David Registe, the long jumper from Alaska who hopes to qualify for the Summer Olympics in August, took a leap in the right direction Friday by winning his event at the Oregon Twilight Meet in Eugene.
Registe, who turned 28 earlier this week, sailed 25 feet, 8 inches on his fourth of six jumps at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
The mark was nearly 10 inches shorter than his personal best and 13 inches off the qualifying standings for the Olympics. But Registe had no complaints, and said he feels good about his chances of meeting the Olympic qualifier in the coming months.
"I'm very confident," Registe said by phone shortly after his victory. "I'm pretty excited. I'm getting in the groove of things now, and today was a good first step."
Registe said he is healthy -- "That's probably what I'm happiest about now," he said -- and not feeling pressured by his quest to qualify for the Olympics.
If he achieves his goal, he would represent the Commonwealth of Dominica, an island in the Caribbean. Though Registe was born and raised in Palmer, his parents were born in Dominica, so he has dual citizenship. He wore a Dominica singlet during Friday's competition.
Registe admits the Olympics are very much on his mind. "Probably more than I want to say," he said.
But he said his desire to compete on the biggest stage in sports comes with little pressure as he pursues the qualifying standard of 26 feet, 9 inches.
It helps that he owns an impressive resume as a long jumper. Registe was a two-time high school state champion at Colony High and an NCAA Division II national champion at UAA.
He won the silver medal in long jump at the 2011 Pan Am Games and claimed gold medals at two international meets in 2014, including one where he recorded his personal-best of 26-5.5. Last summer, he posted a wind-aided jump of 27-2.5 in his first meet of the season, although his bid to win another medal at the Pan Am Games later in the season was foiled by a pulled hamstring.
"When I look at my past accomplishments, I'm happy," Registe said. "The Olympics is the biggest stamp ever (for my resume), but if I don't make it I won't be crying myself to sleep at night."
Registe and his coach, Rafael Echavarria of the Alaska Running Academy, spent recent years modifying and tweaking Registe's technique. By last summer, Registe had honed a new takeoff and was rewarded with that jump of 27-2.
"We pretty much found what seems to be working," he said.
The main change, he said, "was simply the angle of my takeoff with those last two steps. I needed to make sure all of the momentum is going forward. Those last two steps are the most important."
Even though his 27-foot jump was wind-aided -- and therefore counts neither as a personal-best nor an Olympic qualifying mark --- Registe said jumping that far makes him believe he can reach the Olympic standard.
His said he has been able to make a pressure-free pursuit of his Olympic goal because he knows there are far bigger things happening in the world.
"It's fun to show up in a place like Oregon where they appreciate the sport. To me it's not pressure. I don't look at it like that," Registe said.
"There's a lot of other stuff going on the world that is pressure. I'm jumping in some sand. I don't look at it as anything more than that. I'm blessed with talent and my job is to show it off and entertain you guys. I enjoy it.
"… Just look at the news. There's fires spreading through Canada and people are losing their homes left and right. That fire is insane. When I see that fire and see what I'm doing in my life and see those people who have no choice but to leave their houses -- you've gotta look at the world and feel good about where you're at."