Culpepper makes most of Olympic experience By Mike Jensen Knight Ridder Newspapers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYDNEY, Australia — Shayne Culpepper, who came to Australia 2½ weeks ago as a tourist, here to support her Olympian husband, on Wednesday was dressed in a USA track outfit, at the starting line at Olympic Stadium, rubbing her hands together, waiting to run a qualifying heat of the 1,500 meters. "Running in front of the whole world," she said. "It's amazing." Her Olympics experience was over after 4 minutes, 12.52 seconds. She missed qualifying for the semifinals by less than a second. But she hadn't come here to win a medal. This is a young woman who admits she had never taken track too seriously back at Haverford (Pa.) High. She wasn't the top distance runner, and had even talked of switching to cheerleading. (Her father talked her out of that one.) After failing to make the traveling squad her first season at the University of Colorado, she began to realize that training actually might be useful. Within a year, she was a college all-American. Three years later, she is here. She hadn't even brought her spikes. Just a week before the opening ceremonies, Culpepper, 27, was with her husband, Alan, up the coast in Brisbane, where the U.S. team was training. He was preparing to run the 10,000 meters here (Slowed by the flu, Alan did not make the 10,000 final). She got a phone call from a U.S. Track and Field official. "I thought she was calling to say, 'Oh, there's no room for you on the charter (to Sydney). Something like that," Culpepper said. full article: http://thedailycamera.com/sports/misc/a295716a.html == "It's the perfect time of year/Somewhere far away from here" - Barenaked Ladies _____________________________________________________________ i-run.com - your running log A free online running log
