Alford-Sullivan Goes International

Courtesy Tennessee
UT Director of Track and Field leads Team Americas at Continental Cup

Sept. 23, 2014
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee has a long history of success in international competition from its student-athletes and coaches. This month, Tennessee's newest head coach became the latest to join that elite club.

UT Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan served as the head coach for The Americas at the 2014 Continental Cup. Held every four years and formerly known as the World Cup, the Continental Cup is an IAAF event that splits the world into four regions for international track and field's only scored team competition.

"It was a great honor to represent the Americas and to represent Tennessee at the same time," said Alford-Sullivan. "Not a lot of people get to do international competitions. I've had the opportunity to grow as a coach and learn from my experiences and bring it back to our teams here."

For a college coach, building and fostering the team concept while also pushing the individual athletes to achieve personal bests is just another day at the office.

"Most of the kids in our continent have gone to school in the states," Alford-Sullivan said. "Many of the athletes have gone through the American system, so they were able to pull back in the college rivalries. It was fun to spark that scoring sense again and remind them that they don't get to do this very often anymore."

Alford-Sullivan's team included athletes from Canada, Mexico, and the United States as well as countries in the Caribbean and South America. The team had two representatives in each event, though the two had to be from different countries. Among them were some of the most talented track athletes in the world.

"We had 33 medalists from the 2012 Olympics, and 14 Diamond League Champions," Alford-Sullivan said. "And the unique look of Jamaican athletes and American athletes running together on the same relay."

The trip was not Alford-Sullivan's first international coaching stint. She served as the women's head coach for Team USA at the 14th IAAF World Outdoor Championships in 2013. She was also on the Team USA coaching staffs for the 2004 Olympic Games, 2001 and 2003 World Championships, 2011 Junior Pan American Championships and 2008 NACAC U-23 Championships.

It is an international profile that she intends to continue building.

"I've appreciated the efforts on both sides," Alford-Sullivan said. "From Tennessee's side in allowing me to go and USA Track and Field and Americas Track and Field to have me in that position."
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Sullivan, 48, joined Penn State after five seasons at Stanford, where she coached more than 30 NCAA All-American athletes and one NCAA individual champion as the women's coordinator for the Cardinal track program.