Diver's family pulls out all stops, lots of prayer to get to Athens

Published: 2004-08-24

BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) -- It took years of hard work and discipline mixed with a healthy dose of God-given talent for Caesar Garcia Jr. to earn a spot on the 2004 Olympic diving team. As difficult as that was, it took nothing short of a miracle to secure airfare and accommodations so all six of his siblings, his parents and three other family members could travel to Athens, Greece, to watch him in the Aug. 27-28 competition. The entire family from Baton Rouge traveled to the Olympic trials in St. Louis in June. Garcia's two brothers wore togas for the competition and yelled "Hail Caesar" before each dive. His coach's wife quietly said the rosary. All of them prayed that Garcia would perform to the best of his ability. Throughout the trials, his youngest siblings kept asking their father if their big brother was going to make the team. His reply: "With the Lord, all things are possible." When Garcia won the competition an astonishing 95 points ahead of the No. 2 diver, the little ones asked if the whole family could go to Athens to watch their brother in the Olympics. Their father, who had already calculated that taking the whole family would cost $58,000, told the girls he didn't think so. But the girls firmly replied, "But Daddy, all things are possible through the Lord."

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