soon is the news that after 10 years of diligent labor, and four extra years of waiting, Chris Seufert finally got the medal she wan- ted. 0 i came back four years later to capture the gold at Munich. SEUFERT IS hoping for a similar comeback. "When I first met Dick Kimball," she said, "he told me how much I reminded him of Micki King. Not just in my diving style, but my I 6 I 6 Chris Seufert (right) chats with Olympic gold medalist Micki King earlier this year. Seufert has been compared favorably to the former Michigan diver by coach Dick Kimball, who was also King's mentor. The comparison suits Seufert just fine. Michigan Olympians NAME Fernando Canales (Assistant swim coach) Benoit Clement (junior) Melinda Copp ('83 graduate) Brian Diemer ('83 graduate) Doug Herland (former 'M' rowing club coach) Bruce Kimball (junior) Barry Larkin (junior) Ron Merriott (former 'M' diver) Carl Schueler ('M' graduate) Chris Seufert ('78 graduate) EVENT 100-m freestyle 800-m freestyle relay 200-m backstroke 3000-m steeplechase men's pair rowing 10-m platform diving baseball (demonstration sport) 3-m springboard diving 50-km walk 3-m springboard diving TEAM Puerto Rico Canada Canada U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. 6 I Copp . .. Canadian backstroker Diemer ... chasing the Olympic dream .