The Olympic Trials have been a friendly place for Sheena Tosta

By Dave Utnik

Published: June 26, 2008

On a Brazilian track tucked away in the Amazon region of South America last month, Sheena Tosta quietly celebrated one of the most significant moments of her career.
Far removed from the splendor of the Olympics, or the Pan American Games for that matter, the Gar-Field High School graduate stood on an award’s podium at the Belem Grand Prix with a silver medal draped around her neck.
Tosta had just completed the 400-meter hurdles in 55.09 seconds — her fastest time of the 2008 season.
By crossing the finish line less than a second behind Jamaican Melanie Walker she’d re-positioned herself as one of the world’s top track and field athletes and, more importantly, satisfied her own personal goal of combining speed and endurance with technique.
“I was pretty happy about that,” Tosta said. “I’d been having problems with my stride pattern between hurdles and I’ve been working on it. I feel like I can put out my best performance as long as my technique is good.”
When Tosta is in top form, her talent is unrivaled. At 21, she introduced herself to the elite track world by recording the fastest time (52.95) ever run by an American athlete on U.S. soil at the 2004 Olympic Trials.
And she was just getting started.
Since earning a scholarship to UCLA following a record-setting varsity career at Gar-Field, Tosta has finished fourth at the Athens Olympic Games, won a Pan American Games title, two NCAA championships and three U.S. junior championships. She also became the first athlete to win the same event three times at the Penn Relays.
Now she is attempting to make the U.S. Olympic team for the second time by placing among the top three at this week’s 400-meter qualifying event.
“There’s something about the trials that brings out the best in me. I’ve run my fastest times ever there,” said Tosta, who established a meet and U.S. record in 2004. “It’s a whole new level of competition and that drives me.
“This is my third one so I have a lot of experience,” she said. “I know what it’s going to take to make the team. I just have to put my best performance on the track when it matters most.”
Big meets have always been Tosta’s platform to shine. Back in high school, when she was still known by her maiden name, Sheena Johnson, the Gar-Field girls’ track team dominated the state scene.
She tied Olympian Paula Girven’s state record with four individual titles at the 2000 Group AAA meet — winning the 300 hurdles, 100 hurdles, triple jump and long jump — and wound up capturing 15 state and six national titles in four varsity seasons.
The only goal she has remaining is to join fellow Gar-Field star Benita Fitzgerald as an Olympic medal winner.
She came close to accomplishing that feat in Athens despite drawing the far outside lane for the finals.
“Coming so close to getting a medal has been on my mind a lot the last four years,” she said. “I feel like I can get a medal this time.
“In ’04, my biggest mistake was not running faster in the semifinals. I got a bad lane position in the finals so this time I’m not going to hold back.”
Tosta, who is now coached by her husband, Joseph, will use a similar approach at the Olympic Trials, which begin today in Eugene, Ore.
Regardless of her lane assignment, the field poses a challenge. Former World Champion Lashinda Demus, who gave birth to twins last year, is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. again. Just behind her are 2007 U.S. Champion Tiffany Williams, reigning NCAA champion Nicole Leach and Tosta, who is hoping for another chance to medal at the Olympic Games.
“I know what I’m capable of doing at the trials, but this one is different because I don’t know if I’ll be running after this year,” she said. “Having the opportunity to run in a second Olympics is amazing. This time, I’m on a mission to win a medal so there’s probably more pressure than in 2004.”