It's one thing to feel pressure competing for a spot in the Olympics -- it's another thing entirely to go through what Chi-Chi Aduba did this weekend.
The Penn State track and field All-American stepped onto the runway in Sacramento, Calif., on Friday with three chances to place qualify for the triple jump finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
According to her head coach, Beth Alford-Sullivan, Aduba is typically strong on her first jump, but on this day her first two tries went awry. Aduba stepped over the line the first two times, and the jumps didn't count.
"She had two fouls, so we were sweating it on her," Alford-Sullivan said. "No athlete likes to be in that position. This just built more and more pressure and she really had to make a safety jump. She was just too fast on the runway and got the fouls."
Down to one final opportunity, Aduba hit a jump of 42-07.50 feet -- not her best effort, but one that put her on the border of the top 12 that advance to the finals.
Then the official distances were released. Aduba was in 13th. Tied for 12th -- technically -- but the judges decided to break the tie and Simidele Adeagbo was the beneficiary. Alford-Sullivan filed a protest with the judges and Aduba was forced to wait for a ruling.
"We probably waited a good two hours for a result," Alford-Sullivan said. "So we had to sweat things out a bit."
But these stories always have happy endings -- even if they're not the fairy-tale type.
The judges eventually ruled not to break the tie and Aduba found herself in yesterday's finals as the 13th competitor. Aduba won't be heading to Athens -- her mark of 43-03.25 didn't qualify -- but a name next to Aduba's in the Penn State record books will be.
Former Nittany Lions standout Shakeema Walker took second place in the triple jump finals with a mark of 46-01.50 and will represent Team U.S.A. in the Olympics. Walker, who graduated from Penn State in 1999, recorded a qualifying jump of 44-02.75 and took sixth place in that round, placing her in the finals with Aduba.
Walker and Aduba monopolize the jumping records for Penn State women's track. Heading into this season, the duo shared both the outdoor long and triple jump records and both are at the top of the indoor records as well.
Though the story of Aduba and Walker was the one with the most drama, they were just two of several current and former Penn State athletes who competed in or made the trip to the trials this weekend.
Among them, Consuella Moore, Deshaya Williams and Ashley Colley have already competed for the women and John Gorham and Jim Carney for the men.
Moore, who recently signed a professional contract with Nike, qualified for the semifinals of the 100-meter dash, but her time of 11.60 seconds placed seventh in her semifinal heat that took the top four to the finals.
"Consuella is pretty disappointed," Alford-Sullivan said. "She didn't run her best time, but those things happen."
On the positive side for Moore, she still has her feature event -- the 200-meter -- to compete in, starting with the quarterfinals on Friday night. Alford-Sullivan said that if Moore makes it to the eight-person final race, she will also be placed in a pool to be considered for the 4 x 100 relay team.
"I would agree that [Moore] is much better at the 200," Alford-Sullivan said. "I think she'll have some motivation heading into that."
Another former Penn State star who enjoyed success this weekend was Williams in the discus throw.
Williams, the 2003 NCAA discus national champion, threw for a mark of 183-04 feet, good for 11th place and a spot in tonight's final. Sacramento has been kind for Williams, who had competed in the 2000 Sydney trials and won her national title in the same stadium that this year's trials are being held.
"She's very comfortable here," Alford-Sullivan said. "In a short span of four years, she's had a lot of experience here. She threw 183, but that's really good in qualifying. Her goal is getting close to 200 and her best is 194, so she's looking to bring some get up and go. She's pretty fired up."
Colley, a rising senior, rounded out the women's field for the Lions with a 17th-place finish in the javelin qualifiers with a mark of 146-04 feet, falling short of the event finals.
For the men, Gorham, a former Penn State three-time All-American, came in 22nd in the long jump, missing the finals with a jump of 23-07.25 feet. Carney took sixth place in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 28:31.82.
The majority of the former Penn State men's athletes will be competing later this week, including 2004 East Regional champion Chavous Nichols in the triple jump.
In addition to those competing, Alford-Sullivan said that a contingent of Penn State track athletes made their way out to California to help support their current and former teammates. Their presence was something Alford-Sullivan attributed to a great atmosphere at the trials.
"It's awesome," she said. "Being on the staff [assistant coach, distance runners], this is one of the greatest events to be at. It has all the drama and excitement you could have and the stadium has been packed. The six [Penn State athletes] that came out here have been a huge support for everyone."
Despite their relative youth at the trials, the Penn State women have several opportunities to make their mark on this year's U.S. Olympic team. When it comes to Athens, though, the squad is still thinking big.
"We're so young," Alford-Sullivan said. "But when you line 'em up, anything can happen."
