Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200806/20080627/article_364691.htm
US coach tips team as best
Created: 2008-6-27
THE US Olympic women's athletics coach on Wednesday predicted that the country will have its strongest team ever at the Beijing Games.
And that's before she even knows who'll be on the team.
"This will be our best Olympic Games," coach Jeanette Bolden said, "because it will have a nice mixture of both veteran athletes and up-and-coming athletes."
The American Olympic trials begin in Eugene, Oregon, tomorrow and end on July 6, and the final roster will be announced on July 13.
The United States topped the athletics medal table at the 2004 Athens Olympics with a total of 25. That was the country's largest haul since taking home 30 medals at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.
When first pressed at a news conference to gauge how good the US team will be in China, Bolden shied away from a direct answer.
Later, when asked whether the American squad potentially might be stronger than the group that competed in Athens, Bolden said she thinks it could be. "You have athletes that are veterans that will make the team - I anticipate will make the team - that may have made the team before but may not have medaled. They're veterans now. They know what to expect," said Bolden.
Among the US athletes who did not earn medals in 2004 but are expected to perform well in Beijing are sprinters Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon and pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski. Medal winners from four years ago who could be in the team include Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards and Jeremy Wariner.
And that's before she even knows who'll be on the team.
"This will be our best Olympic Games," coach Jeanette Bolden said, "because it will have a nice mixture of both veteran athletes and up-and-coming athletes."
The American Olympic trials begin in Eugene, Oregon, tomorrow and end on July 6, and the final roster will be announced on July 13.
The United States topped the athletics medal table at the 2004 Athens Olympics with a total of 25. That was the country's largest haul since taking home 30 medals at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.
When first pressed at a news conference to gauge how good the US team will be in China, Bolden shied away from a direct answer.
Later, when asked whether the American squad potentially might be stronger than the group that competed in Athens, Bolden said she thinks it could be. "You have athletes that are veterans that will make the team - I anticipate will make the team - that may have made the team before but may not have medaled. They're veterans now. They know what to expect," said Bolden.
Among the US athletes who did not earn medals in 2004 but are expected to perform well in Beijing are sprinters Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon and pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski. Medal winners from four years ago who could be in the team include Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards and Jeremy Wariner.
Agencies
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