Friends, family cheer Olympian on visit home
Haskins throws first pitch at Cardinals game
By the Journal Sports Staff
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 12:12 PM CDT
Nate Kortuem surely expects his wife's next visit will include a coronation.
That is about all that's left for Kortuem's bride, the impossibly popular Sarah Haskins. A U.S. Olympic triathlete and belle of the ball during a stop here to visit her family in High Ridge, Haskins kept a full-to-overflowing schedule before hopping a plane home to Colorado Springs to train for an upcoming competition in Mexico City.
Among her stops:> The Parkway South-Jackson football game for a terrific halftime program.
>A community breakfast and charity silent auction of Olympic memorabilia at the High Ridge Fire Department.
>Busch Stadium to throw out the first pitch and sign a lot of autographs at the Cardinals-Marlins baseball game.
>Maple Grove Elementary in Dittmer for a couple sessions on setting and pursuing goals.
And at every stop, Haskins was surrounded by fans who wanted to congratulate her and hear all about the just-concluded Summer Games in Beijing. Her dad, Brian Haskins, did what he could to keep the trains running on time, but he confessed it was fun to watch how friends and fans were attracted to Sarah.
Sunday morning at High Ridge - the sign outside the High Ridge Boulevard station house and community center welcomed visitors to "Breakfast with Sarah, our Olympian" - the autograph line was eight or 10 or 12 deep during most of Sarah's stay. The breakfast drew more than 100 well-wishers, 21 family members and a dozen or so representatives of the High Ridge F.D., who kept things cooking in the kitchen.
Jack Karg, John Lakin, Mike Gonzalez, Blair Smith and Tom Lakin were among the fire department hands who watched over breakfast. Also playing a big role in the Sunday event were former big league pitcher Brian Boehringer and Robin Eschrich of Southside Sports, who spun out a stack of cool t-shirts with Sarah splashing out of the water at the finish of the swim portion of the triathlon at Beijing. Sarah's grandfather Pete Redel snagged one of the first t-shirts and took it for a spin around the room. "I'm a male model," he joked.
The Haskins clan brought home some terrific items for Sunday's silent auction. The t-shirt and auction proceeds went to Train 4 Autism and Jenny's Light, a group that focuses on postpartum depression. ... Among the friends and fans who stopped in to bid on souvenirs were realtor extraordinaire Lon Simmons and TV news whiz Dan Gray.
