Track and field alumni to compete at Olympics

UCLA women’s track and field has a strong Olympic tradition. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Gail Devers and Jeanette Bolden headline the list of 64 athletes who have competed on this international stage as UCLA track and field alumni.

This summer will be no different, as once again, several former Bruins will be wearing “USA” across their jerseys, with two more joining the growing list.

“I actually look forward to representing the country and wearing the uniform,” high jumper Amy Acuff said. “I think it’s always good when you can go as a representative.”

Two weeks ago in Eugene, Ore., six graduates placed in the top three of their respective events to earn a trip to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Acuff (high jump) will join Jessica Cosby (hammer), Dawn Harper (100-meter hurdles), Monique Henderson (4x400m relay), Suzy Powell-Roos (discus), and Sheena (Johnson) Tosta (400m hurdles) in representing Team USA next month in the summer games.

Acuff, class of 1997, cleared the bar at 6 feet, 4 inches to make it to her fourth Olympic team. Acuff has competed in every Summer Olympics since 1996. At Athens in 2004, Acuff finished just short of a spot on the podium, ending up in fourth place.

This time around, Acuff wants to leave with a medal around her neck.

“I feel like I have some experience so I can focus in on what I want to do, which is win a medal,” Acuff said. “I’ll feel complete if I can get that.”

Acuff is a six-time USA outdoor champion, three-time NCAA indoor champion, and two-time NCAA outdoor champion.

While the veteran Acuff knows what the Olympic experience is like, some fresh faces will participate in their first Olympics next month.

Jessica Cosby, class of 2005, set a US Olympic Trials record of 232 feet in the hammer throw, her second U.S. title.

“This is something I have trained for as long as I can remember competing in track and field,” Cosby said. “I wanted to be an Olympian. To finally accomplish that, I’m beyond words right now. I don’t even know how to describe how I feel.”

Cosby, 2006 USA outdoor champion, was recently announced as the women’s throws coach for the UCLA women’s track and field team.

Harper, the most recent alumna who ended her Bruin career in 2006, will also compete in her first Olympics after placing third at trials with a time of 12.62 seconds in the 100m hurdles.

Henderson will run for her second medal after winning gold in 2004 as a part of the 4x400m relay team. Powell-Roos finished second in the discus with a mark of 206-5 and will compete on her third Olympic team. Tosta was third in the 400m hurdles in 54.62 and is headed to her second Olympics.

For all these Olympians, there will be many connections to their careers in Westwood. UCLA women’s track and field head coach Jeanette Bolden will serve as the Olympic coach.

“Suzy Powell was my roommate in college, and Jeanette is the coach,” Acuff said. “It’s really going to feel like being back on the team with her giving pep talks and acting in her motherly way.

Bolden won a gold medal with the 4x100m relay team in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. She is the first former gold medalist to take the helm as head coach.

Despite the years of Olympic experience an athlete has and what accomplishments have been achieved, the magnitude of the Summer Olympics is something few truly understand. Representing your country every four years and interacting with athletes from other countries is what makes the event so special.

“I’m just going to try to take everything in,” Cosby said. “Whatever the outcome is of my performance, this is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life.”

JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: This past week in Bydgoszcz, Poland, one current member of the track and field team and two incoming freshmen competed in the Junior World Championships.

In the heptathlon, soon-to-be Bruin Ryann Krais placed ninth with a personal best of 5,457 points.

Another incoming freshman, Camilla Dencer, placed ninth in her heat of the 800m, falling just short of the event semi-finals.

Sophomore Dylan Knight finished ninth in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:52.90.

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