Y. heptathlete qualifies for Olympic team spot

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A pair of seconds ended up providing a first for Utah's Tiffany Lott-Hogan.

Four years after a fourth-place finish in the women's heptathlon at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials cost her a trip to the Sydney Summer Games, Lott-Hogan made the best of a second chance and finished second Saturday in the same competition at the 2004 U.S. Trials to earn her first trip to the Olympics.

Marion Jones failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in the 100 meters, losing out on a chance to defend her gold medal in her signature event at the Athens Games.

Jones started quickly but seemed to struggle as the race progressed and finished fifth in the final at the U.S. Olympic trials. The top three finishers automatically make the team.

Lott-Hogan, a 29-year-old former BYU standout and current assistant Cougar coach, tallied 6,159 points in the seven events, just behind winner Shelia Burrell (6,194) and just ahead of third-place Michelle Perry (6,126). Only the top three finishers qualified for the 2004 Athens Games.

And qualifying for Athens is sweet redemption for Lott-Hogan, who suffered heartbreak at the 2000 U.S. Trials at the same Spanos Sports Complex site in Sacramento. Lott-Hogan had finished the first day in third place and remained there until faltering in the final event — the 800-meter run, her admitted nemesis — and finishing one spot away from qualifying for Sydney.

Fast forward to Saturday, where Lott-Hogan started the day off in first place with 3,686 points after Friday's first four events. She led Hyleas Fountain (3,659) and Perry (3,634), with the three-time national champion and event favorite Burrell way back in seventh at 2,635.

Lott-Hogan still led after Saturday's first two events, placing eighth in the long jump at 19 feet 7 inches and taking the javelin with a first-place throw of 165 feet 1 inches. The winning throw was the first of her three — she faulted on the final two.

Then came the 800, where she finished in 2 minutes 24.27 seconds — 17th out of the 22 participants. But her performances and points in the previous six heptathlon events were enough for the solid second-place finish overall.

In Friday's events, she finished second in the 100 meters (13.10 seconds), tied for 11th in the high jump (5 feet, 6.5 feet), first in the shot put (46-6) and fifth in the 200 meters (24.53).