In th is iss ue
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
August 17, 2012
The Bronze Age
Photo courtesy Ipsen family
CLAYTON’S HOMEGROWN STARS KARA KOHLER AND KRISTIAN IPSEN SHARED BRONZE MEDALS IN ROWING AND DIVING RESPECTIVELY AT THE LONDON OLYMPICS. The two won their medals on August 1within five hours of each other. They were part of the winning American team which accumulated the most medals at the Summer Games. American Olympic teammates Kohler and Ipsen will soon trade in USA Olympic team garb for their rival schools, Cal and Stanford, colors.
JAY BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
There was a stunning full moon perched over Mt. Diablo on August 1. One couldn’t help but imagine the image of an Olympic Bronze Medal placed over the bright white moon since earlier that day 5,327 miles from home Clayton’s Kara Kohler and Kristian Ipsen had realized the dreams of millions of children and athletes the world over by winning 2012 Summer Olympic bronze medals in London. As the youngest members of their respective Olympic teams (Kohler at 21 was actually the youngest rower in London), Ipsen and Kohler can look forward to 2016 for the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro and
each can call on their London experience while seeking more Olympic glory. Between now and then they will resume their college studies and athletic careers in the next weeks, Kohler at Cal and Ipsen at Stanford. Early that Aug. 1 morning Clayton time Kohler and her three teammates, Adrienne Martelli, Megan Kalmoe and Natalie Dell, barely missed out on a silver medal as they took third in the finals of the Women’s Quadruple Sculls on Eton Dorney, packed with more than 30,000 of fans to cheer on British boats who won gold and bronze that day. Kohler and her mates were second at the 1000meter halfway mark before they were overtaken by Germany for the silver medal behind premeet favorite Ukraine.
The women’s quad won the first rowing medal for the United States in London (Americans ended up with three total). It was the first time the USA had medaled in that event since 1984 in Los Angeles and for only the second time ever. In the other two races that day American boats were both edged out by milliseconds for the bronze medal. That evening in the Aquatic Centre Ipsen and his partner of the past four years, Troy Dumais rode a roller coaster to the bronze in the men’s three-meter synchronized diving. The American duo eventually finished comfortably in the bronze medal spot behind the Chinese and Russian teams. Ipsen, at 19 the youngest member of the American diving team, and Dumais, 32 and in his
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fourth Olympics, both won their first Olympic medal. USA Diving paired Ipsen and Dumais after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing where the Americans had their second consecutive medal-less performance. The pair has been on or near the medal stand at all of their international meets since debuting with a silver at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. “I’m so happy we got this medal. Troy’s been diving for so long, and I’m so happy I could do this with him,” Ipsen said. “The girls winning that first medal and then the 10-meter guys winning another one really motivated me and let me see it was possible. This is real. It can happen. I wanted it too.” With Dumais having the experience from competing in three previous Olympics, he
offered some advice to his rookie teammate. “Kristian wanted to watch the scoreboard, and I normally don’t do that. I asked him if he was having fun. He said, ‘Yes, I’m loving it.’ I said, ‘Good, I am too, but do one thing for me – Do not look at the scoreboard. This is our
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event, and we’re in control. Let’s just do our dives.’” Dumais and Ipsen won their bronze medal with a consistent effort, not counting a score lower than 8.0 on any of their six dives.
See Bronze Age, page 15
City celebration for Ipsen and Kohler set for Sept. 15 Kristian Ipsen and Kara Kohler will be the first ever to receive the keys to the city when Clayton honors the two hometown Olympians with a parade and celebration on Sept. 15 at The Grove before the final concert of the summer series. The parade will begin at 5 p.m. on Main Street, followed by the celebration in The Grove. Plans for the fete are still in the works, says Councilwoman Julie Pierce, but are expected to include comments from Kara’s coach and Congressman George Miller.
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