Priceless
It has been five days since I made the Olympic team and everyone is anxious to see what I was going to come up with. I have had a good amount of time to get a grip on my true feelings, so here it goes!
USATF Membership $50.00
Entry fee for USA Trials $25.00
Plane ticket from Miami to Eugene $1,182.46
Hotel for 13 nights $1,723.80
Two premium seating tickets for all 8 days of the meet $730 (subtract the $280 my mother sold them for)leaves only a $450loss…. I hope those guys were happy and have been in attendance EVERYDAY!!!
Running sub-11 three-times $3,000 (This money will go into the sub11 scholarship fund, to be distributed to various female athletes heading to college at a later date) $9,000
Making the team … PRICELESS!!!!
This trip has been such an adventure… I was a little worried when it started with a delayed plane that lead to me sleeping over in Denver and arriving in Eugene a day later than planned…but the mood quickly shifted during that final decent into Eugene when I was overcome with nervousness that didn’t recede until the 100m final on Saturday night.
I must admit, I wasn’t too thrilled about trials being held in Eugene as this small rainy town isn’t my ideal place to spend two weeks - but I am also willing to admit when I may have judged too quickly. For starters, the weather is GREAT - clearly a blessing from GOD who realized what a damper it would have been to have a cold and wet trials. And the Eugene staff is amazing, six days into competition, everyone is still smiling and trying to be as accommodating as possible. It makes life so much easier on the athlete when we can focus on competing because all the little things are taken care of. The only two complaints I am going to voice are 1) there is no TNT or USA in the Hilton Hotel!! How is that possible?!! I am going through severe “Law and Order” withdrawal!! They have all kinds of extra stations, but have failed to incorporate the basics. SHAME ON YOU HILTON!!! Second, it has been a bit of a chore finding adequate nourishment as “tavern,” “bar” and “grill” and “pub” seem to be in the title of every restaurant, and the cuisine at these places is limited. Also things close early and are not in close proximity to the meet hotel. These are relatively minor things, but hopefully something can be done to remedy this as I believe Trials will be here through 2012.
Lots going on in the wide world of sprints!! Tyson Gay ran a stellar race and now has run the fastest 100m ever by a human, though we can’t call him a world record holder YET! You shouldn’t feel bad for your competitor but my heart goes out to Mashavette Hooker who was the first not to make the team in the women’s 100m, after looking stellar through the rounds. Having first interacted with her in Jamaica as part of the 2002 world junior team when we were roommates, I know her talent and potential and was not at all surprised with her speed this year. I know what she is capable of and look forward to working with her on the 4×100 creating a World Record pace team to compete against Jamaica in China. Speaking of Jamaica, I know it sounds weird but I was also sad to hear Veronica Campbell didn’t make the 100m as she is a respected competitor. It seems that the Jamaican sprints are just as hot as the American on both the men’s and women’s side. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out in China. You know it is going to be an exciting year when 11 seconds doesn’t make the American final and a Jamaican 10.88 didn’t make the Olympic team!
And lastly, with just twenty-four hours until the men’s and women’s 200 meter goes off…I want to say “Godspeed” to my baby brother Wallace “Squarepants” Spearmon, as he is the last of the gang to earn his ticket to China (Sanya, Bershawn and I all have.) As for me, I plan to go out there and race my heart out and I am telling myself that I am just as qualified as everyone else who is lining up. My personal best is 22.28 and I had run that prior to running sub11 in 2005. So now having the sub11 performances in the bank I am confident that I at least have a personal best performance to debut here and the pressure is off as I have earned a place on the team so I am going out there and have a good time!
–sub11