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The 2008 Beijing Olympics are just two months away, and a lot of the athletes from the U.S. are training in San Diego. About a mile north of the Mexican border and a 20 minute ride from downtown San Diego sits the Arco Olympic Training Center. It's been there for 13 years in San Diego's second largest city: Chula Vista. KPBS Morning Edition Co-Host Dwane Brown reports.
Dwane Brown: Now Diana, we just passed a stop sign back there, but you didn't stop.
Diana Wright: You're not getting that on the air (laughs).
Golf carts are the main mode of transportation at the U.S. Olympic training Center. The site is about the size of a typical golf course --155 acres. And Diana Wright is taking me to see the Olympic team’s secret weapon. Along the way we'll meet some of America's best hopes for medals in Track and Field and Women's Field Hockey.
One of the newest Olympic events this August is BMX dirt bike racing. The sport got its start in California back in the early 70's when teenagers would imitate their motor cross heroes doing tricks and stunts on their dirt bikes. Now 30 years later, San Diego is ground zero for training the first Olympic BMX racing team.
Tracy Lamb: We have six training here of the six we know the two women will probably qualify and one or two of the men.
Tracy Lamb is Director of the Olympic training Center in Chula Vista.
Lamb: This will probably be bigger than snow boarding was at the Winter Olympics.
Lamb knows all about the snow and cross country skiing. Both he and his brother competed and his father organized the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid New York.
Lamb: We were able to create a BMX cycling course it's the only one in this hemisphere.
It has an 8 meter tower -- so a three-and-a-half story-high start tower with a starting r38.
So you go off and go over these bumps and jumps that they do, (maybe you and I can try after this talk) so they’re going about 40 miles an hour and it's the newest event in the Olympic Games.
At least one team training at the Center will make history in Beijing.
Tiffany Snow: My name is Tiffany Snow and I play for the U.S. Field Hockey Team and I come from Escondido. I played at San Pasqual High School.
For the first time in 20 years, the women's team has qualified for the Summer Games.
Snow: We just qualified in Russia three weeks ago so it's very exciting. We had to come in first place in our tournament and there were six teams.
Brown: Who’s the biggest competition?
Snow: There all big: Holland is number one...Argentina is ranked second then you've got Australia ...they're all good competition.
Making the Olympic team is still uncertain for many athletes. And only 1 percent will actually get a medal. So far, four canoe/kayack members have qualified. The archery program will send two men and two women. And indoor long jump ch38 Akiba McKinney is set to go to Beijing. She grew up in Spring Valley.
McKinney: For me the long jump is more personable. You go one at a time. I tend to grab the attention because I'm the smallest jumper out there. But what I lack in height I make up for in speed and my explosiveness.
McKinney also knows first-hand about the negative attitude some countries have towards Americans. She's competed in Europe and China before.
McKinney: And those are some of the best friendships that you have. Because you're able to get into some heated discussions about politics, government, your sport, whose using and whose not. It makes for an amazing friendship after.
And that brings us to the Olympic teams secret weapon.
Brown: At first I thought these were a bunch of security cameras positioned throughout the weight room facility. But this is the Eye on Performance Cameras. I see the gigantic flat screens here. So what happens here Diana?
Wright: It records their activity and plays it back. Realtime technology...it is absolutely.
The Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista is open to the public and the athletes are the one's who conduct many of the tours. Tomorrow the BMX Racing trials will be held at the venue.
Dwane Brown, KPBS News.
