Ernie Olson and his wife, Liz, were expecting the call any day.
After all, their son Brian had been married for a couple of years. When he
called and said he had something to tell them, Ernie's first thought was that a
grandchild was on the way.
"No. I'm going for another Olympics," Brian told his dad.
The line got a little static. Brian couldn't hear his dad's response.
"Hello, hello, are you there?" Brian asked a few times.
Ernie, you heard every time — didn't you?
"I had to let it sink in," he said.
Brian - on the right with fiancee Kimberly Cates(Center)
and mom, Liz - had been playing judo for 28 years and his retirement
three years ago seemed fitting. He'd gone to three consecutive Olympics,
starting in 1996. One more certainly seemed out of the question.
He'd been unbeatable by any other American judo player in his weight class for
more than a decade. He was Woodville's first Olympian and all of America got to
know him after national television appearances.
He seemed destined for the kinds of residuals unheard of in a sport that's still
looking for its first pitchman.
"It's not about that or any of those things," Olson said about his comeback.
"I'm not doing it for fame. God knows there is none of that in it."
He came close to winning at least a bronze medal in 2000. One second more and he
would have had it.
That moment when he slipped up in Sydney never went away. For three years it
haunted him.
So here he is at age 34 in the midst of a comeback that almost seems improbable.
He's no longer the youthful kid who would bounce back quickly from an injury.
Even when he won a berth last fall to this year's Olympic trials, he competed
with an injured right toe.
The man is persistent in holding onto his dreams. Training is a little more
difficult and there are a handful of tuneup competitions ahead.
Slipping up or getting injured isn't an option.
"I have to be dialed in with what I'm doing," he said. "If I'm not I'm in
chaos."
These days he has a wife, mortgage and a full-time job as a fitness instructor
in Colorado Springs.
"It's something that's extremely important to me," he said. "I can't falter. I
have to make sure all of the bills get paid, otherwise who suffers is me, my
wife and my dog."
He's risking a lot — this time on his own. Liz and Ernie are just onlookers now,
with one eye on their credit-card balance from all those trips they paid for
their son to travel and stay on top of his game.
"We've kept our credit card maxed out, but we're doing fine now," Liz said.
They won't go to China if Brian makes the team. The trials take place June 13-15
in Las Vegas. They plan to be there for that, as well as Virginia Beach for the
U.S. National Championships in April.
"I always wish my parents could be there," he said, "but it's one of those
things you're not sure what's happening. It's a different time." Indeed.
When he started competing at age 6, his parents took him everywhere there was a
major meet — from South Florida to California. He got really good at throwing
and grappling and soon caught the eyes of the sports' governing body.
At 17 he went off to live and train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado
where he completed his senior year in high school. His parents kept close tabs.
"It was very hard for us to let him stay out there," Liz said. "We had a lot of
reservations."
They found that their son wasn't much different from most boys his age,
especially on his own.
"He wasn't perfect, I'll guarantee you that," she said, "but he wasn't real
bad."
They would know from Brian's tone when things weren't right, and they'd fix it
right away.
"We got right in the middle of his bread box and he straightened up," said
Ernie, an old-school no-nonsense dad.
Liz provided guidance and Ernie kept Brian and his brother Scott straight. Scott
wasn't too big on judo and went on to earn degrees from TCC and FSU.
Liz and Ernie wish both boys had taken the same path to college, but they
understood Brian's passion.
"I think that's what a lot of us parents should do, try to let them live their
own dream instead of trying to let them live the dreams we want them to live,"
she said. "If you don't, they lose sight of their walk through life."
The rest of us will watch as Brian continues his walk to try for one last shot
at making an Olympic team.
# Contact St. Clair Murraine at +1 850 599-2317 or scmurraine@tallahassee.com.
Ernie's first thought was that a
grandchild was on the way.
"No. I'm going for another Olympics," Brian told his dad.
He'd been unbeatable by any other American judo player in his weight class for
more than a decade. He was Woodville's first Olympian and all of America got to
know him after national television appearances.
longer the youthful kid who would bounce back quickly from an injury.
Even when he won a berth last fall to this year's Olympic trials, he competed
with an injured right toe.
