JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?YGƧl`H9*E.7\il2:R+B{ }*E20UWi1#*<҆ CV4eY(X;wOU[bdW,szTkkkTט\Ƣg1,9ǽKAئcz.9yЊR}|B=+۪%Ņ4aQFI5 dt_jXD ̸= Zvm⏲a-M'ո,[d$if RU^)|ztSL9,h&PƳ"W 8pEm $;J3SǷV, 'cçUyG͎:4smvu3zOo>ku/tM }Y;j'{MghBHkgb0?tvdb3,f2?PvV &ȔSZR>53b ^m:c~&m2sPȖoR-GZ[Oei,Cp,Vw2@rEW:,^qi {?܃)i~pG!:|2vz-=M#X\4çrO%9K&A\c W󦦂tɪ~M60?:&rZ{{sEYm:~NVFF-\cpCÚ祺{X,rIiOpeE1']Eq06 c, UVF+Ki)DrT=kഴӢ|vCcoR3^aqyf.xe v ֯me7 4בI%s݀8޸=f[ bw=sVϱ` 1\DcK4 =Ze4>#u e ?]'Z%;2M_{F6 oZy2E9ڨ譓*;CL[+{g IDm2k"KI+IRոZZ1SK8 TfL}Ҳp1E3̩;g؂rZ8;2/GM6_Ny@˂u;2.fTOjR@h<~]ִZܢB3Ybÿ$u qV5*=Eh4J@#n(L6!XE[ŧ!9 =1֛B)-PIc<5JQ,T=k*ÓdO 'S]^6GOjЛw_b|!c=szTukJV4OmNBG~=K{R耵ų';? |gƷK,jt-^u:Y"I/|w#ڜ*4>e-/iW06p& YZy0@\dzbG",eƼT}Rv dw\iu;qđYj1k4b=@R1n,e$:Oe@Z5ߕ凨OāQ%+;Q|0Q"fÚt?غ⻋JO[xSҳ. KV2 J!r1'b_hyV1%)=wnVUA+&wqXx;1wGA\d ֵss[ IPlh55 _2eEu8#NGi&J5[<9f+mk:{M$}٭Gqc$=v)ߙX%M>OR+}vV 7w QA)AĚ˖n3i\Dnȱ6Y>^ce\0'*WA?+nޚa&N֩'{b U {փ̒ZH.13Hu*29f'G5>T6wwy&?w2ZjI+5Dַ!14"{}+`.V D!c#tS߳i܎amԏƳNxMޜC#“#h=jmK\1VW+huYke F'<yի]z.˫%sn|tr[&#e=Mzotns˰W+EyE 0/ 6 vɮMJ5g@et>kkt *zF6rOj|#YQI&(0qA^9)+$m罵d>$穯8C?z6?J&͛Ž˱oYү³xeO2lrs%wv5{88A[ҴI8fP8 bY÷o YJ #>Zujh[/S^ߞQi3h;-VþkLYH<Ǖvv(\kMrIIvF b%CT6=Z&x$od%נu| 5Б XyMo|3񔚭^3sʶyeRl5M:[ FlB'C5'6ҿC涷xq=G&|ǽO>n5΢["8-MGb~v8r}:UPN쥵@re+{\[jRM$gDEQw:xh%F3^aq}J\`9؁0.%lۏlU +>Z qEw!hF}vI g].6ͽTdb?W%CsX7'+rIAӽomQf,4;[U 7:Jk4*ǰZ%V cɪQoFmpA_,KmhMHO?ѻ?wT~E߇'#6ў58i_A6MjP{g?zgK1" gls\kVH1B[&;kû%si|79}7E +Im,6C ֻz]_܌Hg,uwi x}Wൊ)42z/kb!HÀ*knzf*IN<_[# ҹY_CeIu1~(\][QrTA+/ @zoJ44OJVy\nȿa$NO'WQ43+׿^i!Vt.T}ߘ*xĚp@|\򕼊2Z: QMj5I3ҝ=#ʑ5=s3OB-V"3=|6I{8 XgڴMؾ grs׽khbQ gj] d½F=:)mZ1pI5y[mJMo"3f@nWOc%尷sr*:v\Ou8τo' ! #ׄn 1*^{g} T6YRzuȬυGّ3)1%e;^[]}GJ~W dw8⾊"tI@` TȞT<4lT*ViYhĄB&8ϭho~X$-qzyV̒Jp>f9r;E#d}#b*Fu):n&+9mOkVm#'޼$(IMsxjUI1c{Eioxݳ6Kq(2;K?٢+{kuʨVLWwk8E1R5)!՗?M 6G# >Q\tvb)0uiymwuԦVv-=Vlέ8]#ДV^.(g)b#qEOQ^wKjZu 7w88QE0G]|-{3˨QVity and the tremendous amount of energy this athlete is able to generate and thrust into the hammer throw. As she unleashed every ounce of energy that she was able to put in that throw, I thought to myself, "Man, the great cannons of the civil war would have been put out of business if Amy could have been there to launch one of her hammer throws."<br>When Amy competed in the Texas Relays, a top event on the US Track and Field circuit, she crushed Dawn Ellerbee's American hammer throw record of 210-8, by nearly ten feet. Amy stepped in the ring using her three turn spin technique, hurled that hammer towards the blue sky, setting a new American record of 220 feet 1 inch, third best in the world! Incredible, for someone who has only been throwing the hammer for three years.<br>Tapio Kuusela, an Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting champion from Finland (who also happens to be an old lifting buddy of BFS President, Greg Shepard), is Amy's coach. He commented on Amy's technique by explaining, "Most throwers use four turns, but Amy will never have to learn a fourth turn because she reaches her max speed in three. The fourth turn was designed for people who are quick, but not explosive. Being explosive is talent." Kuusela is a former BYU All-American hammer thrower himself.<br>Since Amy picked up the hammer in 1996 she has only gotten better. It is amazing that Amy has only been throwing the hammer for such a short time and is doing so awesome. This last year she placed second in the hammer throw and fourth in the shop put at the NCAA finals. She competed in the US Track and Field Championships and took second place. Having so much success, she was selected to participate in the Pan-Am Games and took third. While competing in the Goodwill Games in New York, she won the bronze medal. Coach Kuusela said, "Amy is a very talented athlete that knows what she wants. Good athletes need to be able to think and understand and Amy does a good job at that. She has lots of potential with a good power level, but it is not fully converted at 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 remember, 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 her 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