Out in front : Former Purple Dog, Razorback Spearmon achieves his childhood Olympic dream
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/67195/
Wallace Spearmon has come a long way since Fayetteville High. And now he will be traveling even farther from his hometown.
Spearmon mustered a late burst to take third place in the 200-meter finals in Eugene, Ore., securing a spot on the U. S. Olympic team. Spearmon will compete in the Beijing Games next month.
A hardened competitor at Fayetteville, Spearmon said he learned to be confident yet humble at Arkansas. Spearmon matured both mentally and physically in his two years under former Arkansas coach John McDonnell’s tutelage before turning pro following his sophomore season. Now the pro is turning Olympian.
“ I’ve always had the Olympic dream, ” Spearmon said. “ I thought about it hard in high school and wanted to be one the first high school kids to go. This was obviously before I was really educated in the sport and knew exactly how difficult it was to make it and how much work it took. Now that it’s finally here and I’m going, it’s just a dream come true. Now everything I do is geared toward doing well there now that I know I get to go. ”
Spearmon’s dream was very close to becoming a nightmare when he fell behind early in the 200 finals. A tight hamstring forced Spearmon, who was considered to be among the favorites, to conserve his energy early in the race and it nearly cost him in the end before he bolted into third place with a gutsy finish in the final 50 meters.
“ I was worried about it and I didn’t want to go too hard at first, ” Spearmon said. “ But when we hit the straightaway, I gauged where I was and thought that I could catch someone from where I was. I just turned it on from there. ”
Spearmon had drawn some criticism for his strategy and many pundits hinted that Spearmon may not have been able to qualify for the Olympics if an injured Tyson Gay had been healthy enough to compete in the 200 in Eugene.
“ I’ve heard a lot of people say that but I honestly think that I still would have, ” Spearmon said. “ I didn’t do anything special in that first 100 and in the second 100, I knew where I needed to be to get in that top three. If Tyson had been there, I would have run a different race and someone else wouldn’t have gotten to go. ”
Spearmon did run a different race than he has in the past but it had nothing to do with Gay. Spearmon Jr. solicited his father’s guidance after the 2007 World Championships and the elder Spearmon left his home in Seattle to become his son’s coach Nov. 5.
Spearmon’s father earned his spot in Arkansas track lore, twice earning All-America honors during his fouryear career. He was a key member on Arkansas’ first indoor and outdoor national title teams.
Spearmon Jr. maximized his output in his short tenure as a Hog. He won three individual national championships in the 200 at Arkansas in those two years.
Spearmon evolved from a supremely talented runner on the NCAA scene into a major factor on the world track and field stage as a pro on Team Nike. He won a silver medal in the 2005 World Championships. He was the U. S. Outdoor champion in the 200 in 2006. In the 2007 World Championships, Spearmon took silver in the 200 and nabbed gold in the 400 relay.
Spearmon Sr., though, never reached the Olympics.
“ My dad ran track and competed in the World Championship but never made the Olympics so this is a real big deal for my family, ” Spearmon said. “... The old man’s been working with me, trying to get me geared up, mentally and physically. ” there is still work to do.
“ I’ve noticed some things in his start that we’re going to try to correct, ” Spearmon Sr. said. “ We’ve still got time to make minor adjustments. I noticed he was not getting his foot down on the blocks and he knows we’ve got to fix it because it’s going to be crucial. He’s able to adjust pretty quickly and I’m happy with his progress. ”
Spearmon Jr. ’s evolution has been rapid since missing out on the Olympics four years ago. Now the pressure will only increase.
“ Making it back to the Olympics has been weighing on my mind pretty heavy since I didn’t make the last team four years ago, ” Spearmon said. “ Now I get the experience of going to Beijing and having even more pressure on me after an already very stressful season. But I am really looking forward to it; I can’t wait. ”