WC track coach grabs gold at nationals

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Andrea Fairchield stands under Viking Stadium displaying the gold medals she won at the State Games of America. Fairchild, a teacher and coach at Warren Central, won four gold medals in the national meet.(C. Todd Sherman The Vicksburg Post)

[8/19/03]Because of strict anti-terrorism laws, Andrea Fairchild wasn’t allowed to take her javelin on the plane to Hartford, Conn.

The gold medals she brought back on the return trip weren’t a problem.

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Fairchild, the swimming and girls’ track coach at Warren Central, won gold medals in the high jump, discus, shot put, and javelin at the State Games of America Aug. 7-10.

She qualified by finishing in the top three of the women’s 25-29-year-olds’ age group in the same events during the State Games of Mississippi in June. Athletes from 40 states competed in the State Games of America.

“I was actually kind of terrified. You’re talking about the top three from every state,” Fairchild, 29, said of competing at the national event. “I knew I would do well myself, but I had no idea how I would end up overall.”

She almost didn’t finish, at least in the javelin.

Airline officials wouldn’t allow Fairchild to bring the spear-like instrument on the plane because it is considered a weapon, so she had to scrounge one up before the meet.

She lucked out when she met another competitor, 19-year Debbie Criss, during the opening ceremonies. Criss, a Kentuckian who is a member of the Morehead State track team, let Fairchild borrow her javelin for the event. With javelin in hand, Fairchild concentrated on winning. She had competed in the event in college at Indiana State, but hadn’t thrown a javelin since graduating nine years ago.

“It was really just pick it up and do the best you can,” Fairchild said.

The best she managed was a throw of 93 feet, 5 inches. It was considerably less than the 130 feet she threw in college, but still good enough to pick up her fourth gold medal.

“It really felt like winning the Olympics,” Fairchild said. “I know that sounds lame, but to be the best in the nation was amazing. Even in college I never felt that excited about something.”

The win in the javelin capped a wild weekend that surpassed all of Fairchild’s expectations.

She won the gold medal in the high jump on the first day of competition, then followed it up with first-place finishes in the other three events the next day.

Fairchild often jumps with her track team during the spring, but hadn’t practiced since the season ended in May. Her height of 4 feet, 4 inches was lower than she would have liked, but good enough to win since all of the other competitors failed to jump higher than 4-2.

“I was surprised that I won,” she said. “Really, a lot of it came down to misses. A lot of people went out on 4-2 or 4 feet, and I didn’t miss.”

The win in the high jump gave Fairchild a confidence boost heading into her final three events the next day. The logistics of the event gave her more trouble than the actual competition, though.

The discus and shot put were scheduled for the same time, so Fairchild was forced to shuttle back-and-forth between the two events.

She threw the discus 86 feet, 10 inches, then hurried back to the shot ring and heaved the iron ball 32 feet, 1 1/2 inches. Both distances were good enough to win golds.

“It was just tough trying to switch back-and-forth,” Fairchild said. “Usually you only have to focus on one thing at a time, and there you have to keep changing techniques.”

She followed those golds with the win in the javelin for her fourth first-place finish. Fairchild hadn’t competed on the national level before, but said she couldn’t miss the chance to see how she would fare.

And with her showing this year, it’s a good bet she’ll be back again.

“Why wouldn’t you? Given an opportunity to compete against people not just from here, but from all over, you want to see how you shape up,” Fairchild said. “If you’re a true athlete, you’ll do anything.” If you physically, mentally, and financially can, you’ll be there.”