a little history, a
little humor
There are DQs and then there are DQs … At a major Iowa
high school meet a memorable disqualification occurred. Davenport North High’s
anchor in the women’s 4x4 relay got emotionally carried away with the 80 meter
lead approaching the finish line and decided to perform a cartwheel in the
homestretch. The red flags went up for a “forever moment” DQ.
–On Your Marks, T&F News September 2000
Protect those legs… As part of their
sponsorship of China’s 2008
Olympic team, Ping An, a Chinese insurance company,
donated a $13.3 million policy on Liu
Xiang, China’s
high hurdle world record-holder.
-SI Players, Sports Illustrated, December,
2007
Twenty years to break an Olympic record? … In 1932 at the Los Angeles, a USA team (included Bob Young,
Bakersfield CC / UCLA alum, ran 3:08.2 to set the 1600 relay Gasmes record. It wasn’t broken in the ’36 Games and then
WWII cancelled the ’40 and ’44 Games. It wasn’t until the 1952 Helsinki
Olympics that a Jamaican team of Arthur Wint,
Les Laing, Herb McKinley, and George Rhoden ran 3:03.9 to just edge the
American team of Ollie Matson (San San Francisco CC /
USF/ NFL Hall of Famer), Gene Cole, Charles Moore, and Mal Whitfield who were a
tick behind in 3:04.0. –LA84 Library, Los
Angeles; Bob Covey research
Hayward Humor
If you were not fortunate enough to be among the 167,000 plus
track nuts that attended last week’s Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon
let me share some tidbits from those that were in attendance.
The city’s newspaper, the Register-Guard, interviewed 18
spectators who had some interesting and entertaining observations. Most of
those said the men’s 800 was the highlight of their 10 days including one man
who said, “It (the stadium noise during the finish) actually hurt my ears.”
Mark Covert, Antelope
Valley’s head t&f coach, said he couldn’t hear the person speaking
next to him during the 800 finish. A lady who travelled all the way from
Bermuda to see her niece run said one of the highlights of her time in Eugene was no sales tax
(!). Another lady will always cherish the hugs and photos with the university’s
Duck mascot in the adjacent festival area. A man who had NEVER been to any
track meet was there because he won tickets at work in a drawing. Others said
the most unique thing was valet bike parking near the stadium. All agreed they
would like to return in 2012 when Eugene
hosts the next Olympic Trials
Hayward Field’s Namesake
Hayward Field’s namesake was an ATHLETE … Oregon’s famous Hayward
Field, site of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Trials, is named after Bill Hayward,
former Oregon
coach who preceded legendary Bill Bowerman. In the
early 1890s Hayward
succeeded as a professional sprinter. Traveling on a summer Caledonian Sports
Circuit that began in Rochester, New York and ended in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
he once won five races in one day, at 75, 135, 300, 400, and 600 yards. His
earnings topped $4,000 per meet-a considerable amount of money at the time. Before
1896 there was no modern Olympics to ban
professionals. An all around athlete Hayward
played lacrosse, rowed, boxed, wrestled, and played ice hockey.
-Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore;
Rodale, 2006
John Chaplin
Wilson HS, Los Angeles
/ Pasadena CC / Washington State
Head men’s Olympic t&f coach-2000 ; two
world records-WSU
PCC: Chaplin came to Pasadena CC after three years in the military
following graduation from LA Wilson HS. The highlight of his PCC days was
beating state champion James Bates in a dual-both timed in 9.6. Chaplin
was coached at PCC by Mickey Anderson.
WSU: Chaplin really blossomed at Washington State
in 1963. He was elected WSU track captain and set world indoor records of 21.1
at 220-yards and 33.4 at 330-yards.
WSU Coaching Career: Chaplin
retired with a 202-15-0 dual meet record and guided the Cougars to four
runner-up finishes at the NCAA outdoor championships.
Leadership:
Chaplin was the USA
men’s head track and field Olympic coach at the Sydney 2000 Games.
Honors:
PAC-10 Conference Coach of the Year 1975, 1983, 1985, and 1991
Washington State University
Distinguished Alumnus Award 1985
International Coach of the
Year – 1978
Leadership: USA/TF
2001-2004 Referee
Referee-1996 Atlanta Olympics
International Consultant to NIKE Corporation – 1985 to present
Referee -Texas Relays 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002; Referee -Penn Relays
1991 to present; Referee-National High School Indoor Track and Field Meet 1995
to present
Referee -National High School Outdoor Track and Field Meet 1999 to present.
Erv Hunt
Fresno
CC / Fresno State
1996 USA
Men’s Olympic T&F Head Coach
31-years UC Berkeley’s head track and field coach
Fresno CC: 1966: He was on the second fastest, all-time
JC 480-yard shuttle team at Fresno CC. Hunt also won the Nor Cal Relays
HH-14.1. He qualified for the state meet in two events: Nor Cal high hurdles-4th
14.4, Nor Cal triple jump-4th 48-3¼; State-?
Fresno State: Research needed
UC Berkeley
coaching career-31 years: Hunt retired in 2005. He coached 50 conference champions
and 87 NCAA All-Americans, including five NCAA champions.
International coaching assignments: Besides his
international experience with the 1996 Olympics where he led the American men
to 16 total medals, Hunt was the U.S. head coach for the 1995 World University
Games in Japan, and was an assistant coach on staffs at the 1992 Olympic Games
in Barcelona, Spain, the 1993 World Championships in Germany, and the 1986
Freedom Games in Moscow
Payton Jordan
Pasadena HS / Santa Monica CC / USC
1968 Head Men's Olympic T&F Coach
1941 AAU National 100 Champion
Pasadena HS: 10.0, 22.1
Santa Monica-1936: Freshman year only-9.8, 21.6
USC- Jordan helped the Trojans win two
national collegiate team titles and was a member of a world-record setting
4x110-yard relay team.
Post collegiate: 1941 AAU National 100m Champion
Coaching career: After World War II Jordan became track coach at Occidental College,
turning that small school into a national power. After 10 years at Occidental,
he moved to Stanford in 1957. Over the next 22 years, he took the Cardinal to a
second-place NCAA finish in 1963, produced seven Olympic athletes and numerous
NCAA champions. He capped a distinguished career as the head coach of the 1968
Olympic team in Mexico City
after serving as an assistant at the 1964 Olympics.
Special Achievements: Jordan
directed two of the greatest track meets ever held on American soil -- the 1960
Olympic Trials and the 1962 USA-USSR dual meet, both at Stanford. A member of
the USATF, USC, Occidental, Stanford, NAIA halls of fame, among others, Jordan was
awarded the Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award by the U.S. Sports Academy in 199
Olympic Trials Updates
Magdalena Lewy Boulet (LBCC/ UC Berkeley) 10,000-6th 32:45.06
Chris Figures (Bakersfield/
CS Bakersfield) SP Prelims: 65-6 ¾; Finals-all fouls
Tony Allmond (Mt. SAC)
LJ prelims-9th 24-9 ¼
Tai Battle
(Moorpark/Arizona State) Discus Prelims-5th 184-10; Finals-8th
177-11
Carlos Moore (Mt. SAC)
100 Heat-8th 10.33
Lucais MacKay (Moorpark) Hammer prelims-5th
224-02; Finals-Thursday
Chris Richardson (Cerritos/CS Long Beach) Decathlon 16th -7312
Arnold Cueto
(Bakersfield/CS Bakersfield)
Hammer Prelims-11th 212-07
Tyree Washington (San Bernardino Valley) 400 Prelims-5th 46.56
Michael Mitchell (Mt.SAC) 200
heat-6th 21.29
Jeff Laynes (Merritt/USC) 100
Prelims-7th 10.37…Laynes won three state
meet gold medals for Merritt in 1991…17-years later he is still competing at
the highest level. Extraordinary!
Tony Young
(Glendale)
... Master’s 3000, exhibition event-1st 8:47.17
Chondra Williams (Laney / Arizona
State)
... 200-semis-7th 23.37, quarterfinals-23.35
Jacques Sallberg (Glendale / CS Los Angeles) ...
Steeplechase-9th 8:40.49 (heat-4th 8:34.83)
Ben Bruce (San Diego Mesa)
... Steeplechase-12th 8:52.40 (heat-1st 8:32.57)
Lucais MacKay (Moorpark) ... Hammer Throw-10th 222-02
(224-02 qualifying)
Brent Gray
(Long Beach CC/ CS Long Beach) ... 200-quarterfinals 5th
21.14, heat-2nd 20.64
Dominique
Arnold (Long Beach CC / Washington State)... HH
quarterfinals-false start, heat-5th 13.59
Arnaldo Cueto (Bakersfield / CS Bakersfield) ... Hammer
Throw-11th prelims 212-07
Brandon Shaw
(Mt. SAC/
Azusa Pacific/ Oregon Elite) Semis-6th 1:47.22, heat-5th
1:47.67
Kevin
Elliott (El Camino/ USC/ Oregon
Elite) Heat-6th 1:49.49