Julie Culley: Before She Was an Olympian

Culley's No. 1!

I was cheering for Julie Culley to win the 5000m race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. Not because the other women racing didn't deserve a spot but because she was the only person in the field, aside from Julia Lucas who won the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle in March, who I knew. As luck would have it, I read about Culley's track accomplishments three years ago and interviewed her for the Mid-Atlantic edition of Competitor magazine.

Back then, Culley was 28 years old. She worked part-time at Pacers Running Stores in the Old Town section of Alexandria, Va. She coached track and cross-country at American University. She was a relative newcomer to the professional circuit when she ran the 5000m at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin--it was only her third time on a world championship team with indoor track in 2008 being the first and cross-country in 2009 being the second. She ran a personal best while racing in Belgium to qualify for Worlds--she ran another personal best to win at Trials. And she had goals of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics and said she was determined to make it happen.

Oh how right she was. Here's some of that interview:

How was the experience at the World Championships?

Worlds was much different than any other team and the experience was beyond any other. The whole city of Berlin was involved in the meet, and the stadium was sold out EVERY DAY. It was extremely significant because it was the first time a world championship was held in Berlin's stadium since the 1936 Olympics. The U.S. team made quite a big deal about this because it was also the Olympics where Jesse Owens cleaned up for the U.S. on the world's stage.

13 Random Notes on the Olympics

I want this look! Credit: Nike

I'm not going to lie: It's definitely turning into Olympics central around here. It might not seem like it 100 percent of the time on Fit-Ink--because I can't keep up with all the action of training, working, recovering, event-attending, and Olympics-watching--but it's obvious offline. Two TVs running during primetime, recording coverage especially when I have to leave for a swim or run, live streaming on the swimming because I simply can't wait seven or eight hours to watch the tape delay, and engaging in random Olympic discussions like the one where a friend thought Ryan Lochte sounded pompous after he won gold in the 400 IM. Basically, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself when the torch is extinguished in two weeks because I can't watch sports 24/7.

Enough about me and my Olympics love that borders more on craziness and obsession rather than adoration. Here's a baker's dozen of random facts, comments and notes--mostly swimming related--that I've noticed in the first three days of London 2012 competition.

1. I'm not shy on my love--and strong following--of the swimming events. And I can assure you that I follow the sport any time it airs on TV, not just during the Olympic years. You can learn a lot about your own stroke mechanics by watching these Olympians especially when you look at the underwater views. I know I'll never swim breaststroke like Rebecca Soni--I can barely swim a 100 free that fast and that was when I still had some of my sprinting speed--but the girl whisks through the water. Matt Grevers pushes an amazing amount of water behind him as he powers through the 100 back (Did you see that underwater shot? It was insane). And then watch any freestyler and you'll pick up plenty of tips to make your stroke a little faster and more efficient.

Stitch a Flag for Team USA

Raise a flag, wave a flag for Flag Day. Credit: braveheartsports

A month's worth of groceries for an athlete: 15 stitches. A full set of weights: 1,600 stitches. Starting blocks for the USA Swimming Team: 125 stitches. A month of prepared meals for an athlete: 40 stitches. The stitches aren't priceless as the Mastercard commercial might suggest, but they do help to put a symbolic value on the fundraising needs of Team USA in an Olympics year and make fun, social and virtual. Each stitch costs $12, a small price to pay for helping to weave together an American flag that will accompany the U.S. Olympic Team to London this summer.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) launched this creative fundraising program on April 18, back when the London Games had 100 days until their opening ceremony. Nearly 60 days later, more than 10,000 stitches have been made to Raise Our Flag, which helps equip Team USA with some of its training essentials. When you get as excited as I do for the Olympics--please don't ask me to choose which one I like more, winter or summer, because it's tougher to decide every year--you can't help but love the chance to be more actively involved than simply watching on TV and following the results online.