Olympians Due Honors
Gold medalist Arnie Robinson heads a parade of 13 Olympic Games athletes who will be honored Sunday by the city of San Diego.
Dr. George Rhoden, an Olympic gold medalist himself in 1952, will be the guest speaker at the tribute which starts at 5 p.m. at Balboa Park's Recital Hall. The event is free to the public.
Robinson, the Olypmic medalist in the long jump at Munich in 1972, went into this summer's Olympics at Montreal as the favorite.
He didn't disappoint, jumping 27 4-3/4 on his first effort and defying the others to catch him. They couldn't.
Valhalla High junior Greg Louganis, who finished second in the 10-meter platform diving, will be joined by bronze medalists Dennis Conner and Lynn Silliman.
Connor collected his bronze in the Tempest class of yachting competition while Silliman was the coxswain of the U.S. women's eight oared crew.
Other San Diego-area athletes to be honored include participants Bill McMillan (pistol shooting), Ed Mendoza (10,000-meter run), Karin Smith (women's javelin), Pete Shmock (men's shot put), and Quentin Wheeler (400-meter hurdles) and alternates Marty Lockwood (wrestling), Tom Mount (alternate) and Robbie Haines (yachting).
Also to be honored will be Scott Robinson, who collected four gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the Olympiad for the physically disabled held in Toronto.
San Diego Union, Saturday, September 11, 1976
Olympians Honored
By HANK WESCH
Staff Writer, The San Diego Union
San Diego honored its Olympians yesterday by offering a fitting mixture of athletes and elected officials in a reception attended by an estimated 100 people at the Recital Hall in Balboa Park.
Honored were 13 San Diegans who had competed in either the Montreal Olympics or the Olympiad for the Physically Disabled at Toronto this summer. Of the 13, five were on hand in person to greet those in attendance, sign autographs and receive gifts of plaques and medals from the city in gratitude.
The five included diving silver medalist Greg Louganis, women's eight oared crew coxswain and bronze medalist Lynn Silliman, pistol shooting contestant Bill McMillan, Greco-Roman wrestling alternate Tom Mount and javelin thrower Karin Smith.
Honored in absentia were long jump gold medalist Arnie Robinson, tempest class yachting bronze medalist Dennis Connor, yachting alternate Robbie Haines, Greco-Roman wrestling alternate Marty Lockwood, 10,000 meter runner Ed Mendoza, shot putter Pete Shmock, 400-meter hurdler Quentin Wheeler and physically disabled Olympian Scott Robeson, who collected four gold medals, a silver and two bronze at Toronto.
Officials on hand to praise the Olympic contestants ranged from Mayor Pete Wilson to State Rep. Larry Kapiloff and State Sen. Jack Schrade. Even President Ford's presence was felt in a telegram congratulating San Diego and the athletes read by Mickey Tyler, who chaired the event.
Louganis, who was recently given a "Day" in his honor in El Cajon, admitted that the fuss and furor over his accomplishments he sometimes finds "embarrassing," but graciously provided autographs for several well-wishers who were granted a rare opportunity for personal communication with the athletes.
San Diego's 13 Olympians, it was pointed out, represented a greater contribution to the U.S. team than that of the entire state of Ohio - and probably several other states. And there were predictions of an even greater San Diego contingent in 1980.
San Diego Union, Monday, September 13, 1976
Left to Right: Tom Mount, Greg Louganis, Bill McMillan, Karin Smith, unknown and Lynn Silliman
