Shawn Touney Communications Intern USA Track and Field (317) 261-0478 ext. 357 Jenny Adams, 2001 USA Outdoor long jump champion, spoke today on a USATF teleconference. She talked about her breakthrough season and her participation in the upcoming 2001 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Edmonton, Canada. After finishing second in the 100m hurdles (13.11 seconds) at the 2001 GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Championships, Adams has become the dominant hurdler in Europe this season with wins in Zagreb (12.72), Lausanne (12.68), Paris (12.81), Nice (12.89), and Stockholm (12.84). Adams won both the 2001 NCAA indoor long jump, and this year's U.S. Outdoor Championships, 6.68 meters/21 feet, 11 inches, and 6.71 m/22-0.25, respectively. The following are excerpts from Monday's teleconference. Q: Were you expecting to make it look so easy in Europe? A: My expectations were just to go and do things right. Get my mechanics right, get experience. I never imagined myself going over there and having an undefeated season, but I am not really surprised about it either. It put me in a good position, and I am extremely confident going into Canada. I have beaten everyone that is going to be in the final, and there is no reason that I can't do it again in the finals at Worlds. Q: Have you long jumped in Europe? A: Yes I did. I jumped in Rome and that was my first meet coming off the plane. I was definitely jet lagged, and I didn't jump too well. I jumped in Germany, but I was having some problems with my run. I think I have been working on my hurdles so much that my speed is picking up a little bit, and just threw my run off. I needed a coach to adjust it, and I didn't have a coach, I was trying to adjust to things on my own. I haven't come along far enough to be able to do that myself. But I am at home now, with my coach, and he's taking care of that, so I will be ready for Canada. Q: Not may people have done this double. How did you get involved with this double? A: Early on in high school I was a sprinter. I just started running the hurdles at 16 because I just felt I wasn't going to make it far enough in the 100m. I didn't have enough foot speed. I just stuck with the long jump, and it was good for me. I just did it through college. Q: This will be your first major international meet, how are you approaching it? A: I am just trying to look at it like it's any other meet. That's how I got ready for Europe. I just try to say it's the same race I practice everyday with my coach and it's the same race I ran a 12.68 in. That kind of keeps me calm. Q: Now that you have been home working on your long jump, do you have the same confidence in the long jump as you do with the hurdles? A: I wouldn't say it's exactly the same, I am a little more confident in the hurdles. But I feel really fortunate that they are on different days, and I have a day off in between the events. I will be flying into Canada thinking I am a long jumper because it's my first event. Then I will drop that no matter what happens. I will forget about that and focus on the hurdles. Q: Has Carl Lewis given you any help? A: More advice than anything, he is like a mentor. It's always a treat when he comes out to the track. He helped me with my mechanics the first day I met him. He gives me a different point of view, from an athlete's perspective. The person I get the most advice from is Leroy Burrell. He really helps me out on the mental aspects of getting ready, and being a world-class athlete. Q: This could be considered a long season, with you being at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Do you feel fresh? A: Yeah, when I was finished with Indoors, I took off about 3 weeks, and I started to get back into it slowly, knowing I needed to peak later this summer. Q: Being the only USA athlete in the women's long jump, is that any additional pressure? How do you approach that? A: It could be, but if I put pressure on myself, that isn't going to be a positive thing. I am just going to go in there and work on what I do in practice. I am going to try not to acknowledge my competitors, because I can get overwhelmed there. It is just going to be me and my coach out there. And if I do all that, I should be very successful. Q: The post Olympic year is often a year we see faces that we are going to see in the next 4-8 years. There wasn't much in the way of a fresh face besides you and Alan Webb. Do you see yourself as a future star of the sport? A: Absolutely, I have seen myself that way for a long time, coming out and being on top for a decade. That's my goal to run through my thirties. I think I will continue to improve every year, and make an impact on the track world. Q: Can you elaborate on Coach Burrell's impact on your mental game? A: He has sat down with me and talked about other athletes and how you have to take yourself out of what everyone else is doing. He told me you have to be selfish and learning about little things that you have to learn to be an athlete. He helped me out with an agent and the media. Q: It's got to be a real life changing experience going from an undergraduate to being the biggest new American star, with Webb maybe out of the picture. A: I think so. I had to focus on the same 10 hurdles I run in practice because it is easy to get overwhelmed going over to Europe and running against girls who are representing their country and it gets intense. I think I am better off because I can visualize and calm myself, and see myself running it and winning it. So it won't be a big deal because I have already seen myself winning it. Q: Was Nationals the first time you have ever run again Gail Devers? A: Actually no, I ran against her in the Olympic Trials last year. And I noticed a huge difference in my attitude from last year and this year. Last year I was intimidated by her, and when we stood behind the track, she owned the track and everyone knew it. This year I wasn't going to let that happen. I have to get control of my own race and I can't let anyone on that track control my race. Now when I step on the track I don't feel intimidated by her anymore. She doesn't own the track; I own the track. I think you need to have that attitude in order to win the race. Q: What was it like to watch the Games last year? A: It was bittersweet. I cried for the athletes, and I was sad because I felt that I could be there. But I believe I will be in the Olympics in Athens. Q: Do you tend to get your best jumps in early? A: Most definitely. Your first jump should be your best. That's when I am the freshest and it's really good to do that because it shakes up the rest of the field.
