By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
With the first step completed on her first throw, Seilala Sua is
that much closer to getting a spot on the U.S. discus team.
Finishing fourth in the semifinals on Sunday with her mark of
190-6 at the track and field Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Sua made
it to the final round on July 17.
With all of the top four finishers nailing their qualifying
distance in their first throw, Sua seems to be making all the right
moves.
Former Bruin Suzy Powell (’98) entered the discus finals
in first with her mark of 203-1 in the semis, and second place
Kristin Kuehl took second with a 200-7 throw.
With her personal record at 212-10, Sua is more than capable of
passing Powell’s first place mark. In order for her name to
be on the roster, Sua has to finish in the top three in the final
competition on Monday.
Fighting for that coveted third spot in the high jump on Sunday
was Amy Acuff (’97). With Karol Dammon and Erin Aldrich
claiming the top two spots after clearing 6-4, it came down to a
jump-off between Acuff and Tisha Waller as to who would complete
the trio.
In the first sudden-death decision in the event since 1936,
Acuff and Waller dueled it out over the 6-4 bar. After neither
jumper cleared the height on their first go-round, the bar was
lowered to 6-3 1/4. Waller failed to clear the bar on her first
attempt, and then it was up to Acuff.
She cleared the bar with no problem, and will continue to
Sydney.
“Two years ago, Tisha Waller and I had a jump-off and I
lost because I had noodle legs,” Acuff told the LA Times.
“Today I felt confident in my short approach, but my long
approach was not so short due to injuries and a car accident that I
had three weeks ago.”
On Sunday in the 400m hurdles, Joanna Hayes (’99) had the
fifth fastest time (55.32 seconds) to qualify for Monday’s
finals. Hayes, who won the 1999 NCAA outdoor 400m hurdle
championship as a senior, also needs to place in the top three for
a spot to Sydney.
After returning from retirement and starting training just weeks
before the competition, four-time Olympian and six-time Olympic
medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee (’86) took her final bow on
Sunday. After continuing to the finals of the long jump, Kersee
finished sixth with her jump of 21-10 3/4.
“All of the long jumpers and all of the fans stood still
while she was on the runway,” Marion Jones, who clinched
first, told the Sacramento Bee. “You watch her at all times
to make sure you don’t miss something magical or
historical.”
Had she qualified, Joyner-Kersee would have been only the fourth
American to compete in five Olympic Games.
Jones, who fouled on her first two jumps, left the best jump for
last. Before her winning jump of 23 1/2, she got a little help from
her friends.
“I told her, “˜Get in there!'”
Joyner-Kersee told the Sacramento Bee in an interview.
“I said, “˜It’s there, you can go over 23 feet,
but you have to keep it legal.’ She’s clearly the best
women’s athlete in the world and, to me, it would have been
devastating if she didn’t make the team. Even if it meant I
wasn’t going.”
The quest for an Olympic berth ended on Sunday for both former
Bruins Andrea Anderson (’99), who placed sixth in the 400m
with her time of 51.32 seconds, and Scott Slover (’98), who
no-heighted in the pole vault competition.
With three days of competition complete, and eight more to come,
only one Bruin has qualified for the Olympic Games: 10,000 meter
runner Mebrahtom Keflezighi (’98).
But the show will continue.
There is a two-day break in the Olympic trials from July 18-19,
and then the trials will continue again from July 20-23.