FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 1996

DAYS UNTIL THE OLYMPIC GAMES - 24
DAILY U.S. BADMINTON OLYMPIC PRESS RELEASE 
TOPIC - CAREER ASPIRATIONS

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) - Beginning today, the USBA will provide a
daily press release on interesting facts and happenings involving
members of the U.S. badminton team.  Today's topic is CAREER
ASPIRATIONS.

...The 1996 Games will mark the end of the tremendously successful
careers of two-time Olympians Erika Von Heiland (Anaheim, Calif.) and
Linda French (Elmhurst, Ill.). But with retirement comes new
challenges, as Von Heiland looks forward to a career in the Olympic
Family.

"My goals for the future are to give back to the sport which has given
so much to me.  I want to make a difference for badminton, either in
elite athlete identification, or with an actual position with the
United States Olympic Committee," said Von Heiland. 

She appears to be well on her way to achieving the latter, as she
recently participated in the U.S. Olympic Committee's Project GOLD
(Guaranteed Olympic Leadership Development) workshop (May 30-June 2).
The program's aim is to enhance the involvement of qualified women and
minorities in leadership roles within the U.S. Olympic Movement.

Von Heiland is currently employed by Home Depot through the United
States Olympic Committee's Olympic Job Opportunities program (OJOP).
OJOP is a program which places Olympic-caliber athletes in jobs with
flexible work-schedules so they can gain financial security while they
train and compete.

"My OJOP job with Home Depot gives me time off when I need to compete,
which is very nice," said two year program participant Von Heiland.  

"Without OJOP, I would have never been able to qualify for the Games,
as the international qualifying process is very expensive."

...French, who obtained her JD from the University of San Diego law
school in 1993, looks forward to a career in sports law or
immigration.  She would also like to remain involved in badminton,
perhaps as a sparring partner preparing potential Olympians for the
2000 Games, or as a coach.  French is also an OJOP athlete, working as
a marketing representative for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation
(CSSC) - an organization which manages and promotes sporting events in
Colorado Springs.

...Immigrating from his native Shanghai, China, in 1987, Kevin Han's
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) first job in the U.S. consisted of
delivering Chinese food by bicycle to dark neighborhoods in downtown
Manhattan.  From those humble beginnings, his dreams are now to
complete his college degree in business, and eventually own his own
import/export business between the U.S. and China.  That way he can
visit his mother and grandparents who still reside in Shanghai.

....Prior to becoming U.S. National and Head Olympic badminton coach
in July 1994, Goran Sterner (Gothenburg, SWE) wore several hats in the
"real world."  Besides working as assistant Swedish National Coach and
teaching high school physical education, Sterner also worked for six
years as a paramedic in an emergency room in Stockholm.  Following the
1996 Olympic Games, he will return to his native Sweden to coach
badminton at the club level and run his own import/export business.

(FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAUL PAWLACZYK, USBA
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AT 719-578-4808, E-MAIL: USBA1996@aol.com)