Return Engagement
Olympic hopefuls gear up for U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Sacramento

The Olympic Games return to their ancient roots in 2004, when the world's best athletes converge on Athens, Greece, for the Summer Olympics. Closer to home, history is repeating itself a bit more quickly.

The U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials returned to Northern California in 2000 after a 32-year absence. The 2000 Olympic Trials featured eight days of sellout crowds; one world plus three American records; and a daily streem of standout performances from the likes of Marion Jones, Allen Johnson, Gail Devers, Michael Johnson, Tom Pappas and Maurice Greene.

Unlike Athens, which played host to the first modern Olympics in 1896, Sacramento isn't waiting 108 years for a return engagement. The 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials return to Hornet Stadium on July 9-18, making Sacramento the first city host successive Trials in a quarter-century.

With 10,000 eight-day ticket packages already sold, the bar is set high for the local organizing committee. Similarly, the stakes couldn't be any higher for the U.S. athletes trying to qualify for Athens.

It's a good bet that both sides will deliver, according to Sue Humphrey, coach of the 2005 U.S. Olympic women's track and field team.

"Sacramento did an excellent job last time, and I don't expect it to be any different this time," Humphrey said.

Four years ago in Sydney, Australia, the U.S. men and women combined to win 20 medals in track and field, including 10 gold medals. That figure nearly doubled the medal total of the second-best country in Sydney - Russia, with 12.

With the exception of Michael Johnson, who retired in 2001, the headliners at the 2000 Olympic Trials should be strong contenders again in Sacramento. Devers and Allen Johnson were ranked No. 1 in the world in the sprint hurdles in 2003. Johnson won his fourth world outdoor title in the 110-meter highs in Paris, France.

Devers, a two-time winner of the 100-meter dash at the Olympics, set a still-standing American record of 12.33 seconds in winning the 100 hurdles at the 2000 Trials in Sacramento. This time, Devers will be attempting to qualify for her fifth Olympic team. Long jumper Willye White (1956-72) is the only other U.S. woman to compete in five Olympics in track and field.

Jones won five medals in Sydney, including golds in the 100, 200 and 4x400 relay. She took the 2003 season off to have a baby but looked strong in her return to competition earlier this month at the Millrose Games in New York. Jones has indicated that she plans to compete in three events at the Trials - the 100, 200 and long jump.

Dragila finished fourth at the 2003 World Championships - her first loss in either an Olympics or world outdoor meet - but opened 2004 with a series of 15-foot-plus vaults.

The United States will rely heavily on its veterans in Athens. But what most excites Humphrey and George Williams, the men's Olympic coach, is the influx of young talent. Justin Gatlin (100, 200 meters), Sanya Richards (400), Allyson Felix (200) and Christian Cantwell (shot put) are among the new wave of U.S. stars.

"We're going to have a great mixture of veterans and youngsters," Williams said. "We'll bring home a truckoad of medals from Athens. This is the U.S.A. - the greatest team in the world."

Other countries choose their Olympic track teams by committee, or by factoring in years of meritorious service. In the United States, it's trial by fire. No other major track power takes such a rigid approach to selecting its Olympic team, but the formula is a winner, and it makes the U.S. Olympic Trials one of the most exciting specator events in the world.

In most events, the top three finishers in Sacramento will automatically qualify for the Olympics. To place three individuals in an Olympic event, each of the nation's three athletes must meet the Olympic "A" qualifying standard. In 2000, the U.S. had three "A" qualifiers in 26 of the 33 men's and women's events.

Fifty-five world records have been set in the U.S. Olympic Trials over the years. The list of Trials record-setters reads like a who's who of the sport - Ralph Boston, Bobby Morrow, Florence Griffith Joyner, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Bob Seagren, Michael Johnson and Glenn Davis.

The most recent world record came on the final day of the 2000 Olympic Trials, when Dragila, a graduate of Placer High School in nearby Auburn, thrilled the hometown crowd with a vault of 15-2 1/4. The 2000 Trials attracted more than 187,000 fans over eight days of competition, shattering the previous record by more than 35,000.

For tickets to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, call (916) 566-6560, or visit the event's Web site, www.sacsports.com.