Woods, competing for the Long Beach Sprinters, had personal-bests in every heptathlon event except the 100m hurdles. Alyissa Hasan of the West New York Jets scored 4,784 points to win the young women’s heptathlon.

 Tim Wunderlich (Westminster, Md.) won the young men’s decathlon with 6,608 points. (July 29) A strong roster headlined by 2004 Olympians and NCAA Outdoor champions will represent Team USA at the third annual North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Track & Field Championships July 30 – Aug. 1 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. More than 400 athletes from 28 countries will compete at the Universite de Sherbrooke Athletics Stadium. (July 29) Kenneth Hall (Baton Rouge, La.) broke a national high school record to win the young men’s triple jump to highlight the third day of competition at the Junior Championships. Hall leaped 16.72 meters/54 feet, 10.25 inches without touching the board on his third attempt to break the previous high school triple jump record of 16.44m/53-11.25 set by Greg Yeldell (Spencer, N.C.) at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France. Hall also bettered the long-standing young men’s triple jump record of 16.01m/52-6.50, set in 1991 by Ron Jones (Dallas, Texas). (July 30) Olympic Trials 5,000m champion, Tim Broe (Ann Arbor, Mich.), finalized his spot on the 2004 Olympic Team by meeting the Olympic “A” standard in his event. The 27-year-old Broe ran 13:18.61 to place seventh in the 5,000m at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in London. It was a personal best for the two-time U.S. champion, whose previous best was 13:24.13 in 2001, and it bettered the Olympic “A” qualifying standard of 13:21.50. (July 30) Stacy Dragila (Auburn, Calif.) took fourth in the vault at 4.60m/15-1 in London. Also in London, Olympic Trials 1,500m champion Alan Webb (Ann Arbor, Mich.) improved his personal best in the mile with his fourth-place finish of 3:50.73, improving on his previous best of 3:50.83 run at the 2004 Nike Prefontaine Classic. Runner-up finishes were turned in by 2004 U.S. Olympians Grace Upshaw (Berkeley, Calif.) in the women’s long jump (6.61m/21-8.25), James Carter (Baltimore, Md.) in the men’s 400m hurdles (48.63) and Maurice Greene (Kansas City, Kan.) in the men’s 100m (9.97). (July 30) The United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) announced the men's and women's scholar-athletes of the year, as well as the men's and women's All-Academic team of the year for NCAA Division I.

Brian Chaput of Pennsylvania and Candice Scott of Florida were named the 2004 Men's and Women's Scholar-Athletes of the Year for NCAA Division I. (July 30) Local athlete Emilee Strot (Gresham, Ore.) captured her second gold medal of the competition on day four of the USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships. Strot tossed 44.62 meters/146 feet, five inches to win the young women’s discus throw. The day prior, Strot tossed the shot 14.74m/48-4.50 to capture that title. (July 31) Team USA dominated field event action by taking the top two positions in five separate competitions at the third annual NACAC Track & Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. (July 31) Bianca Knight (Jackson, Miss.) ran the fastest time by a female in the 200m as Kenneth Hall leaped to a second gold and Alexandria Anderson (Chicago, Ill.) struck gold twice to spark the fifth day of competition at the USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships. (Aug. 1) Alexandria Anderson and Kenneth Hall were named Verizon Youth Athletes of the Meet to conclude the 38th USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field. World Juniors 4x400m gold medalist Anderson cruised to her third gold medal of the meet after she ran 52.87 to win the young women’s 400m. (Aug. 1) The U.S. won three out of four relay races on the final day of the 2004 NACAC Track & Field Championships. (Aug. 1) Former University of Kansas standout Charlie Gruber, the 1,500m runner-up at the Olympic Trials, secured his spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team by running 3:34.71 at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, while Briana Shook (Tiffin, Ohio) crushed the American record in the women’s steeplechase. (Aug. 2) When Olympic medals are on the line, Team USA’s sprinters have delivered in women’s competition. Since winning their first medal of any kind in 1928, American women have won 10 gold medals in the 100m, as well as four silver and two bronze medals, for 16 total. Elizabeth Robinson won in 1928, with Marion Jones providing a bookend in 2000. Gail Devers (1992, ’96) and Wyomia Tyus (1964, ’68) have contributed two golds apiece. (Aug. 2) Coby Miller (Ackerman, Miss.), the 2001 USA Indoor 200m champion, won the men’s 100m and 200m, and men’s long jumper Dwight Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) and women’s sprint sensation Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, Calif.) set new personal bests with their wins at the IAAF Grand Prix in Linz, Austria. (Aug. 3) Briana Shook has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after setting an American record in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase at the KBC Night of Athletics meet.

USABA: Several hundred people – including Erik Weihenmayer (Denver, Colo.), the first blind person to summit Mt. Everest, Hugh Herr (Boston, Mass.), a double-leg amputee, and Mark Wellman (Truckee, Calif.), a paraplegic – recently crowded into the mountain town of Cortina, Italy for a climbing expedition in the Dolomites, an historic center of alpine culture.

USADA: (July 28) The United States Anti-Doping Agency announced that Adam Bergman (Lino Lakes, Minn.), an athlete in the sport of cycling, tested positive in an out-of-competition test on April 6, 2004. He tested positive for recombinant human Erythropoietin (rEPO), a prohibited substance under the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which is the international federation for the sport of cycling.

REPO is a synthetic hormone that stimulates the body’s production of red blood cells thereby increasing oxygen transport and aerobic power. Bergman, 23, accepted and began serving the provisional suspension on July 27, 2004. By accepting the provisional suspension, Bergman agreed not to compete in any competitions under the jurisdiction of UCI, USA Cycling or the United States Olympic Committee. (July 29) USADA performed a total of 2,956 drug tests during the second quarter of 2004, the largest number in any quarter of its history. "With the support of the U.S. Olympic Committee, USADA has done everything within its authority to assist in sending a clean team to the Olympics," said USADA Chief Executive Officer Terry Madden. USADA completed 2,956 tests in 66 sports between April 1 and June 30, 2004 under its domestic testing program.
 

Approximately 49 percent or 1,443 of these tests were no-advance-notice out-of-competition tests (OOC). The no-advance-notice OOC tests are conducted at an athlete's home, training venue or other location without any prior notice. (July 30) USADA announced that Rachael Burke (Bethesda, Md.), an athlete in the sport of swimming, tested positive in an out-of-competition test on May 1, 2004. She tested positive for boldione, a prohibited substance under the rules of La Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA), which is the international federation for the sport of swimming. Burke, 21, accepted and began serving the provisional suspension on July 29, 2004. By accepting the provisional suspension, Burke agreed not to compete in any competitions under the jurisdiction of FINA, USA Swimming or the United States Olympic Committee. (Aug. 2) The USADA announced that Calvin Harrison (Raleigh, N.C.), an athlete in the sport of track and field, received a two-year suspension for a second doping violation. Harrison, 30, tested positive for the prohibited stimulant modafinil at the 2003 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Stanford, Calif. on June 21, 2003. A gold medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games, he is suspended for two years from all sanctioned competition beginning on July 26, 2004, the date of his arbitration hearing. Harrison’s first doping offense occurred at the 1993 U.S. Junior National Championships, which also involved a prohibited stimulant.

USOC: (July 28) Monster announced the launch of the next phase of “Portraits,” a series of new commercials from its “Today’s the Day” brand campaign. Monster is the official online career management sponsor of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team and the leading global online careers property and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. (July 30) U.S. news organizations are now able to apply for media accreditation to cover the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy, Feb. 10-26, 2006. It is requested to apply no later than Sept. 15, 2004. (July 30) The 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Media Guide and athlete photos are now available at the USOC's media-specific Website: www.usocpressbox.org. (Aug. 2) The United States Olympic Committee received notification from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency 30 days ago that USADA’s Anti-Doping Review Board determined that sufficient evidence of doping exists to proceed further in the case of Dave Fuentes (Berkeley, Calif.). Fuentes, from the sport of cycling, tested positive for oxymetholone metabolites at the Redlands Classic on March 25, 2004. Currently, Fuentes, 31, is disputing the positive test results in the USADA adjudication process. If a sanction is imposed, USADA will make the announcement at a later date. (Aug. 2) The 2004 Olympic Games USOC Media Contact List has been posted online at www.usocpressbox.org. (Aug. 3) The U.S. Olympic Committee is set to host its first press conference in Athens with U.S. Women's Soccer Team members Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.), Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Cat Reddick (Birmingham, Ala.) on Thursday, Aug. 5 from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. (local time) in the Knossos Press Conference Room of the Main Press Center. (Aug. 3) The USOC announced its second Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) designation of 2004, bringing to eight the number of CODPs in the United States. Located in Lake County, Ind., and hosted by the Midwest Weightlifting Club, the newest CODP will offer youth in the region an opportunity to pursue the Olympic sport of weightlifting with some of USA Weightlifting’s top coaches. In addition to currently providing conditioning programs for local athletes in many sports, Midwest Weightlifting has plans to formally add one or two additional sports to the CODP within the next two years.

Volleyball: (July 28) Carrie Busch (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Nancy Mason (Belleville, Ill.) became the eighth beach volleyball team from the United States to earn a Main Draw by winning a women’s qualification match during the opening day of competition in the US$540,000 A1 Grand Slam, presented by Nokia. (July 28) Volleyball fans will have their fill of televised matches to choose from once the 2004 Olympic Games begin in Athens, Greece. NBC released its Olympic television schedule, and both beach and indoor volleyball were well represented. For the overall Olympic Games, the networks of NBC (NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo and NBC HDTV) will broadcast an unprecedented 1,210 hours – more than the past five Summer Olympics combined. (July 29) For 23rd-seeded Carrie Busch and Nancy Mason, the women’s A1 Grand Slam is their Olympics. Busch and Mason won two matches to advance to the third round of the winners bracket. Kerri Walsh (Saratoga Beach, Calif.) and Rachel Wacholder (Laguna Beach, Calif.) won the last SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event in Marseille. (July 29) Robyn Romansky, technical coordinator for the USA Women’s Volleyball Team for the past three years, has been named assistant volleyball coach at Texas A&M. (July 29) The USA Women’s National Volleyball Team certainly hopes it begins the 2004 Olympic Games the same way it began the final round of the World Grand Prix. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) scored a match-high 19 points and Keba Phipps (Las Vegas, Nev.) added 17 as Team USA posted a stunning 3-0 win over China. (July 30) It came down to Brazil and the United States competing for the final two berths in the women’s “final four” of the A1 Grand Slam, with the Americans winning both semifinal qualifying matches. Second-seeded Holly McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.) followed the lead of fifth-seeded Annett Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) and Jenny Johnson Jordan (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) in advancing from final elimination matches to the “final four” where they will play Brazil’s Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede, and American rivals Kerri Walsh and Rachel Wacholder in the semifinals. (July 30) Thirteenth-seeded Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Sean Scott (Kaliua, Hawaii), who ousted Martin and Paul Laciga of Switzerland 21-19, 23-25 and 15-12, challenge Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil while 17th-seeded Dain Blanton (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Jeff Nygaard (Madison, Wis.) play 19th-seeded Francisco Alvarez and Juan Rossell of Cuba. Blanton and Nygaard scored a 21-18, 18-21 and 15-13 win over 26th-seeded Dax Holdren (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hawaii) in a match between United States Olympians for Athens. (July 30) Italy scored a 3-1 win over the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team in World Grand Prix action at Palapentimele Hall. Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa) scored a team-high 17 points on 17 kills to pace four players in double figures for the United States (1-1), which still earned the top spot in Pool A over Italy (1-1) and China (1-1) thanks to the advantage in set-ratio. (July 30) With the U.S. ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro in the house, the USA Men’s Volleyball Team put on a show against the defending Olympic gold medalists. Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) scored a match-high 19 points to lead the United States to a 3-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro at the pre-Olympic tournament. (July 31) Brazil defeated the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team, 3-2, in the semifinals of the World Grand Prix. Tayyiba Haneef (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Ogonna Nnamani (Normal, Ill.) and Logan Tom each scored 21 points for Team USA, and will face Cuba in the bronze-medal match. (July 31) Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) scored a team-high 14 points to lead five players in double figures as the USA Men’s National Volleyball Team defeated Greece in a marathon match at the pre-Olympic tournament. (Aug. 1) With the pre-Olympic schedule behind them on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour, the two men’s and two women’s beach volleyball teams from the United States that have qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games now shift their focus to Athens. With men’s tandems Dain Blanton/Jeff Nygaard and Dax Holdren/Stein Metzger filling out the two men’s berth, the women’s tandems of Misty May/Kerri Walsh and Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs will represent the United States. Blanton and Nygaard used their win over Holdren and Metzger to place seventh in the A1 Grand Slam. (Aug. 1) The USA Women’s National Volleyball Team earned the bronze medal at the World Grand Prix. Logan Tom scored a match-high 14 points to lead three players in double figures as the United States overwhelmed Cuba in three sets. (Aug. 2) As per FIVB-IOC Olympic Qualification regulations, the FIVB announced the Official Olympic Ranking for the 24 men’s teams and the 24 women’s teams selected to participate in the beach volleyball tournaments at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. (Aug. 2) The USA Women’s Junior National Volleyball Team is one of seven teams that will vie for the NORCECA Junior Women’s Volleyball Championship in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Aug. 3-8. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid to the 2005 FIVB Women’s Junior World Championships. (Aug. 2) The USA Men’s Junior National Volleyball Team is one of five teams competing for the NORCECA Junior Men’s Volleyball Championship in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2005 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championships.

Water Polo: (July 29) The Greek Women’s Water Polo Team posted a second-straight win over World Champion Team USA in the opening game of the pre-Olympic Tournament in Gorizia, Italy. The Greeks hit on all six of its player-advantage attempts to register an 8-5 win over the top-ranked Americans. (July 30) The U.S. Women's Olympic Team pulled double-duty at Italy's pre-Olympic Tournament, scoring a 9-6 win over Australia and playing to a 6-6 tie with Hungary. (July 31) The U.S. Women’s Water Polo Team got off 33 shots in a 13-5 win over Kazakhstan at the pre-Olympic Tournament in Gorizia, Italy. (Aug. 1) At the pre-Olympic Tournament, top-ranked Team USA beat Italy, 10-6, on the final day of competition and earned top honors by means of goal differential in the six-team tournament. Both the United States and Hungary finished with seven points apiece, thanks to a 6-6 tie between the two on day two, but the U.S. women won out on goal differential (+12) to take an edge on the Hungarians (+10). (Aug. 3) The U.S. Men’s Olympic Water Polo Team opened the 2004 Belgrade Trophy Tournament with an 11-5 win over Germany at Tasmajdan Pool in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

Water Skiing: (Aug. 2) USA Water Ski has selected Freddy Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Natalie Hamrick (Tampa, Fla.) as its Male and Female Athletes of the Month for July. The U.S. Veteran Water Ski Team was chosen as the Team of the Month.

Wrestling: (July 28) USA Wrestling has chosen Dan Chandler (Minneapolis, Minn.) as an Olympic Coach for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team in Greco-Roman wrestling that will participate in the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He will join USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Shon Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Andy Seras (Sandy Hook, Conn.) as the Olympic coaches for Greco-Roman wrestling. (July 30) Score-Clocks, Inc. of Murrysville, Pa. has been named the official score clock provider of USA Wrestling. USA Wrestling will use Score-Clocks, Inc. equipment at its major championships.

Coming to a venue near you:
8/3-7 WATER SKI: GOODE National Championships, West Palm Beach, Fla.
8/3-7 WATER POLO: Men’s National Team Tournament, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro
8/4-8 EQUESTRIAN: Four-In-Hand Driving World Championships, Kecskemet, Hungary
8/5-14 WATER POLO: Men’s National Development Team vs. Serbia & Montenegro, Leskovac, Serbia & Montenegro
8/5-8 EQUESTRIAN: Vaulting World Championships, Stadl Paura, Austria
8/6-8 WATER POLO: Men’s Senior National Championships, Los Angeles, Calif.
8/8-10 WATER POLO: Men’s National Team vs. Greece, Greece
8/13-15 WATER POLO: Men’s 20 & Under Nationals, Pacific Zone
8/13-29 GAMES OF THE XXVIII OLYMPIAD, ATHENS, GREECE
8/19-22 WATER POLO: Men’s National Cadet Team Tournament, Obrenovac, Serbia & Montenegro
8/26-29 PENTATHLON: Youth World Championship, Sofia, Bulgaria

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT: Cyclist Jason McCartney
by Jessica Scott

His fingers start to numb. His nose begins to run. He feels the sweat forming ice crystals on the back of his neck. It’s a frigid winter morning, and Jason McCartney only has 100 miles to go.

He squints through watery-eyes down the rural, never-ending road, wondering when he will see another sign of life. He listens as the pedals churn to a steady, familiar rhythm. He probably won’t see any cars for at least another hour on this Iowa highway. It’s a cold and lonely training session, but 30-year-old McCartney wouldn’t want it any other way.

He’s preparing for 2004 Olympic Games, the thrill of his professional cycling career. He never imagined he would be on the verge of something this monumental. After a stunning win at the 2004 Olympic Team Selection Road Race – McCartney himself said it was a surprise – the “underdog” in the cycling world is focused on helping the team, not himself, win in Athens.

“I’m just going over there to try to be as strong as possible and try my hardest,” McCartney said. “It’s a team race, so the pressure’s off me. I’m not going there looking for a medal, just looking to help the team. But then again, anything’s possible in cycling.”

He’s a man who’s come a long way on his bike. Ten years ago, McCartney walked away from cycling altogether. After his third year racing for a Belgian amateur team in Europe, riding started to become a drag, he said, and McCartney began to find other things more worthwhile.

“I got burnt out; it wasn’t fun anymore,” he said. “If you don’t like it, you can’t do it. I went out for a ride with my English roommate, and I didn’t go in front of him for 100 miles.”

McCartney’s motivation sank even lower when a friend was killed while cycling. In 1996, a drunk driver hit and killed another cyclist friend of his in Iowa. McCartney said as the years went by, he began to mature and realize that he really did love cycling. He still had his bikes, and he decided to give it another try. After competing locally, he eventually secured a spot on team Jeep Breielle, an elite amateur squad. McCartney was back, and this time with renewed focus.

“The second time around I knew that once I stopped, that would be it – I wouldn’t race again,” he said. “I knew it was my last shot to make it as a cyclist. Once I stop this time, I’m not going to keep racing because there’s other stuff to do in life.”

That determination is what gets him out of bed in the morning for his somewhat strange workouts. Unlike most elite cyclists, McCartney, who chops wood for exercise on his off days, never wanted to relocate to a warm climate for his training. A graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School, he opts to live in Coralville, Iowa, a place where he can train in peace and enjoy nature, he said.

"A lot of guys laugh at me because I train in crazy cold conditions in the winter, low teens, single-digit temperatures,” McCartney said. “I like the change of seasons, plus riding in the snow is good for your handling. Others fly to warm places; some of my teammates are from New Zealand and haven’t seen winter in 10 years. I like the change of pace – it’s good for your mind.”

The newly wed McCartney, who married his wife Andrea in May, won’t get to watch any other events during the Olympic Games. The up-and-coming rider, who just a few years ago never wanted to climb on a bike again, has to quickly return home – to prepare for another race.

“Since I matured later, I’m just now coming into my good years,” McCartney said. “I’m kind of kicking myself that I’m doing this well. That means I have to keep riding and train harder. But, it makes all those long, lonely miles worth it.”

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