March 2004 Issue
 Here’s a sampling of the exciting stuff you'll find in the March issue of T&FN, which just rolled off the presses.
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2004 High School Preview
OUR PRE-SEASON PICK for most interesting prospect of the year is Ted Ginn. The multi-talented Ohioan (see p. 50) is the top returner in the 110H, rated highly in the 300H and is among the faster 200 runners. But in addition to all those talents, in February his family announced to top-rated quartermiler Xavier Carter (see sidebar) that he would be challenging the X-Man in the longest sprint. With his speed and hurdling ability, shouldn’t he be thinking about taking on the task of the 400H? Even if Ginn doesn’t turn out to be a major force in the flat 400, the 1-lapper should prove to be one of the year’s highlight events, what with the top 3 All-Americas of last year all returning and one of them, Elzie Coleman, already having lowered the indoor record. Already a threat to the indoor high jump standard, Scott Sellers (see p. 45) is another precocious talent who could make a splash at the open level. Let the fun begin! (for more, including compilations on every high school event, and features on topics as diverse as TJ powerhouse school North Rowan of North Carolina and stars like Carter, Ginn, Jason Richardson, Shalonda Solomon, Chantelle Dron, Sunni Olding Erica McLain and Francheska Ketchum, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Marion Is Back!
As U.S. pros went through their paces on the Golden Spike Tour, the world’s top woman sprinter burst back from maternity leave in a winning way Marion Jones returned to competition the first time in 17 months—more than 7 months since the birth of son Monty last June—dashing 7.21 to win the Verizon Millrose Games 60 in only the second indoor race of her pro career. And it was just her third undercover contest ever (the first coming as a high school soph). When it was over, the engaging superstar flashed her mega-watt smile and said,… (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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SEC As Potent As Ever
You don’t have too look too long at the early results of the ’04 collegiate indoor season to see that the Southeastern Conference in general—and LSU and Arkansas in particular—are pow-pow-powerful and that anybody with national championship aspirations, either individual or team, will have to go through the bottom right corner of the country first… (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Collegiate Kiwi Stars Shine
by Dan Lilot
Michigan’s
Nick Willis
After missing 4 weeks of training following the NCAA Cross Country meet due to a bad case of the flu, Michigan’s Nick Willis was rejuvenated by the hot summer weather of his native New Zealand. “I felt terrible,” the 20-year-old miler says of his return home for Christmas break. “I thought I was going to have to redshirt indoors. But then one day, it was about 95 degrees and my dad made me come out and play golf. He thought the sun would do me some good. “I don’t know what it was. Maybe the Vitamin K,” laughs Willis. “But out there playing golf, I suddenly felt good.” Good enough that a mere six weeks later he cracked the Collegiate Record in the deep adidas Boston 3000, his 7:44.90 subsequently broken by Alistair Cragg of Arkansas (see p. 18). Willis followed that up with a season-pacing 3:56.55 mile on Notre Dame’s oversized oval and a 3:58.9 anchor leg on the Wolverine DMR that paces the yearly list. So which event at Nationals?…
Providence’s
Kim Smith
It’s too bad Kim Smith knows what the Olympic 5000 A-standard is. If she didn’t, she would probably crack it with no problem. After running 15:18.54 Boston University’s sparking new oval, the Providence junior said she had no idea she was so close to Sonia O’Sullivan’s 13-year-old Collegiate Record of 15:17.28. “I didn’t know what the record was,” the New Zealander admits sheepishly. “I didn’t even know how fast I was running. I thought it was something like 15:30. I didn’t know it was so fast until I finished and I looked at the clock. I was just hoping to run 75s and finish between 15:30 and 15:40.” Instead, the svelte blonde took off and scorched the first 400 in 70. But (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Moffitt & Simon: LSU’s Hot Jumps Duo
by Sieg Lindstrom Fans may have sat up and taken notice to see John Moffitt soar a collegiate-leading 27-13/4 in the long jump on the first evening of the Armory Invitational followed by teammate LeJuan Simon triple jumping 55-53/4 on the meet’s second afternoon for another CL (with Moffitt PRing in 2nd at 54-4). LSU jumps assistant Boo Schexnayder, however, took the PR jumping in stride: “You never know when you’re going to get them, but I expected them eventually.” Moffitt and Simon have been teammates since they arrived at JC powerhouse Barton County for the ’01 season. “Physically, even though they’re built slightly differently,” Schexnayder says, “they’re very similar in their talent levels and the fact they are very blessed. They’re very different personalities, though… (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Cragg Reclaims His Record
by Andrew Jensen Records, as they say, are made to be broken, and Alistair Cragg didn’t wait long to take his back. Arkansas coach John McDonnell held his star senior out of the adidas Boston 3000 because the field… (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Medal Machine Torri Edwards
“It wouldn’t be special to get a gold medal in the mail” by Jon Hendershott A rare 3-medal haul in Paris last summer put U.S. sprinter Torri Edwards into a very elite group of performers that includes names like Jones, Devers and Ottey. She led the 100 for more than 80m before being edged out by Kelli White, still clocking a career-best of 10.93 in 2nd. After claiming the 200 bronze from the tighter confines of lane 2, she finished the silver-winning U.S. 4x1, having been thrust into the anchor job just the day before. And if the worst befalls White in her pending Modafinil-positive case, Edwards will belatedly end up being crowned the world champion in the 100 and runner-up in the half-lapper. After her French shopping spree, many observers sat up and noticed Edwards for the first time. Yet the SoCal native, 27, has been a presence on the global sprint scene since that particular meet in Australia four years ago where she scored a relay bronze for her backstretch carry on the 4x1. Last year also brought a bronze in the indoor WC 60 to go with her Paris haul. Now, it’s no surprise that Edwards wants to refine those silvers and bronzes into the metal of the richest color, Olympic gold.… (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Q&A With World-leading Triple Jumper Christian Olsson
by Jonas Hedman Christian Olsson was the undisputed triple jump king of ’03, winning 21 of his 23 meets including world titles indoors and out and the GP Final. The 24-year-old Swede only lost twice (both indoors), with 15 straight wins. His average result during the summer was 57-41/2 (17.49) and his average winning margin was a hefty 19 1/4 inches (49cm). Phenomenally consistent, Olsson has a technique so stable that during the summer of ’03 he had 52 of his 75 jumps beyond 17m (55-91/4). Early reports for ’04 are that he’s even better. It’s February and it’s snowy and slippery in Stockholm as a car travels from downtown to the airport. In the back seat another double world champion, Carolina Klüft, is talking on her cell phone as Olsson explains his success: Q: How can you be so consistent? A: I execute every jump pretty much the same way and that’s … (for more read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Olympic Trials Preview: 100 Hurdles A U.S. Stronghold
by Jon Hendershott It takes a little more than a dozen seconds of furious sprinting combined with rhythmic, controlled technical precision. At the end, three women will have run themselves onto the U.S. Olympic team in the 100m hurdles. The trio will have prevailed in an event in which the U.S. has exerted a dominating presence on the global stage. The team members will have triumphed over one of the deepest talent pools the U.S. can boast. Since the ’96 Games, the U.S. has claimed 28 of 80 Rankings places. And just since ’00, 18 of 40 spots have gone to Americans. At least three Americans have rated in the Top 10 every year since ’96 except ’97 when there were two. The U.S. got its first-ever 1-2-3 in ’01 and rated 1-4-5-6-8-10 in ’02 and 1-4-6-7-8 last season. Yes, the U.S. hurdles pool is deeeep… (for more read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Devers And The Big One
All of a sudden the big international hurdle question isn’t “Can Dever finally win Olympic gold?” It’s “Will she even run?” by Andrew Jensen Most athletes would give their eye teeth to make one Olympic team, let alone four (see sidebar). We won’t even talk about three gold medals. But three-time world champion Gail Devers, arguably the finest hurdler ever, has done all that. The catch is that her golds came in flat sprints, not the hurdles, where she has been left on the outside looking in at even just a medal, let alone a gold. So, despite disappointments of such Olympian proportions, Devers—who at age 37 last year earned her record 8th No. 1 in the World Rankings, and who is the world’s fastest indoors this year—is eager as ever to make her fifth Olympic team in the hurdles, right?
Uh, not necessarily,
as Devers shared her thoughts with correspondent Andrew
Jensen after her 60/60H double win at Tyson:
*How do these races fit into your training for the Olympics?
“I’m not training for the Olympics. My focus this year is on… (for more read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Olympic Marathon Trials: The Hansons Presence
by Sean Hartnett As expected, T&FN consensus favorites Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi and Dan Browne (see sidebars) filled the first three spots as the U.S. chose its first group of ’04 Athens team members at the Olympic Marathon Trials. But making the biggest splash in Birmingham, Alabama, was the Hansons–Brooks ODP team. The upstart team from Rochester, Michigan, had produced the most qualifiers (8), and out of that group would come the fearless pacesetter (Brian Sell), the big surprise (4th-placer Trent Briney), and a not-so-big surprise (5th-placer Clint Verran). Kevin and Keith Hanson began the program in ’99 as an extension of their competitive, coaching and commercial interests in the sport, and with commitments of housing, medical, training and employment support, the brothers have poured a million dollars into the team. The brightly clad Hansons–Brooks team has been making a name for itself over the past two years, but in Birmingham it became clear that the ODP part of the name indeed stands for “Olympic Development Project.”… (for more on the Hansons team as well as Culpepper, Meb and Browne, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Kennedy Tries Altitude
by Sieg Lindstrom “I tell you, it feels great,” said Bob Kennedy, whose USATF Cross Country 12K win was all the more sweet, coming in the town where he lives. “When I was struggling, you start to question yourself, and my wife Melina and my coach Marcus O’Sullivan just wouldn’t let me forget. They said, ‘Talent never goes away; a special athlete is a special athlete.’ It feels good to get it back.” Kennedy, though as always a gentleman, showed his sharp racer’s edge, the part of him that hates to lose, in his assessment. “The psychological aspect’s… (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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Drug Wars: Four Indicted In BALCO Case
The Department of Justice has indicted four people, including an elite sprint coach, baseball player Barry Bonds’ personal trainer and two of the men who ran BALCO—the company accused by USADA last fall of providing the previously undetectable steroid THG—on 42 charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and illegally distributing steroids and other illegal performance-enhancers to athletes. Remi Korchemny, coach to Kelli White, Dwain Chambers, Chryste Gaines and others; Bonds’ trainer Greg Anderson; BALCO CEO and founder Victor Conte and BALCO vice president James J. Valente all pleaded innocent the day after the charges were brought in mid-February and allowed to go free for two weeks while arranging bail. Bail was set at $100,000 each for Conte, Korchemny and Valente, and $25,000 for Anderson. Indicative of the high profile the case has taken on in an election year, Attorney General John Ashcroft appeared at a press conference to announce the indictment… (for more, read the March Issue of Track & Field News)
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