Monte Vista High’s Akiba McKinney Takes 12th in Olympic Trials After Illness

Despite a wretched case of food poisoning earlier in the week, Akiba McKinney of Spring Valley competed in the women's long jump final Sunday at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR. She took 12th and last in the field, reaching a distance of 20 feet, 1 inch—after fouling her first two jumps. Her personal best is 22-5 from 2006. A 1997 graduate of Monte Vista High School, McKinney was third in the 2004 Olympic Trials in Sacramento but didn't compete in the Athens Games. 

 “I’m not mad, I’m not frustrated, I’m not angry,” U-T San Diego quoted her as saying after the qualifying round Friday. “I’ve learned that stuff happens and you have to deal with it. And if you know about my career, you know I’ve dealt with a lot of adversity. It’s not going to shake me.

“But I’d already braced myself for not making it. I was thinking: ‘I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I gave it my all.’ ” 

Brittney Reese won Sunday's long jump final with a last-attempt leap of 23-5 1/2. Her London teammates will be Chelsea Hayes and Janay DeLoach.