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Medalist Talks About Her Secrets

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From Associated Press

Chris Witty is ready to talk about her secret.

One of America’s top speedskaters, Witty raced to an Olympic gold medal and world record three years ago at the Salt Lake Games. But her time of triumph came under a heavy emotional burden.

As a child, Witty was sexually abused by a neighbor, a well-liked old man from her suburban Milwaukee neighborhood. It was a secret she held for 20 years.

Then, just before the Olympics, she confided in her family and a team psychologist. Fighting through exhaustion and having just started to get help, Witty came away with a gold medal in the 1,000 meters.

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Now, after three years of therapy, Witty is talking openly.

“It makes you look back and you go ‘OK, I was alive for these years and I did have fun. I did enjoy myself, but part of me wasn’t there completely,” Witty said. “It’s almost like I’m living a new life now.”

She’s heard words of thanks from other victims of sexual abuse, people with friends or relatives who have been through it and others who were simply inspired by her ability to open up on such a difficult subject.

It reaffirmed her notion that confronting her own past may inspire others to get help.

“There was still something that wasn’t right. I just really felt like I had to talk about it. Tell other people,” she said. “Maybe I could do something in the area for kids. Isn’t there something?”

Witty said the man preyed upon her from ages 4 to 11, until she saw a videotape at school that prompted her to finally tell him “No.” She had to say it twice, but he got the message and left her alone.

But it didn’t stop him from preying on other girls. Although never charged with abusing Witty, he was finally caught with a girl Witty used to baby-sit.

Witty was relieved to know he had been caught, but also wondered if she could have done something to have stopped it earlier. It wore on her through her teens and early 20s.

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“People need to tell their story in their own time and their own way,” said Mitzy Dunford, Witty’s therapist.

Dunford, who got permission from Witty to be interviewed, helped get the story out last fall when she put Witty in touch with a reporter from the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City.

Although it was difficult, Witty told all.

“This is my life exposed,” she said. “Even though I’ve dealt with the media, it’s different when it’s a personal issue.”

Witty said the response to the front-page story has been a pleasant surprise. A friend who had been raped as a teenager was inspired to start counseling this month.

“That’s always good to know. I really did actually help somebody,” Witty said.

Witty has also been contacted by a center for abused children about being a spokeswoman. A local teacher has asked her to speak to parents about prevention programs.

Witty began suffering bouts of fatigue while training in 2001 for the Olympics. Though she was diagnosed with mononucleosis, she now wonders if the strain of holding in something so traumatic for so long finally got to her.

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Before the holidays that year, she sent her mother an email explaining that she felt her family needed to know what she had gone through.

“I felt like I couldn’t just pretend to be this happy family. There was an issue here. People needed to know about it and I wanted it dealt with, too,” she said.

A month before the games, she told team psychologist Keith Henschen.

Henschen suggested Witty get counseling, but after the Olympics. By taking the first step, she said, the burden began to ease.

“I was a little surprised and almost comforted to know that it was a real issue,” she said. “He saw it as a serious thing and I needed professional help.”

Witty focused on the competition and set a world record in the 1,000 on the ice where she now trains in suburban Salt Lake City.

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