July 15, 2004 Once a Strength, Middle Distances Are Now the Forgotten Events By BILL PENNINGTON
It has been 32 years since an American man has won an Olympic gold medal in a middle-distance track event. The American record in the mile, 3 minutes 47.69 seconds by Steve Scott, has stood for 22 years. In the middle distances, defined as the 800 meters and the 1,500 meters, there has not been an American man ranked No. 1 in the world since 1980. In the last 20 years, fewer than a dozen Americans have cracked the world's top five at either distance. Once a strength, the middle distances have become no man's land for American runners. The gilded footpaths of Jim Ryun, Marty Liquori and Dave Wottle, trod in the golden era of American middle-distance running, remain unchallenged, an unusual failure for American athletes in a glamour event. In a nation of 22 million recreational runners, why can't the United States' best men get out of the back of the pack? "I wish I had an answer," Ryun, a Republican United States representative from Kansas, said. "It is mystifying." And with another Olympic Games approaching, the angst and frustration over America's decline in the middle distances is building anew. "Come on, my mile record is a good time, but it should have been broken by now," said Scott, whose American record is 4.56 seconds slower than the world record. "We have been mediocre for years. Outside of a few individuals, we've gotten worse." Steve Holman, the last American miler to be ranked in the top 10 worldwide - he was 10th in 1997 - knows about the growing disenchantment. "People were anxiously awaiting the next American savior in the mile before I came along," Holman, who ran in the 1992 Olympics, said. "It was something people asked me about all the time. Frankly, that savior didn't come along. Everyone is still waiting." The miler Alan Webb, a former high school phenomenon who has posted promising international results this year, may yet fill the gap, but he remains a long shot in an Olympic-quality field. Webb, 21, is scheduled to run the quarterfinals tonight in the 1,500 meters, the metric equivalent of the mile, at the United States Olympic track and field trials in Sacramento. There is little depth behind Webb among Americans in the event: While he is ranked 21st in the world at 1,500 meters, the next ranked American, Charlie Gruber, is 38th. Rest of the article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/15/sports/othersports/15distance.html?th
