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Larsen Jensen has already earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Gabe Woodward will begin his quest Wednesday. Because I moved here in December 2006, I never witnessed any of their individual athletic feats.

It's part of the business. Sportswriters can go several years, if not a lifetime, before witnessing Olympic glory. Some will never see it.

Yes, we'll see talented players, mostly Division II or III skilled players, a few Division I-caliber players and an ocassional professional athlete but witnessing an athlete with the ability to reach the Olympics is rare. So rare, I consider it an honor.

I was fortunate to witness greatness in my first year of covering high school sports in Yuma, Ariz. Her name was Jacquelyn Johnson -- Jackie for short. The star of the Yuma Criminals. She could jump out of the gym on the volleyball court, lead the transition and pull up for a 15-foot jump shot on the basketball court, and she dominated the track. Every event she competed in, she won. High jump, long jump, 200, 400 and 100 hurdles -- she was simply amazing to watch.

Our track preview of her senior season had the headline 'Full Medal Jackie.' She's the only athlete to win 14 state championships in track, and helped Yuma High to a second-place team finish by herself as a sophomore. She's also a four-time NCAA champion in the heptathlon and a three-time champ in the indoor pentathlon.

Now, she's a Olympian. She's done exactly what she told me, and countless high school writers before and after me, she would do.

Congratulations Jackie. It was an honor.