In advance of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame induction ceremony on December 7 at USATF Night of Legends, USATF interviewed Class of 2019 inductees on their athletic careers and legacies.
How did you get started in track and field and when did you first realize you'd be good at it?
I started running with a local track club here in a Southern California, the Los Angeles Jets. One of the founders, Ronald Moore, saw me racing some kids on the playground and asked if I'd be interested in joining his team. I was nine years old.
We had a lot of talent out here in LA. I just started progressing. I started off running the 100 meters, 200 meters. They kept trying to move me up to the 400 meters and they attempted to put me in the 800, but I was stopping at the 400. I was just winning every race early on when I was running age group track. I was playing baseball as well and they were both spring sports. I had to kind of decide between the two. I ended up sticking with track and I'm glad I did. But yeah, it was early on that I realized in age group track that I had what it took to be competitive at it, really good at it.
Looking at your freshman year at UCLA, what was it like having international success at such an early age?
When I went into UCLA my freshman year, they already had a lot of talent there. Kevin Young was there, Danny Everett, Henry Thomas, Mike Marsh. I was fortunate enough to come in to train with a group of world-class athletes at the time. It was awesome. And then in the summers we'd go out and train and compete and run with the Santa Monica Track Club.
I had a lot of support being so young and it was just an awesome experience really early on. To travel at that stage and to compete internationally and to make the Olympic team that first year was surreal. I think because I was surrounded by so many other talented and world-class athletes, it was a little easier to deal with. It was a great experience.
What was your experience at your first Olympic Trials like before your first Olympics?
Even leading up to the Olympic Trials I had had a lot of success, breaking the world junior record at our Pac-10 meet that spring. I was training with Danny Everett, so going into the Olympic Trials, it was like, what is the kid gonna do? People thought Danny would probably make the team. I was still a little anxious.
My first round, I think I false started, and I had to settle myself. I heard someone near me saying, "Calm down, take it easy." And it was actually Carl Lewis, so that was kind of reassuring. I went out and advanced to the second round and wound up breaking the world junior record and then made it to the semis and broke the world junior record again and made it to the finals. The Trials was probably one of my better showings because I broke the world junior record twice.
At Seoul, how did you feel lining up against Butch Reynolds, who had just set the world record?
Interestingly enough, I was in the race when he ran that record. It was more a kind of payback. He broke the record in Zurich, about two months prior to Seoul, so I went back to the drawing board and trained a little harder. I just felt like I ran the perfect race in the Olympic final. I had a good lane because I had Innocent Egbunike to my outside, and he tended to go out pretty fast. I knew Butch was on my inside, but it was just one of those things where I had to go out there and run my own race and just hold on.
I felt really good going into the '88 Olympics. I ran my rounds great, I just felt pretty strong. I knew that I would have a good chance to medal, that was the goal really at the very least. Going to the final was just, well, let's just see what happens. I didn't even realize until looking at the jumbotron after the race that I actually won, because it was close coming down and Butch was coming on strong on my inside. We looked at the replay and sure enough, I won. But yeah, I definitely was aware the world record-holder was right on me.
What was going through your mind coming off that final bend?
I was in front, so I was thinking about everybody that I knew back home, you know, they're watching me and cheering me on, and I was thinking about my mother who was there in the stadium. A lot just rushed through my head really. Here I am in the home stretch at the Olympic Games, I'm in front, all eyes are watching. All the folks who cheered me on when I was younger, my neighborhood and family. So that was kind of the thoughts that were rushing through my head. I just wanted to hold on and cross the line first at that point.
How does it feel knowing that that world junior record you set in Seoul is still standing 31 years later?
Still standing. Kirani James from Grenada came close a couple of Olympics ago. It's a good feeling. All records are meant to be broken. It will be at some point. I'm just excited that it still stands. At some point it will get broken, but 30 years is a long time.
What motivated you as an athlete and what advice would you give to the next generation of track and field athletes?
I was motivated by a lot. My mother was a single parent. She raised me as best she could and she encouraged me a lot, so I really was doing it a lot for her. I grew up with a lot of other athletes who were just as good as I was, just as fast, maybe faster. They chose different paths or just weren't committed. I will say for the younger generation, hard work beats talent that doesn't work hard. I went out there every day to train hard, to be the best athlete that I could be, and ultimately, I ended up winning the gold medal and breaking a world junior record. When I talk to athletes now it's just a matter of putting your all in and being your best self. That's all you can do. If you cheat yourself of whatever natural abilities you have that's just a sad affair. Basically, you have to go out there and perform at your best all the time. It's a mental game and you could have a physical ability to do it, but you have to mentally get out there and push yourself. Unless you do that, you won't be as successful as you can be.
Did you have any idols or mentors in the sport, or any athletes that you were really very close to?
Fortunately, I was surrounded by a lot of them, around Santa Monica Track Club. From Carl Lewis to my UCLA teammates like Danny Everett and Kevin Young. I kind of looked up to Johnny Gray, who was a really good close friend of mine. It was really just my teammates from the Santa Monica Track Club and the UCLA track club. We were really close and supported each other. That's who I looked up to.
Outside of the Olympics, what were the highest moments for you in the sport?
I always seemed to be injured in the off years, but I ran well in the Olympic years when it counted, at least for the public. I think one of the highlights was traveling abroad. I really enjoyed the sport of track and field and competing in Europe, traveling with my teammates, the fans. I really enjoyed that a lot. I miss that the most, just the camaraderie that I had. The running was great, the competitions and the victories, but I think the process, like just the traveling and what it took to get there and the training, that's what I miss most.
Outside of the Olympic races, are there any races in particular that really stood out to you and that were special for you?
Every world junior record that I set, I think four times. I know the Pac-10 meet my freshman year was kind of like my coming out party. I raced Danny again, and I took second, but that was the first time I set a world junior record, which was a 44 65. That was definitely a highlight. Also, experiencing that world record with Butch in Zurich. I was in the race and it was devastating to have somebody break a world record on you. But being on that stage in Zurich and competing with the greatest quartermilers in the world was great.
Were there any low points that you remember?
For any athlete, obviously you never leave the sport on your own terms, either through injury or sickness or there's a faster person in the next heat who is gonna take away your glory. In 1990 I had an illness. I was running at a track meet somewhere and I got so sick that I started having chills. I was about to perform, but I couldn't compete, so I flew back home and went to go see all these different specialists and no one could really figure out what was wrong with me. I was literally sick for about a year. I was still going to school at UCLA at the time. I really couldn't train, and I didn't think I would ever get back.
I was a shell of my former self and this was just two years after being an Olympic champion. That was really a low point for me. Fortunately, I was able to come back. Just as suddenly as the illness hit me, it just went away after about a year and I was able to get myself up and go out and compete and make the '92 Olympic team and still medal. That was definitely one of the struggles.
The second one, which ultimately ended my running career, was when I fell down the stairs during the 1994 earthquake trying to get out of the house. I landed on my tailbone and that essentially led to two back surgeries. I had to get a cyst removed and I had an anterior fusion done where they put screws in my back. I was still young, and I felt like I could have competed in at least two more Olympics.
How did track and field prepare you for your later life?
I think my attitude, my approach to things in life and confidence. My dedication. That commitment that I had on the track has definitely translated over to life after track and any other business venture that I've been involved with. It definitely had an impact on what I'm doing now, just my mindset. I definitely have that competitive edge when I go out to do anything now. That came from my experience as a world class athlete.
I have been with a medical device company called Stryker for about 20 years. I sell equipment to hospitals that is used in surgery and I work with a lot of orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons, spine surgeons, and I'm basically supporting, servicing and selling them on the products that I have in my bag with Stryker. Stryker is a big company based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
What else have you been involved in since retiring from competition?
I have two daughters and my wife, Tamala. My oldest daughter ran track a little bit at UCLA. She just graduated and her name is Ashley. My younger daughter is named Sienna.
A partner and I started an athletic equipment line with a product we call the Oof Ball, which is a wellness ball. It's like a medicine ball and it's used for dynamic strength training. You can do water work with it because it floats. I do a lot of programs with kids with that, some corporate events where you're working out while you're having fun. It's a bouncing weighted medicine ball that has certain characteristics to it that makes it different from other medicine balls.
What was your reaction when you heard you had been selected for the National Track & Field Hall of Fame?
Surprise! I think I was up for nomination several years ago when Andre Phillips was. I was just waiting on my time, but I was very excited about it. It's perfect year for it. I turned 50 this year, so this is a big year for me and I'm thinking it's the right time. Timing is everything. My family was really excited about it. My daughters are excited about it. When you're recognized by your sport or something that you committed to your entire life, it's an honor. It's a highlight for sure.