"So You Wanna Be An Olympian?" - Thoughts?

The picture posted above is from the latest installment of ESPN's e-ticket coverage of "Olympic Hopeful", Kathryn Bertine. Kathryn Bertine a former ice skater, professional triathlete and author was approached by ESPN and asked to give two years of her life to pursing her dream of qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. The latest article is the ninth installment focusing on Kathryn's self reported progress since the story began in August 2006. As the first article back in August '06 states,

"For the next two years, Bertine will chronicle her Olympic quest for E-ticket. While finding a spot on the 2008 U.S. team is the ultimate goal, Bertine will take every opportunity along the way to stop and smell the sweat socks ... and to share the smell, taste, sound and feel of the experience with you. You'll meet coaches, teammates, competitors, good guys, bad guys, people who will make you laugh, make you cry, make you cover your eyes in horror. You'll find out what the day-to-day life of an elite athlete is like, get a feel for the kind of sacrifices necessary, see for yourself what kind of politics is involved. "

It's an interesting and controversial story of a "regular" athlete turned "elite" cyclist (in 18mths) who wants to get to the Beijing Olympics at any cost, meaning, in any sport (although she's chosen cycling), and as a representative of any country. Yes, any country!! In this latest installment, Kathryn, after failing to make the U.S. Olympic Team is now searching for "athletic adoption" and seems to have secured hopeful interest by St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. ...And she's now off to attempt to receive dual citizenship there.

I'm not certain if anyone out there has been following this story, but I have a hunch that a few of you have. I think Kathryn's progress over the past (almost) two years is interesting and she's had quite a few fascinating revelations and memorable experiences along the way. I particularly like this quote from Kathryn in this latest (9th) article, " But I now understand that the purpose of human existence is to ask questions, no matter how outlandish, and seek answers, no matter how much the odds are against you. Ask, ask, ask. And when you can't find the answers to life, check your spam box. Hope hides in the strangest of places."

Although I admire her dedication and resilience, I'm not sure what I think about this whole project. And to be honest, I'm jumping into this a bit late and I haven't had a chance to read the entire story. But I'd love to hear some thoughts on this story and Kathryn's overall "progress" at this point. Do you think this is a good idea? What are the pro's and con's if she does end up competing for St. Kitts and Nevis in the 2008 Olympics? What will this prove if anything if she makes it to the Olympics?