Four of the six members of the Colorado contingent competing in the 2008 Summer Olympics next month in Beijing came together at the Dal Ward Center on Wednesday to discuss their achievements, hopes and dreams.

Casey Malone stood out in stature towering above distance runners Jenny Barringer, Billy Nelson and Jorge Torres. But his size and strength weren't the only reasons he was unique within the group.

Malone qualified for his second Olympics in the discus while serving as a full-time assistant coach for CU throwers. He found the time to practice and train -- sometimes more than five hours a day -- and still fulfill his administrative, recruiting and coaching responsibilities.

And he had to put up with wisecracking head coach Mark Wetmore.

"Casey made the team, but I'm not going to let him go," Wetmore joked. "I need him here. There is a lot of paperwork to do in my absence while I'm in China."

This spring was even more challenging for Malone than a typical year because he was in a key coordinating position for organizing the Big 12 Conference track and field championships in Boulder in May. Wetmore marveled at what his 31-year-old assistant accomplished by making the team while juggling everything on his calendar.

"Very, very few coaches make an Olympic team," Wetmore said. "Typically when you start coaching, you're done competing."

Malone finished sixth in the discus in 2004 at the summer games in Athens. He believes in himself, but he wasn't making any predictions Wednesday for improvement or a medal this time around. He plans to enjoy the experience to its fullest.

"Part of the success that I had in the first Olympic experience was being naive to the whole situation," Malone said. "I saw it as a reward and I did not have very much pressure on me."

First time for all

While Nelson talked about being able to consult Olympic record books for a gauge of how fast he will have to run to win the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Barringer won't have the same luxury.

This is the first year in which the Olympics have included the 3,000-meter steeplechase for women. Barringer said she will continue to rely on CU assistant coach Heather Burroughs, who has a knack for sizing up the competition.

"The most important thing for me is I don't want to think that the task is over, that making the team was an end goal," Barringer said. "I really want to go into the Games with the outlook of working to make the final and then do well in the final."

Heavy breathing

CU athletes said they are not overly concerned about China's well-publicized air pollution problems affecting how they might perform. The prevailing attitude is that everyone will compete in the same conditions and no one will have an advantage.

"I would like to give Beijing the chance to put on the best Olympics possible," Barringer said. "I'm going to go in giving them a chance to do that and prove that they can do that. I'm going in with no bias."

Wetmore said he believes his runners will continue to post faster times at the game despite the poor air quality and the fact they seemed to be peaking at the Olympic Trials last weekend.

Tough ticket

Wetmore said he is trying to go to China to support his athletes but the U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Track and Field make it difficult on personal coaches to attend the Games.

"The paperwork and e-mails and processes are Olympian," he said.

Quotable

When asked if he is getting a raise this year after one of the best track seasons in school history, Wetmore said, "I'm sure I'll get my 2 percent that I get every year."

Notable

Barringer said making the Olympic team has been exciting for her family back home in Florida. Her paternal grandparents were interviewed on a local radio station about their granddaughter. It was the first interview for the couple, both of whom are in their early 80s. ... Barringer said the fellow Olympian she is most excited to meet is Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, who will play for the U.S. men's basketball team. ... Wetmore said his program's success this year will help recruiting. "The top-level distance runners in the country take our phone calls," he said.