JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?y`zVzjeTcq)-bPڞ.ij;Rm4e>)EEXMiRF[hdwab=ʓ*6IG+ _ΦE܄MvJ])v(J=) 1Nq?>`c<ZMG0XB:֛Aӷ 7ގ`qHA\RdQ>R2@=p*RG&A"aXg/sQ>SX@qPhQFc<br}dž/`p|e:}ASjXC$`[!WҸo%`<0\VFDQHzRߥY !ҘЌ*j M ң1c?JzvX{u  㧥DdҘ{S\$VvM);RDK~56;UBri)xsQ[iwngJV;glGpy w:@:"j qrtujMرgOw7Ѓ*ޡJ]S$]Tvⷼ=ck mn7 ]Յͼc+'Ui]I dpZ0F ^>\ dS[L)TZUN,SjHԴTW [`w#ڪZD58JGB?ɮ+GN_\E*=la#7k- qLTZbM H#wE$uW Gi~aN6Q̬1JJsK; 4w}:}+vT}I6F2ȸiڦi ڼ̝rI+"[aQƉ&ӎzrp>UPK9Wt܋Ʀ/JE,daLUV{SoZ՘wSi$r\sŖ„+Ʃ\jf+F$`|V[Y-!4}vc֥b/Jhw(X6+rõq/Z!=?Zq}tJ*\:I۸Nȝ&‚2qϭnnT,q@=q]G%Fo$*-J2:UN2.3=͉!`czjRڠV'epA>>,yAV2Khnocg#޼R'$JD: ?Ω,N*Ԏqv*7emYєSS#:uso_<|2x_[Xodfpfefd DH#m+LG3{+:Eg iC-Y<Ư;ض3^4fj\Oozi-8#K&$bYsEio$Щk1@dgl&Lq\/KR0"n\d< mðƶGynQmakF*xΣ]ϭk^M?/kwvQ]C0% (cZu_:QHYvo0W5-.,lsOZYrVwSJǗ^J<*1q֊]+_arqWlv8Ԫ# ޙ*2shzbڴNPzSuh~-'*v2n$F 2V3[>w¬}nLKn|kPnFkqWf@ Xͻ]A=kAzvښeFa$%vR:E3mͤ ׹>t|: %"lDK q /?VEbJڧ:sPi-i=*-X%1?p8*u.#k8t{PAé8鋡]j6Ƶgc aưвv}wl)vī8|!}\>g,wH908}0:4 )_Evsxޡ47rY2;g?Ұ凥inIM hZm@2J99v6& {f (H+*;Sf.$ |zq\Et{diFRw&%$#3ϑGßeկo!'+m z~2?ׇwba$U{fE<Zڬw:奊G"<'>[Hw7~Y4(6"x㹾RZCЄ~g;WA;(>v!'3Ψk02Hf!Wn AbF*JG.2>~=[RG 8 ր"0hm ;Orj"WR R隤 .utP{~uV kM% T\?WBU2j6XAM~d҉. .,]7g"]4NEƀ沱#tʠСVvO 5;8'0{F>aV^9-򗟥N t I?ZʚPO{bRh|ZZǦb$4AbUqc:CĻ6E3&#O]Cr;͒Lj&2EpZPEd$uLլ$%[ȅH0#-~CocKcmbRn\[u#I 7\E!AճS'4WGl庎nv(0'VqR䚳fu0+7lnr֬oK=&7U8Z}zp:{]In."д$gz?#]%ΆW#_Eg{V#\M\׳J~# G 3^q}e;]òs 4[s^Ou%C3Ex#I8|Etg %mҵğ @᭢?hh~u5)/ {YK8/.tn^lg<ۛT2*LnV9h2"Bv}3Ҙ]J@t;@ K(weBRON܀{& A֚fvb0" >4Sؾn6(cQYt#Vbʬ:ƽreM\$`!~_CM].Dvş랕jڀmzמh6,2r;:a(؀rP֪3ʖ&PRAjqDB?z[zel$mBm чTFYZK_n*gxi8mB"^.^ܮdc8k+{XQ+6mTsZ{2^#N1SH==+KSfEPdB?A֯Ģ5sY YL:g$#IkzTNLE^kPwabGCב]5ѳE!G/SJo!f'/; KMnRѤP:f8ҏ4 K-[MRfI~Ż\,isMcsٽӆ<-Bym/.$Y`#4[#ӭr]-;}ŭGTDwmm,M :=87dG"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 he 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 them, so they had to warm up in a hurry. They ended up jumping pretty well because they were great natural talents, but these were athletes who really didn't take care of their bodies, and you wonder what they could have done if they had taken better care of themselves."<br>A major portion of Amy's training is the Olympic lifts, but she also performs several auxiliary lifts for the lower back, abs and the upper body. "It's important to keep the upper body strong for coordination," says Amy. "At the takeoff you really have to move the upper body--you can't just be a limp noodle." She also says it's important for jumpers to perform specialized exercises for their ankles. "You get a lot of power from your feet, and if your ankles are hurting you're goingto suffer. I do all kinds of ankle strengthening, such as picking up sand and running on the toes to strengthen the arches, surgical tubing exercises, and rocker boards--I work on my ankles a lot."<br>For younger jumpers, Amy believes in the importance of being exposed to a variety of sports. "You learn a lot through other sports nd through competition. It's just like your academic studies--you need to become a student of your sport and learn all there is about it. The high jump takes a lot of technique, but you can't stop there. You need to learn the mechanics, the physics and the psychology of the jump to really succeed."<br>Amy has given quite a bit of thought to the psychology of sports and believes there are some truths behind the stereotypes about track and field athletes. She says that sprinters are confident, bordering on cocky; throwers are the jokers and are laid-back; pole vaulters are the daredevils, and distance runners tend to engage in strange rituals and habits that she feels border on "just plain weird." She also says that because decathletes have an appreciation for all the events, they tend to make a lot of friends and, she adds, "have the nicest bodies."<br><br> <br>Posing for Perfection<br><br>Although her plate is full with athletics and studies, Amy does have a few outside interests, such as modeling. She is currently represented by Click, and Amy says the agency likes the idea that she is an athlete. <br>Although most women have a hard time getting modeling assignments because they're too short, Amy has the opposite problem because she's 6' 2" and the ideal height of a model is 5' 9". Her height makes her too tall for runway work and sometimes makes it difficult for her to fit into some of the clothes. "What I can do in  ) cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" border="0">

AMY ACUFF: Mail Order High Jumper

Likely to be the first woman to jump seven feet, Amy Acuff began her career not under a coach's careful guidance, but with mail order books and videos

By Kim Goss
Published: Fall 1998
When Amy Acuff decided to take high jumping seriously, she knew she needed a qualified coach. Amy lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, and after a few inquiries she learned the best local coach was Sue Humphrey. Of course, everything is big in Texas, so "local" turned out to be several hundred miles away in Austin. Undaunted, Amy ordered several video tapes and books about high jumping and racked up some hefty long distance phone calls to Humphrey in Austin. Her study-at-home method helped channel her natural ability on the playing field and also earned her the nickname "The Mail Order High Jumper."
Of course, you can only go so far with the help of the phone company and the mailman, so after high school Amy packed her bags and headed off to California's UCLA, where she knew she would receive top coaching and, of course, a great education. As planned, she got both. Amy graduated last year with a degree in biology and will be taking the medical school entrance exam this year. As for athletics, she has officially jumped 6' 6 3/4" and won the prestigious World University Games. At only 22 years of age she earned distinction as one of the world's premiere high jumpers.
Although the stress of studying to become a doctor usually means putting one's athletic goals on hold, this was not the case with Amy. She excelled not only on the field but in her studies, a