Olympians to Speak at Monrovia Library

Monrovia Reads, a nonprofit dedicated to boosting literacy in the community, will be hosting a fundraiser in October that will feature four Olympic athletes as speakers. The athletes range from a 93-year-old runner and former prisoner of war to a Monrovia resident who, at 16, was the youngest person to secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team.

The “Distinguished Speaker Series” will take place over four evenings in the . One speaker will take the stage each night for two hours. Tickets for the event are $1,000 for a set of four with proceeds going towards Monrovia Reads. They are tax deductible.

Each speaker will talk about their lives and experiences as a U.S. Olympic athlete and are expected to deliver inspiring stories that will touch people of all ages.

“These are people of high integrity and strong moral fiber. Their message is relevant for all ages,” said Joanne Spring a founding member and past president of Monrovia Reads in a statement. Each athlete also has personal ties to our community.

The speakers are as follows: 93-year-old runner Louis Zamperini, swimmer John Naber, high hurdler Mark Crear and shooter Kim Rhode.

Zamperini was born in Italy but grew up in Torrance. As a teen he set a high school world record for the mile. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, his final lap around the track clocked in at 56 seconds. He later joined the U.S. Air Corps, but when his aircraft crashed and he was afloat at sea for 47 days, he was captured and became a prisoner of war for two years during World War II.

Naber has six world records under his belt and earned four gold medals and one silver in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. His career later took him behind the scenes of sports as a Sports Broadcaster for TV and radio.

Crear is a San Gabriel Valley native and two-time Olympic Medalist with a penchant for perseverance. At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 he competed in the 110m high hurdles event with a broken arm and still managed to win a silver medal. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he ran the 110m high hurdles with a double hernia and earned a bronze medal. He went on to earn a doctorate in Theology and write several books.

Rhode is a Monrovia resident who, at 16-years-old, was the youngest person to make the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team. At her first Olympics in Atlanta, she won a gold medal in double trap. She has competed and medaled in every summer Olympics since then, and is gearing up to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London.

The Monrovia Reads Distinguished Speaker Series will take place Oct. 13, Nov. 10, Feb. 9 and March 8. To purchase tickets, contact Diane Delmatoff at (626) 303-6600 or ddelmatoff@ci.monrovia.ca.us.