As the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Games draw closer, many BYU alumni can reflect on memories and feelings from their experiences as Olympians.

Jason Pyrah, 32, a master's student in nutrition from Willard, Mo., said that even though the Games are quickly approaching, he doesn't get tired of hearing about them.

Pyrah ran the 1,500-meter race in '96 and '00. He is now training for the 2004 Games in Athens.

He said that more than anything else, the Olympics is about a journey -- a journey that, like many Olympians, began for him at a young age.

Pyrah said he started running track in junior high. The fourth of eight children, he said he wanted to get attention, and he did that through athletics.

After coming to BYU, he first tried for the Olympic team in '92, but didn't pass trials.

Nevertheless, it did not leave him discouraged. "It was (really) there that I decided, 'I want to be one of those guys,'" he said.

To even make the team is an honor, he explained, because the athlete must be "100 percent on a given day."

Pyrah's best race was in Sydney, when he finished tenth. He said it was thrilling to line up on the starting line for the finals, and be introduced as a runner for the United States.

"It gives you goose bumps, it gives you chills to know that (you're) representing the whole country," he said.

Like Pyrah, alumna Maria Zanandrea, too, knows of the stress and thrill involved in representing one's country in a worldwide competition.

Zanandrea, who was on the volleyball team in 1972 and competed in the high jump in 1976 for Brazil, is now an associate professor of physical education at BYU.

Her training involved six to seven hours a day in preparation for the Games, she said.

"Going through it, I never thought it was too hard; it was simply the process I had to go through if I wanted to be there."

Zanandrea said that although events vary greatly, the spirit of Games competition is the same.

"Anytime I see any athlete that qualifies for the Olympics, or even qualifies for the trials, I know, I can feel how much effort was put into getting there because I have been there," she said.

Even though Zanandrea didn't win a medal, she said it was still a privilege just to compete.

"It doesn't matter how many years will pass or how bad or how good you have done in the Olympics, no one will take your effort away," she said.

Pyrah said that according to the Olympic creed, the most important thing in life is the struggle, not the trial.

The audience can feel that struggle, he said. "Everyone wishes they were there; everyone wants to be a part of that greater thing."

Because of this struggle, Pyrah said he believes most athletes compete for themselves, not for recognition or fame.

Though not all athletes have the right perspective and Games sponsorship can get out of hand, Pyrah said he believes the Games are a great time for the world to come together in a semi-peace-keeping state.



Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Dec 2001