Olympic Women's Finals - Isi 5.05 WR, Stuczynski 4.80

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/235431/

SPRINGDALE : Olympic athlete receives welcome
BY EVIE BLAD
Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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SPRINGDALE — When pole vaulter April Steiner-Bennett walked out of a long tunnel and into the bright lights illuminating the field at Beijing’s National Stadium, her banter with other athletes halted and her eyes filled with tears.

“I looked up at that flame and I thought ‘I get to see this. I’m in the middle of it, ’” she said.

Competing in her first Olympics, Steiner-Bennett finished eighth in a field of 12 on Aug. 18, clearing 14 feet, 11 inches.

At the same time on the other side of the ocean, children at Springdale’s Hellstern Middle School, where Steiner-Bennett teaches physical education, prepared for their first day of school.

The 16-year journey from her hometown in Mesa, Ariz., to the most-watched athletic event in U. S. television history was fueled by inspiring coaches, family members and friends, Steiner-Bennett said.

On Monday, tears returned to her eyes as her big dream turned into a big responsibility — passing her inspiration and motivation on to the children she teaches.

Children crowded the floor of Hellstern’s cafeteria for a presentation welcoming their teacher back to school.

Teachers ushered Steiner-Bennett, wearing the Ralph Lauren sportswear designed for U. S. athletes’ opening ceremonies, to stand atop a hand-painted cardboard medal platform on the school’s stage. They put a gold-colored medal around her neck and handed her a bouquet of flowers before the curtains opened behind her, revealing the Har-Ber High School band as it played the national anthem.

Steiner-Bennett is the first Springdale school teacher to compete in the Olympics.

Principal Angela Coats said she hoped students could view their P. E. teacher as a model of working hard to do great things.

“She really defines what it is to be a hero,” she told pupils. “You may not go to the Olympics, but there can be something bright in your future.” Beginning at 12 years old, determined one day to compete in the Olympics, Steiner-Bennett tried sport after sport before she started pole vaulting in college, finding the right fit for elite competition.

She was a four-time All-American at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville after transferring from Paradise Valley Community College in Arizona.

Steiner-Bennett told the young crowd of leaving school after work and heading to the gym or the track, of six-day-aweek workouts that lasted until 7 p. m., and of waist-deep 52-degree baths she took to prevent muscle injuries.

“It’s the journey,” she said. “You have to appreciate every step of it.” When she felt herself losing motivation, she’d look at an Olympic logo ring she wears along with her wedding ring — a gift from a girl she mentored who later died of cancer.

“These rings have never meant more to me than when I made the team,” she said.

Springdale Mayor Jerre Van Hoose presented Steiner-Bennett with a key to the city, telling students “she gave herself a chance to be up here by doing hard work.” The Olympics led to many memories and good stories to tell, like trading hugs and jokes with former President George H. W. Bush, getting into a brief staring contest with President George W. Bush and walking out in the opening ceremonies next to NBA star Kobe Bryant. But more than any anecdote, the Olympics were a chance to compete at the sport Steiner-Bennett worked hard for. “I walked out of that tunnel and I said ‘ It’s on, ’” she said.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/68504/

Olympian returns to work amid heroes reception
BY DAVID SHOWERS Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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ANTHONY REYES Northwest Arkansas Times April Steiner-Bennett returned to her teaching position at Hellstern Middle School in Springdale after competing in the pole vault in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Steiner-Bennett finished eighth overall in the event and hopes to compete in the next Olympics in 2012.
SPRINGDALE - The school mascot is the Hero, so it's fitting Hellstern Middle School would welcome the return of its own real-life hero.

April Steiner-Bennett, who's beginning her third year as a physical education and health teacher at Hellstern, was feted with a hero's return Monday morning. The student population and faculty crowded into the school's cafeteria for a special assembly honoring the Olympian and former Arkansas Razorback who returned from China Satur- day after finishing eighth in the women's pole vault.

She didn't medal in Beijing, but Steiner-Bennet received a faux Olympic medal during the assembly. The festivities also included Springdale mayor Jerry Van Hoose giving her the key to the city, the Springdale Har-Ber High band playing "The Star-Spangled Banner"and the unveiling of a banner that will hang in the school's foyer. It displays Steiner-Bennett's name over the words," Our Olympic Hero."

Steiner-Bennett, 28, wasn't informed of what the assembly entailed. She was only told to wear the blazer and blouse that adorned her during the Olympics' opening ceremony.

"They wouldn't tell me what they were doing," Steiner-Bennett said. "They just told me what to wear and kind of kept hiding me in little corners of the school. It was more than I ever could've expected. I can't believe they did all this. They just really went above and beyond for me and took time out of their school day. To do this, it was rewarding. I'm all grins."

She regaled the students with stories from her Olympic experience, recounting how she met former president George H. W. Bush and current president George W. Bush. One of her biggest thrills was rubbing elbows with the U. S. men's basketball team. She stood next to Kobe Bryant during the opening ceremony and talked at length with the Utah Jazz's Carlos Boozer.

"He and I talked about how cool it was to be a part of [the Olympics ]," Steiner-Bennett told the assembly of students. "I kind of made a friend there. Every time I saw him after that at their training site or the gym, he'd come up to me and say'what's up. ' He was so cool. It ended up that they're human just like us.

"I'm sure if I visited the sideline of the Utah Jazz, he wouldn't know me from the man on the moon, but I had a moment with him, and I'm excited about it."

When Steiner-Bennett's speech took a more serious tone, she talked about setting goals. On her chalkboard at home, Beijing was listed as an ambition after she finished fifth in the 2004 Olympic Trials. Now London, site of the 2012 Summer Olympics, is written on the board.

Her colleague and fellow physical education teacher at Hellstern, Brett Unger, said Steiner-Bennett's athletic endeavors are important to her, but they don't interfere with her professional life.

"I'd put her up against anybody as far as work ethic," Unger said. "She's very disciplined in how she eats, her sleep regimen and her workout regimen, and she's very dedicated to her job here. She doesn't slack at her job because of pole vault. She thrives at both of them."

At a school where heroes are revered, Steiner-Bennett said she wanted her sixth and seventh-grade students to know the dedication and commitment needed to become a real-life one.

"A hero just doesn't happen," she said. "It's not overnight. You have to work and never give up."

[AVC Coach]

April's my hero!

[Barto]

April Rocks!

[belmore]

What a great tribute to a wonderful Olympian.