U.S. OLYMPIC TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS:

EUGENE, Ore. — In training leading up to the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Sharon Day had to be told to settle down. She wanted to ignore the sinus infection that had made her more ill than she had ever been in her life, but she couldn’t.

Her father, Eugene, who coached her at Costa Mesa High, kept telling her, “things happen for a reason.”

On Friday night, dealing with that thing made Day’s achievement all the more sweeter.

Day finished third in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 3 1/4 inches to qualify for the Beijing Olympics next month.

“It feels pretty darn good [to make the Olympics],” Day said in a telephone interview. “I’m extremely happy.”

Chaunte Howard won the high jump with a clearance of 6-5 1/2 and Amy Acuff took second at 6-4.

After clearing 6-3 1/4 on her second attempt, Day missed three straight jumps at 6-4. She then had to wait it out to make the Olympics.

Deirdre Mullen cleared 6-3 1/4 on her third attempt. She couldn’t get over 6-4 on her first try so she passed her next two shots at it in her quest to clear 6-4 so she could finish third and grab the final spot for the Olympics.

But Mullen, with Day watching closely, missed twice at 6-4 to finish fourth and become the alternate for the Olympics in the event.

“She’s always had a tough skin,” Eugene Day said of his daughter, regarded as the best athlete to come out of Costa Mesa High. “She wants to be the competitor and being sick or anything like that is not on her list ... with her strength and mental attitude she had to do what she had to do.”

After finishing third in the event, Sharon Day was presented with a bronze medal. Then, Day, Howard and Acuff took a ceremonial victory lap, while the crowd cheered. Sharon Day said she also signed autographs.

“It was pretty amazing,” she said. “It was pretty cool.”

— Compiled by Steve Virgen