Lewis, Marsh lead inductees into track hall

Advertiser Staff
and Wire Reports

INDIANAPOLIS — Carl Lewis, one of the country's greatest track athletes, and three other members of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, including former Punahou School runner Henry Marsh, were voted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame today.

Lewis, long jumper and sprinter Larry Myricks and distance runners Marsh and Alberto Salazar will be inducted Nov. 30 in Mobile, Ala., during USA Track & Field's annual meeting.

Marsh was captain of the 1972 Punahou track and field team, according to Al Rowan, who coached Marsh at Punahou.

Recently, Rowan said Marsh called his past coaches who helped Marsh excel in the sport.

Marsh attended BYU and qualified for four different Olympic Games (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988) as a steeplechase competitor.

Marsh, who lives in Bountiful, Utah, still holds the American record in the steeplechase, set in 1985.

Marsh represented the United States in 19 international competitions.

"All represented the United States with distinction at all levels of competition," said Craig Masback, chief executive of USATF.

Lewis, a sprinter and long jumper, won nine Olympic gold medals and 10 world titles. He once held the world record in the 100 meters.

During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Lewis matched the feat of Jesse Owens by winning gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 400-meter relay.

He won the 100 and long jump in 1988, and the long jump and 400-relay in 1992. In 1996, he won his fourth straight gold medal in the long jump, making him only the second Olympian to win the same event in four consecutive Olympics.

Myricks was a four-time Olympian who in 1987 became the first world indoor long jump champion.

Salazar, a two-time Olympian, is a three-time New York City Marathon champion and former American record holder at distances ranging from 5,000 meters to the marathon.