A leap of faith carries Marks to the Olympics

The former Apple Valley and Gophers standout will compete in the triple jump.

By RACHEL BLOUNT, Star Tribune

Last update: August 5, 2008 - 5:18 PM

During all the years she trained to make the U.S. Olympic team, Shani Marks envisioned how she would react if she succeeded. She didn't think about how it would affect everyone else.

Since the former Gophers star won the triple jump at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials to secure her place on the team, she and her family have been inundated with congratulations and good wishes. They have heard from friends separated by time and distance. That rush of positive energy, Marks said, will help carry her in Beijing, where she will compete in the preliminaries of the triple jump on Aug. 15.

"It's been crazy, way better than I imagined," said Marks, who won the trials with a personal-best leap of 47 feet, 2¼ inches. "I'm surprised at how excited everyone is for me. I'm amazed at the support.

"I've been saying my goal is to make the finals. I'll be tweaking the technical part of my jump [during training], so I can put myself into position to do well at the Olympics. And then, whatever happens happens."

No U.S. woman has ever advanced to the finals of the triple jump at the Olympics. Marks, a four-time U.S. champion, is jumping extraordinarily well this season. At the trials in June, her winning mark was less than three inches shy of Tiombe Hurd's American record of 47-5.

Since the trials, the Brooklyn Park resident has continued training at the University of Minnesota. She tuned up for the Olympics with a competition in Belgium, where she placed fifth (44-2).

Still, the United States lags behind in the event. Nineteen women have jumped farther than Marks this year, led by Greece's Hrysopiyi Devetzi, who leapt 49-11¼ last month. Devetzi won the silver medal in 2004, the third year the women's triple jump was part of the Olympic program.

Defending Olympic gold medalist Francoise Mbango Etone of Cameroon and bronze medalist Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia are among this year's best performers and will return to the Summer Games. World champion Yargelis Savigne of Cuba has three of the four longest jumps in the world this year and will be a favorite.

"I think it will take a jump of 47-6 to make the final [on Aug. 17]," Marks said. "I don't feel like I had a great jump at trials. I think I can go a few inches farther."

Marks said her experiences at two Olympic trials and two world championships have prepared her for the greatest competition of her career. She will share it with her husband, former Gophers football player Ron Johnson; her parents, Curtis and Gloria Marks; two of her sisters and a friend, all of whom will travel to Beijing.

"At the worlds, I competed against the same triple jumpers, with the same huge crowd," she said. "I've seen athletes put so much pressure on themselves that they don't have any fun. I want to have fun, and I want to take in the whole experience, because I know it goes fast."

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