Olympics: Family has Nebraska roots

There was no indoor skating rink anywhere near Potter when Bob Reed was growing up. He’s not even sure there was one in all of western Nebraska.

The closest might have been across the Wyoming border in Cheyenne.

That might explain why these days, even though his kids have been skating for years, “It’s still a unique and interesting experience to me when I watch,” Reed said.

Those adjectives only begin to explain the story of Cathy, Chris and Allison Reed skating at the Winter Olympics. Among them, the kids with Nebraska roots represented Japan and the Republic of Georgia in Vancouver.

Bob Reed grew up in Potter and graduated from Nebraska in 1982. A sister and brother-in-law, Jennifer and Jeff Cook, still live in Sidney, Neb.

“We’ve kept in touch (during the Olympics) by e-mail and telephone,’’ said Jennifer Cook, who watched her nieces and nephew compete on streaming Internet video. “A lot of phone calls.’’

The Reeds’ stories are more important than their finishes — Cathy and Chris were 17th in ice dancing pairs, with Allison and partner Otar Japaridze placing 22nd.

Cathy, 22, and Chris, 20, skated for Japan, and previously were three-time Japanese national champions. Bob Reed met their mother, Noriko, when he was working for Upjohn in Tokyo, and their daughter and son have held dual citizenship since birth.

Allison, 15, first got a Republic of Georgia passport last November after partnering with Japaridze, 22, and now has dual citizenship. The two have skated together since last May after Allison searched for a compatible partner to match her size and style.

“I know it sounds a little crazy and confusing, but we’re so happy to be at the Olympics together, no matter what country we’re representing,” Cathy Reed told the New York Times before the Winter Games started.

All three Reeds were born in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Bob and Noriko currently live in Warren, N.J. Cathy and Chris have competed together since 2001 and train in Hackensack, and Allison and Otar have started training in Mt. Laurel.

“When I was working in Kalamazoo we got them started, and it progressed from there,’’ Bob Reed said. “But we never saw this coming.’’

Bob and Noriko Reed are back in New Jersey and will watch the closing ceremonies from home. Bob Reed said he was able to spot all three kids on TV during the opening ceremonies, before he arrived to see them compete in Vancouver.

“I think they were a little in awe of the experience,’’ he said. “I don’t think there’s any way you couldn’t be somewhat overwhelmed, unless you’re in your 30s and been through it already two or three times.’’

Bob Reed said all three will be hoping to again make the 2014 Winter Olympics. Because Japanese nationality law states that at age 22 a person must choose between dual citizenships, Chris will have to make a decision that Cathy did in 2009 when she chose to renounce her American citizenship and continue to represent Japan.

For now, the family just wants to digest this experience.

“The best part is how humble these kids are,’’ Jennifer Cook said.

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

Paul Stastny and Ryan Malone

Long before they were U.S. Olympians, Paul Stastny and Ryan Malone were Omaha Lancers. Malone, 31, and Stastny, 24, passed through Omaha and even graduated from Millard North on their way to NHL stardom.

Malone played the 1998-99 season for the Lancers, posting 14 goals and 22 assists in 51 games, before going to St. Cloud State. A fourth-round draft pick by Pittsburgh in 1999, the forward is now with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Stastny spent two years with the then-River City Lancers in 2002-03 and 2003-04. He was named team MVP after the latter season, when he scored 30 goals and led the USHL with 47 assists. The son of NHL Hall of Famer Peter Stastny played on the 2005 NCAA championship team at Denver University and is now with the Colorado Avalanche.

Team USA advanced to today’s gold-medal game by beating Finland 6-1 on Friday. Malone scored in each of his first two Olympic games — part of a 3-0 run through the preliminary rounds — and Stastny assisted on the Americans’ go-ahead goal against the Swiss in the quarterfinals and scored against Finland in the semis.

Also part of the U.S. team is David Backes, who played for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Shelley-Ann Brown

Before she started competing for the Canadian bobsled team in 2006, Brown was a sprinter and hurdler for the Nebraska track team from 2000 through 2003. The native of Pickering, Ontario, posted her biggest Husker highlights as a junior in 2002, winning the 60-meter hurdles at the Big 12 Indoor and finishing fifth in the 110 hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor for All-American status.

Brown, who turns 30 on March 15, medaled at the Vancouver Games when she teamed with Helen Upperton for silver in the two-woman bobsled. Brown served as the brakeman for the Canada-2 sled.

“I don’t know of anyone that is more deserving of an Olympic medal than Shelley-Ann Brown,’’ Curt Tomasevicz, the former NU football player who competed in the four-man bobsled for the U.S., told Huskers.com. “She’s very proud of her country and very proud to call herself a Husker. She really lives the Olympic ideals in her life every day.’’

Brown turned down her first Olympic opportunity in 2006, according to Huskers.com, because of her involvement in a Lincoln campus ministry group.

Meghan Agosta

As Meghan Agosta was playing her best for the Canadian women’s hockey team, at least one family member was left to watch from afar. Agosta’s older brother, Jeric Agosta, is finishing his senior season with the University of Nebraska at Omaha, contributing 14 goals and seven assists for the Mavericks heading into the Bemidji State series. The Agostas are from Ruthven, Ontario.

Meghan Agosta, 23, led Team Canada to its third straight women’s gold medal — scoring nine goals in four games — and was named tournament MVP. The last of those scores came Thursday in the 2-0 win over the United States for the gold medal.

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