This Friday, Aug. 8, nearly 10,500 of the world’s best athletes will gather in Beijing, China, to compete in the the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. This year, the competition will include 302 events in 28 sports which include swimming, archery, badminton, mountain biking, fencing, handball, track and field and volleyball, just to name a few. This year, upwards of 4 billion viewers are predicted to watch the Olympics, and among those being cheered on will be former, present and future athletes from right here at Auburn University.

Twenty eight Auburn athletes will commence on Beijing this week, representing countries that include the U.S.A, Jamaica, France, Trinidad & Tobago, Great Britain, Brazil, Bahamas, Zimbabwe and more. Those athletes will participate in swimming, track and field, the discus and the decathlon.

“The Olympics are just so exciting,” said Auburn resident Keri Richards. “It will be even more exciting knowing that there are Auburn athletes competing.”

Shamar Sands is one such athlete competing for the first time this year, representing his home country the Bahamas in the 100m hurdles.

The 23-year-old graduated from Auburn in 2006 with a degree in logistics and still resides in Auburn.

Sands’s current coach Henry Rolle, who also coached Sands in the Bahamas, recruited Sands to Auburn.

“When he was recruiting me, and when I came on a visit to Auburn, I just felt at home,” Sands said. “It felt like a good fit, so I decided to come.”

Sands has been a hurdler since he was in the ninth grade.

“I used to long jump, high jump and triple jump and I always had good speed,” Sands said. “So, my coach told me to try it out one day. It’s just my event, ever since then I’ve been doing it. I just picked it up so quick. I think I’m just a natural.”

Sands competed for the Bahamas in the 2007 World Championships, and also ran the 60m hurdles at the 2008 World Indoor Championships. Among other titles, he holds the Auburn indoor record in the 60m hurdles, and ranks fourth all-time in the indoor 60m. Sands also ranks second all-time at Auburn in the 110m hurdles. His top time in the 110m hurdles is 13.44, a mark set on June 26, 2008 in Nassau, Bahamas.

Sands said that qualifying for the Olympics was one of his goals for the year.
“I wasn’t surprised that I qualified,” Sands said. “I’ve been training for it, it was one of my goals for this year. I guess it’s every athlete’s dream.”

And it’s a dream that several Auburn athletes have already accomplished.
Sands’s cousin, Leevan Sands, is making his second appearance at the Olympics this year. L. Sands is also competing for the Bahamas. His event is the triple jump.

L. Sands was also recruited by Coach Rolle to come to Auburn and graduated in 2005 with a degree in adult education. He still resides in Auburn.

L. Sands is making his second Olympic appearance for the Bahamas. He also competed in the triple jump at the 2004 Athens Games.

L. Sands said that his first Olympic experience was indescribable.
“It was amazing,” he said. “It’s something that you can’t really explain. I was overjoyed and excited, it’s an experience that’s hard to explain.”

Although L. Sands didn’t place in Athens, among his other accomplishments include a bronze at the 2003 World Championships, sixth place at the 2007 Pan American Games, fifth in the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final, fifth in the triple jump at the 2005 IAAF World Athletics Final, the bronze medal in the triple jump at the 2002 Commonwealth Game and and was ranked eighth in the world this year in the triple jump.

L. Sands has been triple jumper since age 13. He was a long jumper and high jumper in high school and his coach encouraged him to attempt the triple jump. He was a natural.
“The very first time I did it I jumped 44 feet,” L. Sands said. “As a 13-year-old I didn’t know that that was a big jump. But it was for my age.”

L. Sands said since this is his second trip to the Olympics, he’s taking it more in stride than the first time.

“The first one I was really overwhelmed knowing that the Olympics are the biggest meet,” he said. “This time I’m just going to look at it as another meet and do my best.”
L. Sands added that he has high expectations and believes that he will do better than last time.

“I’ve gotten older and more experienced and I know my event better than last time,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot stronger. The older you get the stronger and wiser you get on how to jump.”

Some Auburn athletes are veterans in the Olympic events.
Former Auburn student Marc Burns is making his third Olympic appearance in the 100m representing Trinidad & Tobago.

Burns competed in the 100m at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens as anchor and lead the team to a seventh-place finish. He helped set a new national record in the 400m relay with a 38.53, breaking the mark set at the 2000 Olympics.

Among his other accomplishments include winning the silver medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, the bronze in the 400m relay at the World Championships in 2001, placing second in the 100m dash at the Bislett Games IAAF Golden League meet, a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in the 100m and is ranked seventh all-time at Auburn in the 100m, and second all-time at Auburn in the Indoor 60m. Burns was proclaimed the 15th-fastest man in the world in 2008 in the 100m.

Burns reiterated L. Sands’s feelings of participated in the Olympic Games the first time.

“It’s just an indescribable feeling,” he said.

Burns added that he has mixed feelings going into this summer’s Olympics, but that he feels confident.

“I’m quite confident in myself and my coach at this point in time,” Burns said.
Burns has been a runner since he was 8 years old.

“I used to get beat in races a lot and I tried to win as much as I could,” Burns said. “I like it and it just developed from there. “

Burns said that he enjoys the competitiveness of the sport, the feeling he gets while competing and the energy of the crowds.

Burns said that his favorite part of the Olympics is the opening ceremonies, even though this year may be the first time he can’t participate in them.

“I like the opening ceremonies,” he said. “But I’m not sure that I will be able to be there this year since this year is one of my best shots to get an individual medal.”
Medals or not, all three Olympians said they love what they do.

“I like to travel, you get to go all over the world doing what you love to do,” Sands said. It isn’t so restrictive. You practice and have the rest of your day off. It’s like a leisure activity, but at the same time it’s work.”

L. Sands said that he enjoys the technical part of the triple jump.

“Once you practice hard enough and get the technique down, you can improve your jump by a couple of feet,” he said.

The track and field competitors all leave for China this week, and although they train about five times a week, sometimes twice a day, they all agreed that their training is now mostly focused on maintenance.

“We’re just going to maintain what we already have,” L. Sands said. “We’ve already been training hard all year, it’s all about maintenance for me right now.”

The three also agreed that their loved ones keep them motivated on the field.
Sands is a parent of twins, Zion and Sarah, and he said they keep him doing what he does.

“They’re my heartstring,” Sands said. “Every time I’m on the track I do it for them and my girlfriend Abbey. But I also do it for myself, I have goals and I want to meet my goals. And for my parents, I want to make my family proud. I train for all of us.”
Burns agreed that his loved ones also keep him motivated.

“My coach, family and friends keep me motivated,” he said. “They are very instrumental in my success over the years. They make my job feel quite easier than what it actually is.”

Several Auburn swimmers are already making their marks heading into the Olympics. Auburn’s Ava Ohlgren won her third medal Saturday as she finished second in the 200m individual medley at the U.S. Open, which is the last major swimming event prior to the Olympic Games. Auburn swimmer Emile Ewing placed 29th overall in the preliminary, while Robert Looney finished 14th in the 800m freestyle. Sophomore Andrew Mithcell earned a spot in the 200m IM C Final and finished 22nd overall in the event.

The Summer Olympic Games will run from Friday, Aug. 8 to Sunday, Aug. 24. The opening ceremony will be held in the Beijing National Stadium, and begin at 8:08 p.m. CST and will be aired on NBC. Celine Dion and Jay Chou will be among the performers.

Olympic veteran or not, all of the Auburn athletes participating in the Olympics are all excited to be a part of such an exciting event.

“I’m looking forward to just getting to my event and then just enjoying the whole Olympic atmosphere,” L. Sands said.

And the athletes all have high expectations for themselves.
“I believe winning the Gold is very possible,” Sands said. “That’s a goal that I can more than achieve.”

Burns competed in the 100m at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens as anchor and lead the team to a seventh-place finish. He also helped set a new national record in the 400m relay with a 38.53, breaking the mark set at the 2000 Olympics.

Among his other accomplishments include winning the silver medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, the bronze in the 400m relay at the World Championships in 2001, placing second in the 100m dash at the Bislett Games IAAF Golden League meet, a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in the 100m and is ranked seventh all-time at Auburn in the 100m, and second all-time at Auburn in the Indoor 60m. Burns was proclaimed the 15th-fastest man in the world in 2008 in the 100m.

Burns reiterated L. Sands’s feelings of participated in the Olympic Games the first time.

“It’s just an indescribable feeling,” he said.

Burns added that he has mixed feelings going into this summer’s Olympics, but that he feels confident.

“I’m quite confident in myself and my coach at this point in time,” Burns said.
Burns has been a runner since he was 8 years old.

“I used to get beat in races a lot and I tried to win as much as I could,” Burns said. “I liked it and it just developed from there. “

Burns said that he enjoys the competitiveness of the sport, the feeling he gets while competing and the energy of the crowds.

Burns said that his favorite part of the Olympics is the opening ceremonies, even though this year may be the first time he can’t participate in them.

“I like the opening ceremonies,” he said. “But I’m not sure that I will be able to be there this year since this year is one of my best shots to get an individual medal.”

Medals or not, all three Olympians said they love what they do.

“I like to travel, you get to go all over the world doing what you love to do,” Sands said. “It isn’t so restrictive. You practice and have the rest of your day off. It’s like a leisure activity, but at the same time it’s work.”

L. Sands said that he enjoys the technical part of the triple jump.

“Once you practice hard enough and get the technique down, you can improve your jump by a couple of feet,” he said.

The track and field competitors all leave for China this week, and although they train about five times a week, sometimes twice a day, they all agreed that their training is now mostly focused on maintenance.

“We’re just going to maintain what we already have,” L. Sands said. “We’ve already been training hard all year, it’s all about maintenance for me right now.”

The three also agreed that their loved ones keep them motivated on the field.
Sands is a parent of twins, Zion and Sarah, and he said they keep him doing what he does.

“They’re my heartstring,” Sands said. “Every time I’m on the track I do it for them and my girlfriend Abbey. But I also do it for myself, I have goals and I want to meet my goals. And for my parents, I want to make my family proud. I train for all of us.”
Burns agreed that his loved ones also keep him motivated.

“My coach, family and friends keep me motivated,” he said. “They are very instrumental in my success over the years. They make my job feel quite easier than what it actually is.”

Several Auburn swimmers are already making their marks before heading into the Olympics. Auburn’s Ava Ohlgren won her third medal Saturday as she finished second in the 200m individual medley at the U.S. Open, which is the last major swimming event prior to the Olympic Games. Auburn swimmer Emile Ewing placed 29th overall in the preliminary, while Robert Looney finished 14th in the 800m freestyle. Sophomore Andrew Mithcell earned a spot in the 200m IM C Final and finished 22nd overall in the event.

The Summer Olympic Games will run from Friday, Aug. 8, to Sunday, Aug. 24. The opening ceremony will be held in the Beijing National Stadium, and begin at 8:08 p.m. CST and will be aired on NBC. Celine Dion and Jay Chou will be among the performers.

Olympic veteran or not, all of the Auburn athletes participating in the Olympics are all excited to be a part of such an exciting event.

“I’m looking forward to just getting to my event and then just enjoying the whole Olympic atmosphere,” L. Sands said.

And the athletes all have high expectations for themselves.
“I believe winning the Gold is very possible,” Sands said. “That’s a goal that I can more than achieve.”

For more information on Auburn Olympians, visit auburntigers.cstv.com/ot/olympians.html.

Check back here for all updates on Auburn athletes’ performances at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.