BEIJING — They have become the red, white and boo-hoo divas of the Olympics. Want to stop the world from laughing at the overly arrogant and underperforming members of the U.S. track team?
Well, for starters, somebody should make American runner Jeremy Wariner take off his sunglasses at night, drop his ridiculous Eminem posturing, lock him in a room and force him to watch what running for love rather than money looks like.
Sprinter David Neville did his family, team and country as proud as any American could at these Summer Games. And he did it by finishing third, proving bronze can be beautiful.
In a snapshot of pure effort that many of his U.S. teammates should be required to carry in the glove box of their Jaguars, BMWs or whatever a track superstar drives to the bank these days, Neville saw the finish line of the 400 meters and went airborne.
Neville looked like John Elway recklessly leaping for a Super Bowl victory, or Pete Rose diving into first base for another hustling single.
It was awesome, dude.
“I came here with a goal: to be an Olympian. And that means giving my all and doing my best, whether I win a medal or not. So that’s what I did. I left it all on the track,” said Neville, who definitely left some skin on the hard running surface with a gutsy belly-flop to ensure a U.S. sweep in the 400, with LaShawn Merritt taking gold and Wariner settling for silver.
It was a race that showed everything that’s right and too much about what’s wrong with American track and field in the post-BALCO era, when the drugs might be gone, but the hangover lingers.
Remember Carl Lewis? Or Wilma Rudolph? The USA has been known as the fastest nation on Earth since before we sent a man to the moon.
No more.
The intimidation factor has definitely disappeared from American sprinters. For the first time since 1980, when the United States boycotted the Summer Games, our men and women will not win a gold medal in 100 meters, track’s glamour event. We are being taught hard lessons in humility.
“Definitely, without a doubt,” said Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, who finished seventh in the 200-meter dash, then bashed American runners for having oversized egos rudely deflated by the crackdown on doping that has chased premier U.S. sprinters from the track.
“To remember an old name like Marion Jones,” said Ferguson- McKenzie, citing the 2000 Olympic sprint champ later stripped of her medals. “She stood in public and said she never did drugs . . . and she got caught.”
If this is our comeuppance, then who knew karma could sting so badly? Both the men’s and women’s 4×100 relay teams got bounced Thursday night from the competition by dropping the baton.
Tyson Gay, whose nagging injury ruined his legitimate dreams of gold in the 100 meters and whose mistake eliminated the U.S. sprint relay, glumly stared at a television showing a competition that no longer includes him and said, “It’s very upsetting.”
Here’s what’s most disturbing: American runners seem to have almost nothing in common other than the USA on their chests. Teamwork? What’s that?
After Merritt blew by Wariner to win the 400 in a personal-best time of 43.75 seconds, it pained the two competitors to make eye contact, much less exchange congratulations. Shortly after the race that should have been America’s one shining moment on a gloomy night, Wariner demonstrated why it’s so easy for the mainstream media to ignore track in the four years between the Olympics, by storming past the media in a snit.
Why do I bring it up?
If NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James acted so boorishly after an Olympic victory, critics would loudly send them to the office of commissioner David Stern for a spanking.
Track is a sport that celebrates self-reliance. But self-absorption is killing it. Or was I the only spectator who didn’t relish the hot-dogging by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt? He must think the Olympic stadium is a Bird’s Nest for preening peacocks.
It doesn’t have to be that way. After taking a great leap of faith to take bronze in the 400, Neville humbly said: “Sometimes we have to sacrifice our body and our mind and our spirit for what we really want.”
Amen, brother.
How does U.S. track put the steroids era to rest?
Well, American sprinters might start with a big dose of humility.
No more sunglasses at night. No more dangling bling in the starting blocks. No more petty rivalries between teammates.
Shut up and run.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
