Brigham Young University's burgeoning reputation as a sprint factory increased Saturday night in the Olympic Stadium as Oluyemi Kayode, a senior-to-be at BYU, led off Nigeria's silver-medal effort in the men's 4x100 relay and Christy Opara Thompson, a former Cougar, ran the third leg in the women's 4x100 as Nigeria claimed the bronze medal in that event.
Earlier in the Barcelona Olympic Games, BYU graduate Frank Fredericks, running for Namibia, won silver medals in both the 100- and 200-meter sprints. Also in the 200 final, Kayode placed seventh.Both Fredericks and Kayode were coached in Barcelona by BYU head track coach Willard Hirschi, who, after Kayode's performance Saturday, said, "Yes, I've already noticed some interest by other runners who want to train with us. That includes a few people we've had (in school) who transferred and are wanting to come back."
Too, Hirschi said the school is actively recruiting yet another Nigerian Olympian, 22-year-old Sunday Bada, who ran the anchor leg for the Nigerian 4x400 relay team Saturday night that placed fifth.
"I don't know if we can get him," said Hirschi. "But we've talked to him and we'll see what happens."
The events of the past week can't hurt. In Saturday's 4x100 men's final, Kayode ran stride-for-stride with Mike Marsh, the American 200-meter gold medalist, in the opening leg. Marsh was only inches in front when he handed off to Leroy Burrell and Kayode gave his baton to Chidi Imoh.
The U.S. team - it also included Dennis Mitchell and Carl Lewis - would never be that close again as it ran to the gold medal in world record time, 37.40.
The Nigerian team fell behind the teams from Cuba and Great Britain until Olapade Adeniken, a former UTEP runner and a finalist in both the 100- and 200-meter individual races here, brought them back to even and left it to anchor man Davidson Ezinwa, the reigning NCAA 100-meter champion, to run to the silver.
In the women's 4x100 final, Opara Thompson, who attended BYU for one year in 1989 and won the NCAA long jump champion ship that season, ran the third leg before handing off to teammate Mary Onyali, who nudged just in front of France's Marie-Jose Perec at the tape for third place. The U.S. entry won the gold medal, followed by the Unified Team.
Opara Thompson left BYU because of the cold winters. "Nobody told me about that," she said Saturday night. "I enjoyed BYU and I'd love to have stayed but it was too cold."
She moved on to Citrus Junior College in Los Angeles and then Cal State-Los Angeles, but before she left Provo she helped influence Kayode in his decision to become a Cougar.
"Christy's my good friend. It's because of her I first went to BYU," he said. "Then I got there and she'd transferred."
Kayode stayed for more than a year, however. He'll be a senior this fall when he says his goals will be "to win the 100 and 200 at the NCAAs and the indoor championships as well."
Kayode's confidence is on the rise for good reason.
He'd finished only sixth in both sprint finals in the NCAA championships in June and was hardly one of the favored runners coming to Barcelona. Then it all came together. He says it's because of a training program Hirschi gave him when they met up in France three weeks before the Olympics.
"I met with the coach and he gave me a two-week program. It was the toughest program I've ever run," said Kayode. "But I stuck with it through the full two weeks. I complained but I did it. It made a real difference."
Asked about the miracle program, Hirschi demurs. "It was really nothing more than what we've been doing all along at BYU," he said. "We do some agilities, some sprint starts, nothing really special. There's nothing remarkable about it. He just didn't do it all in Provo. He could have been this kind of sprinter all along. I've always told him that. He wasn't willing to work until now."
"I'm really proud of him," Hirschi continued. "To come into this competition and do what he's done is very, very remarkable."
"Next year I know I'll be stronger," said Kayode, whose post-Olympic plans include first a trip home to Nigeria - "to show the silver medal to our President (Ibrahim Bangida)" - and then to Provo for the start of classes at the end of August.
"I'll bring the medal there too," he said. "I'm showing it to my girl friend."