Olympian Craig Beardsley
Monday October 4, 2004
Ever wish you could talk to an Olympic swimmer and ask him or her what it was like? Not just what it was like to swim THAT FAST, but what it took to get there? In our series of Olympic Interviews, Go Swim asks Olympians past and present about their early years, their training, motivation, successes, and failures. Our first Olympian is Craig Beardsley, one of Glenn's teammates on the 1980 US Olympic Swim Team. Between 1980 and 1983, Craig Beardsley held both the World and American Record for the 200m Fly. He is also a nine-time US National Champion, two-time NCAA Champion, and two-time Pan-American Games Champion. (GoSwim)
Comments
My name is Steve Moscatello, I went to high school with Craig, he was a great guy and very humble. He was a quiet kid with a great sense of humor and really didn’t let people know of his accomplishments. I used to make fun of his orange hair and he’d say it’s from the chlorine… I’m very proud of him, coming from the same high school and knowing an Olympian, but more than that, knowing a really good guy.
Craig Beardsley is one of the first Americans I had a chance to talk to. I was born and raised in Ukraine and somehow managed to sneak (tickets were not available for ordinary folks) into the stands of the Dynamo Stadium in Kiev in 1981 where US and Soviet swimmers were competing. Craig and other guys from the US team game me a US flag signed with their autographs. I still have that flag at home. I’m sorry Craig’s career was hurt by that darned boycott and happy he had enouch power to move on.
Since 1970 I’ve been Craig’s sister, Karen’s best friend. I witnessed Craig train his heart out for years with the goal of going to the 1980 Olympics. Whenever I think of the Olympics, I immediately think of Craig and how the cruelty of global politics ruined the purity of olympic sportsmanship. It breaks my heart to know such an incredibly devoted and talented athlete was robbed of his chance to prove his athletic prowess and get recognized for it.