Benefield: Santa Rosa needs to celebrate Olympian Maya DiRado

She’s done what no other Santa Rosan has done.

She’s the most hardware-heavy Olympian Sonoma County has produced since the mighty Ralph Waldo Rose put the shot a mile at the turn of the last century. And Maria Carrillo grad Maya DiRado, 23, did what even old Ralph didn’t do; she earned four medals - two gold, one silver, one bronze - in one Olympics. It took Rose three consecutive games to pull in his haul of three golds, two silver and one bronze.

Not to diminish what Rose, a Healdsburg native, did in 1904, 1908 and 1912, but I’d argue Sonoma County has never produced an Olympian the likes of DiRado.

She lit up the waters of Rio with spectacular wins and a great story. She won gold in the 200-meter backstroke and the 4x200 meter freestyle relay, silver in the 400-meter individual medley and bronze in the 200-meter medley.

And despite joining Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky as the face of U.S. Swimming, DiRado insists that this, her first, spectacular, successful Olympics, will be her last. The Stanford grad has a job and a new chapter of her newly married life waiting in Atlanta.

After a lifetime in the water, she says she’s done.

So that begs the question: Santa Rosa, what are we going to do for her?

How does a hometown celebrate a gold medalist?

Santa Rosa Mayor John Sawyer says talks are already under way. He’s reached out to Congressman Mike Thompson’s office. There’s talk of a proclamation.

But what else?

“It does give me a great deal of pride to be a resident in a city that has a star in the Olympics,” he said. “It’s unique and it’s very, very special and I hope that we find a way to acknowledge her achievement and her celebrity in a way that is fitting for that achievement.”

First thought? A parade.

“Quite frankly, we should have a parade, but it’s easier said than done,” Sawyer said. “At this point, I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to be both celebratory and respecting her achievement and at the same time not taking too much time to get it done.”

I’m not sure what Healdsburg did for Rose more than a century ago, but my guess is it was a little easier then to wrangle a few street closings and gather the town in honor of one of their own than it is today. (Of course Santa Rosa already has some significant street closures downtown so perhaps we are halfway there.)

But what DiRado did in Rio deserves more than a proclamation.

She was a wonder and a delight. She was a remarkable competitor.

Every time she hit the water my phone went nuts: “Did you see that?” “ARE YOU WATCHING THE SWIMMING?????” (That one is a direct quote.)

And every time she hit the water, she was re-introduced to the world as Maya DiRado, Stanford grad, from Santa Rosa, California. That’s something special. She represented her country well. She represented this community well. She represented herself well.

When I talked to Jill McCormick, the head coach of the Santa Rosa Junior College swimming and diving team who traveled to Rio to watch both DiRado and fellow Santa Rosan Molly Hannis compete, she spoke of DiRado’s prowess in the water, about how it wasn’t such a surprise how well she did on the brightest of stage in her sport.

But she also talked about how she handled herself both in and out of the water. How if you want someone representing you on a global stage, she is a pretty good pick.

For longtime Santa Rosa Neptunes coach Dan Greaves it was the same thing - pride not only in DiRado’s athletic accomplishments but also her drive, her decorum and her class. He called it the way she handled her business.

“She is a role model,” Sawyer said.

A role model worthy of a community celebration. Something more than a proclamation read during a City Council meeting. But just what that looks like is unclear.

What is clear is this: DiRado is on the move.

The management science and engineering major has a life waiting in Atlanta. She is clearly ready to move on.

Santa Rosa ought to be ready to show our appreciation before she’s off and away.

You can reach staff columnist Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com, on Twitter @benefield and on Instagram at kerry.benefield. Podcasting on iTunes at “Overtime with Kerry Benefield.”