By Eric Carpenter
The Orange County Register
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Richard Sprout came to Orange County from his native South Africa at age 19 with $500 and the dream of becoming a lifeguard — just like the guys he’d seen on “Baywatch.”
Just over a decade later, at 30 and now an Anaheim firefighter, Sprout has a bigger dream: to win an Olympic medal for the United States.
Recently, Sprout bested more than 100 top paddlers from across the country while competing in the national trials for kayaking and captured a spot on the USA team.
Next stop: The world championships and a chance to win a spot for the USA team in the 2012 Olympics in London.
“It’s been a huge mix of emotions since I qualified — really overwhelming,” Sprout said during a stop at his Orange Avenue fire station. “I’m proud because it has been a true team effort, from the support of my wife and family, my coaches, my co-workers.
“They are the ones that, when I wanted to skip a day of training because it was freezing cold on Thanksgiving and I wanted to eat dinner instead, they told me to get my (rear end) out there. ... There’s no way I could have qualified without everybody behind me.”
Sprout finished fifth in the trials, held in San Diego, shaving 12 seconds off his time from the previous year — even with a headwind — in the 1,000-meter K1 race. He was the last kayaker to qualify.
Nobody was more shocked than Sprout.
He started kayaking only 18 months ago after some friends at the Newport Aquatic Center saw his skills paddling a surf ski, which is heavier and made for long-distance paddling.
Last spring, after only a few months paddling a borrowed K1 kayak, his coaches suggested he attend the national trials.
“I thought, ‘That’s impossible,’” he said. “But I decided to give it a try just to see for myself how I compared.”
He did better than expected. So he came back to Orange County and began training harder.
The hardest part: Those he’s competing against are at least five years younger and many of them train full time.
Sprout has to fit in his training around his work schedule, which includes 10 around-the-clock shifts each month.
“It’s truly remarkable what he’s been able to do,” said Anaheim Fire Capt. Scott Fox. “He might spend a night fighting a fire and the next morning still has to get down there and train. We’re all amazed and proud of what he’s been able to do.”
Now that Sprout — a U.S. citizen whose mother is from Chicago — has made the team, he’s taking vacation time to train full time in Chula Vista. Later this year, he’ll travel to international competitions in Italy and the Czech Republic before the World Championships in Hungary this August.
The hardest part, he said, will be having to be away from his wife, Melissa, and his 19-month-old son, Rhys.
He hopes to qualify in the K1 — solo kayaking — or the K4 team kayaking. He’s thrilled by the idea of potentially competing in the Olympics next year. But he’s trying not to think that far ahead.
“I’ve got to put that out of my head and set one goal at a time,” he said.
Right now, that’s improving his own time and besting his teammates. He finished just 0.3 seconds behind the fourth-place qualifier.
“You want to quit after that first 500 meters, your body hurts so much,” Sprout said. “But you just keep pushing.”
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