While the 2008 Beijing Olympics are attracting both anticipation and controversy, Stanford student-athletes, alumni-athletes and coaches are focusing on the final leg of preparations to qualify for and compete in the games.

The Games have received increased media and political attention regarding China’s policies on Tibet and human rights — as well as connections to Sudan and the Darfur genocide — leading many political figures and protestors to call for a boycott of the opening ceremonies. A number of Stanford students traveled to San Francisco last week to protest the arrival of the Olympic Torch.

President George W. Bush has indicated that he will attend the opening ceremonies and has no plans to boycott, and that American participation in the Games is still very likely.

Stanford is sending a diverse mix of former and current student-athletes and coaches to the Games, with the ranks growing as the U.S. Olympic teams announce their official selections. Stanford Athletics highlighted the honor and benefits of Cardinal participation in the games.

“I see it as very exciting to follow these elite college athletes who hope to qualify for the Olympics later in the season” said Athletics Media Relations Coordinator Ricky Brackett. “It definitely makes my job easier because it is much easier to draw attention to our outstanding programs with such outstanding athletes.”

Many student-athletes are immersing themselves in the tough process of qualifying for competition.

“It’s pretty much every athlete’s dream to compete in the Olympics,” said gymnast David Sender ‘08. “It can definitely add some extra stress, especially in trying to work around school and NCAA practice, but it’s completely worth it. Not too many people can say they went to Olympic Trials and even fewer can say they went to the Olympics, so I’m just grateful to have the chance to do either.”

Student-athletes working to qualify for spots in the Games also emphasized that they hope to bring their training and experience back to the Farm.

“Whether I make the team or not, I’ve learned a lot,” said rower Elle Logan ‘10. “I’ll bring that back to Stanford in the fall.”

Some with Stanford connections have already clinched their spots in the Games, including Lauren Lappin ‘06 and Jessica Mendoza ‘02 — members of the Olympic women’s softball team — and softball head coach John Rittman. They pointed to shared Stanford connections as an enjoyable part of the Olympic atmosphere.

“While I will be wearing USA colors, Cardinal red runs through my veins,” Lappin said. “I won’t be able to wear anything to represent the Card, but I will definitely have Stanford in my heart while I’m in Beijing.”

“I think whether you’re at the Pan-American Games or the Olympics, that whole village atmosphere makes for a unique experience,” Rittman added. “And there’s certainly a whole Stanford community as part of that.”

Other former Cardinal student-athletes are still competing for spots in the upcoming games.

“Full-time training, like I am doing now, is a lot different than what I did in college,” said Matt Gentry ‘05, currently a wrestler with the Canadian Olympic team. “It takes a lot of planning and organization to make the most of the 115 days that are left until the Olympics begin.”

“The intensity is still the same,” he added, “but I have to be even more focused because I have so little time to make a lot of improvements.”

Regarding the politics brewing underneath this year’s Games, those involved emphasized that they were keeping their focus on athletics.

“It’s really not my concern as an athlete,” Logan said. “It’s hard to separate the two — politics and athletics — but whatever happens happens, and personally I’m not even thinking about a boycott. I’m focused on my training.”

“The way I see it is that my job is to do gymnastics and to compete,” Sender added. “I try not to worry or focus on anything else.”

With the roster of Cardinal participants continuing to grow until the end of the qualifying processes, the anticipation is high.

“It’s exciting for all of the athletes and coaches involved in the process,” Rittman said. “All the training and preparation has been going on for four years now, and the light at the end of the tunnel is the Beijing Games.”