Monique Henderson

April 20, 2003

Henderson knows the thrill of being an Olympian and says the second time around brings with it added inspiration. "I've been there and I really want to get back," Henderson said. "That motivates me." The next Olympics may seem far off, but there's plenty of little steps that must be taken on the road to Athens. "In the back of your mind, you know each time you're competing, you're gearing up for the Olympics," Henderson said.

Born: Feb. 18, 1983.

High school: Morse.

College: UCLA.

Claim to fame in San Diego: The 2000-01 Union-Tribune Co-Female Athlete of the Year and four-time All-American in the 400 meters is one of only four high school athletes to win a state title in the same event four times. Henderson, the 400-meter national record-holder, was a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic 4x400-meter relay pool in Sydney.

Since then: One of the top freshmen in the U.S. last season, Henderson is the nation's No. 10 400-meter runner. She won two gold medals at the World Juniors, earned All-America honors three times, was named Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year and ran on UCLA's winning distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Meet. This spring, Henderson finished first in 53.07 in her season-opening 400-meter race.

Personal best: Her 2001 high school season-best 51.34 was 0.99 better than the 2001 NCAA winning time (52.33). Her 2000 career-best 50.74 was 0.40 better than the 2000 NCAA winning time (51.14).

Key dates: The only one of the four currently in season, Henderson has two important meets in June: the NCAA Championships and the USA National Championships. The World Championships are in August, with the U.S. Olympic Trials in July 2004.

Olympic inspiration: Henderson's greatest track inspiration comes from the late Florence Griffith Joyner, whose three gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics made an impression on Henderson as a youngster. Ten years later, Henderson found herself shaking hands with her track idol. "Hearing her tell me that I am Olympic quality really inspired me to get there one day," Henderson said. Henderson has also been impressed with the great runners who have taken time to offer advice, like Marion Jones, fellow San Diegan Gail Devers and Maurice Greene, who trains at UCLA. "When you realize they are just regular people and they think you are just as great as them, that's really a great feeling," Henderson said.

Quotable: "So much hard work goes into making (the Olympics). Every athlete there is huge in their own country, so just getting there and being surrounded by those people is a really big honor. That is every athlete's biggest goal, and when all your hard work pays off and you reach that goal, it's an unbelievable feeling."