It was a gold medal day for children at Carrie Tingley Hospital. A few young patients were allowed to wear a real Olympic Gold Medal Sept. 15 and hear the story of how it was won. Trent Dimas, an Albuquerque native who graduated from Eldorado High School, won a gold medal in Olympic gymnastics competition in Barcelona, Spain in 1992.
He spent an hour recently with patients and staff at Carrie Tingley Hospital at the UNM Health Sciences Center. Dimas made the short walk from the UNM School of Law, where he is currently enrolled as a student.
Twelve years ago, Dimas visited the specialized children’s hospital after returning home from winning his Olympic event on the high bar. He presented the hospital an autographed American flag he created during the games. USA team members and medallists including boxer Oscar de la Hoya and swimmer Pablo Morales signed the flag, which Dimas personally painted on canvas.
When the ’92 Olympic team was invited to the White House, President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush signed their names. Arnold Schwartzengger’s autograph is there too. The flag was displayed for the occasion in the hospital’s recreation room.
While meeting with patients, Dimas dug into his backpack for the heavy medal, which he keeps stored in a sock. He said that he doesn’t like to display it publicly except when children are the intended audience. The medal has a dent or two, that Dimas said happened when he dropped it while racing down a Barcelona street for a Today Show interview with Katie Couric, the morning after winning his event.
Dimas draped the medal around the neck of Ryan Dale Dickman, a fourteen-year-old hospitalized since June for Guillan-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder. Dickman appeared delighted to wear the medal while seated in his wheelchair and prompted laughter when he asked if he could keep it.
Later in the day, Dickman’s mother, Tonya said the event lifted her son’s spirits and he had been in a wonderful mood since meeting Dimas.
Dimas showed a videotape of his medal winning performance. He also autographed picture cards, posed for numerous photos and provided words of encouragement to each child he met.
Contact: Greg Johnston (505) 277-1816