Alumni Spotlight: Tania Longe
4/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
April 8, 2015
Tania Longe
Tania Longe was an All-Big Ten first team honoree in each of her four years at U-M (1995-98), amassing school records for the indoor long jump (20-0-1/2), triple jump (42-8), pentathlon (4,118 points), heptathlon (5,861 points) and outdoor triple jump (41-1- 1/2) during that stretch. For these reasons, it was no surprise when the program staff elected her to be inducted into the U-M Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame as part of the induction class of 2015 (Jan. 17). Longe was a nine-time Big Ten champion and two-time All-American as a multi-events athlete with the Maize and Blue, and the outdoor long jump record of 6.60 meters (21-8) she set in 1997 still holds as a program best. A multi-talented athlete out of high school, Longe committed to learning the triple jump when she arrived in Ann Arbor to cement herself as a multi-event specialist. She now works with Olympians on a regular basis as a massage therapist at the Norwegian Olympic Training Center in Oslo, Norway, and took time from her busy schedule to catch up with MGoBlue.com.
Q. Tell us about your job. What is your title, where do you work and what do you like most about doing what you do?
A. I work as a massage therapist, doing deep-tissue (work) and dry-needling (trigger points with needles) and also some personal training. I work at the Norwegian Olympic Center in Oslo and at a private clinic in downtown Oslo. I enjoy the interaction with my clients and helping them get rid of muscular tension or helping them prevent getting to the point where their physical ailments hold them back from living a physical/active life or being able to work. Also, I really enjoy the excitement of traveling with the national teams.
Q. What is it like to work with professional and Olympic athletes from your home country, Norway, knowing they will represent your country on the international stage?
A. It is exciting, first of all. I also learn a lot by working with other professional physical therapists, doctors and coaches -- all trying as a team to help the athlete perform at his/her highest level. It is always fun to be a part of the team, but they are the ones doing the job. However, whatever way it goes we feel the same sense of excitement and frustration as the athlete. We have to go through a special certified school and complete courses over a two year period to be able to work with athletes at such a high level.
Q. What is one (or more) special memory you have from working with Olympic athletes?
A. My most memorable memory is winning the gold medal with the Norwegian handball team in 2008 in Beijing, where I had the chance to have a running workout on the Wall of China. It was a surreal feeling to be so close to something so colossal and historic. (Going to) Sochi with the men's hockey team and travelling to South Korea this past summer for 14 days was also exciting! I feel very proud to be a part of something that big. It is a very humbling feeling. You want to give it your best just like the athletes. Wonderful places and people!
Q. When you are not at the training center, how do you like to stay active and spend your free time?
A. I love to go running in the woods when I am home, or go and train with my sister doing core exercises or interval workouts. During midsummer and winter, my favorite thing to do is hiking around in Norway, sleeping in my tent, making good foods. In winter I do Randonne, walking up slopes with my skis and enjoying a nice ski run back down, or cross-country skiing. I spending time with friends and family; also, going to movies, restaurants, and having a glass of wine.
From left: Coach Mike McGuire, Kristine Westerby, Lindsey Gallo, April (Phillips) Wilkowski, Tania Longe, Coach James Henry
Q. You were just back in Ann Arbor to be inducted in to the Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame. Tell us about what that honor meant to you, and what the experience was like coming back here to see old teammates, friends and of course Coach James Henry.
A. The honor really reminded me of the appreciation and joy I experienced when I was an athlete here. Coming back brought back memories that made me feel at home again, right away. Meeting some of my old teammates again put us right back 18 years ago as if we hadn't been a part. It was so great to see James (Henry) again. He is the same caring, loving, warm person I remember him as who gave the girls the freedom to show all their talents and challenge them to pursue even higher goals, in a safe environment.
Q. Which family members made the trip to Ann Arbor with you for the Hall of Fame ceremony? Did they ever get a chance to see you compete while you were at Michigan?
A. I was able to bring my big sister Erika and foster mom Mariann (both live in Norway) and my cousin Belinda from Toronto, Canada. It was so great to have family from Norway come with me so they could meet the special people there and feel the care and warmth I did. They really loved it and were so excited with me. It was Mariann's first time (in Ann Arbor) and Erika's second time, but her stay then was just passing through. They never got the chance to see me compete at Michigan or in the States; however Belinda and some of my family members in Toronto got to see me in Buffalo at the NCAA Championships, where I earned my All-America honors. That was fun.
Q. Can you explain the situation that led you to come to Michigan? Rumor has it your uncle, who is in Canada, reached out to Coach Henry and told him to give you a look.
A. I was so lucky to have my uncle in Canada who had been looking into the possibility for me to attend a university in the States with my results in the heptathlon. I was more than willing to make the transition, because I felt I needed a change of environment and new inspiration. While I was working on the SAT in Canada, we had a trip to Michigan, and I knew right then that this was a great place for me. I felt so excited! I have two uncles and two aunties on my father's side in Canada, and lots of cousins.
Q. Looking back, what was it like coming to a new country, learning a new language and making those kinds of adjustments?
A. I felt nothing but excitement about coming to the States! I was ready for the change and the challenge it would give me. The first few months I think I had a constant headache, with my head working on overtime to get all the subtleties and translating everything in my head. But my teammates and James (Henry) and others I met were all really nice and interested in the tall black Norwegian girl.
Q. What is your favorite memory as a Wolverine?
A. My absolute favorite thing was being part of the women's track team. I have never felt such a feeling of belonging and learning how to work as a team. The absolute joy when you know you had done your best, not only for yourself, but for the team. As far as individual accomplishments, I must say that I feel proud about having had an impact on other girls, and inspiring them to reach higher goals -- being able to push them a little further. I am so proud that I was honored with the Hall of Fame award and for having some of my best results as an athlete during my time at Michigan.
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