Pine Crest Benefiting From Pair Of Olympians

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What are the odds of having two Olympians on your high school track and field coaching staff?

Veteran Pine Crest coach Paul Baur and his athletes have that distinction of being coached by two Olympians who qualified for the Aug. 5-21 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Triple jumper Fabian Florant will represent the Netherlands and long jumper Aubrey Smith will compete for track power Jamaica.

"It's pretty neat, it's great having them out there," said Baur, in the midst of cross country training camp in Brevard, N.C. "They would practice before we got out on the track. They are very focused. It brings a different element to practice when our kids see how very serious and passionate they are about their events."

"It's one thing having our college kids come back and train with us, but then you see these guys and they are on a whole different level. From a track perspective, they really stand out big time."

Pine Crest would have had a third 2016 Olympian had Dillard alum Bavon Sylvain, who competes in the long jump for Dominica, not injured his knee during one of his meets.

"I don't know any high school who has two Olympic athletes coaching," Florant said. "It makes Pine Crest unique. I hope my motivation influences our kids to push a little bit more and go for the achievement."

Pine Crest rising junior triple and long jumper Tony Bridges is one of several athletes who has been motivated and benefitted from their presence.

"It's a true blessing having Fabian train me," Bridges said. "He is there taking me each step of the way. He's an Olympian and he takes time out to train and text us. He has rubbed off on me and been a great influence."

FABIAN FLORANT

A strained calf muscle cost the triple jumper his shot at the 2012 Olympics but motivated him to give it one more try.

Ranked 11th in the world, Florant, 33, qualified for Rio at an April 20th track meet at the National Training Center in Clermont with a Dutch national record and personal best of 55 feet, 8 inches. He is a 12-time indoor and outdoor national champion.

"It's taken me all my life to get here," Florant said. "It's been very difficult without any coaching or financial support. It's been four years of hard training, a lot of sacrifice and dedication. I am now able to call myself an Olympian."

In 2014, the Dutch Athletics Federation withdrew its funding for his event. Florant re-entered the corporate world with a masters degree in finance from Missouri State and worked as a portfolio manager at a local bank while training and coaching.

"Four years ago I was bitter and heartbroken," Florant said. "It was the only goal I set for myself that I didn't achieve. This time around I was even more motivated. I wanted to push one more time to get there. I knew it wasn't going to be easy."

Florant isn't satisfied just making the Olympic team. Like he tells his young athletes, the idea is to push yourself and achieve more.

"I really want to make the finals," Florant said. "In track and field, you set a goal for yourself and think you will be satisfied but then you push yourself again for a higher achievement. I am now at that level where I need to make the finals, and of course get on the medal stand. You never set a goal of just going to the Games."

In high school, Florant competed in the 100, 200, 400, high jump and triple jump.

His coach saw his potential as a jumper. He went on to win a national title and two-time collegiate All-American honors. As a pro, he made the finals of the European Championships and World Championships in Moscow. He heads to Lisbon, Portugal for a training camp on July 28th before leaving for Rio.

"People have followed my journey," Florant said. "When I go to the Olympics I will be representing my country and Pine Crest. They actually helped me get there and I want to make them proud and show them you can achieve if you work hard."

AUBREY SMITH

The 28-year-old Florida International University alum jumped the Olympic qualifying standard at the June 30 USA Track and Field Masters meet at Calvary Christian. Smith qualified with a jump of 26 feet, 9 ¼ inches, a personal best and is now ranked 20th in the world.

"It was my last chance to qualify, no pressure," Smith said with a laugh. "I knew that masters meet was going to be the day. I had the mindset I could put one together."

The Jamaican-born Smith has dual citizenship. After transitioning from basketball, he was a Canadian junior national record holder and earned a college scholarship.
He represented Canada at the 2015 World University Games and took a silver medal at the 2014 Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, setting a school record of 25 feet, 7 ¼ inches.

Smith had entered the meet hoping to break the triple jump record but ended up breaking the 2000 record of Kevone Fair in the long jump despite being seeded dead last.

"The day before the triple I was getting a good warm-up in the long jump," Smith said. "I got the crowd pumped up and as soon as I jumped I knew I had a big jump. That was the rise of the long jump for me. I always say that all the training for the triple jump, the strength and learning how to run off the board taught me and basically prepped me for this moment. It was training me all along for the long jump."

While in college, Smith got a tattoo of the Olympic rings on his shoulder.

"I thought one day maybe I could compete with the best in the world," Smith said. "Now I have a year to put on top of the rings."

Smith said he had the best of both worlds coaching and training at Pine Crest.

"This year I told myself I was close to the Olympic standard and embarked on the journey," Smith said.

I was enthusiastic about the kids," Smith said. "They wanted to learn and progress. I was all for that. It was a great opportunity for me to train at a state-of-the-art facility with a weight room and pool and coach kids who were eager to learn and appreciate what we were trying to teach them. I give all the blessings to Coach Baur.

"I learned as much from those kids as they learned from me. We were basically sharing the journey."