For sheer theater and drama, few Events top the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. It's a one-shot chance of a lifetime to make the Olympic team and thus compete in the Olympic Games, the greatest event on the planet. There are no second chances; no seven-game series; no playoffs; no double-elimination; no free passes for big names a la the NBA. It's finish in the top three of your event on a given day in June every four years, or stay home. On your mark, get set . . .
"In a lot of respects it's more exciting than the Olympic Games," says Henry Marsh, who survived the perils of the Trials to make four Olympic teams as a steeplechaser. "It's do or die to get to the party. There's much more pressure, unless you're a medal contender. The big deal is just to ger to the Games."It can be a cruel selection process. Danny Harris won an Olympic silver medal in 1984 and for the next three years ranked as one of the two best hurdlers in the world; in 1988, he finished fifth in the Trials, .04 of a second out of third place, and missed the Games in Seoul. On the other hand, there was Joe DeLoach, who came from virtually nowhere to win the Trials and the Olympics at 200 meters in 1988. He's rarely been heard from since then.
When the Olympic Trials begins Friday in New Orleans, you can bet there will be the usual arguments that the U.S. should, as other countries do, create a system that allows some of the proven performers an automatic berth on the team. But all such arguments have been ignored so far. This is the land of equal opportunity, and so Carl Lewis, arguably the greatest sprinter and jumper in history, will have to survive the Trials to make the Games.
And believe it. Lewis will be pressed just to make the U.S. team in some events. As Marsh noted, "There is a whole new breed coming up. It seems like a lot of the old timers who have been around for a while are fading. New people are coming up. There is a whole new crop this time. The team will be a lot younger and inexperienced."
Marsh is retired. So is Edwin Moses. And Marsh. Steve Scott is fading. So is Evelyn Ashford, Larry Myricks and Willie Banks. Mary Slaney is injury prone, as always, and older. Ditto for Joan Benoit. Roger Kingdom is injured. All of them are thirtysomething. It's time for a new generation of stars.
The loan exception has been Lewis. Names come and go quickly in the sprints, but not Lewis, who has won eight Olympic medals in two appearances. His longevity in a young man's sport is unprecedented. Only a year ago, at the age of 30, he produced the best performance of his career at the World Championships and set a world record in the 100-meter dash. But youth such as Andre Cason, Leroy Burrell, Mike Marsh and Dennis Mitchell are all barking at Lewis's heels and beating him with increasing frequency. Mike Powell ended Lewis's winning streak in the long jump at the World Championships. Lewis hasn't slowed; the others have simply ascended to his level. Can Lewis rise up for the Big One once again?
Lewis's rivals are just some of the new Americans who have risen to the top in the four years since the last Olympics. Michael Johnson has become the best sprinter in the world at 200 and 400 meters. Gwen Torrence is a step away from becoming the world's best female sprinter. Dan and Dave have regained America's former supremacy in the decathlon. Who will replace Slaney? Suzy Hamilton, PattiSue Plumer and possibly Vicki Huber, if she's ever consistently healthy again. Other new kids on the block: half-miler Mark Everett, steeplechaser Mark Croghan, triple jumper Kenny Harrison, discus thrower Kamy Keshmiri, distance runners Shannon Butler and Lynn Jennings. The Trials also will introduce the public to the future: sprinter Marion Jones, a 16-year-old California prep.
Many of the above will make their mark in the Olympic Games, but first they must get there. First, they must survive the Trials, and there are no guarantees there. Anyway, it makes for great theater.