(article from the
Aug. 21, 2008, Post-Tribune of Hobart, Indiana. That's David diving
for the finish.)
WHATEVER IT TAKES
... THE REGION'S SUPERMAN
David Neville is bringing
home some hardware for Northwest Indiana, and all it took was a superhuman
effort at the finish.
The 24-year-old sprinter
from Merrillville finished third behind American teammates LaShawn Merritt
(gold medal) and Jeremy Wariner (silver) to complete a U.S. sweep of the
event Thursday night in China (earlier this morning).
And at the end, with the
finish line in sight, Neville made like Pete Rose to win the bronze. What a
finish. What a dive. Wow!
Neville finished the
race in 44.80 seconds, Wariner went 44.74 and Merritt finished with a
personal-best 43.75. The broadcast of the race will be shown on tape delay
by NBC tonight in its prime time show.
Congrats to David and his
entire family. The region can now say it's home to an Olympic medalist,
with a chance for Neville to bring home another one -- gold perhaps? -- in
this weekend's 4 x 400 meter relay, an event the Americans are heavily
favored to win.
More to come throughout the
day. Check this blog throughout the day and www.post-trib.com for
a story to come. I'll also be trying to contact David before he goes to
bed.
Exciting way to start the
day, isn't it?
OK, an update. Talked to
David's sister, Stephanie, just a short while ago. She reports that he said
he's feeling fine after the dive across the finish line. No apparent
injuries.
He just got off the medal
stand about 45 mins ago, as well.
And, I just got an e-mail
from Indiana University about the accomplishment. Neville is the Hoosiers'
first individual medalist since Willie May took silver in 1960 and he's the
first IU medalist in any event since 1984.
"Anytime a former IU
track and field athlete performs on the world stage, it brings honor to our
program, and we are very proud of David's accomplishment," said Ron
Helmer, Indiana director and head coach of track and field.
Neville was a four-time Big
Ten champion and a five-time All-American at Indiana in only three years of
competition between 2003 and 2005.
Next up for David will be
the 4 x 400 meter relay on Friday. The first heat is scheduled to start at
7:10 a.m. CDT.