Thursday, December 5, 1996
PRICE:
Native of Hawaii developed talent on the
mainland, plans to stay after graduating from UCLABy Kristina L.
Wilcox
Daily Bruin Contributor
OK, what is a native Hawaiian doing on the UCLA swim team?
Shouldn’t she be enjoying the gorgeous, clear ocean near Mililiani,
and not a pool in Los Angeles?
"I didn’t want to go to school there and I don’t want to live
there after I graduate," sprint freestyle swimmer Keiko Price said.
"It is more exciting over here. I like the weather. It’s
chillier."
Growing up in paradise apparently isn’t all it’s cracked up to
be.
"In Hawaii, the sky is always blue. But it rains a lot, it’s
humid and there isn’t much to do," Price said.
Keiko’s parents must like the Aloha State though. Keiko was born
in Jervis, New York in 1978 to University of Hawaii graduates who
decided to move back to Hawaii when she was 3 because "they didn’t
want to raise children in New York," according to Price.
Interestingly enough, Price didn’t learn to swim in the inviting
Hawaiian waters.
"My mom says she taught me how to swim when I was 2, but I don’t
remember," Price said. "I have been on a team, swimming laps, since
I was 8."
So maybe the mainland is a good place for Keiko after all, since
this is where she was first introduced to the skills that have
become her livelihood.
"Keiko was the top sprint recruit in the nation last year," head
coach Cyndi Gallagher said about the freshman swimmer.
Other people seem to agree with Gallagher. For instance, Price,
along with teammate Lindsay Etter, was one of 40 swimmers chosen to
participate in U.S. Swimming’s "Project Sydney." This program is
geared towards preparing talent for the Olympics in 2000.
"We go to Colorado Springs two times a year where they do
research on us," Price said. "We are their guinea pigs. They
collect data from us and share it with coaches across the U.S. They
test our percent body fat and flexibility, videotape us underwater.
It’s cool stuff, and kinda fun."
Price hopes that the research will help her reach the Australian
Olympics, because it would be a great way to end her swimming
career. Surprisingly, she does not see herself competing after
that.
"It’s over after college," she said. "The Olympics happen after
my fourth year here, and that’s all."
And with her potential, she has the ability to leave the
swimming world with a medal.
"Keiko is here to take care of business," Gallagher said. "She
wants to swim and get an education. She is very disciplined and
focused. Keiko is a great athlete, not just a swimmer. She wants to
be the best, and is willing to do what it takes to be the
best."
JON FERREY/Daily Bruin
Keiko Price, freestyle sprinter and Olympics 2000 candidate, is
a
pool veteran , swimming in teams from the age of 8.