I think Carl Lewis stopped competing at the collegiate level after his sophomore or
junior year because of the strict collegiate amateur rules. He continued to be coached
by Tom Telez, his college coach.
Ed Koch
------Original Message------
From: "P.F.Talbot" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Track list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: May 29, 2001 4:03:38 PM GMT
Subject: t-and-f: half-joking thought about Webb...
....why should he go to college and run?
He has a coach who has already gotten him to 3:53 as an 18 year-old.
He's already of international caliber. He could certainly get Nike or
someone to offer to pay his tuition whenever he does decide to go to
school in exchange for sponsorship. He could probably make some living
wages (or perhaps much, much beter) through appearence fees while he has
marketing value as a young sensation. He could be a "full-time" runner
while in his prime developing years.
I'm not saying the shouldn't go to Michigan next year, but I raise the
question because it is a peculiarity of the U.S. system. Would any other
kid in the world leave his coach at 18 after running 3:53 (except maybe
to be part of nationally funded training camps)? Would Coe have
done what he did had he left his Dad at 18? Is Borzakovsky missing
anything by bypassing a US scholarship? Would it happen anywhere but
in the U.S./Canada?
Just some questions to ponder and in many ways this is more a hypothetical
question than about Webb in particular. It has become an unquestioned
norm for kids to use the college system that I wonder if any Americans
ever think about trying an alternate route.
*******************************
Paul Talbot
Department of Geography/
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado, Boulder
Boulder CO 80309-0260
(303) 492-3248
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
