Olympic Athletes Tell Their Tales
BY JASON PAFUNDI
Long Island City played host to two world-class athletes as Citi, one of the U.S. Olympic Team’s major sponsors, marked the 100-day countdown to the London 2012 Summer Games with an event at their campus in Court Square.
Bronx-born Cullen Jones, a gold medal-winning swimmer in Beijing in 2008, and Kari Miller, a 2008 silver medalist in sitting volleyball at the Paralympics, treated Citi employees to stories that had everyone both laughing and crying as they spoke of their Olympic journeys.
This was the sixth stop on the Citi Team USA Flag Tour, which has been visiting Citi sites across the country leading up to the London games, giving employees the opportunity to be a part of the Olympic movement and hear of the athletes’ involvement in Citi’s Every Step of the Way program.
“As we celebrate our 200th anniversary, I cannot think of a better way to affirm our commitment to supporting the people on their journey from ambition to achievement than to support Team USA,” said Maria Veltre, Long Island City site president.
Both Jones and Miller shared their stories about how they became Olympians — both got to where they are today after a traumatic life experience.
Jones got his start in swimming after a traumatic childhood experience. He nearly drowned after going down a water slide at Dorney Park in Pennsylvania. He was unconscious when he got to the bottom and had to be resuscitated. When he came to, he said the first thing he said was “what is the next ride we are going on.”
He said he was never a child prodigy, then muttered “Michael Phelps” under his breath, which got laughs from the audience. Swimming was not natural to him, so he had to work hard at it.
Fast-forwarding to 2008, Jones said that before the day of the team’s gold-medal winning 4×100 relay, the members of the men’s basketball team came up to their rooms to wish everybody luck.
“We ran downstairs really excited, and I was the last one to get down there. Lebron [James] sits back and said ‘yeah, yeah…ya’ll got a brother on the team?’” Jones said. “Needless to say, we were pretty excited.”
Miller’s journey to the Paralympics was also started by something traumatic. She was hit by a drunk driver while out celebrating her impending promotion to an officer in the Army — the accident cost her both legs.
She tried out for the wheelchair basketball team but was not good or tall enough. She ended up switching to volleyball, a sport she admittedly knew nothing about at the beginning, and is now one of the world’s best players.
She said that being an inspiration to so many is rewarding but sometimes difficult.
“It is hard because you do not want to let anyone down,” Miller said.
Based on the reactions of Citi employees, Miller and Jones did not disappoint anybody.
Reach Reporter Jason Pafundi at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128, or [email protected].
