Shot Put Trio Advances to Friday Night Final; Fountain Leads Heptathlon + QUOTES

August 15, 2008 from USATF press release (BEIJING CHINA) Team USA's powerful men's shot put trio advanced to tonight's final and the sprint crew breezed through the first round during Friday morning qualifying sessions at the Bird's Nest. World champion Reese Hoffa (Athens, GA) was the first to meet the automatic qualifying mark of 20.40m in the shot, throwing 20.41m/66-11.5 to advance to Friday night's final at 9 p.m. local time. Overall it was the sixth-best throw of the day. Two-time silver medalist Adam Nelson (Charlottesville, VA) also moved on with his first throw of 20.56m/67-5.5, the second-best mark of qualifying, and World Indoor champion Christian Cantwell (Columbia, MO) had the #4 mark of the day with his toss of 20.44m/67-0.75, on his second throw.

Sprinting to quarterfinals
The men's 100m sprinters also had a fairly easy time in Friday morning's first round, moving on to the evening's quarterfinals. World champion Tyson Gay (Lexington, Ky.) won the fifth heat in 10.22, Darvis Patton (Ft. Worth, Texas) was second in heat 6 (10.25) and Walter Dix (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) was third in heat 7 (10.35) to automatically advance.

Fountain leads heptathlon
In the first day of the heptathlon, Hyleas Fountain (Kettering, OH) stood strongly in the lead after winning each of the first two events. Fountain posted the fastest performance in the 100m hurdles, 12.78 (1,158), and a personal best 1.89m/6-2.25 (1,093) in the high jump to total 2,215. Anna Bogdanova of Russia stood in second overall with 2,165. Jacquelyn Johnson (Tempe, AZ.) was 11th with 2,032 points after marks of 13.22 in the hurdles (1091) and 1.77m/5-9.75 in the high jump (941). Diana Pickler strained her right hamstring while running the hurdles and could not continue. The heptathlon shot put and 200m are scheduled for this evening.

More qualifying
Americans had a rough go of it in the women's 800m first round as none of the three advanced. Alice Schmidt (Chula Vista, CA) was sixth in heat 2 in 2:02.33. Nicole Teter (Eugene, OR) pulled up shortly after the start of her race and did not finish due to an exacerbation of a lower left leg injury. Three-time Olympian Hazel Clark (Knoxville, TN) was fifth in heat 5 in 2:01.59.

A.G. Kruger (Ashland, OH) was 27th overall the in men's hammer qualifying (71.21m/233-7) and did not advance.

DAY 1 TEAM USA QUOTES - MORNING SESSION
Men's shot put qualifying
Adam Nelson (Charlottesville, VA): "One and done. It's the Olympics, so I feel great. I pulled an intercostal muscle on Monday, so every time I breathe, it hurts. I've been getting lots of therapy the last four days, so it's feeling better. It's absolutely great out there. It'll be a great event tonight. It's a long day and will be a longer night."

Reese Hoffa (Athens, GA): "I felt great. I got a good throw off and made it through no problem. Throwing this early in the morning, my goal was definitely to get one throw, get home and get some rest. I've got to make sure I'm ready for tonight."

Christian Cantwell (Columbia, MO): "It went pretty good. I took the first throw too easy. The second one was better. I'll come back this evening and really tie one on. I was throwing really well in warm-ups, over 22 meters."

Men's 100m first round
Tyson Gay (Lexington, Ky.): "[The hamstring] It feels good. I felt a little sluggish in the first round, but my body's woke up now."

Darvis Patton (Ft. Worth, Texas): "I felt great. To get in the top three and advance, that was my goal and that's what I did. I'm satisfied. My main threat was France and Great Britain, so I knew if I was running with them I'd be okay. I feel very good. I wouldn't come here if I didn't think I could medal. They bought me a plane ticket for a reason."

Walter Dix (Ft. Lauderdale, FL): "I felt controlled. I had a good start. Everything is feeling good."

Women's 800m First round
Alice Schmidt (Chula Vista, CA): "I didn't feel myself out there. It's never good to judge how you feel from the gun, but from the gun I didn't feel like I had that gear. I'm not happy with my performance. I just didn't have it today. I put myself in good position but it just didn't work out my way today. It was my first Olympics, I was thoroughly impressed with everything."

Hazel Clark (Knoxville, TN): I'm the best I can be considering the circumstances. I tied up in the end. At the end, people jumped me and I just got behind. I was waiting for the jump, it was like I was moving in slow motion. I don't want to make excuses. I'm extremely disappointed. Now, I'll just go home and cheer for my teammates.

Nicole Teter (Eugene, OR): I've had a two week semi-unknown, semi-undiagnosed injury in my left Achilles area. Our medical team has done so much for me since I've been here. I really thought I could just step on the track and get through it. This is the Olympics, I had to go for it. My first stride, I just couldn't get on my toes. I went as far as I could and I just couldn't do it.

Men's Hammer Throw qualifying
A.G. Kruger (Ashland ,OH): I was there, just too tentative to start off with. I had it on the last throw and I hit the net. That's just kind of the way it goes. It was still a really good experience. I'm still considered a young pup in the hammer throw. I plan on being in this for a very long time. The best is still to come.

For more information on Team USA at the Olympic Games, including athlete quotes, event schedule, TV schedule and complete results, visit www.usatf.org
and
http://www.runningnetwork.com/read_feature/special-coverage-...