Profiles compiled by Bill Koch

A year from today, the 2004 Olympics will begin in Athens, Greece, with 10,500 athletes competing in 28 sports at 37 venues.

Cincinnatians already are gearing up. A gymnast is postponing his college education for the chance to compete. A boxer is waiting to pursue his professional career so he can take one more shot at his goal.

Soccer player Heather Mitts. (File photo) | ZOOM |

Some athletes - such as soccer player Heather Mitts and gymnast Samantha Sheehan - hope to qualify for their first Olympics.

"It means everything," Mitts said.

Others, such as swimmer Nate Dusing, a silver medalist in the 2000 Olympics, are hoping for a return engagement.

Greater Cincinnati sent 11 athletes and one assistant coach to the Sydney Olympics. Three of the athletes - swimmers Erin Phenix (gold) and Dusing (silver) and boxer Ricardo Williams, Jr. (bronze) - brought home medals.

The dream is within reach. These 20 athletes with ties to the Tristate hope to represent the United States.

One, synchronized swimmer Becky Jasontek, already has secured a place in the Games. For the others, there is work still to do.

D.J. BUCHER / GYMNASTICS

The Mason High School graduate finished ninth last August at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Cleveland.

He underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff in November and was out of action for six months. He's deferring college for a year to train for the Olympics.

"Ever since I started, it's been my goal to be at the top level competing against the best," said Bucher, 19. "I just work out as hard as I can to be the best. Competing in the Olympics is the highest honor you can get. It's always been my goal."

Having trained for only two months following his surgery, he finished 21st at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in June in Milwaukee.

He finished first on the parallel bars in the 2002 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas.

Bucher said he will increase the intensity and frequency of his training as the Olympic Trials approach.

"I'll be starting to do two practices a day," he said, "mainly basic work in the morning and then hard routines in the afternoon."

JAYME CRAMER / SWIMMING

The St. Xavier graduate, presently swimming at Stanford, finished sixth in the 200-meter butterfly and seventh in the 100 backstroke at the 2002 Phillips 66 Summer Nationals and was a member of the 2003 U.S Pan American Games team. His best event is the 100-backstroke, but the

20-year-old Cramer is known for his versatility.

NATE DUSING / SWIMMING

The Covington Catholic graduate won silver in the 2000 Olympics in the 800-meter freestyle relay. Dusing, who competed on the U.S. team in the World Championships last month in Barcelona, was the top American last year in the 200 free. The USA takes the top two finishers in each event except the 100 and 200 free, in which the top six qualify because of relays.

NICCI FUSARO / DIVING

Now at the University of Southern California, the 21-year-old Anderson High graduate was a member of the U.S. National team in 1999, 2001 and 2002. She was sixth in the 3-meter and 16th in the 1-meter at the 2003 NCAA championships. She finished 10th in the 3-meter at the 2000 Olympic Trials; next year's trials are June 7-13 in St. Peters, Mo.

JAMIE HAMILTON / TAEKWONDO

The Miami University junior and Sycamore High School graduate is one of the top-ranked heavyweights in the United States.

Hamilton, 21, has been competing in taekwondo since she was 6, when she was introduced to the sport at the recreation center where she took ballet lessons.

After watching the taekwondo athletes, she realized ballet wasn't enough for her.

"I wanted to kick people, too," she said.

Making the Olympic team, she said, "means the world to me. When I was younger, I was never really good at this. I was horrible. People took pity on me. Now I'm good enough to compete with the rest of the world and it's really cool."

She finished third in the senior nationals in New Orleans this year and in the Pan American Games team trials in April.

Hamilton already has stepped up her training to prepare for the Olympics. She's working with a new coach and is training two to three times a day.

The Olympic qualifier will take place in January. The site hasn't been determined yet.

BECKY JASONTEK / SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING

Already named to the U.S. Olympic team, Jasontek was picked to compete in the Pan American Games and the World Championships.

The 28-year-old Loveland native is a graduate of Mount Notre Dame High School. She was an alternate on the 2000 Olympic team in Sydney after emergency surgery to remove an ovarian cyst in September 1999.

"I was there more as a spectator," Jasontek said. "That was definitely a motivating experience. It made me realize I definitely wasn't done with my career. I wanted to keep going."

Jasontek was an All-American at Ohio State University. She lives and trains in Santa Clara, Calif.

HANNAH KERR / RIFLE

The 20-year-old sophomore at Xavier is a first-team All-American and was a national champion last year. Although she's not as experienced and polished as Xavier graduate Jason Parker, another Olympic hopeful, she has a realistic chance to make the Olympic team, said Dave Johnson, coach of the U.S. national rifle team.

DAN KETCHUM / SWIMMING

The Sycamore graduate, who swims for the University of Michigan, was a member of the 2003 U.S. team in the Pan American Games, where he finished second in the 200-meter freestyle in a career-best 1:49.34.

He is considered a long shot in the 200 free, which is his best event, but if he finishes in the top six he could make one of the relay teams.

JASON McKITTRICK / ARCHERY

The 29-year-old native of Batesville, Ind., who now lives in Holton, Ind., was an alternate on the three-man U.S. team for the 2000 Olympics. He's ranked fourth nationally and is one of the U.S. archers who was selected for the Athens Test Event, in which potential athletes test the venue for the upcoming games.

McKittrick is a graduate of Milan High School.

HEATHER MITTS / SOCCER

A broken right tibula prevented the St. Ursula graduate from making the U.S. World Cup team. She is a defender for the Philadelphia Charge of the Women's United Soccer Association.

"If I can stay healthy and I can continue playing the way I have been and maybe improve, then I would probably have a shot (at the Olympics)," she said.

WHITNEY MYERS / SWIMMING

Myers, who lives in Oxford, won 11 state championships at Ursuline Academy, including eight individual titles, and will swim this year for the University of Arizona.

She won the 100-meter butterfly at Spring Nationals in 2002 but finished only 22nd in the preliminaries at the 2003 Spring Nationals in Indianapolis in April.

Flyweight boxer Ron Siler of Millville is working towards qualifying for the 2004 Olympic games. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

JASON PARKER / RIFLE

A 1996 Xavier grad, Parker, 29, is seeking his second Olympic berth, having placed fifth in the 2000 Sydney Games.

An army staff sergeant stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., he was the gold medalist and set a world record in air rifle in the Munich World Cup this summer.

He is also proficient in small bore rifle and could make the U.S. team in both.

DAVID PAYNE / TRACK

The Wyoming High School graduate is a senior at the University of Cincinnati. He finished third in the 110-meter hurdles in the NCAA outdoor championships in June with a school-record time of 13.53, which made him one of the 15 fastest American hurdlers.

He's considered to have an outside shot at making the U.S. Olympic team.

ERIN PHENIX / SWIMMING

The Ursuline Academy graduate won a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics, swimming in the preliminaries on the 400-meter freestyle relay team. She finished sixth in the 100-meter free during the 2000 Olympic Trials. But she finished seventh in the NCAA meet this year, swimming for the University of Texas, and is a long shot to make the Olympics.

GREG RUCKMAN / ROWING

The Wyoming High School graduate competed in the 2000 Olympics in the lightweight fours and is considered to have a strong chance of returning.

After taking two years off, he returned this summer and won a World Cup event in the lightweight fours. He will compete Aug. 24-31 in the World Championships in Milan, Italy.

KELLY SALCHOW / ROWING

Salchow finished fifth in the 2000 Olympics in quadruple sculls. The 29-year-old Walnut Hills High School and University of Cincinnati graduate is a five-time national team member.

In July, she earned the opportunity to compete in the double sculls at the World Championships (Aug. 24-31) in Milan, Italy.

SAMANTHA SHEEHAN / GYMNASTICS

Sheehan was selected as an alternate on the U.S. team for the World Championships, which will be held Saturday-Aug. 24 in Anaheim, Calif.

The Villa Hills resident, 17, is a student at Cincinnati Christian and travels about an hour each way six days a week to Fairfield to train with coach Mary Lee Tracy at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy. She won the bronze medal in floor exercise at the 2002 World Championships in her first international competition.

She has been hindered by a bone bruise on her knee, but Tracy said the injury is not serious.

Sheehan recently won the all-around at the United States-Belgium dual competition at the National Training Center in Texas. The Olympic Trials will be held June 24-27 in Anaheim.

"I think she's among the top 10 athletes in our country right now," Tracy said. "I would say her chances are as good as anybody else's. She's not the No. 1 athlete, but she's definitely good enough to make the team. It comes down to being healthy at the right moment and hitting her sets. She's got the determination and work ethic and attitude to carry her through."

RON SILER / BOXING

Siler could be the next in a long line of celebrated Cincinnati boxers, following in the footsteps of Ricardo Williams, Jr., who won the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics, and Dante Craig, who was also a member of the 2000 Olympic team.

A flyweight (112 pounds), Siler was upset in the quarterfinals of the 2000 Olympic Trials.

"I just had a bad bout," said Siler, who attended Western Hills High School and lives in Millvale. "I never saw the guy fight before. ... It was very disappointing."

Siler, 23, postponed a professional career so he could take another shot at the Olympics, knowing Olympic success often translates into more lucrative professional paydays.

But that's not the only reason.

"I've always had a dream of representing my country and representing my family," Siler said. "I'd love to stand up on the podium with the national anthem playing and a gold medal around my neck."

He's a two-time National Golden Gloves champion and the 2001 Goodwill Games champion, and he won a bronze medal in the 2000 World Championships.

BRYAN VOLPENHEIN / ROWING

Volpenhein, a Kings High School and Ohio State University graduate, was rowing's 2002 male athlete of the year. He has won two world championships and competed in the 2000 Olympics in the heavyweight eight boat.

He's a five-time national team member and almost surely will be on the 2004 Olympic team, most likely in the eight.

RAU'SHEE WARREN / BOXING

A protege of Ron Siler's, the 16-year-old Warren is a national Junior Olympic champion, a Police Athletic League champion and a Silver Gloves champion, all in the 95-pound weight class. He also has competed at 100 pounds and 106 pounds.

The Western Hills High School student probably has a better shot at the 2008 Olympics, but he's considered one of the country's promising young boxers.