Pappas still has sights set on ’08 Olympics

With the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, just over 13 months away, Tom Pappas still carries the drive and is gearing his training efforts toward becoming a three-time Olympian.

The Azalea native, a 1994 Glendale High School graduate, will compete in his first decathlon of the year this weekend at the 2007 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Indianapolis.

Pappas, the defending champion who turns 31 on Sept. 6, is a four-time U.S. outdoor titlist. His primary goals? Stay healthy and compete well.

“I’m real excited and looking forward to this meet,” Pappas said Wednesday from Indiana. “My biggest goal, by far, is to be in the top three and make the world championship team. If all goes well and I get through (the competition) healthy that shouldn’t be a problem.

“I’ve had a lot of aches and pains, but I feel fairly healthy now and am looking forward to seeing what I can do. I’m not really looking at a certain score, but I’ll be disappointed if I don’t score at least what I did last year (at the U.S. outdoors).”

The first day of the 10-event decathlon began today with the 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 at Indiana University’s Carroll Stadium. The 110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 will be held Saturday.

The top three placers in each track and field event — assuming qualifying standards have been met — will represent the U.S. at the World Championships, scheduled Aug. 25-Sept. 2 in Osaka, Japan.

Pappas, a 6-foot-5, 210-pounder, has been working his way back up in the decathlon since his misfortune at the ’04 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Considered one of the favorites for a gold medal, he dropped out of the competition on the second day with a foot injury.

He missed the entire ’05 season, undergoing surgeries on his shoulder and knee. Winning the ’06 U.S. outdoor title — his first completed decathlon since the ’04 U.S. Olympic Trials — was a big confidence boost and showed the world he’s still a contender.

Pappas won with 8,319 points, well below his personal best of 8,784 set in the U.S. outdoor championships in ’03. Pre-meet favorite Bryan Clay, the silver medalist at Athens, didn’t finish the competition after no-heighting in the pole vault.

“Going into the (’06) meet I was questioning myself whether I still had it,” Pappas said. “It was nice to get out there and win again, and I proved to myself the physical abilities were still there.”

Pappas said training went well last fall, but was bothered by plantar fasciitis in his right foot — not the one he injured at Athens — at the start of the outdoor season. He has competed in individual events at meets this year, the most recent being the Drake Relays in late April.

“I’ve been able to train, but not compete as much as I’d like,” he said. “I wish I would’ve had the opportunity to sharpen up a little and do other events. But I’ve been doing this long enough. If I was just starting out (in the decathlon) I’d be concerned. With my age and experience, I’m not too worried about it.”

The pre-meet form chart compiled by Track & Field News has Clay (who owns the top score in the U.S. this year at 8,493) winning the competition, with Pappas second and Ryan Harlan third. Pappas also sees Paul Terek, an ’04 Olympian, and Trey Hardee, who broke Pappas’ collegiate record last year at Texas (8,465), as contenders.

“Bryan Clay is definitely the No. 1 guy going in,” Pappas said.

Pappas, a Nike athlete who finished fifth at the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, in ’00 and won the world championship in ’03, is coached by Cliff Rovelto, the head track and field coach at Kansas State.



NEWTON IN SEATTLE. Tight end Joe Newton, the former Roseburg High and Oregon State University standout, just finished three weeks of mini-camps (no contact practices) with the Seattle Seahawks.

Newton, 23, signed a free agent contract with the Seahawks after not getting drafted by a National Football League team following his third and final college season with the Beavers in 2006.

Newton (6-7, 256) caught 105 passes and scored 15 touchdowns — the most TDs ever by an OSU tight end — in his college career.

“I feel pretty good about it,” Newton said. “It’s a little different level, but I’m getting used to it. The (West Coast) offense is a fun offense to play in. It’s a little different to what I was used to at OSU, but I enjoy playing in it.”

Marcus Pollard, a 12-year NFL veteran who previously played for Indianapolis and Detroit, is the likely starter at tight end for Seattle. Will Heller, the Seahawks’ No. 2 tight end last year who has four years of NFL service, is listed as the backup. Newton will compete with Ben Joppru and Leonard Stephens for the No. 3 spot.

“Marcus Pollard is a great guy, a true veteran who’s been in the league a long time,” Newton said. “I tried to learn as much from him as possible. He would go out of his way to try and teach me some things.”

Also attempting to make the Seahawks’ roster is wide receiver Jordan Kent, the three-sport athlete out of Oregon. Jordan is the son of UO men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent and played just two seasons of college football.

“I talk to him all the time. He’s a good guy,” Newton said. “We just shoot the breeze, talk about Oregon. He can run, and has a pretty good shot to make the team because of his athleticism.”

The Seahawks’ fall training camp begins the last week of July. In the meantime, Newton is getting ready for a wedding. He’s marrying Janelle Joy, a Milwaukie schoolteacher, on July 6.



• You can reach Sports Editor Tom Eggers at 957-4220 or by e-mail at teggers@newsreview.info