Team USA Mens Jumpers Vaulters & Decathletes Look for Medals

August 12, 2008 from USATF press release (INDIANAPOLIS IN) Bryan Clay, Brad Walker, Aarik Wilson, Jesse Williams, Tom Pappas and Jeff Hartwig will lead a talented group of U.S. men's jumpers, pole vaulters and combined events athletes at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

High Jump - Men
A member of the 2007 U.S. World Outdoor Championships squad, Jesse Williams (Eugene, OR) took full advantage of competing at his adopted home track at the Olympic Trials. The 2006 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion while at USC, Williams won the competition with a clearance of 2.30m/7-6.50. Williams ended the last two seasons ranked in the top ten in the world (2006-#9) and (2007-#8) by Track & Field News.

Definitely a young man on the rise (pun intended), Andra Manson (Austin, TX) finished second at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene to qualify for Beijing, and set a new personal outdoor best earlier this year with his winning clearance of 2.33 meters/7 feet 7.75 inches on April 5, which is the fifth-best clearance in the world this season. The 2002 World Junior champion, Manson won the 2008 USA Indoor title and took the bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain.

2008 NCAA Indoor champion and Outdoor runner-up Dustin Jonas (Lincoln, NE) seemed like a long-shot to make the U.S. roster for Beijing at the Olympic Trials, and he placed sixth with a clearance of 2.24m/7-4.25. However, his personal best clearance of 2.36m/7-8.75 set on May 18 in Boulder, Colo., bettered the Olympic 'A' qualifying standard (and is #3 in the world this year) and entered him into a jump-off with Scott Sellers for the third Olympic roster spot, which he won. Jonas was a seven-time All-American while at the University of Nebraska.

Pole Vault - Men
Although Brad Walker (Mountlake Terrace, WA) finished third at the Olympic Trials, he entered the 2008 campaign ranked #1 in the world after winning the gold medal at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan. Earlier this year Walker set the American men's outdoor pole vault record with his winning clearance of 6.04 meters/19 feet 9.75 inches on June 8 at the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, which is the leading performance in the world this season. The 2008 World Indoor Championships silver medalist, Walker is a two-time USA Outdoor champion ('05, '07) and three-time USA Indoor champ ('05, '06, '08).

At the age of 40, and in an event where the U.S. has been consistently strong through the years, the remarkable Jeff Hartwig (Jonesboro, AR) qualified for the 2008 U.S.Olympic Team with his runner-up finish at the Trials in Eugene. Hartwig no-heighted at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Trials, and last competed for the U.S. at an Olympic Games in 1996 when he placed 11th . Hartwig has been ranked in the top ten in the U.S. in each of the last 13 seasons (#1 in '98, '99, '01,'02) and was ranked #1 in the world in 2002. He set the American indoor pole vault record of 6.02m/19-9 on March 3, 2001.

A 2004 Olympian who placed seventh at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, Derek Miles (Tea, SD) had never won a U.S. Outdoor title until his triumph at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene with a clearance of 5.80m/19-0.25. It was his best result since clearing 5.81m/19-0.75 in 2005. A veteran in this event at age 35, Miles has been ranked top ten in the U.S. every year since 2000.

Long Jump - Men
The 2002 World Junior Championships men's long jump bronze medalist, Trevell Quinley (Chula Vista, CA) will get his second taste of international competition at the 2008 Olympic Games after winning the Olympic Trials with a personal-best leap of 8.36m/27-5.25, which sits #6 on the 2008 world list and is the best mark by an American this outdoor season. The 2008 USA Indoor champion, Quinley finished third at the 2007 USA Outdoor Championships and was a finalist at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan.

Brian Johnson (Baton Rouge, LA) qualified for the Olympic Games with his runner-up performance at the Trials with a best leap of 8.30m/27-2.75. A member of the Team USA roster for the 2005 World Outdoor Championships, Johnson is the 2006 USA Outdoor champion and a two-time USA Indoor champ ('05, '06). A veteran on the U.S. track scene, Johnson has been ranked nationally in six of the last seven years by Track & Field News.

On his third attempt in Eugene, 2001 World University Games champion Miguel Pate (Tallahassee, FL) soared to 8.22 meters/26 feet 11.75 inches, which gave him a third place finish and a trip to Beijing. Pate has competed at three World Outdoor Championships, placing fourth in 2001, failing to qualify for the final in 2005 and finishing tenth last year in Osaka, Japan. Pate leaped an astounding 8.59m/28-2.25 in winning the 2002 USA Indoor title and also won the '03 U.S. indoor crown, but his career nearly ended outdoors in 2003 when he tore his lateral cruciate ligament (LCL), anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.

Triple Jump - Men
Aarik Wilson (Lawrence, KS) won the men's triple jump on his final attempt in Eugene with a leap of 17.43 meters/57 feet 2.25 inches. Also the 2008 USA Indoor triple jump champ, Wilson won the U.S. Indoor and Outdoor national titles in 2007, and ended the campaign ranked #4 in the world, the highest global ranking of his career. A four-time Big Ten Conference outdoor triple jump champion, Wilson finished fifth at his first World Outdoor Championships last year in Osaka, Japan.

Kenta Bell (Decatur, GA) qualified for his second Olympic Team roster with his runner-up finish at the Olympic Trials with a best of 17.23m/56-6.50. Bell, who finished ninth at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, won the gold medal at the 2001 World University Games and was sixth at the 2003 World Outdoor Championships.

The 2006 NCAA men's triple jump champion and former Florida State standout Rafeeq Curry (Tallahassee, Fla.) will travel to Beijing following his third place finish at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene. The 2002 USA Junior champion, Curry secured his Olympic Team spot on his final attempt at the trials, bounding to 17.21m/56-5.75, and edging 2005 World Outdoor champion Walter Davis by a scant half inch.

Decathlon
2005 world decathlon champion and 2008 World Indoor champion Bryan Clay (Glendora, CA) has battled a series of nagging injuries in recent years, but he made a loud and clear statement at the 2008 Olympic Trials in scoring 8,832 points to break the previous Olympic Trials record of 8,726 points set by National Track & Field Hall of Famer Dan O'Brien in 1996, the year O'Brien won Olympic gold. Clay's score was a personal best, the best by an American in 16 years, and the best in the world in four years.

Former University of Texas standout Trey Hardee (Austin, TX) picked the right time to perform at his very best, posting a personal best score of 8,534 points in finishing as the Trials runner-up. Hardee's performance currently sits #2 on the 2008 U.S. list and is the third best performance in the world this year. The 2005 NCAA Outdoor champion, and 2004 Southeastern Conference champ, Hardee also was victorious at the 2004 NACAC.

2003 world champion Tom Pappas (Manhattan, KS), who like Clay has also dealt with nagging injuries throughout his career, finished third at the Olympic Trials with 8,511 points. Pappas posted a personal-best pole vault of 5.20m/17-0.75 (972 points) to win that event, and became the first American man to make three Olympic teams in the decathlon. Pappas' total at the Olympic Trials is the fourth-best performance in the world this year.

For more information on Team USA at the 2008 Olympic Games, visit: www.usatf.org.