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Golden
Girl
Still
Glowing
at
Olympic
Homecoming
By
Raymond
Rolak/Sports
Editor-Tell
Us
Detroit
CANTON
TOWNSHIP--
When
swimmer
Allison
Schmitt
stopped
home
after
her 2012
London
Olympic
experience
she
exclaimed,
“I
haven’t
been
home
since
December.”
Schmitt
went on
to say
in front
of an
energized
and
overflowing
audience
in
Heritage
Park,
“To be
able to
relax
and
share
this
with my
family
and
supporters
is
great.
Being
here is
amazing.
I’m just
so glad
to be
home.”
As the
crowd
listened
attentively,
she also
singled
out some
of her
teachers
from
both
elementary
and high
school.
She
tried to
acknowledge
as many
of her
classmates
from the
2008
Canton
High
School
year as
she
could
see.
There
were so
many
people.
All in
all,
Allison
was
besieged.
The five
time
medal
winner
stopped
home for
three
days
before
heading
to
Athens,
Georgia
for
school
obligations
later in
the
week.
She was
peppered
with
questions
regarding
London,
Michael
Phelps,
the
Olympic
pool and
her
Olympic
routine
in
London.
Swimming
was
front
and
center
during
broadcast
coverage
at these
2012
London
Olympic
Games.
The
22-year-old
swimmer
had
become a
familiar
face
nationally
with all
her NBC
prime
television
time.
At this
event,
her
patience
and
grace
were a
compliment
to Coach
Jack
Bauerle’s
varsity
swimming
program
at
Georgia.
Schmitt
is
working
toward a
degree
in
psychology.
Later
she
signed
autographs,
posed
for
photos
and
always
displayed
her
ever-present
smile.
“I’m
definitely
thinking
about
Rio,”
Schmitt
said. “I
am
planning
to do
four
more
years, I
had a
great
Olympics
this
past
time, it
was a
lot of
fun and
I want
to
repeat
it. So I
am
definitely
looking
forward
to Rio
in
2016.”
Schmitt
finished
her
address
to the
crowd
with, “I
have one
more day
with my
family.
I’m
expecting
to go
back
(Athens)
and be
the same
exact
person.
I don’t
know if
I will
be, I
don’t
know if
people
will
look at
me
different.
But I'm
the same
person -
if I
came
back
with no
medals
or if I
came
back
with
five
medals –
I’m
still
the same
person
and I
hope
people
treat me
the
same.”
Earlier,
she
appeared
at the
Summit-on-the-Park
recreation
building
with her
family
for a
photo
opportunity.
“It’s
something
I want
to share
with
everyone,”
she said
sitting
between
her
parents
Gail and
Ralph
Schmitt.
“Every
person
that’s
helped
me get
to where
I am
today,
just
being
able to
share my
success
with
other
people
means a
lot to
me.”
Later
the
Canton
Township
community
presented
her with
a
personalized
embroidered
Olympic
flag and
a
proclamation
from the
township
supervisor.
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