When Josh O'Neil reveals that he thinks about an Olympic gold medal every day, don't dismiss such a goal as some unrealistic pipe dream.

And maybe another Racine athlete, Kaitie Antonneau, will have such thoughts herself one day.

O'Neil, a 2004 Park High School graduate, made an enormous statement earlier this month when he won the 2009 U.S. Senior National Judo Championships in San Diego in the 66kg (145 pounds) division. And he didn't exactly back into this championship considering he defeated the No. 1 seed, Jeff Fong of San Jose, Calif., in the

finals.

Just what plateau O'Neil has reached in his sport can perhaps best be underscored by the fact he wasn't the least bit intimidated by Fong.

"I thought I had a pretty good shot," O'Neil said. "He was very tough, but I felt like I was having a great day and anything was possible, really.

"I just went back to the basics where I tried to control my grips and try to be in good positioning."

By defeating Fong, O'Neil qualified for the trials for the U.S. Judo World Team. Those trials were held immediately after the national championships. To earn a berth on the World Team, O'Neil had to win a two-out-of-three playoff match against Fong to earn a berth on the World Team.

He won the first two matches with full point throws (instant victories) to qualify. In fact, all of O'Neil's matches against Fong that day in the National Championships and World Team trials playoff ended on full point throws.

O'Neil recently moved back to Racine after training in Colorado Springs, Colo., so he can train with his former coach, Irwin Cohen at Cohen's Judo in Illinois. And then comes what promises to be a busy summer before he competes in the National Championships at Rotterdam, Netherlands Aug. 26-29.

"I will be traveling a lot this summer to aid my training with world-class partners," O'Neil said. "I am hoping to spend time in Brazil training alongside many World and Olympic medallists, along with traveling to Boston, where the World Team coach, Jimmy Pedro, has a great training facility.

"Also, I am hoping to go out to Europe a few weeks early to train in Germany directly before the World Championships."

There's one other place O'Neil hopes to travel to within the next three years - London for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

"I think about it every day," he said. "It's within the realm of possibility, but I just have to keep my head on straight and train even harder."

But first things first. O'Neil's primary goal for the immediate future is winning the World Championships. What would that mean to him, especially after devoting himself to judo since he was 5 years old?

"It's hard to put into words," O'Neil said when asked about his Olympic aspirations. "It would be like an ultimate dream come true, ever since I was a kid."

The same can be said for Antonneau, who also is going places - literally and figuratively.

The 17-year-old junior from Horlick High School, who competes for the Rebels' cross country team, has been chosen to compete for the USA Junior National Women's Cycling team. She will be competing in several cycling races in Belgium and Holland May 7-25.

Her accomplishments so far have been impressive. Starting in the sport at the age of 11 at the Washington Park Velodrome in Kenosha, Antonneau placed second in the time trial, road race and track omnium in the USA Junior Nationals last year and was third in the USA National Cyclocross Championships in December.

"We will be racing on the road and doing some track races in the Netherlands," Antonneau said. "I am so excited. I am very much looking forward to racing over there.

"Once I get back from this trip, I leave the next day to go to Tennessee for the Junior World Qualifier to try to make it to Worlds, which is in Russia in August. Making it to Worlds is a very big goal of mine."

For Your Information

Anyone interested in sponsoring Josh O'Neil is asked to contact the US Judo Training Center at (719) 866-4730 to be provided with a donation form. Donors must specify that the donation is for O'Neil.

Any dollar amount can be donated to help fund O'Neil to the World Championships. The Judo Olympic Center will also provide a tax deductible receipt with each donation.

O'Neil's elite athlete status profile can be viewed on the us judo website: http://www.judo.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/2828