DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman track & field again strengthened the core of its coaching staff, as Director of Track & Field Donald Cooper announced the hiring of two-time U.S. Olympian Hyleas Fountain as an assistant coach for the Wildcats on Thursday (Oct. 23). Fountain replaces Reava Potter, who accepted a coaching position at UAB earlier this Fall.
“I'm extremely excited about this move and I can't wait to get out and share my knowledge and love for the sport with these athletes,” Fountain said.
Fountain's coaching emphasis at Bethune-Cookman will be on men's and women's throws and multi-events. The B-CU multi-event men have garnered the top finisher at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Indoor and Outdoor Championships in each of the last three seasons, aiding B-CU to its first men's outdoor conference championship in 2014.
“It is exciting to be a part of a championship team. I'm looking forward to working with them and helping to make their marks better,” Fountain noted.
Following an extensive professional and international competition career, Fountain has worked heavily with youth and community organizations, most recently as a recreation leader with the City of Daytona Beach, and previously at the University of Georgia Head Start Program, and as a volunteer coach for Girls on the Run youth development program.
“She is a tremendous addition,” Cooper said. “Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself and we were able to get it worked out. The wealth of her competition and professional experience, while also working with youth and young adults, is going to be tremendous for us as a program.”
Fountain began her coaching career with fellow HBCU Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where she served as a volunteer assistant coach for seven years, overseeing the efforts of the Marauders' throwers.
Fountain earned notoriety as one of the top heptathletes in the U.S. over the past decade, joining the United States' team for two Olympiads, and garnering five USATF Outdoor Heptathlon Championships from 2005-12. In addition, she transitioned her speed to the ice to help USA Bobsled as a push athlete and aided pilot Megan Hill to a bronze medal at the North American Cup tour in late 2012.
Fountain tied the American record in the women's pentathlon at the 2010 World Indoor Championships with her score of 4,753 points, finishing in fourth place. Fountain became the only American woman other than Jackie Joyner-Kersee to win an Olympic medal in the heptathlon, earning Olympic Silver in Beijing, China in 2008. Fountain also represented Team USA in the heptathlon during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Fountain's time of 12.65 in the 100m hurdles at the 2008 Olympic Trials, worth 1,178 points on scoring tables, broke three records: American record, heptathlon 100m hurdles (12.69, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 1988, Seoul); Olympic Trials record, heptathlon 100m hurdles (12.71, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 1988, Indianapolis); and USA National Championship record, heptathlon 100m hurdles (12.77, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 1991, NYC).
Representing the University of Georgia, Fountain earned NCAA Championships in the pentathlon in both 2003 and 2004, while also claiming national Indoor and Outdoor titles in the long jump in the 2003-04 season. Fountain also finished second in the heptathlon in 2004. In addition to multi-events and long jump, Fountain proved adept as a triple jumper, high jumper and hurdler, aiding her in numerous multi-event victories.
Prior to Georgia, she also won five NJCAA titles in 2002 and had three runner-up finishes for Barton County Community College (Kansas), leading her to UGA where she competed for two years for the Bulldogs, earning a Team Captain role, and later completing her Bachelor's Degree in Child and Family Development in 2010. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Fountain graduated from Central Dauphin East High School.
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