The 2000 Olympics begin Track & Field competition on Friday, September 22 in Sydney, Australia. Three current and seven former SMU student-athletes will be competing. Three of them are seeded in the top eight entering their respective events. There will also be four competing in the men's discus, including the trio that gave SMU the strongest discus squad in NCAA history in 1996.

Of the 10 athletes headed "Down Under", seven are throwers that are or were coached by SMU head track coach Dave Wollman. The only throwing competitor who did not throw under Wollman is Robert Wier, who graduated in 1983, five years before Wollman took over the program. During their collegiate careers, these seven throwers accounted for 13 NCAA titles and 26 All-America awards.

The three students that will be returning to classes in January after the games are Libor Charfreitag (Hammer, Slovakia), Roman Oravec (800m, Czech Republic), and Janus Robberts (Shot, South Africa). This will be the first Olympics for each of them. Charfreitag is a five-time NCAA Champion, winning the last three 35 lb. weight titles (1998-2000) and the hammer title in 1998 and 2000. Oravec may be competing in his first Olympics, but he is no stranger to international competition. He finished ninth at the 1999 World Track & Field Championships in Seville, and was the top qualifier who did not make it to the final, a heat he missed by .01 seconds. Robberts is a two time NCAA shot put champion (1999 outdoors, 2000 indoors), and also holds the world junior record in that event. At 20, he is the youngest SMU representative at the Games.

Several alumni have excellent chances to medal at this year's games.

Kajsa Bergqvist, a 1999 graduate, enters the Olympics ranked second in the women's high jump. She cleared 2.01m earlier this year to set a personal best and raise her Swedish national record. Only two other women have cleared 2.01 this year, including the world leader, Monica Iagar-Dinescu of Romanina, at 2.02m. With Kajsa's clearance of 2.01m, she moved into a tie for seventh on the all-time world performance list. Bergqvist ended the 2000 indoor season ranked first in the world, and was the only woman to clear 2.00m, a feat she accomplished twice. While on The Hilltop, Bergqvist won two NCAA titles (1997, 1999), and established SMU and WAC records, as well as tying a collegiate record. She also competed in the 1996 Olympics after her freshman year.

French hammer thrower Christophe Epalle also has an excellent shot to medal. He has the third best throw in the world this year with a mark of 81.79m, just 59cm behind the world leader, Gilles Dupray, also from France. Epalle graduated in 1991 after winning NCAA titles in both the weight and hammer that year.

Alex Tammert, a 1998 graduate, enters the games seeded eighth in the world in the discus. His seasonal best is 67.41m, and will be representing Estonia for the second consecutive Olympiad.

Other alumni competing will be (in order of world ranking): Jason Tunks, Canada, discus (15th), Robert Wier, England, discus, (23rd), Teri Tunks, United States, shot put (27th), and Ian Winchester, New Zealand, (37th).

Jason Tunks holds the SMU discus record of 65.20m (213-11) and was the 1997 NCAA discus champion. He has a personal best of 67.20m, the Canadian record. This year, his mark of 66.28m ranks him 15th in the world. He is married to Teri Tunks, also an Olympian. They live in Dallas where they train under SMU coach Dave Wollman.

Robert Wier is having the best discus-throwing year of his life at 39. He set a personal best of 65.08m on August 19th. The 1983 SMU grad went to his first Olympics is 1984 where he finished 9th in the hammer. Wier had a stellar career as a Mustang, setting collegiate records in the weight and hammer as well as achieving 10 All-America awards. He also set a world record in the 35 lb. weight throw in 1983, a school record that stood until Libor Charfreitag broke it in February at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He also won the 1992 Commonwealth Games hammer title. Wier now is an assistant track coach at Stanford.

Teri Tunks will be representing the United States in the shot put competition. She is currently ranked 27th in the world after throwing 18.32m. Last year, Tunks won the bronze medal at the World Championships. The native of Crete, Nebraska, set an indoor collegiate record (61-9 ?), and won two NCAA Championships, 1996 outdoors and 1998 indoors. She won eight All-American awards from 1995-1998. She currently is an assistant track coach at SMU, and lives in Dallas.

1996 SMU graduate Ian Winchester will represent the New Zealand flag in the discus competition. He currently ranks 37th in the world with a throw of 64.26m. Along with Jason Tunks and Alex Tammert, Winchester was a member of a squad that posted three marks over 60 meters in the same competition. In 1996, he finished fourth at the NCAA championships in the discus.