Michigan Runner

EMU Grad Nieto Soars
Ritz’s Games
Reflect
Yo-Yo Year
Jamie Nieto easily cleared 2.28 in the Olympic qualifying round.
Eastern Michigan University graduate Jamie Nieto came within one
miss of an Olympic high jump medal. Nieto, 27, peaked — literally
and physically — at almost the perfect time, clearing a personal-record
7 feet, 8 inches (2.34 meters) in his second attempt at Athens.
Sweden’s Stefan Holm, who cleared 2.34 on his third and last attempt,
later jumped 2.36 to claim the gold medal. Matt Hemingway of the U.S. and
Jaroslav Baba of the Czech Republic, both of whom cleared 2.34 on their
first tries, brought home silver and bronze.
Nieto, a three-time All-American at Eastern, enjoyed a breakthrough
year leading up to his win in this summer’s U.S. Trials. Ranked among the
top 10 U.S. jumpers since 1998, he had never finished higher than fourth at
nationals before winning it all in 2003.
He equaled his personal best of 2.30 meters (7-6.5) three times that year,
posted six of the top eight clearances by an American that season, claimed
silver at the Pan Am Games, and finished seventh in his World
Championship debut.
Nieto was so excited to win this year’s Trials in a then-PR 2.33 meters,
that he ripped off his shirt and did a back flip. He was a bit more subdued
in Greece, but soared higher yet. There is no telling how high Nieto will set
the bar by 2008. MR
U-M Grad Potts
‘Reborn’
as Triathlon Star
University of Michigan graduate Andy Potts was first out of the water
in the Olympic men’s triathlon Aug. 26. “What a rush,” said Potts,
in only his second year as a triathlete. “It just adds to the experience
(of the Games).”
Potts, a six-time swimming All-American as a Wolverine, eventually finished
22nd. “It was the best I could do,” he said. Don’t be surprised if his best
gets better. Potts has undergone something of an athletic resurrection since
his college years, during which he fell just shy of earning a berth on the
1996 Olympic swim team, placing fourth in the 400-meter individual medley
at the U.S. Trials.
After graduating from U-M in 2000, Potts took a job in corporate sales
in Chicago. In 2002, he looked at himself — 25 pounds heavier— in the
mirror, and decided to try triathlons. He proved a quick study, reclaiming
much of his swimming prowess and blooming as both a bicyclist and runner.
He placed 11th at the 2004 World Triathlon Championships, earning a
berth on the U.S. team.
Potts has undergone other transformations of late as well. On Jan. 30,
he married fellow U-M grad Lisa Simes, a Canadian national team gymnast
and acrobat for Cirque du Soleil’s “O” Show in Las Vegas.
Potts, who expects to compete on the World Cup circuit at least six to
eight more years, stands to just get better. Beijing in 2008? Stay tuned. MR
Dathan Ritzenhein dropped out of the Olympic final to keep his
injury from growing worse.
Dathan Ritzenhein last? Dathan Ritzenhein, DNF? It is
hard believing the last two outcomes for the Rockford
native, 21, viewed by many as the future of American
distance running.
Of course, the 10,000-meter U.S. Olympic Trials — and
Games themselves — are not jogs in the park for anyone.
Especially trying to run on a broken foot.
When Ritzenhein pulled up four miles into the 10,000
meters at Athens Aug. 20, it marked the end to a year of Mt.
Everest-type highs and Death Valley lows. Peaks included
coming back from stress fractures in both femurs to win the
2003 NCAA cross country title, and running a U.S. collegiate
10,000-meter record 27:38.50 this spring at Stanford.
Troughs? Another stress fracture — this time in the fourth
metatarsal of his left foot — presented Ritzenhein tough alternatives:
he could limp through the Trials and probably earn
an Olympic berth, based on his A-standard time at Stanford,
but possibly hurt his foot worse. Or he could bag what he’d
worked and dreamed toward.
Faced with Hobson’s choice, “Ritz” opted to hobble on.
Few runners, even healthy, have much luck racing against
the likes of Kenenisa Bekele. Ritzenhein went to Athens for
the experience, ran with the world’s best, then dropped out
near four miles to keep his injury from growing worse.
Before the Games, Ritzenhein announced he was leaving
the University of Colorado to turn professional. The
hoped-for result: time to heal, less pressure to race, and
maturation for Games to come. MR
M I C H I G A N R U N N E R & F I T N E S S S P O R T S
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