TRACK NOTES
SACRAMENTO – Stacy Dragila was on a hotel elevator yesterday when an excited fan couldn’t help himself.
“All you need is three more [inches],” the fan blurted out.
“Maybe I’ll get it today,” said Dragila.
“Good luck,” said another fan.
“Thanks,” said Dragila. “I guess it’s showtime.”
Dragila, 33, has been showing her stuff in the pole vault, which USA Today ranked as the third-toughest athletic event behind hitting a pitched baseball and driving an Indy race car, for years. She won gold in the 2000 Olympics and set the American record of 15 feet, 10 inches in June.
She wants more. Russia’s Svetlana Feofanova broke Dragila’s record with a jump of 16 feet earlier this month. When asked what she planned on doing at these Olympic Trials, Dragila, who grew up in nearby Auburn, smiled and said, “Something special.”
It could happen. Dragila has changed coaches and moved to Phoenix so she can train full time. She has the largest fan base at these trials and sailed through the earlier rounds yesterday.
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Joanna Hayes served notice she intends to win the 100 hurdles when she posted a blistering 12.50 to win her semifinal heat. The time matches the second-fastest in the world this year, set by Gail Devers. Devers qualified for the finals by finishing second in her semifinal heat with a time of 12.70.
Allen Johnson advanced to the finals in the 110 hurdles by winning his semifinal heat in 13.17. But Terrence Trammell had the fastest semifinal time, clocking a 13.14 to win his heat.
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Melvin Lister, who competes unattached, was the surprise winner in Saturday’s triple jump when his leap of 58-feet, four inches was almost two feet farther than his former best. In this competition, overshadowed by reports of positive drugs test, Lister’s improvement raised an eyebrow. Not to worry, he said. His mom is a federal prison guard and his father is a cop.
“You can’t get away with anything,” said Lister, who said he hopes to raise enough money to send his parents to Athens.
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Breaux Greer won his fifth straight U.S. javelin title and will make his third straight trip to the Olympics with a U.S. Trials record throw of 270 feet, four inches. Greer, a former three-sport high school star from Louisiana, has thrown a football 80 yards from his knees and been clocked throwing a baseball 98 mph. Greer says he’s thinking about pursuing a pro baseball career.