As you read this, Dayton Daily News sports columnist TomArchdeacon will be on his way to China to cover his 12th Olympics.
He has reported on the Summer Games in Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta,Sydney and Athens. He also has covered the Winter Games in Calgary,Albertville, Lillehammer, Nagano, Salt Lake City and Torino.
'The Olympics are the most challenging thing you can cover as asportswriter -- and I love them,' said Archdeacon. 'You learn aboutthe world and about different people and, in the end, see how muchwe really are alike -- all while watching daily sports drama playedout on the globe's biggest stage.'
Over the years, Archdeacon has written many special stories fromthe Games, including the drama around Dayton's own medal winners:Edwin Moses, LaVonna Martin, Tonja Buford and Joe Greene.
In our newsroom, Archdeacon is respected as one of the hardest-working members of the staff who brings remarkable determination tohis reporting. He finds a way to be at his best during the biggestmoments -- especially during the Olympics.
He refuses to follow the pack, and he takes pride in writing thestories no one else seems to get.
Here's a favorite Archdeacon Olympics story:
In 1996, during the Summer Games in Atlanta, I was thenewspaper's sports editor. It was my job to oversee our coverage ofthe Games, which enjoyed huge interest because they were in thiscountry.
In those days, before routine and reliable use of cell phones,Archdeacon was hard to keep track of. Before he left, we had createda plan for his stories by the day. But once a bomb went off inCentennial Olympic Park, the plan wasn't worth much.
The bombing happened late on a Friday night, and that night andmost of the next day I couldn't reach Archdeacon.
Frustration grew into concern as the other staffers at the Gamessaid they hadn't seen or heard from him, nor had editors at oursister newspaper in Atlanta. You might recall that two of thebombing victims were from the Dayton area, so we were busy hereworking on that story.
Finally, Archdeacon called. Before I could let him have it fornot checking in, he let me know that he thought he had a pretty goodstory for the next day's newspaper. While the rest of the mediamoved in a pack from press conference to press conference to coverthe bombing, Archdeacon tried something else.
He was calling me from the hospital room of one of the Daytonareavictims. He had interviewed him. It was the only media interviewwith an injured victim of the bombing that we were aware of.Archdeacon's account -- a compelling story of what had happened inthe park -- ran on our front page.
That's an example of why he'll be in China.
On Page A1 and in Sports today, Archdeacon writes about localOlympians. Expect him to write more about Hyleas Fountain, who livesin Kettering, trained at Fairmont High School and Central State, andis coached by Central State women's coach Lynn Smith. She won thewomen's heptathlon at the U.S. Olympic Trials and is favored tomedal in China.
Also expect a story on Maurice Wignall, who lives in WashingtonTwp., trained at Centerville High School and is the husband ofJanelle Atkinson Wignall, Wright State's assistant swimming coachand herself a two-time Olympian. He will represent his nativeJamaica in the 110 hurdles. He's a two-time Olympian, havingcompeted in Athens.
Archdeacon also will cover some of the big U.S. stories,including swimmer Michael Phelps' bid for eight medals, 41-year-oldU.S. swimmer Dara Torres, the U.S. men's basketball team as it triesto reclaim the gold medal and, of course, since he's in China, tabletennis. Archdeacon also promises to do several stories on China.He'll write about its growing global prominence and its myriadsocial and political problems.
'I'll tromp around and report from the city's historic alleys --'hutongs,' they're called -- from Tiananmen Square, the ForbiddenCity and a lot of other places,' he said. 'I'll write about thepeople I meet, the strange foods I sample, and I'll try to give ourreaders a glimpse of everyday life there.'
Archdeacon will have a camera, so look for pictures, too, atDaytonDailyNews.com.
And when he comes back after the Games, we expect to host someevents so you can hear first-hand what China is like -- from a guywho really knows how to find out.
Kevin Riley is the editor of the Dayton Daily News. Contact himat (937) 225-2161 or kriley@coxohio.com.
