Carl Lewis and Lee Evans may be joining us on the track
Don’t know how I missed this, but Athletics Weekly in April ran a note saying Olympic legend Carl Lewis was planning to compete again — in masters track. He turns 45 on July 1, 2006. Track & Field News apparently picked up the item as well. But I’ve seen no evidence of Carl running since April. Maybe a false alarm. But this is news: Lee Evans, the 1968 Olympic champ and world record holder, wrote me a few weeks ago that he’s considering a masters track comeback (after a few forays in his early 40s).
In early June, prompted by an email from one of his fans, I wrote Lee to see if he might try track again, especially since he turns 60 in February 2007, and he replied:
“Thank you for your kinds words. I’m considering running again. It is painful as I have arthritis in both knees (not from running, but a fall).”
An an M40 sprinter in 1989, Lee is credited with a 47.5 for 400 meters — a time still not beaten in his age group. (The listed WR is 47.81 by Italy’s Enrico Saraceni in 2004.
Lee’s friend Tommie Smith once was rumored to be mulling a masters comeback as well. He never showed up. (The story went like this: He’d enter masters meets — but only if he were SURE he’d never lose.)
Guess he didn’t gain that certainty.
Here’s how Athletics Weekly reported the Lewis news:
27th April 2006 — Carl Lewis eyes track return
SPRINTS Athletics legend vows to compete on the masters circuit in the hope of breaking more world records
NINE-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis last weekend made known his intentions to return to the track and compete in a handful of masters competitions throughout this year and next, writes Jon Mulkeen.
Speaking in Belgrade, where he was acting as official patron of the 19th Belgrade Banca Intesa Marathon, Lewis stated: “I have been out for nine years, but I turn 45 this year and I have decided to compete in a couple of masters races in 2006 and 2007.”
The decision is well timed, as Lewis – who celebrates his birthday in July – would be among the youngest in the M45 category.
Me again:
Carl doesn’t have to worry about making a fool of himself in a sprint comeback. He’s already done that by making a howler of a music video.
I find it interesting that he’ll compete in a “handful” of meets. I guess his philosophy is: Anything worth doing is worth doing sparingly. But he’ll learn — if he is serious about competing against the best in his age group — that he won’t just blow people away by showing up. It’s a new ballgame at our age.
He’ll have to contend with a guy name Gault.
5 Responses
I hope Carl sticks to running and does make a comeback–but that music video is the worst I have ever seen–I really hope that is the one and only video he makes–it would be unfair to the world to un-leash another one–Mark
I heard that Henry Rono is thinking about a comeback as well. He posted a message on letsrun.com about trying to break the masters 50-54 mile record.
As for Tommie Smith, my former coach and mentor since way back in 1985, his lasting guidance was such that “the best way to get to the finish line is in the shortest amount of time…which means you might work less to get there!”
I went on from his inspirational program at Santa Monica College to nearly 300 competitions in six different countries, throwing NCAA Div II All American, and at 38 years of age in Eastern Europe in 2004, coming within a few meters of the Olympic Trials in the javelin event…
As such, for his character I will testify that if he did not show up at Masters meets he had entered, it was because he most likely had sudden family engagements to attend as he has a lot of grown children and they all have proactive lives that he supports, just like he did for a guy named Johnny Gray back in the day and my humble self, who will be at Masters Nationals in August after a five-year break for duty overseas…
he was good
I think that Lee Evans was my track coach at Foothill high. Am I wrong?
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