Anita
had expected to follow to college either her sister, Janette, at
Louisiana State University, or her brother, Jim at Purdue.
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Anita
trains for fencing competition
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But
she agreed to take a look at the U.S. Military Academy.
“We visited West Point in February, and everything was gray,”
laughs Anita’s mom. “The skies were gray, and so were
the buildings and the cadets’ uniforms.”
In the end, Anita chose West Point where she went on to excel in
indoor and outdoor track, and become a cross country MVP. Following
graduation, she was selected from among 200 applicants to serve
as assistant to head coach Jerry Quiller of the cross country and
track teams at West Point.
Then came the unexpected turn of events that led to the Olympics.
Like most young athletes, Anita had always cherished a dream of
becoming an Olympic competitor. But talented as she was, she knew
she was not a world-class runner.
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The
U.S. Olympic Pentathlon team: coach Janusz Peciak, Anita Allen,
Chad Senior, Mary Beth and Vaho Iagorasvilli and coach Victor
Stavenko.
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Then
in 2000, Quiller left temporarily to coach at the Sydney Olympics.
“Anita helped fill his shoes while he was gone,” her mom
explains, “and took the West Point team to train out West in
the altitude at Fort Carson.
While
there, Anita met by chance a representative from the army’s
World Class Athlete Program (WCAP).
He
had seen her run with the team, but one day he discovered her leaving
a workout at the swimming pool. Upon learning that she was a cross-trainer
with a background in swimming and running competition, he invited
her to a try-out for the modern pentathlon, new Olympic sport for
women in 2000.
Suddenly, Anita’s Olympic dreams were revived, her mom says.
“Running, alone, was not going to get her there, but the pentathlon
afforded a multi-talent event that made the dream possible.”
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A
Pioneer HS athlete ...
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...
and cheerleader
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A
track state qualifier
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Early
equestrian training
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Already
a great runner, a competent swimmer and a decent shot (a skill she
had learned and honed at the military academy), prospects looked
promising. But fencing? And horseback riding?
Barb
laughs that what her daughter knew about fencing was confined to
the posts and wire that kept the farm animals confined to their
pasture at home. And her experience with horses was limited to the
pony she once had as a child.
Even so, Anita was accepted into WCAP in spring 2001, and training
and competitions began in earnest. The experience has taken her
to many countries around the world. The one-day modern pentathlon
event includes firing 20 shots with air pistols, fencing every competitor
(there are 32 women in the Athens event), a 200-meter swim, equestrian
jumping, and a 3,000-meter cross country run.
The Olympic experience has been thrilling, yet extremely emotional
for Anita and her family. The support of friends, family and community
has been a life-line. And not to be forgotten are Anita’s West
Point classmates serving in Iraq and elsewhere - a circumstance
which weighs heavily on her mind as she competes. At the Pan Am
games she wore an armband in honor of a friend, who died in Iraq.
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Anita
competes in an equestrian jump. Pentathletes are assigned
their horses 20 minutes before competition and have only that
time to become acclimated with them.
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Barb
says Anita told one reporter that she is “so fortunate to wear
the two most wonderful uniforms at the Olympics” - her USA
Olympic uniform and her U.S. Army military uniform which she will
wear during the equestrian competition.
“The
experience has been overwhelming at times,” Barb admits. “Sometimes
it’s hard to get through a conversation. You never dream your
child could accomplish such feats. She never ceases to amaze us.”
She adds that Anita was ecstatic just to qualify for the Olympics.
She describes her daughter as disciplined, determined and fun-loving.
Come Friday, “she’ll do the best she can do, and after
that she won’t care how she places.”
Anita’s home and supporters were on her mind when she emailed
home this week and described the opening ceremony.
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Anita
with grandmother Lena Allen at the Patriot League cross country
championships in Boston in 1999.
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“Team
USA and the World assembled in the village. We were bused to the
gymnastics venue where we waited for nearly three hours before lining
up for our memorable walk,” she wrote.
“We were eight in a row, nearly 40 deep, walking in darkness.
In the distance music was blaring, crowds were chanting, and bursts
of fireworks were everywhere in the sky. As a sea of blue snaking
from the parking lot into the tunnel (leading into Olympic Stadium),
we paused one final time. Then you saw us, and I was waving o
you!”
