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meet he ran relay legs of 1:50 and 46.45. Beach comes from a middle-distance background, beginning cross country at 8. In the pentathlon at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York, he ran 2:30.90 in the concluding 1000 to finish with 4,127 points, the No. 2 score in prep history. “He’s got good speed and great endurance, which is rare,” said decathlon historian Frank Zarnowski. “He’s one of those kids unafraid of events. He just goes out and scorches the 1500. What he might do is change the nature of the dec because he’s so good in the final event. This guy could really be something.” Beach will attend Duke, which has never been a power in track and isn’t fully funded, with only about half of the maximum 12.6 scholarships allowed for men’s teams. Beach made his decision because of academics and new Duke assistant coach Shawn Wilbourn, a former 8,200 decathlete who competed at the 1997 world championships. “I felt coach Shawn Wilbourn was the best fit for me,” said the 6-0, 166pound Beach, 18, who also had Oregon, California, Texas A&M and Baylor in his final five. “I know he’s very knowledgeable and I see myself having a lot of success there. In the end, it was a clear choice even if on the surface it looks terrible because historically Duke hasn’t had a great track program. They’re definitely on the rise.” One reason why Beach wants a Duke education: “My dream job would be CEO of USA Track & Field. I want to get into marketing and really help the sport.” A life in track Payton Jordan, a competitor and coach in
the sport for most of his life, died in February of cancer at 91. Jordan was best known as a coach, winning two NCAA small college titles at Occidental before moving to Stanford, where he coached for 22 years and produced seven Olympians. He coached the 1968 Olympic men’s team, considered by many to be the best team in history. Jordan was a star sprinter and football player at USC but lost his best years to World War II. In his latter years, he again became a star, this time as an age-group sprinter, setting a 100 meter world record of 14.65 at age 80. “I had so much respect for that man,” said ex-UCLA coach Jim Bush. “He was not only one of the greatest coaches our sport has ever known, he was a great human being. I loved everything he stood for, which was fairness and hard work.” Jordan used to have a sign in his office with four questions: Is it safe? Is it popular? Is it politic? Is it right? “The only one that matters to me is the last one,” he said. “If it’s right, I’ll do it. If it’s not, I won’t.” Jordan practiced what he preached. Jim Ward, who ran for Jordan during the 1960s when steroids had not yet been banned, told the San Jose Mercury-News that he finished 7th in the 400 at the NCAA meet and that all the runners ahead of him had used steroids. Ward wanted to use them, too. Jordan talked him out of it, he recalls. “He was afraid of all the long-term health aspects of steroids,” Ward said. “I know three or four runners … who are dead now because they used steroids. Coach Jordan helped me stay drug-free. “Payton was very calm and gentle in enforcing rules. He didn’t allow us to lie or fudge. And he didn’t have a racial bone in his body.” Bolt’s rocky start Usain Bolt may have learned how to get out of the blocks on the track, but his 2009 got off to a rocky start. The Olympic 100 and 200 champ from Jamaica was lucky he wasn’t injured seriously after an accident on a rainy road totaled his BMW in May. The windshield was smashed and the chassis severely damaged, but the only injury to Bolt came from stepping on thorns after he and two female passengers exited the vehicle in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Then there was a Bolt comment that attracted negative attention: “In Jamaica, you learn as a child how to roll a joint. Everyone here has tried it. I did, too—but I was real young then,” Bolt was quoted as saying, adding. “My family and my friends don’t smoke and I don’t hang out Continued on page 12
AO • SUMMER 2009 • www.atf-athlete.com
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