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Ms. Fitness USA
by Lyle Hurd, Editor
JoAnn McKee Photography
Sarah Harding—Ms. Fitness USA
Sarah Harding, Ms. Fitness USA, 2004 and 2006 and national spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, has a long history of athletic competition. Growing up in Oahu, Hawaii she first became involved in gymnastics at the age of four and was participating in school competitions by age seven.
Along with practicing gymnastics,
Sarah danced jazz, tap, and ballet, choreographed
acrobatic dance routines,
and competed springboard diving. By
1994, Sarah was one of Hawaii’s most
decorated gymnasts, earning a spot on
the Junior Olympic National Gymnastics
team. Later that summer, Sarah trained
alongside China’s top professional Beijing
gymnasts while conducting language
studies at Capital Normal University
through Punahou’s Wo International
Program.
After her long-time coach, Paul Kahovec,
moved to the mainland later that
fall, Sarah switched Hawaii gymnastics
clubs and trained under the direction of
Joe Rapp. With Coach Rapp’s technical
expertise and strict discipline, Sarah won
Regional Championships the very next
year and led her team to a successful finish
at level 10 Junior Olympic Nationals.
Sarah began training in the sport of
diving her junior year at Punahou, receiving
instruction from Sandi Serai and
Olympic Diver, Keala Watson. Because
her gymnastics skills transferred easily to
diving, Sarah won the 1996 Hawaii State
Championships and earned All-American
honors. By her senior year of high school,
Sarah was Hawaii State Champion in two
sports and on her way to Stanford University
with a full-ride athletic scholarship.
While at Stanford, Sarah helped the
Women’s Gymnastics, led by Head Coach
Mark Cook, capture its first-ever Pac-
10 Championship in 1998 and Regional
Championship in 1999. During her junior
year, she moved from team-member
to team-leader by scoring a perfect 10 on
her favorite event: floor exercise, placing
in the top 10 at Nationals on Floor, and
earning NCAA First Team All-American
honors. In 2000, Sarah joined fellow
senior Co-Captains, Larissa Fontaine and
Kim Young to lead Stanford Women’s
Gymnastics to another successful season.
As well as shining in the sports
arena, Sarah excelled in the classroom.
As a Stanford junior, Sarah earned an
undergraduate grant (URO Grant) under
the direction of Anthropology professor,
Dr. Hill Gates, to pursue a self-designed
research project in Beijing, China. For
two months, Sarah trained alongside
amateur and professional level Chinese
female gymnasts, interviewed athletes,
coaches, and parents, and documented
the sacrifices and gains such girls endure
after becoming professional athletes by
the age of nine.
Sarah’s overseas research culminated
in an award winning honors thesis. She
earned the Francisco Lopez feminist
studies honors thesis award as well as
the Robert M. Golden Medal, which is
awarded to the top 10 percent of theses
in Stanford University’s graduating class
in the creative arts and humanities. Sarah
graduated from Stanford in 2000 with a
Bachelor of Arts and East Asian Studies,
focusing on Chinese history and modern
culture. As one of four Stanford athletes to
receive the Pac-10 Conference Post Graduate
Scholarship, Sarah remained for one
more year and earned her Master of Arts
degree in communication in 2001.
Sarah also participated in Stanford
University’s fund-raising efforts. As a recent
graduate, she was invited to speak
about her overseas research experience
at the launch of Stanford’s biggest fundraising
campaign: a five year one billion
dollar Campaign for Undergraduate
Education (CUE). After completing her
Masters degree, Sarah worked part-time
to help select student speakers and coach
them on their delivery for the “Think
Again” tour in the CUE’s second year.
She looks forward to continuing to work
with Stanford alumni to improve the resources
available to undergraduates.
Following graduation Sarah has pursued
a career in entertainment as a
professional choreographer, dancer and
acrobat at several theme parks. In 2003,
she signed with a highly successful dance
group in Las Vegas, where she performs
high-falls, acrobatic acting, and stunt
work in two shows nightly to nearly 2,000
people per show.
While pursuing her career, Sarah has
remained competitive in other areas. In
2004 and 2006 she was selected Ms. Fitness
USA where the criteria for selection
is based in part on strength, flexibility
and endurance.
th: Sarah, welcome to totalhealth.
SH: Thank you.
th: In the introduction to this conversation,
we provided our readers with a
condensed bio of your activities and
achievements over the past 25 years.
What do you consider the primary
factors in your athletic, academic and
professional success?
SH: I am sure there is a number of important
factors, however becoming involved
in a structured activity which I really
enjoyed and grew to love before I was
even five years old has certainly shaped
many facets of my life.
I am thoroughly convinced when
young people become involved in something
they can love and mature with as
early as possible they begin to learn about
responsibility, structure, the things you
can do for your body and mind. Whether
it is sports, the arts, or an academic field,
when you commit to and grow with that
passion, you learn how to set priorities
and make choices. You realize that with
so many options you can really make
the most out of life, depending on the
choices you make. And you realize you
are responsible for the consequences of
those choices because you are the one
who made them.
I realized as a youngster everyone
wished you luck and while luck and timing
play a strong role it is really up to
the young person to recognize they can
personally make a difference in their own
growth, well-being, and health. These values
and training carry through into adult
life. You are always aware of how energizing
and empowering it is to make a decision
that makes a positive difference in
your own life or that of someone else.
th: What about the importance of involving
children who are not going to join
a team or turn professional in organized
activities?
SH: Very important. There are a myriad
of activities, which help develop body
movement, social skills volunteering,
the performing or visual arts, science,
etc. Helping develop the body, intellect,
health principles, social responsibility,
the understanding of personal economics
are all key to providing an individual
with the tools to become a successful
and contributing adult. It is really never
too early to start, as well as respecting
the needs, talents, interests, and limitation
of the child.
Also for me I felt my involvement with
gymnastics was important in teaching
me time management. When you are involved
in a high-level competition sport
at a young age, especially when you have
school responsibilities, you have to make
sure you can finish your homework before
you get to gymnastics practice. Or at
least demonstrate that you are prioritizing
your academics as well as your athletics
in order to fit in the athletics which
feels so good and energized—you want
to make sure you make decisions on how
you can fit it all in. One thing about being
a member of a team is you learn to work
with others toward a mutual goal, how to
communicate, how to be responsible and
accountable as well as trust others to do
their part. These are extremely valuable
skills that can be learned from being enrolled
in team endeavors at a young age.
th: Sarah, a few months ago I noticed
an advertorial in Newsweek magazine,
which featured a graphic of you holding
the 2006 Ms. Fitness USA award and
the message, “Before Sarah Harding
became Ms. Fitness USA, she became
a chiropractic patient.” Please elaborate
on your experience with chiropractic
care.
SH: Chiropractic care literally changed
my life. If you’re looking to make wellness
a part of your life, chiropractic is a
good place to start.
I’ve always believed in chiropractic
care. My parents introduced my three
older brothers and myself to chiropractic
care when we were very young and it’s
been an instrumental part of my life. I
believe that it allowed me to do gymnastics
when I was very little and allowed
me to stay in sports and lead a very active
lifestyle. I think it’s natural to have
aches and pains when you bend your
body in directions it wasn’t necessarily
meant to go so it makes sense to go to
a chiropractor to get my body back in
alignment. Ever since I can remember, I
went to a chiropractor.
However, eight years ago I injured my
lower back and nearly ended my gymnastics
career. Chiropractic care was what
made the difference—by helping me
avoid major surgery and return to top
form. Successes like that happen every
day in chiropractic offices. So whether
your idea of sports is winning a major
competition or taking the kids for a bike
ride on a Saturday afternoon, chiropractic
is for you. All natural and effective, it
begins with your spine but often benefits
your entire body.
So, when I heard about the Foundation
for Chiropractic Progress, I knew
that I wanted to be a part of it and support
chiropractic care so that others can
learn about its benefits.
th: Thank you Sarah. In that both of us
have experienced significant life changing
benefits associated with accessing a
chiropractor, would you please suggest
how our readers might learn more about
chiropractic care or find a source of chiropractors
in their area?
SH: To find a doctor of chiropractic near
you, visit www.findachiropractor.com.
To learn more about the Foundation
for Chiropractic Progress, visit www.foundation4cp.com.
Thank you. It has been a pleasure.
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