NPR interviews LDS Olympian Tumua Anae

Our take: With the men's and women's water polo competitions scheduled to begin in London this weekend, National Public Radio "Tell Me More" host Michel Martin interviewed LDS Olympian Tumua Anae, who is a goal keeper for the U.S. Olympic women's water polo team. NPR published the transcript of the interview online. The Deseret News featured Anae in an article earlier this year.

National Public Radio "Tell Me More" host Michel Martin spent some time Thursday getting to know LDS Olympian Tumua Anae, one of two goal keepers for the U.S. Olympic women's water polo team, a little better.

"With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London just over the horizon, it occurred to us that for every Lebron James and Michael Phelps, there are less heralded athletes who will be wearing the red, white and blue who are equally dedicated and proud to represent their country. We wanted to meet some of them, so today, we are joined by Tumua Anae. She's a goalkeeper for the U.S. women's water polo team, and she joins us from Los Alamitos, Calif., where she's been training," National Public Radio host Michel Martin said at the start of her interview with Anae.

Martin went on to ask about how the team was physically and mentally preparing for their first contest in the Games on Monday, July 30, how Anae got into water polo, why she liked it, and what it took to succeed in the sport. She also asked how Anae's religion "intersect(ed) with (her) work as an athlete" and whether she ever felt out of place because she was Mormon. Anae said she had never felt out of place as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that the church has taught her a lot about commitment and positive relationships.

"I think a lot of the things that I learned in church, a lot of the things about my relationships with my family, play into how I treat my teammates, how I respect my coaches. And I think a lot of the things that I learned when I was young and even now about respect or being able to work with one another, plays into what I learned at church, also," Anae said.

Click here to read or listen to the interview.

Email: jhenrie@desnews.com