Great achievements are often times marked by great victories. Three outstanding Maple Grove area young girl athletes added significant accomplishments to their resume last year. They prove that age is simply a number and that anything is possible.
Dreaming of the Olympics
On Amanda Bluford’s right wrist, you will find two bracelets, both of the red, white and blue variety. One she received from her brother and his friends, the other from her coach. “I will not take them off until I reach my goal,” she says. That goal is to represent the United States at the Olympics.
Bluford began taekwondo around the age of six at Maple Grove’s World Taekwondo Academy and began competing at 10. Now a second-degree black belt, she likens the adrenaline rush to a parachute free fall or jumping off a building.
In September, Bluford traveled to Queretaro Mexico to represent the United States in the women’s lightweight division of the Junior Light Heavyweight Pan American Taekwondo tournament. She defeated a fighter who held home advantage, plowed through opposing cheers and conquered nervousness in representing her country. At the end of the weekend, Bluford stood in the middle of the podium and accepted her gold medal. “I went in thinking that I didn’t even want to win it for myself. I thought ‘I am representing the U.S.,’” she says.
Four years ago however, Bluford never dreamed she would be at this level. A serious back fracture sidelined her taekwondo hopes at 13. Although she physically regained strength, it took her much longer to reach the competitive level mentally. She persevered and joined the Junior Nationals team.
Bluford graduates from Armstrong this spring. She hopes to attend college in Miami, where her coach resides and will hopefully push her to the Olympic level. “I dream about it (the Olympics) every day. It is kind of obsessive,” she says.
A Leader, On and Off the Podium
2011 Osseo High School graduate Jenny Kaldor first jumped onto a pair of water skis at four years old. At the age of seven, she teamed with Darren Janzig to competitively compete and soon began raking in titles.
Now a junior at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Kaldor spends the majority of her summers in the water. Her determination continues through the winter months amongst studying for a marketing degree, downhill skiing and rock climbing. Minnesotan skiers have a strong disadvantage compared to their competitors. Kaldor emphasizes the importance of exercising and training during the off-season.
Her hard work paid off. Last August, she captured the national title at the 71st GOODE Water Ski Championships at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach. This was not only a milestone for Kaldor, it marked the first time in the tournament’s history that the top three skiers hailed from Minnesota, a feat Kaldor marks as unforgettable. Her long-time friends placed in the second and third place spots. “It was the most memorable and the best thing that has ever happened,” she says.
She didn’t stop once she reached college. Now a leader on the La Crosse water ski team, she motivates her fellow teammates and celebrates more wins. She broke two records last fall at two separate tournaments. The team constantly finds new and innovative ways to fundraise because, Kaldor mentions, the college does not provide much monetary support.
Water skiing has brought Kaldor life-long friendships, strength and a few note-worthy titles.
Celebrating Milestones
Over MEA weekend last October, Madison Rundell hopped in a limo with eight of her closest friends and hit a few Maple Grove hotspots. They celebrated Rundell’s 13th birthday and the weekend off from school. Perhaps they also celebrated one incredible recent achievement.
Rundell won two Minnesota state swimming titles and a national Swimming Central Zones title last summer. In July, she competed at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center and nabbed the title in the 11/12 girls 100 meter and 200 meter breaststroke races. She traveled down to Kansas in early August for the USA Swimming Central Zone long course swimming championships and took home the title for the 11/12 girls 200 breaststroke.
“I was thankful that I was able to win,” Rundell says. “I was thinking of my coach, he was helping me the whole season.”
Like many kids, Rundell began taking swimming lessons at an early age. She fell in love with the sport and joined a swim team at seven.
“It’s a lot harder training now,” she laughs.
Rundell swims year-round with Foxjet swim team in Eden Prairie. Six days each week, for three hours on Saturdays and two and half hours on weekdays, she heads to the pool. A now 7th grader at Heritage Christian Academy, Rundell lists World History as her favorite subject and golf as a close second favorite sport.
Rundell’s life revolves around swimming, but she acknowledges she wouldn’t want it any other way.
