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by Keith Peters
Palo Alto Weekly
June 5, 2002—Anne Cribbs remembers her Olympic experience as if it were yesterday. It was 1960. She was Anne Warner then, a tow-headed 15-year-old who qualified for the Rome Olympics by winning the 100- and 200-meter breaststrokes at the Olympic swim trials.
So here she was, walking into the Olympic Stadium behind the American flag and listening to the Olympic theme. How could one not be affected by such a memory?
Yet, it is no longer her most favorite Olympic moment.
"My favorite Olympic memory, which has just supplanted my participation and my walking into the Opening Ceremonies --- behind our flag --- and then walking out . . . you know what it is?" Cribbs asked. "It was sitting in Salt Lake City and watching the (men's) 5,000 speed skating. It was our guy (Derek Parra) who won and smashed the world record. The crowd erupted because you knew he was on a pace to break the record. He went around (the rink) with the American flag and everybody was so excited.
"Thirty minutes later, the young man from Holland (Jochem Uytdehaage) did the same thing. You could tell with three laps to go that he was on pace to break the record. And I thought, 'I wonder if everybody's going to stand and cheer?' And, sure enough, everybody stood and cheered and waved their flags. He had smashed the world record (held by an American), but it didn't matter. And that, to me, was just the culmination of what the Olympic experience should be. It was the celebration of individual achievement. And, it was recognition of excellence."
As the executive director of the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC), Olympic moments and memories wash over the 57-year-old Cribbs these days like a patriotic flood as she continues her quest to bring the 2012 Summer Olympics to the Bay Area.
"The Olympics, after talking with people, is the way we want the world to be," explained Cribbs. "And that's why we all love them so much. The sharing of the common language or sport and, again, that celebration of excellence."
A day doesn't go by that Cribbs, a Palo Alto resident, doesn't think or talk about the Olympics.
"Some people have asked what I do besides this," Cribbs said. "And it's like . . ."
With that she laughs and offers a look that would answer the question without words. No, Cribbs doesn't need another job right now. In November of this year, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) will decide whether the Bay Area's bid will win out over similar bids by Houston, Washington and New York. One of those four cities then will compete against a host of international sites for the right to host the 2012 Games. That decision will be made in the fall of 2005.
So, yes, Anne Warner Cribbs is a busy person. There is still money and awareness to raise, hands to shake and people to schmooze. There is so much at stake. The Games could generate a $409-million surplus for the Bay Area and leave a legacy of facilities to be enjoyed and memories to be savored for years to come.
That's why Cribbs is constantly on the go as she and her staff of six in make plans in their Palo Alto office for a once-in-a-lifetime experience and all the things leading up to it. There are events to host like the Modern Pentathlon World Championships at Stanford in July and impressions on international committees to make. For Cribbs, her days stretch to 14 hours at times, but it's a labor of love.
"I don't don't even realize the time is going by because it's so much fun," Cribbs said. "It's such a great opportunity."
It's an opportunity Cribbs never could have imagined when she set national swimming records in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes her sophomore and junior years at Menlo-Atherton High. Or when she swam in the prelims of the 400-meter medley relay at the Rome Olympics and earned a gold medal when she watched four of her teammates swim the evening finals. Or when she received her bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford University or worked as Palo Alto's superintendent of recreation from 1986-91. Or even when she joined with Gary Cavalli in 1991 to form the Palo Alto-based public relations firm of Cavalli & Cribbs.
Life was just too busy for this wife and mother of nine, who still was out of the Olympic loop in 1998 when San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown led an ill-fated movement to bring the 2008 Summer Games to the Bay Area.
"The original bid was for the 2008 Games," Cribbs explained of the current bid's evolution. "The USOC looked at the field and they said we should wait until 2012 to bid, and that's what they did."
The USOC told the local organizers their bid deposit of $100,000 would be refunded or could be left on the table for a 2012 bid. The money was well spent.
BASOC's involvement in the Olympic movement began with a failed attempt to land the 1996 Games that went to Atlanta. BASOC remained intact and bid on the World Figure Skating Championships and World Cup soccer.
"When Willie (Brown) responded to the USOC to become the bid city in 2012, BASOC kind of revved up," Cribbs said. "Initially, we were pretty far behind. Other cities were well-organized."
Cribbs was approached in '98 to join the BASOC Board of Directors. But, she turned down the offer for numerous reasons.
"First of all," Cribbs said, "I'm one of the co-founders of the ABL (American Basketball League) and we're fighting for our lives. Secondly, I'm still running Cavalli & Cribbs. Thirdly, I have all these kids. Fourthly, my husband's been really sick. And, fifthly, I'm the chair for the San Jose Sports Authority."
With that said, Cribbs' involvement with the Olympic movement appeared dead. Until, however, she found out there were only two women on the BASOC board.
"I thought that wasn't a good thing, to try to do an Olympic Games and not have women represented," recalled Cribbs, who relented and not only joined the board, but became a member of the executive committee.
Cribbs worked for the next eight months, during which the ABL went out of business. At that point, Cribbs was approached by members of the executive committee and asked to take charge. Again, she said no. "I wanted to decide what Cavalli & Cribbs was going to do, see what the fallout was from the ABL," Cribbs explained. "So, I sat on the search committee to elect a new executive director of BASOC. In every interview I found myself thinking, 'I could do that job. I know more about the Olympics than these people do.' Even though they were great people and had great backgrounds."
So, Cribbs went to the BASOC board in March of 1999 (the ABL folded in January of that year) and made the group an offer: "I'd like to be the leader of this group."
In May of that year, Cribbs received the "Woman of Vision" Award and during the presentation announced she would lead the effort to bring the 2012 Summer Olympics to the Bay Area.
"Nobody really knew we were bidding," Cribbs recalled. "It was a big secret." And a big joke to some.
"People across the country didn't think we were going to do anything," Cribbs said. "Everybody was surprised when we submitted our bid, because our bid was really good."
The bid took nearly a year to put together at a cost of $5 million - $6 million for the three-volume, 700-page proposal --- the first major step toward hosting the Olympics. Since then, a bid addendum has been completed to shift venue sites and fine-tune the Bay Area's game plan to better serve the USOC. In addition to having the opening and closing ceremonies at Stanford Stadium, for example, the swimming has been shifted to the campus.
All this has been a huge undertaking for Cribbs. Fortunately, she has a family situation that has allowed her to welcome the task with open arms. Her husband, Ian, is "the world's most understanding husband" and her youngest daughter, Alex, just graduated from college. The path is clear for Cribbs to do what she does best: make things happen.
"I love the Olympics, I love the Bay Area and I love the ideals of the Olympics," she said. "I love the fact that it's really clear about having a dream and setting a goal, with persistence and hard work and determination at the end of the road. Not only do you enjoy the process and the journey, but there's something that's tangible that comes out of it.
"I love the fact about being able to lead a bid that could tell kids that anybody can be an Olympian," Cribbs continued. "You look at Olympians; we're just ordinary people who have done extraordinary things in one arena of our lives. You look at (gymnast) Kerri Strug, (track star) Michael Johnson and a big 'ol weightlifter, the wide range of people who are Olympians but have one thing in common: the love what they do. They have a passion for what they do. And, they don't give up. The ability to translate that to kids was irresistible."
Cribbs certainly is the person to get that point across. She can speak from experience as an Olympian, a mother, a PR person, co-founder of a professional franchise and a most likable, down-to-earth person who definitely have a passion for what she does. How else could one gather so much support in so little time? Cribbs called and everyone fell in line.
And then Cribbs talked to the Northern California Olympians and asked them for their favorite Olympic experience and what made the Games special to them.
"I said, 'Here's your opportunity to create the Olympics the way you want it to be,'" Cribbs said. "We talked to the Olympians at Cal and Stanford . . .we got great stuff from them . . . People have stars in their eyes. It's this five-ring fever."
And the fever has spread, putting BASOC in position to deliver on the world's grandest stage.
"The political support has been gathered and the state has done what they needed to do," Cribbs explained. "I don't think the baby's been delivered yet. We've got a visit by the USOC, which is critical. We have to hit a home run. But, we can't help but do that since this area is so wonderful to show off."
There's also an Executive Summary to be completed, which will show the USOC why the Bay Area is the best place in the United States to host the Olympics.
"And then we have to do a presentation that will capture the hearts and minds of the voting membership," she explained. "I think all four cities now, technically, could put on an Olympic Games. The question is, who can win the bid for America? Who can help the USOC return the Olympic Games to this area or the United States in 2012?"
Clearly, Cribbs believes the best choice is the Bay Area.
"When you see the Bay Area through the eyes of the USOC and see the facilities and see Stanford and Berkeley and see what we have to offer the world," Cribbs said, "and see our neighborhoods and the people . . . and know the world would be welcome here. We can do it."
And then, should the Bay Area win out over the rest of the world and be chosen to host the 2012 Summer Games, perhaps Anne Cribbs will have a new, favorite Olympic memory.
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