 Acuff at the 2008 World Indoor Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Amy Lyn Acuff | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1975-07-14)July 14, 1975 (age 50) Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.A. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||
Event | High jump | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | UCLA Bruins | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA Track & Field | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Amelia Lyn "Amy"Acuff (born July 14, 1975) is atrack and field athlete from theUnited States. Ahigh jump specialist, she competed in the1996,2000,2004,2008 and2012 Olympic Games as a member ofUSA Track and Field. Her best Olympic performance came at the 2004 Games, where her jump of 1.99 m earned her fourth place in the final.
Born inPort Arthur, Texas, she established herself domestically with wins at theUSA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1995 and 1997. At the age of 22, she became theUniversiade champion, edging outMonica Iagăr in the1997 high jump final. Acuff was the winner of the 1998Hochsprung mit Musik meeting inArnstadt, Germany, becoming the first non-European winner in the history of the event. She went on to win at the national championships in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Six national championships, all in odd numbered years.
Her personal best is 2.01 m, which she achieved at theWeltklasse Golden League international track and field meet in Zürich, Switzerland, on August 15, 2003. She finished 4th place at that high jump competition.[1]
During the2004 Olympic final, she was in bronze medal position through 1.99m. At 2.02m, afterVita Styopina cleared her lifetime personal best on her first attempt, Acuff strategically chose to pass at what would have been her personal best just to equal Styopina and retain bronze medal position. At the time, American television commentatorDwight Stones said "That is a decision she will think about the rest of her life."
While in high school in 1993 she was named the national Girl's "High School Athlete of the Year" byTrack and Field News.[2]
Her 1.95m at theTexas Relays at age 36 on March 31, 2012, should qualify as the W35American Masters record.
Just 17 days before her 40th birthday, on June 28, 2015, Acuff placed third at the USATF track championships inEugene, Oregon, potentially qualifying her for 2015's US delegation to the world championships in Beijing, however she needed jump of 1.94 meters, the qualifying standard. She, and all of the other American women, were ultimately unable to meet this standard and could not compete inBeijing.
She was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2015.[3]
Amy Acuff is also known for her career as a model. She was the subject of modeling projects, media stories, and photography relating to her sports career as a track and field athlete. Acuff was even featured on national television commercials. A new challenge was taken in 1999 as she successfully organized the making of the2000 Omnilite Millennium Calendar of Champions, which featured nude/semi-nude photographs of Acuff and 11 other U.S. female track and field stars, with half the proceeds going to the Florence Griffith-Joyner Youth Foundation.[4]
Acuff's cover appearances include:
Acuff graduated fromCalallen High School inCorpus Christi, Texas. She attendedUCLA and was inducted into theUCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. Acuff went on to study at the Academy of Oriental Medicine in Austin, Texas, and become a licensed acupuncturist.[8]
She is distantly related to country musicianRoy Acuff (her grandfather's second cousin).[9]
She is married toTye Harvey, a retired pole vaulter. They have a daughter, Elsa.[10]
In addition to being a model, Acuff is also an artist with work on display with the[11]Art of the Olympians.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Track and Field News High School AOY
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | USA Women's High Jump Champion 1995 1997 2001 2003 2005 | Succeeded by |
