Leonard Myles-Mills no longer has to worry. The former BYU All-American sprinter will be running in 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
With the Olympics a month away, Myles-Mills had been sitting in limbo wondering if he was going to have an opportunity to run for his native country Ghana.
On Tuesday, the tension Myles-Mills felt was put to rest when he received a fax saying he was to report to Germany in a week with fellow countrymen to begin training for the Olympics in August. This will be his second time competing in the summer Olympics. In the 2000 Sydney Games, Myles-Mills placed ninth in the 100 meters, one place out of competing in the finals.
"It's a relief to get something from them," Myles-Mills said. "At least we know something is going on. I'm excited to go and do what I can do. It's been frustrating for the past couple of weeks. I wish they would have picked up the phone and said 'this is what we are doing; this is the hold-up.' "
Myles-Mills thinks one of the reasons his, and his fellow teammates', invitation to run in Athens was delayed was because Ghana was still waiting to approve funds for the Summer Games. He said the president of the country and the country's ministry has to approve the funds.
"They have to go through a long process," he said. "It's not like they have a budget set aside. It's still frustrating not to hear from them saying 'We are working things out and don't lose hope.' "
Myles-Mills said he nearly lost hope in competing in the Olympics several times but a barbecue by his wife and neighbors on Monday restored his faith that all was going to work out.
Now all that needs to be finalized is how and when he and his fellow runners will arrive in Germany to begin training. The time he spends in Germany will be crucial to how he fares in Athens.
In January, he suffered a stress fracture to his right foot and hasn't competed in the 100m sprint yet this year. Right now, Myles-Mills says he is 85-90 percent and in three weeks, he feels he'll be near 100 percent.
"I'm glad it is healed, and I am back doing what I love to do," he said. "I feel great. I need one or two competitions under my belt and I know I will be set to go. In practice I don't feel pain, so I know I am on the right track."
Myles-Mills also hopes it won't take long to get on the right track with his teammates in Germany. The BYU sprint coach will also compete in the 4x100-meter relay. The top 16 teams compete in Athens and Ghana is currently ranked 14th.
"We haven't run together since last year," he said. "We have a real bright chance in this event. I'm not saying we're exceptional but the door is open to everyone."
Myles-Mills is confident he can sprint right through that door in his individual event. His best time in the 100m sprint was 9.98 seconds in 1999. In a race in Nigeria last year, he finished with a time of 10.03 seconds. A time close to that could place him in the finals of the event in Athens.
"It'd be nice to be in the top eight," he said. "I'm shooting for that position. I still believe that I'm capable of running at the level I used to back in the day. It just takes me longer to recover now. I still believe it is in me. It's just a matter of staying healthy."