Reese Hoffa can hardly believe his own story. From an orphanage in Kentucky to a family in Columbia County to the Olympics in Greece.
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Lakeside High and University of Georgia graduate Reese Hoffa will compete for gold in the shot put Wednesday.
Morris News Service
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And not just any part of Greece. Mr. Hoffa will compete on sacred ground. The American shot putter will be among the first athletes in more than 1,600 years to compete in the ancient stadium of Olympia.
"It's going to be amazing," said Mr. Hoffa, a Lakeside High and University of Georgia graduate. "I'm in awe of getting this opportunity."
The shot put competition has a chance to be the most awe-inspiring event of the 2004 Olympic Games. It is the only event being staged in the actual birthplace of the Olympics, the nearly 3,000-year-old ground where Koroibos of Elis sprinted one stadium-length toward the altar of Zeus to become the first Olympics victor in 776 B.C.
Ancient Olympia is about five hours by bus, 200 miles southwest of Athens.
"It's an incredible opportunity," Mr. Hoffa said. "I have a good try to get a medal. It's an opportunity of a lifetime. You dream of it, but to get a chance is unbelievable. And to do it at Olympia is overwhelming."
The ancient games were staged every four years in the stadium at Olympia, a small dirt pitch in the middle of two grassy hills. The games continued and grew for 1,168 years until the Roman Emperor Theodosius abolished the "pagan ritual" in 393 A.D.
It was a men-only event originally, with competitors competing in the nude to prevent any women from sneaking into the fields.
Mr. Hoffa is grateful that the International Olympic Committee elected not to have the male and female shot putters recreate the original uniforms.
"That would have been a distraction," he said.
The shot put wasn't one of the original Olympic events, but it was the only one today that could be contained inside the ancient venue. A limited number of spectators and members of the media will watch from the grassy banks next to some of Greece's most sacred ruins. Like the original games, the event will be started and finished in one day - Wednesday. The medalists will receive the traditional crowns of olive leaves.
Mr. Hoffa can't wait to qualify and compete for a medal in such a setting.
"It's going to be a surprise and a thrill for everybody," he said. "They don't want to destroy the site. The media will be right on top of us. I want it to be a circus atmosphere so it will just pump me up. As long as I throw well, I can win gold."
Olympia is a long way, in so many respects, from the place Mr. Hoffa started.
Mr. Hoffa, 26, was born Maurice Antoine Chisolm in Indianapolis. He and a brother were abused as children, often shut in a closet when 2-year-old Reese wet his bed.
He was placed in an orphanage in Louisville, Ky., by a mother who couldn't take care of him anymore, he said. He recently reconnected with his birth mother and keeps in regular contact.
At age 4 he was adopted by Steve and Cathy Hoffa, then of Bardstown, Ky. They were the white parents of four children (another son was born soon after) who decided that adopting a needy child was a good way to give back for their blessings.
"We had a lot of kids, a lot of room and a lot of love left for another one," said Steve Hoffa, who lives in Augusta.
Given the option to pick his own name, he chose Michael Reese Hoffa. The Michael was for the lead character in his favorite TV show, Knight Rider.
In a loving home with nurturing parents and siblings, Mr. Hoffa said, he blossomed. His adopted mother worked with him to restore his trust and confidence.
"Reese is a real determined individual," Steve Hoffa said. "We saw that when we adopted him at age 4. After all he'd been through, he was still so positive."
The family moved to Martinez in 1984, and Mr. Hoffa grew up in Columbia County. He grew a lot.
He stumbled into shot put just like any other young boy who develops strength and figures out the best way to apply it athletically.
And there was no questioning Mr. Hoffa's strength. He once changed the tire on his Ford Escort without a jack - lifting the front corner of the car with one hand and replacing the tire with his other.
It was during the baseball season in eighth grade when Mr. Hoffa first tried shot put at the urging of coach Dave Machovec. He didn't win a single event the entire season.
"He had great raw talent," Mr. Machovec said. "But what made him special is what I call the three C's - commitment, concentration and consistency."
It wasn't until he was a junior at Lakeside High that he began taking shot put seriously and met with success when he won the state championship. During the summer before his senior year, he began pulling a full rotation and took another leap up in stature.
"No one even knew me until I won the state," Mr. Hoffa said. "I just started getting better at it and I still am."
Mr. Hoffa improved steadily at the University of Georgia, where he was a four-time All-American, and climbed in the rankings dominated by American shot putters. He was ranked sixth in the world going into last month's Olympic trials, where he finished second to make one of the three spots on the U.S. team.
His teammates will be frequent workout partner Adam Nelson and two-time Olympics medalist John Godina.
"I'm more the dark horse," said Mr. Hoffa, who was the only American not predicted to win a medal in Sports Illustrated's Olympics preview. "I'm motivated to go out there and do something big. If I get that medal, respect will finally come."
Mr. Hoffa said he believes an American medals sweep is in the cards, though not a guarantee.
"Pretty much everyone in the world wants to beat the U.S.," Mr. Hoffa said. "We'll have to work every centimeter to make the sweep."
Nobody who really knows Mr. Hoffa underestimates his potential. His former coach believes Mr. Hoffa's "blue-collar story" will meet with a special ending in Olympia.
"He has a great chance at medaling and a good chance at winning gold," Mr. Machovec said.
"He wants a medal and when he wants something, you better watch out," Steve Hoffa said. "To me it doesn't make a difference if he wins or not. He's done a tremendous job just to get there."
Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.
