By NATE ALLEN
Special to The Leader
FAYETTEVILLE – From what he’s heard, Arkansas head women’s coach Lance Harter in Fayetteville reports that Razorback freshman pole vaulter Lexi Weeks of Cabot enjoys the Olympic Games locale in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil more than her vault coach does.
Razorbacks women’s vault coach Bryan Compton, coaching both Weeks and UA graduate vaulter Sandi Morris at the Games, though not as part of the U.S. staff, and Razorbacks women’s sprints coach Chris Johnson, also not officially on the U.S. staff but there to coach just graduated sprinter Taylor Ellis-Watson, 4x400 relay, and UA graduate Chrishuna Williams (800-meters), apparently are lodged in a hotel not even up to fleabag standards.
“Chris said, ‘We are in a hotel you wouldn’t have your dog stay in, but they wouldn’t give us our money back,’” Harter, staying put with his reigning SEC champion cross country team reporting for training, said Wednesday night.
As for the 15 current and former Razorbacks men and women athletes representing six countries in the Olympic Games and housed in their countries’ various Olympic Games, “everybody is fine,” Harter said.
Asked specifically about Weeks, Harter said, “She’s in great spirits. She’s there and her sister (Tori Weeks, Lexi’s twin and also a UA freshman All-American vaulter) and mom and dad fly out Saturday and get there Sunday. Her prelim trial is Tuesday and as far as I know she had a fantastic experience on the opening ceremonies.”
Regardless how Lexi (the 2016 NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor champion qualifying third, clearing a personal record 15-5 at the U.S. Olympic Trials) and current world leader Morris (an American outdoor record 16-2) fare in the Games they start competing in Tuesday trying to advance to the Friday, Aug. 19 final, they already have an Olympic memory to frame for life.
“All the U.S., Jamaican and Trinidad athletes that are Arkansas alums got together on the floor of the opening ceremonies and took a picture,” Harter said. “The only one that didn’t get to go was Dom (Dominique Scott represents her native South Africa in the 10,000 meters after graduating the UA with NCAA Outdoor 5,000- and 10,000-meter titles in June for Harter’s first-ever NCAA Outdoor championship team) because she was on the other side of the presentation. She was stuck over there and she said they were yelling at me but she had to stay on her side and was bummed by that.”
Until the U.S. Olympic Trials, Lexi had never vaulted without Tori competing, too, but said she’s gained a big sister with Morris, the 2015 UA grad and 2016 USA Indoor champion and World Indoor runner-up, there to guide her while competing with her.
“The first time I go to the Olympics will be the first time I am out of the country,” Lexi said while training in Fayetteville after the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. “It’s surreal to me. It’s crazy, this whole thing. I am thankful that Sandi is going to be there to do it with me because she has been overseas and competed in big meets, Diamond League (the international professional league) meets and World Championships. So she kind of knows the ropes. I am so thankful that she is going to be there to help me through it.”
Lexi said she constantly tells Morris of her appreciation.
“I told her the Trials was my first big meet like that,” Weeks said. “And I told her I would be a lost puppy without her because I am so new to it all, especially something like the Olympics. She hasn’t done that but she has been to huge World Championship meets before and I am sure she knows what’s going on and I am so thankful I will have her there with me to help me go through it all.”
Though training under Compton with the Weeks sisters and other UA vaulters, Morris said she really didn’t know Lexi well until training just with each for the U.S. Trials and becoming U.S. teammates.
“Over the last few weeks Lexi and I have really gotten a lot stronger bond,” Morris said while training in Fayetteville between the U.S. Trials and the Olympic Games. “During the year we trained with a bunch of girls. And we’re really far apart in age (24 and 19). I’ve graduated and she was just a freshman. So I didn’t really know her on a personal level. But over the last few weeks we’ve spent a lot of time together, just me and her training out here with coach Compton and traveling together. We’ve developed a bond and I think it’s really good for both of us.”
Morris explained the mutual benefits.
“We push each other,” Morris said. “I think it’s good for me to be there with her, because she hasn’t competed overseas yet. So I think me being a seasoned athlete overseas will help her a lot when we get to Rio. But then also her being there for me is going to help me a lot. Because even after having experience competing overseas a few times, it can be daunting being out there all by yourself. But this time around I’ll have Lexi there for me and coach Compton’s going to be there. So it’ll be great.”
