A FAMILY WITH HIGH STANDARDS : BY REACHING OLYMPICS, ROETHLISBERGER FOLLOWS TRADITION.

Byline: Nancy Armour Associated Press 

John Roethlisberger was never one of those children who fell asleep at night, dreaming that someday he might make the Olympics. He just figured he would.

After all, his sister and father had done it.

``It wasn't something that was this starry dream that so very few people achieve,'' the 25-year-old gymnast said. ``I kind of thought, `My dad and my sister did it, how hard can it be?' ''

Fred Roethlisberger, now his son's coach, was a member of the 1968 squad, finishing 34th in the all-around. Marie Roethlisberger was an alternate on the 1984 team that won the gold medal in Los Angeles.

Roethlisberger lived up to the family tradition when he made the 1992 squad. But like the rest of the men's team, which finished sixth, he didn't fare too well. He was 34th in the all-around and didn't qualify for any individual events.

Things are different this year, and the Minneapolis resident is having one of the best years of his career. He won his fourth U.S. national all-around title last August and is a three-time NCAA champion - a first in U.S. gymnastics.

After a poor showing in the preliminaries, Roethlisberger rallied and easily defended his American Cup title last month. He's a virtual lock for the Olympic squad, and is considered America's best hope for a medal in Atlanta.

``Going into Barcelona, the team had goals and I wanted to do well personally. But in my heart, I knew personally I wasn't at the level to compete for a medal yet,'' he said. ``I really enjoyed the experience, but I think just enjoying the experience won't be enough this time. I want to go in and be a contender.''

That won't be easy, and he knows it. While this is the first Olympics without the Soviet Union or its successor, the Unified Team, the competition will be even greater than before, Roethlisberger said.

The Soviets and Unified Team dominated men's gymnastics, sweeping every all-around medal in the 1988 and 1992 Games, and winning four gold team medals since 1952. But for as strong as those teams were, the Soviets left just as many solid athletes home.

Now, with gymnasts competing for their own countries, there are several dominant teams instead of just one, Roethlisberger said. Of the 12 squads that qualified for Olympic team competition, each one could finish in the top three, he said.

``The competition is so deep it's ridiculous. It's probably deeper than it's been in history,'' he said. ``Where there used to be one Soviet team that was really good, now there are three. Where there used to be three Soviet individuals who could make a final, there are nine who could make it. It's created a whole new level of competition.''

Roethlisberger got a taste of just how tough things will be at last year's World Championships. Though he had one of the best meets of his life in the preliminaries, he made only one event final.

So what did he do? The same thing he's done since he was a teen-ager - went back to the gym and trained even harder than before, his father said.

``John just kept plugging away and plugging away,'' Fred Roethlisberger said. ``He probably needs to do that because he's not as naturally talented as some of the other guys. But he makes up for it.''

Roethlisberger has trained between 22 and 30 hours a week for the past several years. He didn't take a vacation after Barcelona, and considers a night at the movies a major social outing.

He graduated last year from the University of Minnesota with a degree in international business, but takes a few graduate classes as a diversion. While it may sound like he's given up a lot, he sees it differently.

``I love doing gymnastics, I love training hard, I love competing, I love doing well at competitions,'' he said. ``I don't feel like I'm missing out, I know those things will be there for me.''

He didn't always feel that way. Like most coaches' kids, Roethlisberger has made gymnastics a part of his life for as long as he can remember. He and his sister tagged along with their father to practice, and the gym was their playground.

But when Roethlisberger was 13, he got tired of gymnastics.

Roethlisberger got serious about gymnastics shortly after that. Now, his father says, he's probably in the top 10 in the world in the all-around. He'll also be in the running for a medal in three individual events: the floor, rings and horizontal bar.

While Roethlisberger knows he's had a great career, he also thinks it will be missing something without an Olympic medal.

``(The Olympics is) really the pinnacle,'' he said. ``You're representing your country and you feel pride realizing something that took hours and hours of training.

CLOSER LOOK Tickets: Olympic organizers say that more tickets to Atlanta Olympic events, previously listed as sold out, will be available after all. Tickets will go on sale Saturday to 211 sessions of 17 sports that have been sold out. Defending gold:Gymnast John Roethlisberger always figured he'd make the Olympics. After all, his father and sister had done it. Fred Roethlisberger, now his son's coach, was a member of the 1968 gymnastics squad, finishing 34th in the all-around. Marie Roethlisberger was an alternate on the 1984 team that won the gold medal in Los Angeles.

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PHOTO John Roethlisberger, a medal contender for the A tlanta Olympics, has seen his father and sister go to the Games.

Associated Press

Box: Closer Look (see text)