Amy Acuff

Amelia Lyn "Amy" Acuff (born July 14, 1975) is a track and field athlete from the United States. A high jump specialist, she competed in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games as a member of USA 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.

Biography

Born in Port Arthur, Texas, she established herself domestically with wins at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1995 and 1997. At the age of 22, she became the Universiade champion, edging out Monica Iagăr in the 1997 high jump final. Acuff was the winner of the 1998 Hochsprung mit Musik meeting in Arnstadt, 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 the Weltklasse Golden League international track and field meet in Zürich, Switzerland, on August 15, 2003. She finished 4th place at that high jump competition.

During the 2004 Olympic final, she was in bronze medal position through 1.99m. At 2.02m, after Vita 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 commentator Dwight 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" by Track and Field News.

Her 1.95m at the Texas Relays at age 36 on March 31, 2012, should qualify as the W35 American Masters record.

Just 17 days before her 40th birthday, on June 28, 2015, Acuff placed third at the USATF track championships in Eugene, 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 in Beijing.

She was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2015.

Personal bests

*High jump (outdoors): - Zurich, August 15, 2003
*High jump (indoors): - Indianapolis, March 11, 1995

National titles

* National Scholastic Indoor Champion: 1991, 1992
* NCAA (National Collegiate) Indoor Champion: 1994, 1995, 1997
* NCAA Outdoor Champion: 1995, 1996
* 6 Time U.S. Outdoor Champion: 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
* 5 Time U.S. Indoor Champion: 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009

International competitions

* Results with a Q indicate Acuff's overall position in the qualifying round.

Modeling

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 the ''2000 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.

Acuff's cover appearances include:
* ''Esquire'', "Women of Summer: Strength & Beauty: A Portfolio of America's 10 Sexiest Athletes"
* Men's magazines, such as ''Maxim'' and '' FHM''
* The 2004 Olympics were noted for the large number of female Olympians who posed nude—following in the footsteps of the 2000 Matildas and the Omni calendar. Of the 2004 examples the most visible was Acuff's appearance on the cover and within ''Playboys "The Women of the Olympics" issue.
* Acuff appears across the top of the title for ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''.

Personal life

Acuff graduated from Calallen High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. She attended UCLA and was inducted into the UCLA 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.

She is distantly related to country musician Roy Acuff (her grandfather's second cousin).

She is married to Tye Harvey, a retired pole vaulter. They have a daughter, Elsa.

In addition to being a model, Acuff is also an artist with work on display with the Art of the Olympians.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Acuff, Amy
1975 births
Living people
Track and field athletes from Austin, Texas
Sportspeople from Port Arthur, Texas
Track and field athletes from California
Female models from Texas
American female high jumpers
Olympic track and field athletes for the United States
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States
UCLA Bruins women's track and field athletes
Calallen High School alumni
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States
Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade
Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games
Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games
20th-century American sportswomen
21st-century American sportswomen
American masters athletes
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners