Representing the U.S.A – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Sept. 25, 2003
This past summer two members of the Ohio State track and field team set aside their scarlet and gray colors to represent their country in the red, white and blue uniforms of the United States Track and Field team. Buckeye throwers Dan Taylor, a senior who hales from Middlefield, Ohio and sophomore Amarachi Ukabam, a St. Louis native, each earned invitations to compete amongst stellar international fields at the 2003 Pan American Games.
Taylor and Ukabam, who both claimed Big Ten individual titles during the 2003 outdoor season, competed separately in the Pan American Games and the Junior Pan American Games, respectively. Taylor, an All-American in the hammer, weight throw and shot put, traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as the youngest competitor in the shot put in August, while Ukabam, the 2003 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, made the trek to Bridgetown, Barbados as the favorite in the women’s discus junior championships in July.
“Achi,” as she is referred to by her teammates, lived up to her billing and returned to Columbus with a Pan Am Junior title after a winning first attempt of 170 feet, 8 inches, claiming her first title in three career international competitions.
Taylor, the lone collegiate competitor on the U.S. squad, heaved a throw of 64 feet, 7 L inches to score fourth place, falling just shy of third place.
Both Taylor and Ukabam are thrilled to have made such strong showings for the U.S. team.
“It means a lot to compete for your country,” Taylor said. “It is a totally different feeling than representing Ohio State. You are competing for your country against so many other competitors who want to perform well for their countries. The way you perform and the attention you receive is on a much higher scale.”
Ohio State track and field head coach Russ Rogers is proud of the efforts put forth by his two top throwers at the Pan Am Games.
“Having two athletes compete internationally is a great accomplishment for them and for our program,” Rogers said. “Competing in a world-class event helps to build confidence, especially when you compete well like Dan and Achi. Those two rise to the occasion in big meets. I think that showed at the Pan Am Games.”
Their performances at the Pan Am Games capped an outstanding junior season for Taylor and polished off a sparkling first-year campaign for Ukabam.
In a season where Taylor set a school or venue record in nine consecutive weeks, the 6-foot-6-inch, 330-pounder walked away with seven Big Ten Male Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors. He also earned conference titles in the indoor weight throw and both the indoor and outdoor shot put en route to claiming Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year honors in both the indoor and outdoor campaigns.
The 2003 season was filled with highlights, as Taylor scored first-place marks in an amazing 24 of 31 regular season events. Among the many noteworthy accomplishments were title-winning performances in the hammer and shot put at the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, arguably the largest track and field meet of each collegiate season. For his efforts, Taylor was named the 2003 Male Athlete of the Penn Relays. Highlighting the indoor season were outstanding performances at the Big Ten Championships, where he established a conference standard in the weight throw with a toss of 73 feet, 4 inches and also topped the field in the shot put. Taylor’s mark in the weight throw stood as the best mark in the country. Two weeks later, he shattered his personal best in the shot put with a 69-foot-11-inch heave to claim national runner-up honors, while claiming third in the weight.
The entire 2003 campaign served as a memorable one for Ukabam, especially as a freshman getting her first taste of competition at the collegiate level. After using the indoor season to get acclimated, Ukabam burst onto the outdoor scene sweeping the discus and shot put events at OSU’s outdoor home opener in early April.
Ukabam closed the season with consecutive championship efforts in the discus competition at both the Big Ten meet and the NCAA Mideast Regionals before qualifying for her first NCAA championships berth.
Although Ukabam faltered at the national meet, fouling in each of her attempts in the discus, she proved undaunted and capped one of the most successful freshman campaigns in OSU history, claiming the 2003 U.S. Junior Discus Championship two weeks later with a career-best 184-foot-5-inch mark.
The winning effort at the U.S. Junior Championships combined with the Pan Am junior title proved the 19-year old nursing major peaked at the right point of the season. Much of that success can be attributed to Ukabam’s expanding maturity level as compared to when she first arrived at Ohio State.
“I have learned you have to give 100 percent everyday and work harder than the next person,” Ukabam said. “At the college level, it is the person who combines talent with hard work that wins. I did not expect the success I had my freshman season. It actually kind of surprised me, but it shows what the proper training can do.”
Coordinating Taylor and Ukabam’s training regimen is fifth-year Ohio State throws coach John Smith. Last season contributed to Smith’s impressive resume as he added his 13th Big Ten individual champion and 10th All-American during his tenure.
Smith’s experience delves deep into Olympic and international competition as he coached his wife Connie Price-Smith to four Olympic Games – Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and the 2002 games in Sydney – and 22 combined U.S. national titles in the shot put and discus. Price-Smith placed fifth at the ’96 Olympics, the highest finish for a U.S. female shot putter since 1960.
Smith’s coaching accolades served as the overwhelming influence on Ukabam’s decision to enroll at Ohio State.
“Coach Smith was the major factor in me choosing Ohio State,” Ukabam said. “I did a lot of research on coaches and he stood above the rest. The success he had coaching his wife to the Olympics was a huge factor.”
Smith’s experience coaching his wife has had immense benefits upon his training with Taylor and Ukabam. “With Connie, I had 15 years of experience on the world class level,” Smith said. “I was able to converse with many of the top coaches in the world and was able to get a broad sense of what it took to train a world-class thrower. I have a very clear picture of what I need to do to get them to the world-class level.” Reaching the world-class ranks is an aspiration shared by the trio, but they know there are many more days of tough training ahead.
“Achi is progressing very well,” Smith said. “She should be one of the Top 3 discus throwers in the country in the next two years.”
Smith envisions a more immediate progression with Taylor in the year to come.
“With Dan, I will prepare him to make the U.S. Olympic team,” Smith said. “He has a little more to learn, but he definitely has the tools to get to Athens.”
Taylor plans on using the 2004 season to get physically and mentally prepared as he works on fulfilling his Athens aspirations.
“I need to get stronger,” Taylor, who already bench presses in excess of 500 pounds and squats 650, while also possessing the agility to dunk a basketball, said. “I lack the strength and experience the older guys have. A lot of international competitors are in their mid-30’s and I am just 21. I need to improve on performing consistently at a higher lever in every meet next season. I am going to need over 70 feet to make it Athens. And that is going to take a combination of being strong and consistent.”
One advantage Taylor has over many competitors is the tutelage Smith provides. Smith has been through four Olympic Games and knows the type of training it will take to get Dan to Athens. However, Smith explains Taylor’s presence has already been felt on the national scene.
“The United States team is the strongest in the world with six guys ranked in the international Top 10,” Smith said. “Only three get to go to Athens. Dan is going to train with that goal insight. No one in the international field can comprehend how someone Dan’s size can spin and explode the way he does in the circle. Dan, at his age, strikes fear in them. And these are guys that have Olympic medals in their back pockets.”
Regardless of their futures in the sport, Smith knows that he has discovered two very special athletes.
“When I coached my wife, I thought she was a once-in-a-lifetime type of athlete,” Smith said. “I never thought I would coach someone with that type of ability again. Then Dan came along. At no time has anyone in the throwing world seen a guy as big and as mobile as Dan is right now.
“With Achi, I had my eye on her as a freshman in high school. I knew she had world-class written all over her. I have been very fortunate to find such special athletes. I look forward to working with them as they achieve their goals.”
