RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Manhattan alumnus Jake Freeman '04 solidified his position on the United States Olympic team Friday with a third place finish in the hammer throw at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Fellow alumnus Aliann Pompey '99 has qualified for Guyana's Olympic Team, and will compete under the direction of head coach Joe Ryan '81, current Jasper assistant coach. Jaspers senior shot putter Milan Jotanovic also secured his spot at the Beijing Games and will represent his native country Serbia. This marks the fifth consecutive Olympics a current Manhattan student-athlete or alumnus will compete.
Freeman, a native of East Greenwich, R.I., entered the Olympic trials ranked sixth in the United States for hammer throw. Freeman earned his third place finish with a toss of 73.59 meters, which is slightly short of the Olympic ?A' qualifying mark (78.50 meters). While Freeman secured a spot on the squad, he is required to reach the ?A' benchmark in order to compete in Beijing. He is the first Manhattan alumnus, since Tom Murphy '58 (1960 Rome), to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team.
Pompey embarks on her third consecutive Olympics, and will run in the 400m. Pompey competed in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) for Guyana. Additionally, Ryan stands as the first Manhattan alumnus to coach at the Olympics.
Last weekend, Jotanovic qualified for his first Olympics with a record setting throw (19.89m) at the Serbian Cup in Senta, Serbia. The toss broke his previous record (19.72m) that was set while competing for Manhattan during the 2007 NCAA East Regional Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
In total, 15 Manhattan College alumni have competed in the Olympics to date, including six in the last three Games. Lindy Remigino '53 and Lou Jones '54 are the only Jaspers to earn medals. Remigino took home two gold for the United States in Helsinki (1952) for the 100m dash and 4 x 100m relay. Jones also nabbed gold for the United States in Melbourne (1956) for the 4 x 400m relay.
