JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?M_Y>&#Nswrҧ??emj:h$"i*gsV݌r9h?h?2l- o'?t9v~/.a<0^t#>O2sEwr֧$z/!?ƏH_ XB+'9h?h AkO=?O9<̽3FsDOH_ XBĚ(ֱ/f^sDw~rԺ?t}WN[,*9$}c\2 'Wd0OM}_kQB#P/m7]7®z2=ERi~W(i~W*G#PCNlAiOܑzQaͧۖ$Ĥ }+2-u.gi\yK˰㷭obm7b @%¹k4Acro9?UOmoP=G5XVWLj|)ok,l'xWyQOO'?-u Ey.!*tt_1?¯ U I ]c^)(.WrMبSv9Uv?? !2"—?Aԭ/-3q֮AsJww7!OZ-,`[gc\H۠~f'w,cTfXv٭O0Em78hU\uwm*9/RV*/Z\=U3Ԭ3T1Vs96]5?Uv?? G U4[`+B@F|7$p9_jZJT o`єQ/2lLf{DQyclxZ=TM.yy,ԏ;gݹǗP?5 j渾k#6KWGӐSUIu1*,s|gКh/V &Kn{Sq½6 aҤ M:῰pv/9 {ƺk0kwbJPu*Ƒo+۷5:*YϴkZ~x܆ka+x8cXF%5&X-5dpƁ#-i讵Sig-03Tc<1JCЯ/G$>9^_*(?+ 4^9'cX,;Cq}8sϠ=s3^AK7BS\E܀N׾lKs6˿|a_GK5"\^ i}=|?,}+fo掼iE|OmW~4+1X眂k?+ 5?¯UUЯ/G$>9^_*(C?+ WuEyjH}+;c"*< fmu%+ h(Sco2huzwm*! BTC⫺8_H|sBUx?!Я/UtK_ z/akIa,␒ ;סg{ U*mp6(c^D"49{=M Ljf#KY sA7S>-ؽ&v0߃7U5/[Je`-~? x2ñ3T6ވ(R\wg}C_]˜/q+⯇cFy?*6GMF5kJ sA:MքѲoA#]2e_"N=)7+@V7qݴa5玡~G A?We}@7-x4ߑ5_AQ}@7-x4ߑ5_AQ}@G㿈W<5%wK)2x>_6pq@կeuiʿٶKڀ9[??nh?P#kھjʀ8o[??nh?P#kھjʀ8o[?M~!oҬwǃnyֽjʹ|J ѫ@ J\? oEK(#''t }}L?jn|1A`q5Ykd6Mr\! ϥzGf {rk'MW٬|N}OjE*[tV ml5"/S.X_OUtTSJ99;OUIB~sIB~I& tՍIl즎G{T ,''>e<' E.>wa$=2ºoK{[ UkXh\)nQBԾ=Gá? t/k?.o/]]' _*K{[ WGEy]~MGrBtNPĪPƺ;? ؍FD Wt5 m.1#dsz]U G?^T]' _*:(OUIB~?.o/YfuO͕աM-˔ 2F _[i:Ŏ,R;ݐ7.0`ĊAmy says that another reason Europeans enjoy track and field is that the fans are more involved in the statistics of track and field. "They know what their marks are and who's doing well. You need that for fans to identify with a track-and-field athlete," says Amy. "Americans were really great statisticians when it came to baseball 20 or 30 years ago, but now fans have moved more towards entertainment, such as watching these characters in the NBA." (And in case you're curious, yes, Amy can dunk a basketball.)<br>Speaking of stats, the world standard in the high jump for women is 6' 10 1/4". However, Amy believes that the women's high jump is experiencing a "changing of the guard" because jumpers hit their peak in their late 20s and early 30s, and the current world record holder is about to exceed that age range. "Right now it's pretty much wide open, and there's not really anyone who has stepped up to assume the role of the dominant jumper yet."<br><br><br>When Beauty Meets Brawn<br><br>To become the best requires commitment, so Amy approaches her sport as a full-time job. "There's only a week out of the whole year when there's no workout, and when I'm not competing I'll be running and lifting." But in the history of high jump training, Amy admits that such discipline and dedication was considered the exception rather than the rule.<br>"In the past there was more of a laissez-faire attitude toward high jump training, and a lot of the jumping workout would be occupied by sunbathing on the high jump pit," says Amy. She recalls one story of two German high jumpers who entered a competition in the 70s. When they found out that the meet was going to take several hours, they left the meet and went down to a local coffee shop and had a few cigarettes and several leisurely cups of coffee. Says Amy, "When they came back to the meet they found that they had misjudged the time and there was only one jumper left before th this point. As a young athlete still in the beginning phase of hammer throwing, she has a real shot at breaking the world record."<br>Weight training is very crucial to a thrower's success. Coach Kuusela explained, "the power clean is the most beneficial lift you can perform for the hammer throw, but remembe, as a hammer thrower, she only trains with weights, to help benefit the throw."<br>So what is the key to Amy's success in the hammer throw? Many coaches and teammates claim she has great technique and I will agree to a point, but, the key comes from her great explosive power, which she has developed through training with heavy weights. Amy is the strongest female athlete I have ever met in my life. I watched her power clean 220 for 3 reps with perfect form as if it were nothing. Then we went over to the squat rack where she worked he way up to 410. She was just recovering from the flu and said she wasn't feeling that great, I can't imagine how she trains when she is feeling well and at total capacity. I was disappointed to hear from Coach Kuusela, that I had just missed watching her squat 520 for a new personal record, a few weeks ago. Since then, Amy has moved into a different training phase where she focuses on taking the brute strength that was gained from heavy weight lifting and incorporating it into throwing the 8.8 pound ball they call the hamer.<br>Amy loves to exp