![]() U.S. athletes showed off new uniforms for the first time Monday night on the University of Oregon campus. Despite 86-degree heat, some wore the arm coverings that tests show reduce draft by 19 percent.
DAVID J. PHILLIP / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Athletes taking advantage of rest daysArizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.02.2008
EUGENE, Ore. — So it's Olympic trials week, but there is time for surfing the net, sending e-mails and texting. Not to mention video games, TV and sailing over the high jump bar.
That's what's on tap for Arizona Wildcats high jumper Liz Patterson.
After she advanced to Friday's finals of the U.S. track and field trials, Patterson will take advantage of the athlete hospitality lounge, she said. The recreation area is likely to be packed with Tuesday and today being athletes' rest days during the 10-day event.
"They have video games, snacks, TVs. I go in there and check out my Facebook and whatnot," the 20-year-old said. "We're staying in dorms so any entertainment is good."
The laid-back attitude is an asset for Patterson, who capped her sophomore year with an NCAA championship.
On Monday night, it took only two jumps, but the Texas native cleared 5 feet 11 1/2 inches to advance along with 15 other competitors.
"I felt real fresh," Patterson said Tuesday morning. "It went real good, and it went so fast. We were only out there for 40 minutes."
Being in the moment can only help Patterson who has gained much confidence in the last two months. Her aim on Friday is a personal best of 6-3 or higher.
"The sky's the limit," she said.
Coolest name
Queen Quedith Earth Harrison is one of the youngest athletes to qualify for the Beijing Games at age 19. She ran 54.60 seconds in the 400 hurdles on Sunday night for second place and a trip to China.
The Virginia Tech sophomore had to leap over a competitor who had fallen into her lane in the final stretch. It was a huge comeback after a hamstring injury forced her to scratch at the NCAA championships earlier this month.
Harrison told The New York Times she was named by her father, who expected great accomplishments from his children.
"It's a challenging name to live up to. When your dad names you Queen, you're kind of expected to be great in whatever you put your mind to," she said.
Lagat commits to double
He still has to make the team in the 1,500, but on Tuesday, Tucsonan Bernard Lagat said he will attempt to run both the 1,500 and the 5,000 in Beijing.
It is the same double Lagat won at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan, last summer.
"I think this is the time that I'm going to make the decision early," Lagat said at a news conference Tuesday. "I'm going to run the 1,500 and why not pursue the 5,000? I did it last year. I think I'm going with that plan."
During this week's trials, four races over seven days means Lagat appreciates the rest days.
Lagat qualified Monday night in the 5,000 meters. He will run the first round of the 1,500 on Thursday. Semifinals are Friday, and Sunday evening is the final.
"You know I am feeling good right now. I am glad that we have two rest days because there is one (race) down."
The 10-day trials meet varies greatly from last year's four-day U.S. championships, said Lagat's coach, James Li.
"We have almost three days to rest and get in some good training," Li said.
New unis
It was 86 degrees and even hotter on the track Monday at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.
But some athletes still had their arms and parts of their legs covered as they paraded around the track. The deep blue swaths of material (with USA in red letters) are part of Nike's design of Team USA's official uniforms to be worn in Beijing. The outfits made their debuts Monday night.
The unis included arm coverings (think tights on the arms), gloves and full-body suits (think the full-body Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit).
The Swift material reduces weight to achieve less drag and (hopefully) produce faster times, the Oregon-based company said. Nike says the Swift Suit has 7 percent less drag than the Athens version and could mean .02 of a second faster in the 100 meters. Hmmmm.
The gloves and arm coverings have dimpled fabrics (like a golf ball) to cut wind resistance and allow arms to slice through the air faster. Tests showed that compared with bare skin, the arm coverings reduce draft by 19 percent and the socks by 12.5 percent.
Can Nike come up with a mask to battle the air pollution in Beijing?
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