Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Aug. 22, 1991, edition 2 / Page 2
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TRACK & FIELD Graham prepares 77~ Coming out of the final turn, Ann Graham holds a commanding lead in the finals of the women's 400-meter intermediate hurdles at the U.S?. Olympic Festival in Los Angeles. Even so, victory isnl imminent. For a millisecond, Graham loses momentum after flipping the eighth hurdle. Sandra Gummings, who is running two lanes to the inside of Graham, siezes the moment and i ger after 200 meters, I just relaxed. Instead of striding, I just tried to attack the hurdles the rest of the way. That race showed me that my speed was still there after the TAC champi onships." For Graham, a St. Augustine's medal is solid evidence that she's a legitimate contender for America's *92 Olympic team. Graham missed nearly two years of training and competition, taking time off to start a family (her only son, Trevor Jr. is now two years old). And since she's only been back in action since December *90, her progress is all the more remarkable ? ? worked out," Graham said. "Placing seventh in TAC (USA/Mobil meet), showed that I could run with the best. Nobody expected me to make the TAC finals. But that's the goal I had set for myself." Getting physically prepared for a demanding event like the intermedi ate hurdles Is aoonMno even M you're In top physical condNion. But having to come back and recapture the level of fitness attained before her preg dies champ in '88, her senior year. Additionally, she was an All-American In.the 100-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump. Trevor became Ann's coach three years ago while she was still running -for St. Aug's. He was always confi dent that she could make the transi tion to the world-class level. But he also knew It would be wiser to gradu ally increase the Intensity of her train ing, based on what she could handle at a given time. "She's coming along," Trevor said. "But I'm still not satisfied with the last 150 meters otthe race. She'll get stronger. She's just starting to develop. By next year, she'll be on a training schedule that's three times harde r than anything she's ever Photo by T-Lee Graham is showing that she Is an up and coming fores In the 400 inter mediate hurdles, winning the gold medal at the U.S. Olympic Festival in Los Angeles last month. gradually closes the distance. But by the ninth hurdle, Graham regains her form, then resumes her kick to the tape, winning by a very comfortable 12 meters in 56.88. "I felt pretty good considering that before the Olympic Festival, I hadn't raced in a month," Graham said. "When I saw I had made up the stag Graham's LA triumph was not a case of happenstance. Four weeks prior to the festival, she finished sev enth in the USA/Mobil Track & Field Championship, clocking a personal best of 56.52. Making the finals of an elite field, in Graham's view, was a victory all by itself. And a major one at that. >'? - v Photo by T-Lee Track and field Is a true family affair for the Grahams. Husband Tfrevor, who is Ann's coach, goes ovsr some fine points of technique during a training session as Trevor Jr. looks on. nancy was easier said than done. The mind was willing, but the body was hardly ready to co-operate. "I felt stronger after I had the baby," she said. "But the hardest thing for me when I started running again ' was the physical part. I was ready mentally, tout physically it was another story." Graham's quest to reach world class status is being directed by her husband, Trevor, who is also a track coach (starts as an assistant at Kansas State later this month). A star on the oval for St. Augustine's in the late '80s, Trevor ran for the Jamaican 4 x 400 relay team that won the silver medal in the *88 Seoul Olympics. He was also a Division II All-American and national champ in the 400 and 800 during his career. Ann, whose maiden name is Hall, was the Division II intermediate hur done." In retrospect, perhaps Graham's showing at the festival and at the USA/Mobil meet was not so surpris ing. She had already shown signs of being able to compete favorably at the world-class level. In March, she more than held her own in the Gainesville Gatorade meet at the University of Florida. With Sovi et athletes in the field, the Gatorade had a definite world-class flavor. Graham finished third (57. 75) behind the two Soviets ? S. Ordina won in 56.34 and C. Ledovskaya was second at 57.52. But more important ly, she proved to herself, and to them, that she belonged on the sarne track. In recent years, the Soviets and other Eastern European athletes have dominated the women's intermediate Please see Page 13
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