EUGENE, ORE. — An hour after qualifying for the Beijing Games with a less than satisfying third-place finish in the Olympic Trials steeplechase late Thursday night, Jenny Barringer began to cheer up.
The senior-to-be at the University of Colorado, who recently won her second NCAA title in the event, began to think less about her performance and more about what it achieved: She will be an Olympian.
“I have so many family members and so many friends who were praying for me today,” Barringer said. “That was a huge part of my mental peace. I think there were thousands of my mom’s friends, my friends and people I don’t even know that were really pulling for me.”
And Barringer was pulling for Billy Nelson, a Buff senior who finished second in the NCAA steeplechase and was second in his semifinal heat here, qualifying for Sunday’s final.
“I actually stopped part of my warm-up and watched him finish his race,” Barringer said. “He and I have a lot of jokes going back and forth about the steeple and how we train together. I’m really, really looking forward to his final and I think he’s a force to reckon with. I’m looking forward to being able to be in the stands, relaxed, knowing my fate is decided and being able to cheer for him.”
A year ago Barringer won the steeplechase at the U.S. Outdoor Championships and qualified for the world championships in Osaka, Japan. She and CU coach Mark Wetmore pondered whether to skip Osaka to prepare for the collegiate cross country season or go to Osaka for valuable big-event experience a year before the Olympics, even though it would impair her training for cross country. They chose the latter.
Now the decision isn’t whether to go to Asia, it’s whether to run cross country this fall.
“That’s another wonderful thing about my position,” Barringer said. “I have full faith in my coaches. They are such great leaders and guiders for me … If we decide to compete in cross (this fall), I have every bit of faith that Mark’s training is going to bring me to a place where I can compete for a cross title again.
“If we decide to red-shirt, I’ll go back into the mountains and train for a bunch of months and come out ready to rock.”
