Olympic dream comes crashing down
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Olympic dream comes
crashing down
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Fort Worth resident Marcin Wedlarski needed only one chance to become an All-American. Unfortunately, his chances of reaching his true goal have run out.
Wedlarski, a 33-year-old native of Sweden, was named an All-American masters swimmer last week for posting the season's fastest time in the 1,650-yard freestyle -- 17 minutes, 12.02 seconds. Imagine what his time would have been if he was fully rested.
At the time, Wedlarski was an Olympic hopeful in the triathlon. He went for a 30-mile bike ride and a 10-kilometer run before posting what proved to be the nation's best time for Team Ridglea at a Feb. 20 meet at SMU. It was the only meet his schedule allowed him to attend.
"We're really proud of him," Team Ridglea coach Chuck Burr said. "We wish he could have been there for the national championships."
But Wedlarski's ventures in the triathlon did not meet with such good fortune. In 2000, he injured his knee before the World Triathlon Championships. This year, he suffered a broken rib during a race in Honduras, then hurt his leg overcompensating for the rib pain while riding his bike.
Still, Wedlarski overcame it all to work his way into the first group at last month's world championships in Portugal. Then his bicycle lost its chain. Fixing the problem put him three minutes behind. He wound up finishing 58th. The Swedish Olympic Federation would only send him to Athens if he finished in the top eight.
Since returning from Portugal, a disappointed Wedlarski has stopped training and started searching for a new career. With a bachelor's degree in international economics and a master's degree in international business, Wedlarski has the résumé and the experience for an accounting job, but his dream is to open a coffee shop.
In the meantime, Wedlarski is still adjusting to the fact that his chase for Olympic glory is over.
"I'm watching all of these guys that I trained with, and they're going to the Olympics," he said. "It's hard. My fitness was there, but sometimes you just need more luck."