By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
Tim Daggett was in the gym when I arrived at his Agawam-based Gold Medal Gymnastics school and training facility for a late-June interview. He had just returned from a gig covering the U.S. gymnastics Rio Olympic trials for NBC Sports, and catching him between coaching stints with his boys and girls gymnastics teams was the best fit. I took off my heels – you don’t wear shoes, I’ve been told, when crossing the mats gymnasts depend on for a safe landing – and juggling them, plus a recorder and notebook, I followed the 1984 Olympic gold medalist to a relatively quiet corner not far from where members of the girls’ team were practicing.
With two large support blocks as makeshift chairs and a coach’s eye view of what his athletes were doing, Daggett graciously shared personal stories and insights about the many Olympic games he’s been a part of – including Los Angeles, where the West Springfield native and his teammates made history as the first all American men’s gymnastics team to bring home the gold.
Counting the upcoming Summer Olympics, how many times have you attended this ultimate sporting competition?
Including when I competed, it was Los Angeles (in 1984), ‘92, ‘96, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, [and Rio] – that will be my ninth Olympic games. I should really know that, right?
Have they all been the Summer Olympics?
I did one winter. In 2006, I was the sideline reporter for ski jumping and biathlon. It was awesome. I really immersed myself in the two sports and learned a ton about [them] and it was a lot of fun.
Do you have a favorite Olympics – beyond the LA Olympics where you won gold in 1984?
They are all so amazing. Barcelona in ‘92 did a phenomenal job – it was so cosmopolitan. Obviously going to Athens [in 2004], the birthplace [of the Olympics] was tremendous, we got to see some of the ruins, and lets see, Sydney was just beautiful in 2000. Beijing was phenomenal – the scope of everything in China, in Beijing, is just larger than life, its impossible, the buildings, the airport, it’s just so awe-inspiring. London [in 2012] it was so classical and so British. They all had something great.
The Olympics keep expanding with more sports – and more types of athletes – joining every four years. Has the atmosphere – and/or the attitudes of the athletes – changed since you were a competitor in 1984?
When we were competing there really wasn’t … there was really no professional athletes. I don’t believe they are defined as a professional athlete, you know, but [today] there are opportunities, and [athletes] are paid for doing their sport – they can go and win prize money for their event.
In the sport of gymnastics, the athletes certainly haven’t changed, but what it has allowed the athletes to do is not be a one and done type of thing.
When I was competing you graduated college, you competed in the Olympics then you had to support yourself, and if you are training to be a gymnast it’s five or six hours a day. You can’t go and flip burgers somewhere; well, you could, but you wouldn’t be able to sustain that and train as you need to.
It’s lengthened the opportunity for many of the top athletes – gymnast for sure – which is a great thing.
Speaking of the ability to continue training, I noticed that many of the same gymnasts who were in the Olympics four years ago are back for Rio.
It didn’t used to [happen] but now it does. It happens all over the world now. You know, when I was competing they weren’t called professional athletes, but there was no more professional of an organization than the USSR. The Soviet Union: it was they were professional athletes competing in an amateur game, as was East Germany, as was China, [and] many of the Eastern Block countries. They had an absolute machine and really no expense was spared if you were one of the premiere athletes in any sport, you were afforded everything you needed to be the very best that you could be.
But I thought in spirit, Olympic athletes were supposed to be amateurs.
The Olympics are supposed to be an amateur games, but that word is kind-of a silly word. The word “amateur” was originally used for athletics and for the Olympics because the wealthy people did ‘t want to have to compete against the rest of the people. It was a class society [and] they wanted it to be a wealthy clique.
I don’t know what the exact word is, [but] if you are a duke or a lord then you can train whenever you want, you don’t have to go to work, so actually the true world of amateur in the Olympic movement wasn’t as admirable as you would think.
It doesn’t take into account the realities of life. Yes, you want to be this tremendous athlete and do all this training but you need to support yourself – if you are training six hours a day you need another two hours a day of therapy and rehab and your nutrition is so critical, it takes a full day.
Is it a positive or a negative now that you see more of a professional athlete in the Olympics?
I think, overall, it’s very positive. You do see men and women that have been able to increase the length of their careers because of money, basically, but, for the most part, most people want to go to the next Olympic games because they want the major journey, they love competing in the games and they want to represent the country that they’re from, so it’s noble in most cases.
You know, sure there are some athletes that are just doing it as a living, but I know that for the teams in the United States its not a job, it’s a journey and it’s a dream and so that make it really cool.
The world has certainly changed – and so has how news is disseminated – since 1984. Yet the Olympics still seem to capture the attention of viewers worldwide. As a broadcaster, do you have any insight into why?
It’s a little glimpse into every aspect of life. Typically for these athletes, the stories are just amazing. The mantra of NBC is that it is a storytelling event – and there are these athletes that have dreamed of something, striven for something, set goals, gone to amazing lengths and you get to learn that about them. It’s a glimpse inside of their world. There are many powerful stories, and people love that.
The adversity athletes have gone through – the sickness, the injuries, the personal tragedies … these are real people who have real lives, real problems, who do extraordinary things.
Although its true that these athletes can get paid, nobody is at the level – [13-time Olympic gold medalist] Michael Phelps maybe, or [10 time world gold medalist] Simone Biles could potentially, you know, have an amazing opportunity, but for the most part it’s all going to happen for her after the games. Its like [most athletes are] not signing multi-million dollar, multi-year deals. Just a handful [get that].
How about as a former competitor and athlete. Why does someone want to compete to bring home the gold?
It’s a way to feel grounded in your community. It kind-of make you feel good – I certainly experienced that. It was amazing, the outpouring of support and congratulations, not just immediately after (the ’84 games), but even to this day. People will come up to me [even now] ands say, “It’s an honor to meet you.” and “I want to thank you for what you did for our area and our country,” and that’s kind of neat.
This year’s competition is clouded by many things – questions about the Zika virus, the doping scandals with the Russian athletes, concerns about the safety in Brazil. Are you aware of any hesitation on the part of this year’s Olympic athletes because of these concerns?
None that I’ve talked to. Most of the women in gymnastics are probably not actively trying to become pregnant, which is the biggest issue – the oldest one is 22 years old, you have 16 year olds [competing]. That component is not such a big deal in the sport of gymnastics, [but] there are other sports where the athletes are much older and some of them have had concerns.
The security, I don’t think there’s a safer place on the earth than every four years at the Olympic games. Security is so high, and I never feel safer. I’ve been in situations when they were worried; in Athens a lot of people were concerned, in London some people were concerned, but I really wasn’t. The presence of security is tremendous and I’ve never felt nervous.
Doping – it’s possible, [but] I’m pretty positive it doesn’t come in with the American (gymnastics) athletes, Every single person should want to have a completely level playing field; the only advantage you should be able to gain is by you doing more – being more dedicated, more disciplined, making more sacrifices, and working harder. It should not be something that aids you. That’s point blank cheating and it’s despicable.
I know you will be reporting for NBC during the games, but you also have a loyal following of students and gymnastics team members at you training center, Daggett Gymnastics in Agawam. Will you be keeping you home base in the loop through social media? Will others be able to see your posts?
You can follow our gym on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaggettGymnastics) and Twitter Tweet to @daggettgym ) and we will be giving behind the scenes pictures and updates and videos, a little bit of commentary, and it will be stuff that you can’t see or get anywhere else. It will be some really behind the scenes looks. I would encourage everybody to friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and you will get an inside look at the games.
On a personal note, what was it like being chosen to represent your country in the Olympics? What is the biggest thing you remember from participating?
For me it was a dream come true. Ever since I was a little kid I watched the Olympic games, and when I was eight years old I was just mesmerized. There was a guy, Peter Kormann, from Massachusetts, who won a medal on floor at the Olympics and I wanted desperately to be just like him. (It was 1976, Kormann was the first American to win in gymnastics against the Soviets; he took a bronze medal – Wikipedia)
And I was willing to do everything and anything and getting there, it was amazing. The feeling at an Olympics, it truly needs to be experienced. It’s a worldwide event. It’s not a sporting event, its a worldwide event where you have different cultures from every corner of the world coming together, coexisting, learning about each other and enjoying it and enjoying those experiences. It really is – especially in the world that we live in today – it’s a wonderful thing because there’s lots of turmoil and there’s lots of war and just, you know, the whole world gets together and they have a wonderful experience and a blast.
Get the Inside Scoop on Rio!
For behind the scenes Olympic pictures, updates, videos and commentary
you won’t see or get anywhere else, follow Daggett on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DaggettGymnastics or Twitter at Tweet to @daggettgym .
