Track and Field Athletes To Compete At Olympic Trials
Thursday, July 8, 2004 | Men's Track and Field
A collection of 14 athletes with ties to the University of Florida will compete in the 2004 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials From July 9-18 at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif.
Athletes with ties to Florida will compete in 19 different events in the 2004 edition of the Trials. Three former Olympians highlight the field for the Gators as U.S. javelin record holder and six-time U.S. champion Tom Pukstys will attempt to make the Olympics for the third time, while John Capel and Bernard Williams will try for the second time in their careers.
"We have a lot of people that will be competing that we think can make the team, but expectations are hard to put on U.S. Trials because it's one of the best track meets in the world – even better than the Olympics," Florida men's track and field coach Mike Holloway said. "I'm really excited to see how our current athletes handle being at trials because this is what they've worked a long time for."
Aaron Armstrong, Capel, Kyle Farmer and Williams are current or former Gators set to compete in the 200m. Capel is ranked eighth among U.S. athletes in the event in 2004 and was the 2003 Outdoor World Champion in the 200m. Williams qualified with a time of 20.01 and will be looking to make his second trip to the Olympics after earning a Gold Medal in the 4x100 relay in 2000. Farmer is a two-time All-American and an NCAA champion, while Armstrong also was an NCAA champion at Florida and is ranked fifth in UF history in the 200m.
Armstrong, Williams and Capel will also compete in the 100m. Capel ranks as the third fastest American in the 100m in 2004 with a qualifying time of 9.97, while Williams qualified with a time of 10.05 and Armstrong made the event with a time of 10.17.
Josh Walker, the 2004 NCAA champion in the 110m hurdles, will compete in the same event at Trials with a qualifying time of 13.32, while Rickey Harris, a two-time NCAA champion, and Dwight Ruff, a five-time All-American, will participate in the 400m hurdles. Harris will also compete in the 400m, while Moise Joseph, who is ranked fifth among Americans in the 800m in 2004, will take part in that event.
Florida will have three athletes competing in the high jump as David Furman and Michael Morrison will take part in the event. Furman, who owns the top outdoor mark in school history, qualified with a jump of 2.23m, while
Morrison, an NCAA champion and three-time All-American qualified with a jump of 2.21m. Morrison will also compete in the long jump after a qualifying leap of 7.81m. Erik Newby, who is ranked 10th among Americans in 2004 in the triple jump, will compete in that event.
All-American Steve Zieminski will compete in the 3,000m steeplechase, while All-American Ryan McIntyre will take part in the discus.
Portions of eight days of the competition will be carried live on either NBC or the USA Network. A complete TV schedule and live results can be found at www.usatf.org
2004 U.S. Olympic Trials Men's Track and Field Participants With UF Ties
| Name | Years At UF | Qualified Events |
| Aaron Armstrong | 2000-01 | 100m, 200m |
| John Capel | 1999-00 | 100m, 200m |
| Kyle Farmer | 2002-present | 200m |
| David Furman | 1997-00 | High jump |
| Rickey Harris | 2001-04 | 400m, 400m hurdles |
| Moise Joseph | 2001-04 | 800m |
| Ryan McIntyre | 2000-04 | Discus |
| Michael Morrison | 2004-present | High jump, long jump |
| Erik Newby | 2001-02 | Triple jump |
| Tom Pukstys | 1989-90 | Javelin |
| Dwight Ruff | 2003-present | 400m hurdles |
| Josh Walker | 2002-present | 110m hurdles |
| Bernard Williams | 2000 | 100m, 200m |
| Steve Zieminski | 2001-present | 3000m steeplechase |
