Schwartz competes at Olympic Trials today

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lakeforest/ ... s2.article

Schwartz competes at Olympic Trials today
July 3, 2008
By DAN SHALIN dshalin@pioneerlocal.com

Two thousand eight will be a memorable year for Lake Forest High School graduate Jillian Schwartz, who is scheduled marry fiance Seth Benson in October.

But the events this week in Eugene, Ore., will determine just how big a year it will be for the 28-year-old. Today and Sunday at University of Oregon's Hayward Field, Schwartz will participate in the pole vault competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The top three vaulters will earn a spot on the U.S. squad for the Summer Games in Beijing this August.

Schwartz, a Duke alum, is looking to make a return to the Olympics after finishing 11th in the semifinals at the 2004 games in Athens. Though she's in fine form (15-6), increasing her personal best twice this year, the trials figure to be even more competitive than four years ago.

Two-time defending USA outdoor champ Jenn Stucynzki seems a lock to win this week's competition. So Schwartz, runner-up at the 2004 trials, will be among 6 or 7 women vying for the other two spots on the U.S. team.

Schwartz, who competed at the 2000 and 2004 trials, has experience on her side. Yet, her 2004 success means there is added pressure and higher expectations.

"It helps (having been at the trials before). I just try to do the same things I do at any normal meet and don't try to change things too much," Schwartz said. "Having been to the Olympics, it would obviously be really, really nice to get back there again. But the other people out there are really hungry to get on the team, and you don't know when someone can have a big jump on the right day."

Schwartz, who has rented a house in Oregon this week, said Hayward Field is considered a good place to jump thanks to a fast runway. The winds, though, can be tricky.

Qualify or not, the vaulter plans to compete on the European track circuit in July, participating in events in Germany, Greece and possibly Spain. The action gets underway in Beijing during the second week of August.

This summer likely will be a last hurrah for Schwartz, who expects to walk away from the sport and relocate from her training base in Jonesboro, Ark., to New York City later this year.

"I've been saying this is the last year. That it's my last go of it," she said. "I'm getting married in the fall. I haven't quite figured out (what I will do professionally). I'd like to be involved in athletics somehow. But I haven't decided what that will be."