Olympic Hopeful Jamie Nieto Qualifies in High Jump

At 35, Chula Vista resident Jamie Nieto is headed to London to compete in the high jump

A local athlete not only accomplished a personal dream but he made history with his qualifying high jump at the Track & Field Olympic trials Monday.

Jamie Nieto finished first in the high jump at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon with a height of 7-feet-5 three quarter inches.

That feat not only sends him to London to compete for TeamUSA but it also puts Nieto in the record books.

At 35-years-old, the Chula Vista resident is the oldest high jumper to ever make a U.S. Olympic Team.

Nieto was genuinely surprised at his first place finish.

"I can’t believe I won,” he told NBCSanDiego. β€œI was definitely planning to be in the top three but God has really blessed me."

Other Olympic qualifiers in the high jump included Erik Kynard who finished second, Nick Ross who placed third, and Jesse Williams, the reigning world champion, in fourth place.

Get more Olympic coverage in our special section: London 2012

The trials will now take a two-day break, with the third-place tie between Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh in the women's 100 meters still hanging over the competition.

USA Track and Field came up with new procedures Sunday night designed to determine the third and final spot on the Olympic team for the London Games.

Tarmoh was originally declared the third-place finisher in Saturday's race and the official scoring said she edged training partner Felix by 0.0001 seconds.

But the results were reviewed, and after a lengthy delay, the dead heat was announced.

This has touched off a wave of controversy, especially because the national governing body had no protocol in place at the time to decide such situations.

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