Jimoh makes jump up in skill
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/234826/
FAYETTEVILLE — Law school can wait. Former Fayetteville resident Funmi Jimoh decided to put off law school for one more year of long jumping and the decision paid off. Jimoh, 24, finished third at the U. S. Olympic trials and earned a berth in the Beijing Olympics. On Monday, she qualified for the final and will be one of 12 women jumping for a gold medal Friday morning. Jimoh is considered a long shot for a medal, but she faced similar odds at the trials. Her Olympic trials success was the culmination of a year-long run of standout jumps. Jim Bevan, Jimoh’s coach at Rice and her professional coach, said Jimoh’s season turned around when she jumped a personal-best 22 feet, 8 inches in March at a meet in Houston. That distance landed Jimoh an agent, who got Jimoh onto the summer Grand Prix circuit. Jimoh finished sixth and second in two Grand Prix events before finishing second in the Prefontaine Classic with a jump 3 of 22-5 / 4 before the trials. She
3 then jumped 22-0 / 4 at the trials. “When she was in those meets, facing elite competition, she realized she was at that level,” Bevan said. “The Olympic trials was just a continuation of the meets she had been in. Her confidence level is much better than it used to be. She used to put a lot of pressure on herself in elite meets. “ She has matured in that area more than in any other area.” Jimoh lived in Fayetteville before moving to Houston after her sophomore year in high school. Her mother, Yemisi, was an English professor at Arkansas. Jimoh made her mark before she left Fayetteville. She won a state championship in the high jump as a sophomore and scored 23 points to help the Lady Bulldogs win the team title. At the 2000 Meet of Champs, Jimoh won titles in the high jump and long jump. At Ramay Junior High School, she still holds school records in the high jump, long jump and the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Her former junior high coach, Rick Davies, said Jimoh was a natural athlete who dominated meets. “She was the high-point scorer at every meet,” said Davies, now an assistant football coach at Springdale Har-Ber. “She was almost embarrassed she was winning that award. She spoke with her performances. She was a very gracious winner.” Jimoh did not have a career at Rice that screamed future Olympian. Part of the reason, Bevan said, was that Jimoh competed in sprints, hurdles and the high jump as well and didn’t concentrate solely on long jumping until this year.
Jimoh’s lone All-America award came with a fifth-place finish in the long jump at the 2007 NCAA Outdoors meet. She won Western Athletic Conference titles in the long jump in 2005 and the 100 hurdles in 2003.
“Funmi has gotten better every single year,” Bevan said. “Last year, she got a taste of what it’s like to excel at the national level. She knew she could compete with people at the USA level.
“ Most everybody knows Funmi has a lot of ability. It has just taken a while to get it together.”
B evan said Jimoh, who graduated Rice with two degrees and a 3. 7 grade-point average, was a model student-athlete.
“She’s very disciplined away from the track,” Bevan said. “That has helped on the track. She improves every year, and that comes from grinding away.”
Bevan said Jimoh shouldn’t be counted out of the Olympics. If she can duplicate her personal best of 22-8 that she hit in March, she could earn a spot on the medal stand.
Bevan said there are about 20 top-flight jumpers at the Olympics.
“She has six opportunities, and she only has to hit one time,” Bevan said. “It’s conceivable she can hit one jump.”
No matter how it ends in Beijing, law school is probably at least a few years off. Her breakthrough this year should keep Jimoh jumping.
“She’s a different athlete now,” Bevan said. “The next four to six years ought to be a lot of fun.
“ Right now, a whole different world has opened up for her.” Funmi Jimoh glance EVENT Long jump AGE 24 (born May 29, 1984 ) COLLEGE Rice NOTEWORTHY Lived in Fayetteville until her sophomore year in high school.... Won state championship in high jump as a sophomore and won Meet of Champs titles in high jump and long jump.... Earned a spot on the 2008 Olympic team with a third-place finish at the Olympic trials.... Has a personal best of 22 feet, 8 inches.... Was All-American in the long jump at 2007 NCAA Outdoors.... Western Athletic Conference champion in the 2005 long jump and in the 2003 100-meter hurdles.... 2003 WAC Freshman of the Year.... Won high jump in Junior Olympics in 2002.... Holds four school records at Ramay Junior High School in Fayetteville.