Heads-Lane headed for Sydney

Richard Dunn

Former Newport Harbor High track and field standout Cara

Heads-Lane, the No. 2-ranked weightlifter in the country in the women’s

75-kilogram class, secured a spot on the U.S. Olympic team last weekend

at the trials in Westwego, La., a New Orleans suburb.

Heads-Lane actually missed on all three of her attempts in the clean

and jerk at the trials, but still qualified for the Olympic team.

The top four women going into Saturday’s finals, including Heads-Lane,

all retained their positions and qualified for the 2000 Olympic Games in

Sydney, Australia.

The U.S. Olympic Trials in Louisiana were the conclusion to 1 1/2

years of qualifying, a procedure which includes the combined results of

multiple world-class competitions.

Heads-Lane, whose personal record in the snatch is 102.5 kilos, broke

a national record in the clean and jerk last year at the American Open

Weightlifting Championships in Tacoma, Wash., where she lifted 125 kilos

in the event.

Heads-Lane, a former Newport Harbor homecoming queen now living in

Savannah, Ga., graduated from Harbor in 1995. That year, she qualified

for the state finals in the girls discus, unleashing a career-best throw

of 149 feet 5 inches at the state preliminaries.

Heads-Lane is possibly the first of three Newport Harbor athletes --

past and present -- to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games. Men’s

swimmer Aaron Peirsol (a junior in the fall) and women’s beach volleyball

player Misty May (Class of ‘95) have excellent shots at making the

Olympics in their respective sports.