Sachse, Texas

Track and Field

Beijing bound

Sachse’s Diana Pickler earn Olympic spot as heptathlete

By Greg Ford
Sports Editor
gford@wylienews

PHOTO: Diana Pickler (second from front) stayed close enough to competitor Virginia Johnson in the last event of Saturday’s heptathlon, the 800 meters, to capture third place and secure a spot on the United States team that will compete in the summer Olympics in China. Photo by Victor Sailer

Check out this link for: Schedule and Results

http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials-TF/schedule.asp

SACHSE (July 3, 2008) - Like a lot of young athletes, Diana Pickler imagined herself participating in the Olympics.

“You don’t think about it being realistic,” she noted.
Then, a couple of years ago at the 2006 USA Outdoor Track & Field Champion-ships, the Sachse resident and Rowlett High School graduate scored 5,855 points in the heptathlon (a seven-event competition), good enough for fifth place.

Last year, she increased that to 6,205 at the Texas Relays, and this past weekend she garnered 6,257 at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore.

The latter earned her third place, meaning Pickler, 24, will be part of the United States contingent at the Beijing, China Summer Olympics in August.

“I wasn’t surprised,” said Ray Young, her coach at Rowlett. “I knew she had the capability based on the scores she had in the past.”

Pickler’s spot on the team wasn’t locked up until the final event, the 800 meters on Saturday, a grueling affair considering competitors had already engaged in six events over the course of two days.

Her mission was to stay with 1.5 seconds of Virginia Johnson, the fourth-place participant. Pickler did that and beat out Johnson by 10 points.

“I just stayed with her on the track and said ‘I can do this,’” Pickler said. “All I know I had to do was stay with her.”

Pickler added, “You’ve got the Olympic games running through your mind, and if that doesn’t get you going (nothing will).”

After that, Pickler had the honor of doing a lap carrying Old Glory, an opportunity afforded every U.S. qualifier. It was during that moment Pickler realized that she was an Olympian.

Among those in the applauding crowd were a number of family members, she noted.

The situation was bittersweet, though, because her twin sister and fellow heptathlete Julie, failed to qualify. She withdrew before the start of the 800 meters.

The sisters ran track together at Rowlett and for the past few years at Washington State University.

“It’s really hard,” Diana said. “(There is) a side of you that is breaking your heart. I wanted to see her do so well.”

Young followed both as best he could, noting he watched Diana’s 800-meter run on Internet. The coach was cautiously optimistic about her chances.

During a state meet, he said, Pickler was disqualified in the 300-meter hurdles and during another event she stepped on the line in the 200 meters.

“In big situations, bad things seemed to happen,” Young said. “I had my fingers crossed that nothing bad would happen, and it didn’t.”

Pickler has about a month and a half before the Olympic heptathlon (Aug. 15-16). She doesn’t plan on altering her training, saying it got her this far.

Young notes that she’ll be taking a step up in “competition,” adding that Pickler goes from facing collegiate athletes to some of the world’s best.

The heptathlon consists of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin and 800 meters.

“This is going to get her ready for the next Olympic games in the next four years,” Young said.

He also believes Julie has a shot of making that U.S. team as well.

“I think both are just entering their prime,” Young said.

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