| Mike Powell |
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Mike Powell, the world record-holder in the
long jump, and a former Bruin, enters his second
season with UCLA as the jumps coach.
Powell's first year at UCLA saw much success for
the jump squad as several athletes qualifi ed and
competed at the NCAA Championships and won
West Region and Pac-10 titles.
Powell coached Renee Williams to All-American
honors in the triple jump, while Rhonda Watkins
competed in both the long and high and Caroline
Sommers competed in the high jump at Nationals.
Watkins won the West Region high and long jump
titles, as well as the Pac-10 high jump title. She also
won the World Junior Long Jump title in Beijing,
China in the Summer of 2006.
The men's team also had much success in
Powell's fi rst year coaching as Dominique Easterling
and Michael Johnson competed at NCAA's in
the triple, while Joel Tuosto, the 2006 West Region
Champion, competed in the long jump.
Prior to UCLA, Powell served as the sprints and
jumps coach for Cal State Fullerton from 2000-2004
and managed his own business, High Performance
Training (coaching individual athletes and teams
in various sports on how to improve speed and
explosion). While at CSUF, Powell tutored Brandon
Campbell, a two-time NCAA Championships competitor
in the long (25-10) and high jump (7-4.50).
He also coached the men's 4x100m team to a spot
in the 2003 NCAA Championships.
In 2003, Powell coached Anju George to a
bronze medal in the long jump at the 2003 World
Championships, where she became the first Indian
athlete to win a medal at any international
competition. From 2003-04, Powell also served as
a speed, agility and quickness consultant for the
LA Dodgers.
Since 2004, Powell has also been a corporate
spokesperson and motivational speaker. Today,
he is also involved in the humanitarian efforts of
Olympic Aid, an organization made up of Olympic
Athletes who have devoted their time and efforts
to helping children around the world.
Powell set the world record in the long jump
(29-4.50) at the 1991 IAAF World Outdoor Championships
in Tokyo, and handed Carl Lewis his
fi rst loss in 10 years. During his heralded long
jump career, Powell was a two-time World Champion
(1993/1991), two-time Olympic Silver Medalist
(1992/1988) and six-time U. S. Champion
(1990/1992-96). He was the world's most dominant
long jumper in 1993 and `94, winning 34
competitions in a row. In 1991 he was given the
AAU's James E. Sullivan Memorial Award as the
nation's top amateur athlete.
In November of 2005, the USATF announced the
2005 class of Hall of Fame Inductees, and Powell was
honored as one of them for his illustrious career.
Powell began his collegiate season at UC Irvine
and transferred to UCLA in 1984. In his last year
at UC Irvine (1984), Powell fi nished second at the
U.S. Outdoor Championships and placed sixth at
the Olympic Trials. During Powell's UCLA redshirt
year of 1985, he was ranked No. 10 in the world and
placed third at the U. S. Outdoor Championships.
During his senior year at UCLA, Powell was ranked
No. 1, but was injured at the Pac-10 Championships
and could not compete at NCAA's. In 1990, Powell
earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA.
Powell resides in Rancho Cucamonga with his
wife Casie. He has three daughters, Micha (11),
Carlie (3) and Macie (2).
