RUDOLPH STRUGGLES TO CONQUER ANEMIA BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - One year after hitting the depths in her track career and nearly quitting, Amy Rudolph has reached the heights again. She is an Olympian for the second time. "With all the experience I've had over the last four years, I should be able to deal with it," Rudolph said of her 5,000-meter race at the Sydney Games. Last August she was ready to stop competing, after failing to make the 5,000 final at the World Championships in Seville, Spain. "I ran disastrously in the heats," she said. "It was my slowest time ever for the 5K." When Rudolph returned home, she learned she was anemic -- again. "I was physically and mentally at my lowest point," she said. "Quitting crossed my mind, but I knew there was more in me. I didn't want to quit because of my potential. "At first, I said to myself, 'This is the end.' Then I questioned it. I didn't feel it in my heart to quit. There was always that word 'maybe.' I knew I hadn't gotten the best out of me yet." She was right. Since last month's Olympic trials, Rudolph has run personal bests in two events -- 4:06 for 1,500 meters at Hectal, Belgium, and 8:39.86 for 3,000 meters at Zurich, Switzerland. *** For the full Rudolph feature, see http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569319634-fb8
