Right under our collective noses in the heart of New York City, hard by the south end of Central Park, is a veritable factory that helps produce Olympic athletes.
On the corner of Seventh Avenue and Central Park South is a 22-story building that serves as the headquarters for the New York Athletic Club, which has produced more Olympic athletes than any other
club affiliate in the country.
The rich legacy began in 1896 in Athens, when T.E. Burke captured gold medals in the 100- and 400-meter dashes.
Burke was the first athlete affiliated with NYAC to win an Olympic medal.
There have been 228 Olympic medals won since by NYAC athletes. All together, NYAC affiliated athletes have captured a total of 230 Olympic medals, including 119 gold.
The club is sure to add to that total in two months when the Summer Games begin in London later this month.
At of the end of the week, NYAC had nearly 50 athletes qualified for the London Games, the most representatives in a single Olympics in the club’s rich history, topping the 40 who went to the 2008 Beijing Games.
On a wall just outside the club’s “Tap Room’’ is an area where the wall is filled with framed pictures of the NYAC-affiliated athletes who are on the Olympic team — and that wall is very crowded at the moment.
That, according to Cedric Jones, the NYAC athletic director and former New England Patriots receiver, “has a buzz circulating around the club as the Olympics draw closer.’’
Tyler McGill, who qualified for the Olympic team with his performance at the U.S. swim trials last week in Omaha, Neb., said there is plenty of motivation in play when representing the club.
McGill and many of his fellow NYAC athletes are helped financially by the club, allowing them to train at the best facilities. There also is a certain cache that comes with representing NYAC around the world.
“You just want to add your name to that list,’’ McGill said. “You want to be a part of that group. It’s obviously a talented group with some of the best athletes in the world, so you always want to add your name to that.’’
McGill said the help NYAC provides its athletes “makes it easier to train.’’
“As a professional swimmer, your support has to come from somewhere, and the way the New York Athletic Club has supported me has been tremendous,’’ McGill said. “I owe them a lot.’’
Kim Vandenberg, a swimmer on the women’s Olympic team who also qualified for the team in Omaha, Neb., has represented NYAC since 2008 and is a club member of the club. She, too, praised the help she gets from the club training in a sport that doesn’t pay a salary.
“They support me with my training and help me so I can pay my bills and travel and compete,’’ Vandenberg said. “It’s huge. Having that support allows me to train at a professional level. I’m 28 years old and six years out of college. That’s what athletes live on, apart from sponsorships. I’m very lucky to have them in my life.’’
Heather Petri, the oldest player on the women’s water polo team at 34, is going to her fourth Olympics. She said she owes a lot of that to her affiliation with NYAC.
“The level of commitment to excellence that they have sets the bar for us,’’ Petri said. “They’re incredibly supportive. Any athlete going in there knows this is what they represent. I love being affiliated with them.
“What’s so special is even being this many miles away [in California] physically, I feel mentally they’re right there with us.’’
Some of the NYAC members are from the New York area and some are not. Some train at the Manhattan facility and others train outside the New York area and even outside the country, to be where the best competition is. The club helps them financially to allow them to train.
“The club is very, very hands-on with any athletes that it commits to and gets a commitment from,’’ said James O’Brien, the NYAC director of communications.
Overall, NYAC has 18 sports, 10 of which are Olympic sports.
The club’s financial commitment to each athlete varies with need. Each sport at NYAC has its own chairperson and committee, which determines what kind of support the club can dole out for travel, training, etc.
Others club athletes headed to London include marathoner Meb Keflezighi, judo competitor Kayla Harrison, and wrestlers Ellis Coleman and Jake Herbert.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com