An inside look at the Olympics

Amy Acuff leaves for the Olympics today.

She and her teammates on the U.S. track and field team will stay and train in the port city of Dalian, China, before they take an hour flight and re-locate next week in Beijing.

When it comes to knowing what to pack for three weeks of competition in a foreign country, Acuff is an expert. The six-time U.S. national champion high jumper is making her fourth Olympic appearance, an amazing testament to her prowess and longevity in the sport.

Acuff, 33, has become known in the area as one of the founding members of the elite portion of the Tri-Valley Athletics Club. Since January, the Texas native and her husband, pole vaulter Tye Harvey, and more than a dozen other track and field athletes have trained with coach Dan Pfaff at the Port of Stockton.

During the Olympics, Acuff and some of the other area athletes and coaches will give The Record their perspective from Beijing. Last week, Acuff shared some of her thoughts with Record sports editor Bob Highfill.

Question: What are you taking with you to China?

Answer: U.S. Track and Field gave us three giant bags of gear. I'm taking out the things I'm not going to wear and taking the training and competition stuff. I'm not taking a lot of sweaters or sweat suits because it's going to be really hot and humid.

Q: Will you take some snacks?

A: Yeah, cashew butter, a couple cans of tuna, dried fruit, other nuts, stuff like that. I'm eating proteins and fruit at this point. With the training and stress, my body is eating itself. It's a struggle to keep weight on.

Q: Are you participating in the opening ceremonies?

A: No, I'll be in Dalian. Most of the track and field athletes and swimmers won't be at the opening ceremonies. They're keeping the athletes out of the pollution as long as possible.

Q: Have you marched in the opening ceremonies before?

A: Yes and it was really rough. In 1996 in Atlanta, the shoes were half heels, like women's office shoes, and you end up walking miles and standing for a long time. That was not good and I ended up tearing a ligament in my foot in Atlanta, so that stuff is really important.

Q: Is it important to take care of your feet?

A: It's critical. When you're marching in the opening ceremonies, they give you a brand-new pair of shoes, usually dress shoes, and that's really difficult. I have to wear tennis shoes so my arches don't tighten up and pull the bones out of place.

Q: Are you looking forward to being in China?

A: Definitely. I think with the novelty of it being in China, they're going to do a great job with everything. It's going to be a huge, exciting spectacle.

Q: Is the political climate a concern?

A: It does remind you a little bit of the 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 (Los Angeles) Olympics where it was a battle of ideologies. But all of the athletes put it together and battle it out, despite their differences.

Q: Does it feel different going into these Olympics?

A: It feels very different. At Atlanta, we were in our home country. In Sydney, Australians are similar to Americans in a lot of ways. In Athens, we share a lot of history with the way we do things. But China is a different culture. I really feel like we're going there as their guests.