Riverside North grad Hayes fulfills dream by making U.S. Olympic team
11:36 PM PDT on Sunday, July 18, 2004
SACRAMENTO - Joanna Hayes is headed to Athens after finishing second to Gail Devers in a photo finish in the women's 100-meter hurdles Sunday in the U. S. Olympic track and field trials.
Before heading overseas for her first Olympics, the Riverside North graduate is making a trip to the tattoo parlor for some cosmetics on a tattoo of a dove and the Olympic rings on her upper right thigh.
"I am going to add a little shading and maybe '2004' on it to give it a little bit of color," Hayes said.
AP photo Riverside North grad Joanna Hayes edges Melissa Morrison (4) to finish second in the 100-meter hurdles, earning an Olympic spot. Hayes, 27, got the tattoo in 1999 when she won the NCAA 400-meter title during her senior year at UCLA. She vowed to signify her Olympic dream becoming reality by adding color when she qualified for the Olympics.That day came Sunday when she placed second to Devers in a 100 hurdles race decided by two thousandths of a second, 12.547 to 12.549. Melissa Morrison, the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist, was third in 12.61.
Hayes became the second track athlete from North to qualify for the Olympics during the nine-day meet. Chaunte Howard placed second in the women's high jump last Friday, earning a trip to Athens.
Another North graduate, Nichole Denby, the 2004 NCAA champion at Texas, was seventh in 13.00 and failed to qualify.
Moreno Valley Canyon Springs High grad Mickey Grimes won't be heading to Athens after placing seventh in the men's 200 with a time of 20.98.
It's been a long path to the Olympics for Hayes, who finished fourth in the 400 hurdles in the 2000 trials and did not compete in the 2001 and '02 seasons because of a lingering right hamstring injury and surgery on her right foot.
On Sunday, Hayes overcame another obstacle when she hit the third hurdle and inadvertently bumped Morrison in the adjacent right lane. Hayes recovered to pull even with Devers over the final two hurdles. Devers, a four-time world champion, dipped at the line to notch the victory.
"The battle is between you and the hurdle," Hayes said. "I think we just had our angels out there. I knew I was going to Athens before I stepped on that line today. When Melissa and me bumped, it was a matter of getting it done. Nothing was going to stop me today."
The ageless Devers (she's actually 37) qualified for her fifth Olympics, becoming only the third athlete, along with Carl Lewis and Willye White, to achieve the feat. It was the 10th national title for Devers, a former training partner of Hayes.
"To be that close to Gail Devers is an honor," Hayes said. "In 2000 I respected her and maybe feared her a little bit and was in awe of her. Now I respect her but there is no more fear."
Hayes scratched from the 400 hurdles, an event she competed in the 2003 World Championships.
"I've given the 400 hurdles so much of myself that just wanted to give the 100 hurdles the attention that they deserved," Hayes said. "I thought that I should give myself a chance to see if I could" qualify in the 100 hurdles.
It looked like a wise choice in Sunday's semifinals. Hayes clocked a personal-best 12.50 for the second-fastest time in the world this year, and moved into third on the all-time U. S. list. Despite a 1.6-meter-per-second headwind, Hayes' time in the final was her second-fastest ever. Her previous best of 12.67 was in 2000.
"Joanna has the experience," Devers said. "For her to concentrate on the 100 hurdles, you can see it paid off."
She added, "I am 10 years, four days and 1 hour older than her. I just wanted to be so grateful. Each time is like a new experience for me going to the Olympic Games. I feel like I am Joanna Hayes."
LA native Allyson Felix, 18, won the women's 200 meters and Muna Lee, 22, was second.
Shawn Crawford, 26, won the men's 200 and Justin Gatlin, 22, was second. Crawford and Gatlin also will run the 100 at the Athens Games.
Alan Webb, 21, won the men's 1,500 and will try to end the U. S.' 36-year Olympic medal drought in that event.
In other events Sunday, Terrence Trammell won the men's 110 hurdles, Jamie Nieto won the men's high jump, Jarred Rome won the men's discus and 41-year-old Teresa Vaill won the women's 20-kilometer walk.
Pomona's Torri Edwards, who faces a two-year ban if found guilty of using a banned stimulant, took the third spot in the women's 200.
The Associated Press contrinuted to this story.
