American Record: Louise Ritter, 6-7.75
2007 U.S. Champion: Amy Acuff, 6-2.25
2004 Olympic Trials Champion: Tisha Waller, 6-6
Top 5 Seed Times
1.) Chaunté Howard, 6-6
2.) Destinee Hooker, 6-5
3.) Amy Acuff, 6-4.75
4.) Sharon Day, 6-4.75
5.) Deirdre Mullen, 6-3.5
Chaunté Howard’s biography starts out impressive and doesn’t stop. She was the 2006 U.S. outdoor champion, indoor champion, and 2005 world outdoor silver medalist, a 2004 Olympian and a multiple NCAA champion. It’s why the 24-year-old is regarded as the favorite to win her first Olympic Trials, ahead of a veteran like Amy Acuff and challengers Destinee Hooker and Sharon Day.
Acuff should make her fourth Olympics if she can jump to form, which means above her 6-4.75 mark she jumped this season. A six-time U.S. outdoor champion, Acuff, 32, wants to defend her 2007 title this year.
Hooker has the second-seeded mark but the 11th best mark in the U.S. this season. Each year she won an NCAA title (2006 and 2007) she finished third at the U.S. outdoor championships.
Just a few months after graduating from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Sharon Day has a personal best of 6-4 and a runner-up finish at the U.S. outdoor championships last year to prove she can jump under pressure. While at Cal Poly, she won the NCAA title as a sophomore.