[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Dr. Delano Meriwether, the 1971 AAU 100-yard-dash champion (9.0w), took up
sprinting at age 28, after his graduation from medical school. In 1970, was
a 27-year-old resident at a Baltimore hospital, he was watching a track meet
on TV, and said to his wife after the 100 meters, "I could beat those guys."
He used to practice his starts in a Baltimore park at night after finishing
his
hospital duties.
He said at the time, "I never used a starter's gun. I didn't think it would
be a very good idea for a black guy to be running fast in the park and
carrying
a pistol."
jim dunaway
While Dr. Merriweather's success is a wonderful part of track history and
lore, it is just that, the past. The problem is that too many still see
track in these terms. Track is so far beyond this anecdote, that it is hard
to believe the story is true.
It is time the mentality of track stopped being amateur, stopped being an
after school activity. Track is serious business, and the athletes, coaches,
and managers are serious individuals.
Darrell
The G.O.A.T.
