Training for Gold

Here’s a look at some athletes with Orange County ties who have qualified for or are hoping to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Listed are athletes’ hometown, current residence or school.

BADMINTON

Erika von Heiland

Age: 30

Anaheim

Von Heiland, who lost in the first round of singles in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, is hoping to get back in doubles with partner Linda French of Elmhurst, Ill. They are the top team in the nation, ranked 38th in the world and awaiting word from the International Badminton Federation on whether they will be playing in Atlanta

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BASEBALL

Team USA is inviting 40 college players to training camp starting May 29 in Millington, Tenn. The final 25-man roster will start a 32-game tour June 7. Four Orange County players have received invitations:

Jack Jones

Age: 20

Position: Shortstop

Cal State Fullerton

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Mark Kotsay

Age: 20

Position: Outfield

Cal State Fullerton

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Brian Loyd

Age: 22

Position: Catcher

Cal State Fullerton

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Augie Ojeda

Age: 21

Position: Shortstop

Cypress College (Now at Tennessee)

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CANOE-KAYAK

Lia Rousset

Age: 18

Newport Beach

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DeAnne Hemmens

Age: 31

Costa Mesa

Rousset and Hemmens will represent the United States in the Hemispheric Olympic Qualifier May 4-5 in Gainesville, Ga., attempting to qualify for start positions in the two- and four-woman boats.

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Dru van Hengel

Age: 31

Newport Aquatic Center

Van Hengel, a longtime Newport Beach resident who recently moved to Santa Barbara, is in the four-woman boat with Rousset, Hemmens and Alexandra Harbold of Rockaway Beach, N.Y.

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CYCLING

The U.S. road team will be picked after a series of five races. The men’s series starts May 19 in Seattle and ends June 2 in Charlotte, N.C. The women start May 21 in Martinsburg, W.Va. and finish June 1 in Boiling Springs, N.C. The track team will be picked after the trials June 4-9 in Trexlertown, Pa.

Steve Hegg

Age: 32

Event: Road

Dana Point

Hegg, who won an gold medal in individual pursuit in the 1984 Olympics, is America’s only cycling gold medalist still competing. He finished 15th in the individual time trial at 1995 World Championships.

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Jeff Evanshine

Age: 22

Event: Road

El Dorado High and Cal State Fullerton.

In 1991, Evanshine became the first American male since Greg LeMond to win the world junior road race championship. In 1992, missed the Olympic trials after being suspended 30 days for missing a drug test.

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Connie Paraskevin-Young

Age: 34

Event: Road, track

Corona del Mar

Paraskevin-Young is attempting to make her fifth Olympic team.

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Linda Brenneman

Age: 30

Event: Road

Dana Point

A former national champion roller skater, Branneman finished sixth in Olympic selection point standings before 1992 Olympics.

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DIVING

The Olympic diving trials are June 19-23 in Indianapolis. A maximum of eight divers--four men, four women--will represent the United States in the two Olympic diving events--three-meter board and 10-meter platform. These divers have already qualified for the trials:

Brian Earley

Age: 24

Mission Viejo

Earley’s best results have come on the one-meter board, which isn’t an Olympic event, but he won NCAA titles in the platform in 1992 and 1994 for USC.

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Tyce Routson

Age: 19

Mission Viejo

Won 1995 NCAA title in platform for Miami.

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Nate Smith

Age: 22

Laguna Niguel

Senior at Naval Academy, finished third in platform at 1994 NCAA Championships.

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Kristen Walls

Age: 24

Mission Viejo

Walls, a five-time Pacific 10 Conference champion at UCLA, is making a comeback after taking a break from competition in 1995.

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Sandy Zubrin

Age: 19

Newport Beach

Zubrin is a four-time U.S. junior champion.

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EQUESTRIAN

Kathleen Raine

Age: 30

Aliso Viejo

Raine is competing for one of the 12 spots in the Olympic dressage trials June 15-16 in Gladstone, N.J.

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ROWING

Olympic trials are April 10-14 at Lake Lanier in Gainsville, Ga., which is also the site of the Olympic rowing events. U.S. has qualified for Olympic spots in 12 of 14 events, all but the men’s and women’s double sculls. That means two of Orange County’s more prominent rowers would have to go to Europe in June to qualify if one of their boats wins.

Chip McKibben

Age: 30

Event: Men’s double sculls

Balboa Island

Member of the U.S. Men’s Eight crew that won the 1994 world championship, but was forced to switch to sculls because of illness.

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SOCCER

Final rosters for the men’s and women’s teams will be announced June 19.

MEN’S TEAM

Chris Snitko

Age: 23

Position: Goalkeeper

Anaheim

Starting goalkeeper for the under-23 national team, from which the Olympic team will be picked.

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WOMEN’S TEAM

Joy Fawcett

Age: 28

Position: Defender

Foothill Ranch

A longtime member of the U.S. team that won the inaugural Women’s World Championship in 1991, Fawcett is women’s soccer coach at UCLA.

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Julie Foudy

Age: 25

Position: Midfielder

Mission Viejo

Another veteran member of the national team, Foudy was a four-time All-American at Stanford. She was a three-time Times Orange County player of the year at Mission Viejo High.

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SOFTBALL

Michele Granger

Age: 26

Position: Pitcher

Placentia

Granger, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s player of the year in 1986 and ‘87, will finally get to pitch in the Olympics--softball is making its Olympic debut. Granger, who starred at Valencia High and Cal, is part of a U.S. team that is 110-1 since 1986.

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SWIMMING

Amanda Beard

Age: 14

Events: 100- and 200-meter breaststroke

Irvine

Beard, an Irvine High School freshman, Won her events at the Olympic trials and is ranked fourth in the world in 200 breaststroke and sixth in the 100.

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Janet Evans

Age: 24

Events: 400- and 800-meter freestyle

Placentia

The only U.S. woman to win four Olympic gold medals in swimming, Evans still holds world records in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyles, but hasn’t swum close to her records in years.

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Lisa Jacob

Age: 21

Event: 800 freestyle relay

Mission Viejo

Jacob, who finished fifth in the 200 meters in the 1992 Olympic Trial, finished third last month, missing second and an individual spot on the Olympic team by 0.03 second. Third place earned her a place on the relay team.

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TRACK AND FIELD

Trials are June 14-23 in Atlanta

Brian Blutreich

Age: 29

Event: Discus

Mission Viejo

Blutreich, who holds the Orange County prep record in the shotput and discus, made the 1992 Olympic team although he finished fifth at the trials. One athlete failed to make the Olympic qualifying distance, another failed a drug test. He finished 25th in the preliminaries and didn’t advance to the final.

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Mark Parlin

Age: 22

Event: Shotput

Yorba Linda

Parlin, who finished third at the NCAA Championships in 1995 and second in the 1996 NCAA Indoor Championships, is a longshot to make the Olympic team. His best outdoor mark this year (63-6 3/4) is about six feet short of the fifth best U.S. mark of 1995.

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Mary Decker Slaney

Age: 37

Event: 5,000

Garden Grove

Slaney is mounting another comeback and says she has none of the aches and pains that plagued her earlier in her career. Slaney is trying to make her third Olympic team. She still holds American records in the 800, 1,500, mile, 2,000 and 3,000.

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VOLLEYBALL

Beach Volleyball

Carl Henkel and Sinjin Smith and Holly McPeak and Nancy Reno have already qualified for the U.S. team by virtue of their finishes on the 1995-96 FIVB circuit. Four more teams--two men’s and two women’s--will qualify at the trials, June 4-9, in Baltimore.

Men

Adam Johnson

Age: 31

Laguna Beach

Johnson, who usually plays with Brazilian-born Jose Loyola, must find a new partner for the trials. Johnson is ranked second on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour.

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Karch Kiraly

Age: 35

San Clemente

Kiraly, a gold-medal winner in indoor volleyball in the 1984 and ’88 Olympics, and Kent Steffes of Pacific Palisades are currently the top-ranked team on the AVP Tour.

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Carlos Briceno

Age: 28

Fountain Valley

Briceno and partner Jeff Williams of Santa Monica were the second-ranked U.S. team in the FIVB tour, which means they automatically advance to the semifinal round of the trials.

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Women

Barbra Fontana Harris

Age: 30

Laguna Beach

Fontana Harris and partner Linda Hanley of Pacific Palisades have been put directly into the semifinals based on their finish as the second-ranked U.S. team on the FIVB world tour.

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INDOOR VOLLEYBALL

Women

Tara Cross-Battle

Age: 27

Position: Outside hitter

Southern California Christian High

Cross-Battle, a reserve in the 1992 Olympics, has become the team’s most potent attacker--last year she was the FIVB women’s player of the year.

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Tammy Liley

Age: 31

Position: Opposite hitter

Westminster

Liley, who played in the 1988 and ’92 Olympics, is a key veteran starter on the U.S. team, which is expected to a strong gold-medal contender. She was the first U.S. women player to appear in 400 international matches.

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Bev Oden

Age: 25

Position: Middle blocker

Irvine

One of the last players cut from the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, Oden stands a good chance to make it this time. She was the team’s player of the year in 1994 and is currently starting.

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Elaina Oden

Age: 29

Position: Middle blocker

Irvine

Oden played with older sister Kim in the 1992 Olympics, leading the U.S. to a bronze medal with 23 kills in the third-place match against Brazil. After two years off, she returned to the national team in 1994 and is a starter.

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Elaine Youngs

Age: 26

Position: Outside hitter

Lake Forest

Youngs, a four-time All-American at UCLA, joined the team in 1993. She is vying for a reserve role.

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Men

Scott Fortune

Age: 30

Position: Outside hitter

Laguna Beach

Recovering from surgery to remove bone chips from ankle, Fortune is trying to play in his third Olympics. He spiked the final point in the Americans’ victory over the Soviet Union in the 1988 gold-medal match.

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Brett Winslow

Age: 28

Position: Middle blocker

Irvine

Winslow, a part-time starter during his first two seasons (1993-94) with the national team, has vying for a reserve spot. He played at University High and Long Beach State.

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WATER POLO

There were five players with Orange County connections on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team and six on the team in 1988. Six are in contention this year as the Americans again try for their first gold medal since 1904. They are:

Gavin Arroyo

Age: 23

Orange

Arroyo, an All-American from Cal and graduate of Villa Park High, is a primary two-meter defender for the U.S. team and almost certainly will play in Atlanta.

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Chris Duplanty

Age: 30

UC Irvine

Duplanty, two-time Olympian but two-time backup to Craig Wilson at goalkeeper, should finally get his chance to get in the pool at Atlanta. He led UC Irvine to 1989 NCAA title.

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Mike Evans

Age: 36

UC Irvine

Evans, the oldest player on the team, is making a comeback after retiring in 1992.

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Dan Hackett

Age: 25

Irvine

Hackett, the team’s backup goalkeeper, is a virtual lock to make it to Atlanta.

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Jeremy Laster

Age: 22

San Clemente

Laster, a left-hander and Stanford All-American, is getting significant playing time in pre-Olympic training matches.

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Chris Oeding

Age: 24

Newport Beach

Oeding, a standout at Corona del Mar High and Cal, is one of the team’s top drivers.

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WRESTLING

Dan Henderson

Age: 25

Discipline: Greco-Roman

Huntington Beach

Henderson finished 10th at the Olympics in Barcelona. He is ranked third in the nation at 180 1/2 and will try for another Olympic spot at Greco-Roman trials June 1-2 in Concord, Calif.

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Sheldon Kim

Age: 25

Discipline: Freestyle

Placentia

A former Cal State Fullerton wrestler, Kim won the Western Regional qualifier at 125 1/2 to gain a spot in the Olympic freestyle trials June 7-8 in Spokane.

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Heath Sims

Age: 24

Discipline: Greco-Roman

San Clemente

Sims, a former Woodbridge High wrestler, is top-ranked in the country at 149 1/2. Made the U.S. team at the world championships last year.

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YACHTING

U.S. trials for the 470, Laser and Mistral are May 4-12 at the Olympic venue in Savannah, Ga.

Nick Adamson

Age: 27

Boat: Laser

Newport Beach

Adamson, a former scholar athlete on the UC Irvine sailing team, qualified for the trials by finishing 11th at the Midwinters West in Long Beach last month.

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Lanee Butler

Age: 25

Boat: Mistral

Aliso Viejo

Butler, who competing in boardsailing in the 1992 Olympics, is top ranked on the U.S. team in board sailing.

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Mike Sturman

Age: 29

Boat: 470

Newport Beach

Sturman, with crew member Bob Little of Santa Monica, finished second in the 1992 trials.

Researched by Martin Beck, Times staff writer