Jesse Williams had talked of his excitement about making the U.S. Olympic team, of representing his country, of having a chance to high jump for the gold in Beijing.

In the course of a 30-minute conversation, he used the word "awesome" at least five times. Even by phone, almost 3,000 miles away, his emotions spilled out and his pride was evident.

"To make the Olympic team is the ultimate moment," Williams said. "It was my dream since I was a little kid. I'm still not sure it has all sunk in."

But it was when Williams began to explain the appeal of his sport that the self-professed free spirit revealed a part of his inner self.

"I love the individual aspects of it," he said. "It's not like a team sport. All of the success or failure is on you. There is no one else.

"I love that. I love that kind of pressure. It's a tough sport, but I love the ups and downs of it."

High-jumping, literally, is a matter of going up and coming down. Cross the bar or knock it off. Succeed or fail.

No one was better last weekend in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials than Williams, a former state champion at Broughton High. His best leap of 7 feet, 6 1/2 inches could not be beaten, earning the 24-year-old a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the first time.

Williams, who is under contract to Nike, had trained for more than a year in Eugene, Ore. To then win the trials at Hayward Field in Eugene was "awesome," he said.

That Williams has reached this point is a testament to his willingness to make changes -- personally and professionally.

Williams began his college career at N.C. State but left after his freshman year for Southern California. After winning NCAA high-jump titles for the Trojans and earning a degree in economics, he moved to Eugene to train and be with his girlfriend, Kalindra McFadden, an heptathlete at the University of Oregon.

Williams said there was no ill will involved in his split from N.C. State, noting he is welcome to train on campus when he's home.

"Oh, I love State," he said. "I'm a fan. If State played Southern Cal in football, I'd pull for State.

"I love Raleigh, and ultimately I want to come back and live there. But I just wanted to be in a bigger city, USC has a great program and it was a great experience there. I won't second-guess that decision at all."

Or the one he made to change coaches. Last fall, he teamed up with Kansas State's Cliff Rovelto, who coached Matt Hemingway, the silver-medal winner in the 2004 Athens Games. Rovelto's other Olympians include Jaime Nieto (2004).

"Obviously, Jesse is talented and had success before coming to us," Rovelto said. "What he related to me was that he had always called his own shots and that he was frustrated in not being able to be where he wanted to be, in terms of his development, to allow his ability to fully come out when he wanted it to come out.

"It was a matter of giving him a plan and helping him identify some things he needed to change to allow him to grow. Because of his talent, he had gotten away with some things. He had to break some old habits."

Rovelto said it wasn't a matter of revamping but refining -- changing a few "postural" things, he said, improving his mechanics.

"All fixable," Rovelto said.

Williams said he first began high-jumping in the fifth grade to keep up with his older brother, Dan, and was first taught by Jason Lowery, then with the Raleigh Junior Striders. But Rovelto, he said, is highly organized, has given him a different training regimen and is in-tune with his needs.

"I trust everything he says," Williams said.

Williams, still slender at 6 feet and 170 pounds, is pumped about Beijing. His outdoor best is 7 feet, 7 3/4 inches, but he narrowly missed at 7-8 3/4 at the trials. That would have equaled the best jump this year -- by Dusty Jonas, who also made the U.S. team along with Andra Manson.

"I had a good inch to the bar, but I barely knocked it off with my heel," said Williams, whose No. 8 world ranking is the highest for a U.S. jumper. "If I have the right form, if I'm strong mentally, anything can happen in Beijing. I could go and not make the finals or go and win the gold. I'll do all I can to win a medal."

And after Beijing?

"I'm young. I'm just 24," he said. "If I stay healthy, I definitely think there can be a few more in me."

More Olympics, that is.

Said Williams, "My love for the sport keeps getting stronger and stronger. It's a lot of fun."

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.