If you were bored over the weekend and happened to be changing the television stations in the late afternoon, you might have stumbled upon a track meet on ESPN2. Chances are you kept on flipping, but I hope some of you stopped and gave attention to one of America's most dominant sports in the midst of a revival.
The track meet was the USA Outdoor Championships, featuring the best runners, jumpers and throwers this nation has to offer.
Now, for the average American track and field only enters the limelight every four years at the Olympic Games. Stars like Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michael Johnson, and Ohio State alumnus Jesse Owens captured the hearts of millions of Americans and others around the world. But weeks later they were often forgotten, only with the chance of resurfacing at the next Olympics.
That is a pity, because to truly understand the sport of track and field and the athletes themselves, the sport requires much more attention.
Now I am biased. I am a track and field athlete. For three years in high school and the last four at OSU I have competed on the track as a distance runner.
I will also be the first to admit that track and field is not a glory sport. For most of us there is no fame, publicity, or financial reward for competing. So why do athletes spend their life running, jumping, or throwing?
Well in just like any other sport it is to be the best as possible. Except rather than relying on judges, officials or teammates, track and field is a mano a mano competition to run the fastest, jump the farthest and throw the longest. But in approaching that goal is where the hard work comes in.
Consider world-class marathoners run 26.2 miles averaging under 5:00 pace per mile. In order to survive such a brutal pace marathoners run excesses of 140-mile weeks for years to build up the necessary strength and endurance.
Long jumpers leave the air and don't come back down until they are 27 feet away. Such a jump requires speed, an explosive takeoff and perfect form; the result of hundreds of short track intervals, plyometric exercises, and weight room hours.
It is true that the sport of track and field has suffered under a black cloud of controversy over steroid use the past two decades. Unfortunately, hundreds and maybe thousands of athletes experimented with performance enhancers on a similar scale as has been rumored in baseball over the same time period. But with more modern drug tests and strict bans for a single positive test, track and field is at the forefront of reformative action against the war on steroids.
In this new age of the "clean" athlete, the United States is reasserting its dominance in track and field. Six American athletes recorded world-best times over the weekend, and that does not include 24-year-old sprinter Justin Gatlin, co-world record holder in the 100-meters, who blew away the field in his signature event.
Even in the distance events the Americans are closing the gap on the traditionally dominant African nations. Newly fledged American citizen Bernard Lagat is a two-time Olympic medalist in the 1500m and the first athlete to win the 1500m and the 5000m at a single USA Outdoor Championships meet. He was followed closely by a number of young Americans pushing their way onto the leader board of the world's best times.
The next Summer Olympics are in Beijing, China in 2008. There is no doubt America will be sending the world's most dominant track and field team to the games. Spend some time getting to know the athletes before they leave, because there is no telling how many medals they may return with.
Kevin Bruffy is looking forward to continuing his track career despite graduation but has no plans on running a marathon for a long, long time. Contact him at bruffy.2@osu.edu.
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