Always a Lady’Back : Wurth-Thomas leads strong group of former UA women into 2008 Olympics in Beijing
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/67426/
Whether you call them Lady Razorbacks or Razorbacks, the heritage of the University of Arkansas’ women’s track and field program has never been represented on the U. S. Olympic team like it will next month in Beijing, China.
Miler Christin Wurth-Thomas, pole vaulter April Steiner-Bennett, marathoner Deena Drossin Kastor, 10, 000-meters runner Amy Yoder Begley and halfmiler Nicole Teter, all alums of coach Lance Harter’s Arkansas teams, will represent the U. S. in the Games.
All have competed as Lady Razorbacks.
Henceforth, with the merger of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletics programs, athletics director Jeff Long said UA women athletes will be referred to as Razorbacks, just like the men.
Imagine the name change will be just fine with future UA women athletes, but not necessarily whole Hog accepted by those who have been Lady Razorbacks.
At least that’s the impression from an offhand mention to Wurth-Thomas about the recently disclosed name change.
“ Really ? ” Wurth-Thomas said. “ I haven’t heard that. You always are going to have Lady’Backs whether you get rid of the term or not. You are the Lady Razorbacks. You always are going to have that term around. ”
So long as the UA can continue churning out women athletes the caliber of the Beijing-bound — which of course also includes 2004 double gold Olympic medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown sprinting the 200 meter dash and 4 x 100 relay for Jamaica — seems “ great” is a great preface whether you call them Razorbacks or Lady Razorbacks.
“ We can tell recruits this little school in Fayetteville, Arkansas is pumping Olympic athletes out in style, ” Harter said. “ Hopefully it can be a selling point. Because this generation of recruits knows these athletes. ”
Yoder-Begley, Wur th-Thomas and Steiner-Bennett will make Olympic debuts. Drossin-Kastor has gone twice before and Teter once.
Wurth and Steiner (we’ll bag the hyphens and go with the maiden names UA fans remember ) are close friends who will room together in Beijing.
They were together on Harter’s greatest teams, the SEC cross country-indooroutdoor triple crown winners of 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. And they reached their Olympic moment on the same Olympic Trials Sunday in Eugene, Ore.
Steiner took third in the vault for the final U. S. Olympic spot and Wurth took the third and final spot in the 1, 500.
Steiner sneaked over between vaults to watch Wurth run. Wurth got an unexpected escort after her race to see Steiner clear her 15-1 vault for third.
“ After her race, ” Steiner said, “ she dragged the USA drug-testing rep [the top finishers are drug-tested within an hour after their event ] all the way around the track to get to our side to watch. That rep had to wait for Christin to watch me make the team. ”
Onlookers must have wondered if the drug rep and Wurth were related.
“ When I finished my race, ” Wurth said, “ I literally took the drug rep that I had and we sprinted up into the stadium to be able to cheer for her. I didn’t even get to my husband [former Razorback runner Patrick Thomas ] and coach until about an hour and a half after. ”
Wurth and Steiner are the only UA women in these Olympics still coached by their Arkansas coaches.
Harter has seen Wurth develop from a good college miler / 1, 500 runner (a four-time All-American for indoors, outdoors and cross country and the 2003 Commissioner’s Trophy high scorer for the SEC Outdoor meet ) into one of the best on the planet. Last year she represented the U. S. at the World Championships.
“ Christin has run 4: 04 [her 1, 500 personal record ] and is one of the top 10 or 11 in the world, ” Harter said.
Harter, Wurth said, now coaches her “ like a father figure as much as a coach. ”
Harter said he’s never coached an athlete longer than Wurth.
Wurth won the mile at last winter’s U. S. Indoor national championships though she said that wasn’t the indoor race that most made her think she could make the Olympic team outdoors.
“ It helped because I knew I was fit, ” Wurth said. “ But I knew the competition I had indoors wouldn’t be the main competition I had outdoors. So running the 4: 27 mile at Tyson [the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville ] probably gave me more confidence than anything. ”
So did running sick in last year’s World Championships 1, 500 prelim.
She had mononucleosis not diagnosed until her return home.
“ I barely missed the next round, ” Wurth said. “ I’m excited about it, because I know I wasn’t that far out of it last year with mono. ”
She knows she’s still out of it for gold (a Russian has clocked 3: 56 in the 1, 500 and others entered have broken four minutes ), but she has a dream that will take a prelim and semifinals to achieve.
“ I want to be in the finals, ” Wurth said, “ and I think I’m capable of that. ”