Heptathlete Hyleas Fountain knows what it’s like to compete in the Olympics.
In 2008, she finished third but received the silver medal after the original second-place finisher failed a drug test. Since the beginning of the 2012 season, she’s been attempting a return after a withdrawing from the USA Outdoor Championships for medical reasons. Fountain knew coming back to win this year was not going to be easy, and her first-day performance proved it.
For the heptathletes in Eugene, the 100-meter hurdles started the day — and was far from promising.
In the first heat, first-place finisher Lindsay Schwartz logged a time of 13.94 seconds, ultimately putting her in 13th place overall. The event took a turn in the fifth and final heat, when Fountain finally got her chance to run. The first-, second- and third-place finishers (Yvette Lewis, Fountain and Chelsea Carrier-Eades, respectively) came within 0.34 seconds of matching the world heptathlon record.
For Fountain, this was a success.
“That was a very smooth race for me,” she said. “It’s the fastest I’ve run all year, so I’m definitely very happy with it.”
It was during the high jump that the serious competitors started to show. Fountain made her name known again with a solid effort, while Barbara Nwaba and Sharon Day also emerged from the crowd. All three finished by passing a height of 1.87 meters, although Nwaba pulled ahead by achieving the jump on her second attempt. Previous front-runner Yvette Lewis only passed 1.75 meters and sat in a tie for seventh overall.
The heptathlon’s next event, the shot put, would again change the tone of competition. Three new front-runners appeared, including second-place finisher Bettie Wade, who ran a 13.72 in the 100-meter hurdles and jumped a 1.81 in the high jump, leaving her with 2,178 points. Fountain dropped to fifth in the shot put, giving her 2,967 points after three events. Day had also been consistent, throwing 13.40 meters and finishing with 2,839 points after three evens, putting her within reach of her goal.
Fountain, Day and Wade came into the Olympic Trials with overall qualifying scores within 500 points of each other; Fountain had a qualifying score of 6,735, the best out of the three. But with the pressure of the Olympics on her shoulders, it seemed she was struggling to meet the times and marks she needed to make it to London. As day one was coming to a close, Chantae McMillan was also becoming a threat after winning the shot put with a throw of 15.02 meters.
McMillian came blasting through with a 24.32 in the final event of the day: the 200-meter run. It was a personal record for her, and she wasn’t alone. Four of the five women in the first heat hit personal bests, and suddenly the field was closing in. In the second heat, Nwaba placed first, with a time of 24.33 — just a hundredth of a second behind McMillian. The entirety of heat two also achieved personal records.
Kasey Hill won the third heat in 23.96, a lifetime best, which pushed her to the front of the event overall. San Diego State’s Allison Reaser and Central Park Track Club member Heather Miller also bested McMillian, with times of 24.12 and 24.22, respectively. McMillian was suddenly back in fourth in the event — finishing the day with 3,762 points — and Fountain was setting up to run.
She pushed, but her time of 23.84 put her in third place in her heat and third place overall. She still leads the pack with 3,948 points after four events and finished her day happy but far from relaxed.
“I thought today went pretty good,” Fountain said. “I had a few good things and I had a few bad things. Not everything went the way I wanted it to.”
Still in high spirits, she knows she’s going to have a tough journey tomorrow.
“I’m just ready to get through day two and to make it to the games,” she said.
Because she has already met the Olympic “A” Standard this year, she must simply place to punch her ticket to London. And this year, she’s competing with a different mindset than previously.
“I’m just happy to be competing for (myself) now,” she said. “I felt last year, I was competing for others, and I’m definitely competing for myself now and focusing on me and what I need to do.”
As a veteran in the group, she feels some of the strains that commonly plague older athletes. After watching former decathlon World Champion Brian Clay crumble during his attempts to make the podium, she empathized with what he experienced.
“I was definitely hurting for him,” Fountain said. “Being a little older in this event, I’m feeling it right now. I cried almost a tear for him because I know how bad he wants it, and I know how hard he works for it.”
Still, she won’t be giving up any time soon. London will be the goal — and more than that, placing in London.
“I definitely want to get on the podium,” she said. “That’s the best thing to do. I’ve been there before so I know what it takes to get there.”