Olympic athletes ready to shine at Relays

Gold Zone on Saturday at Memorial Stadium

By Taylor Bern

Friday, April 20, 2007

While high school and college competition took place on the track, Gold Zone athletes took time out of their preparations to talk about Saturday’s invitational events.

Nike’s Bershawn Jackson, a three-time Kansas Relays champion in the 400-meter hurdles, covered several topics including his role as headliner.

“I’m blessed, I’ve worked so hard, I’m humble, I’m a warrior and for me to be the favorite took a lot of hard work, and I deserve it,” Jackson said.

‘Batman’ Jackson, a nickname he earned growing up because he had “big ears and could fly,” will make his outdoor debut at 4:50 on Saturday, but admits to thinking about Osaka, Japan (2007 World Championships) and Beijing, China (2008 Olympics).

Jackson won this race last year with a relays record time of 48.34 seconds, and according to the 2005 World Champion, anything faster means that he’s ahead of the curve.

“If I run 48.2, I’m ahead of the game. I’m better than I was last year and that’s always a plus,” Jackson said.

The invitational pole vault will be one of the most competitive Gold Zone events, due in large part to the deep field.

Scheduled to jump is 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong, American record holder Jeff Hartwig and two-time defending Kansas Relays champion Jacob Pauli.

All three competitors have been coming to the Kansas Relays for several years, and each one mentioned the excellent treatment as one reason they keep coming back every year.

“Ever since I was in high school, this was always something to look forward to every year because this is such a big event,” Hartwig said. “It’s really exciting to be back here.”

While he is attempting for a third straight gold, former Northern Iowa standout Jacob Pauli doesn’t feel any extra pressure.

“Not at all, I feel like I’ve just been focused on my training so far. My preparation is what I think about over and over,” Pauli said.

Running in both the 4x100 meter relay and the open 100 meters will be Mark Jelks and Rae Edwards, members of the Kansas City Nike team. On Friday, the pair talked about their expectations.

“We’re probably going to shock some people,” Jelks said. “Most people don’t know we can run as fast as we can.”

Edwards later added, “I don’t think it will be a shock, I think it will be a reminder to people that we have been there before.”

The hot topic around the 80th anniversary of the relays is the absence of Kansas City, Kan. native and Olympic gold medalist Maurice Green. But after giving Green his due praise, Jelks offered a wise man’s advice.

“I’m not talking bad, but one monkey don’t stop the show.”

Kansan sportswriter Taylor Bern can be contacted at tbern@kansan.com.

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