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Show - y -;', t ' :!; v. 2 f - : :: i . 7 ,., k . l - Ax ' j ! ' o v.fl r, I ' ' .'.'I svir.i HONORS By DAVE WIGHAM BOUNTIFUL - Ask any z athlete who wants to go to the Olympics what it takes to get 1 ihere and the best answer . Ehey can give is good competition compe-tition and coaching. V FOR THOSE two reasons, ! plus the goal of the 1984 Olympics, the Fisher family ' sent their daughter Dale Ann o California. Dale Ann has been living and training in Northern California, a town called Pleasanton, for the past two years. "lwent to California for the competition and coaching, my coach has had girls in the Olympics already and the competition is really tougher j down there," noted Dale Ann. ! I THE FAMILY thought keeping their daughter-- in Utah but the good pools and training are in Granite Dis-tnct Dis-tnct and to use their facilities the swimmer must live in the district. After checking out a similar swimming facility in Florida, the Fishers placed their 12-year-old daughter in the California situation. SINCE GOING to Califor-J Califor-J ia, Dale Ann has improved to lime in her specialty, the tOO yard individual medley event, by a full 40 seconds. , "Only 20 more seconds to go wine American record,'', noted her proud mother. ''hat's it like for a typical toy for this future Olympic topeful. She gets out of bed 'round 4:30 a.m., gets ready J and leaves for the pool at 5 1 . They then take off the m to the outdoor pool and Sm their workouts which '? until 7 a.m. Dale Ann "en returns to her house and gels ready for school which "Sis at 8:15 a.m. SCHOOL GETS out at 2:30 Pm, which gives her an hour homework before she "fit for the pool and her iteration workouts. They efor the pool at 3: 25 p.m. i 7 8"i the workouts with ' land exercises, which wisistof weights and swim-g swim-g benches. This lasts for "Mm an hour then it's into .Bountiful's Dale Ann Fisher continues to win major swim honors, as she keeps her eyes fixed on the Olympics. the water for a two-hour workout. Then it's back to the house to finish the homework and get some sleep to get the strength to go through the same routine the following morning. All in all, Dale Ann figures she swims about 14,000 yards a day in workouts. ALL THIS work has already paid off for the likeable swimmer as she placed fifth in the recent junior national in North Carolina. Going into the nationals, Dale Ann had a best recorded time of 4:31.63, which was about nine seconds under the qualifying time. That time placed her third in the event as far as qualifying times. There were 60 entrants in her race and Dale Ann came up with the4astest time in the -preliminary races. However her time fell off a little in the finals which resulted in her fifth place finish. HER MOTHER had an explanation for the fifth place. "She was competing against older girls. Most of them were 16 or older, Dale Ann is onlyl3 and 1 think the pressure got to her just a little lit-tle bit." Dale Ann simply smiled a little and nodded as if she were ashamed of not winning the event. "Keep in mind only two seconds separated the first place from fifth," added Mrs. Fisher. The fifth place finish though was great, it got the national selection committee aware of this Bountiful youngster. She is definitely just reaching her potential and her goal is to make the Olympic team in 1984. HER FATHER then mentioned men-tioned that she should make the national traveling team in 1982. The thought might not have occurred to Dale Ann before because when this was mentioned she got excited, "That's right, I could make that club, yea I'll make it." Before then though Dale Ann has her mind set on the junior and senior nationals, which are held twice a year, then she wants to go to the World Games every other year. TO DO that, Dale Ann says she'll stay in California and get the coaching she needs. What effect does staying away from home have on this 13-year-old swimming sensation. sensa-tion. "I get homesick a lot but I know to improve I have to stay. We have some big phone bills but 1 need to talk to my family once in awhile." She went on to note that the winter is the toughest because outside out-side of school and swimming there isn't much to do, while the summer brings all sorts of opportunities. WHAT IT all comes down to though is dedication. Just how bad does the athlete want the goals they've set for themselves? After talking to this cute swimmer, one can see that she has the determination and the dedication to achieve those goals. Believe me one of these days you'll be watching the television and the name Dale Ann Fisher will be mentioned, men-tioned, and it'll be in the winners' circle. |