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The Daily OrangeYear in Sports | Conflicted ambition: Jillian Drouin is close to making the Olympics. But her politics have made things complicated
By Brian Tahmosh
Posted: 4/17/08, 10:25 PM EST Section: Sports
And just like that, the dream was back.
"It got me a lot more excited," Drouin said. "The fact that that was a possibility did get me a lot more excited for the prospects after the university. And that lasted probably through the entire summer and start of the school year."
****
Now comes the hard part for Drouin: actually qualifying for the Olympics after all the talk about her chances for the past year.
She had a strong indoor season, winning the Big East championship in the pentathlon in February. Her NCAA championships were less exciting; she earned 17th place in the high jump and did not compete in the pentathlon, but that was all part of the long-term plan, said Borozinski.
"Right now it's kind of like we're on cruise control, just kind of waiting our time and fine-tuning some things until the Big East comes around," he said. "We're barely halfway into the year right now where most kids are finishing up."
Drouin needs to accumulate the 6,000 points in the heptathlon during a major meet to qualify for the Canadian team. Those meets include the NCAA regional and championship meets, the Canadian National Championship and some later European meets.
As the qualifying events inch closer, Drouin admits the pressure is on her mind.
"I think, well, now that I've been talking about this and people know, what happens if it doesn't happen?" she said. "What if I don't make the team? I start getting worried about that."
If she doesn't make the team this year, Drouin has not decided if she will continue to train for the 2012 Olympics. She plans to attend chiropractic school in either California or England, and she does not know if she will be able to keep up her training at a high enough level.
Drouin's mother, Sheila, said her stomach will be in knots because she knows how much pressure her daughter will be facing at the NCAAs.
"I said, 'You know what Jillian, if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen,'" Sheila said. "'You have nothing to be ashamed of. To be where you are at 21 years old, you're a winner as far as anyone's concerned.'"
****
Drouin said unless the situations in China and Tibet escalated dramatically in the coming months, she would not choose to boycott the games. This may be the only chance she has to qualify, and she wants to take advantage of it.
She doesn't want to look like she's sitting on the fence. She doesn't want to look like a hypocrite for not acting on the beliefs she displays so proudly with the pins on her backpack.
She also doesn't want to miss out on perhaps the best athletic opportunity of her life.
But Drouin thinks there is a way she can compete and display a prominent protest on an international stage.
"People have done crazy things before," Drouin said. "Wearing a warmup T-shirt that says 'Free Tibet' or something would not be out of the question I don't think.
"There are still ways to participate and show that I don't agree with what's going on at the same time."
bntahmos@syr.edu
"It got me a lot more excited," Drouin said. "The fact that that was a possibility did get me a lot more excited for the prospects after the university. And that lasted probably through the entire summer and start of the school year."
****
Now comes the hard part for Drouin: actually qualifying for the Olympics after all the talk about her chances for the past year.
She had a strong indoor season, winning the Big East championship in the pentathlon in February. Her NCAA championships were less exciting; she earned 17th place in the high jump and did not compete in the pentathlon, but that was all part of the long-term plan, said Borozinski.
"Right now it's kind of like we're on cruise control, just kind of waiting our time and fine-tuning some things until the Big East comes around," he said. "We're barely halfway into the year right now where most kids are finishing up."
Drouin needs to accumulate the 6,000 points in the heptathlon during a major meet to qualify for the Canadian team. Those meets include the NCAA regional and championship meets, the Canadian National Championship and some later European meets.
As the qualifying events inch closer, Drouin admits the pressure is on her mind.
"I think, well, now that I've been talking about this and people know, what happens if it doesn't happen?" she said. "What if I don't make the team? I start getting worried about that."
If she doesn't make the team this year, Drouin has not decided if she will continue to train for the 2012 Olympics. She plans to attend chiropractic school in either California or England, and she does not know if she will be able to keep up her training at a high enough level.
Drouin's mother, Sheila, said her stomach will be in knots because she knows how much pressure her daughter will be facing at the NCAAs.
"I said, 'You know what Jillian, if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen,'" Sheila said. "'You have nothing to be ashamed of. To be where you are at 21 years old, you're a winner as far as anyone's concerned.'"
****
Drouin said unless the situations in China and Tibet escalated dramatically in the coming months, she would not choose to boycott the games. This may be the only chance she has to qualify, and she wants to take advantage of it.
She doesn't want to look like she's sitting on the fence. She doesn't want to look like a hypocrite for not acting on the beliefs she displays so proudly with the pins on her backpack.
She also doesn't want to miss out on perhaps the best athletic opportunity of her life.
But Drouin thinks there is a way she can compete and display a prominent protest on an international stage.
"People have done crazy things before," Drouin said. "Wearing a warmup T-shirt that says 'Free Tibet' or something would not be out of the question I don't think.
"There are still ways to participate and show that I don't agree with what's going on at the same time."
bntahmos@syr.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
W
posted 4/18/08 @ 7:29 PM EST
Thanks for this profile. Nice to see there are aware SU athletes about to do us all proud.
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