Olympians have high praise for UH track
By Casey McGuire-Turcotte
Special to The Advertiser
There were two more Olympian sightings at the University of Hawai'i track over the weekend, and no, one wasn't athletic director Herman Frazier.
Associated Press
Marion Jones, gold medalist in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the 4x400 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Tim Montgomery, the world record holder in the 100, practiced for nearly three hours Saturday afternoon and yesterday morning at Cooke Field.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones, left, and Tim Montgomery, the current world record holder for 100 meters, demonstrate for students during TAG Heuer's watch promotion in Hong Kong.
The two sprinters, in town for Nike's Asia/Pacific sales meeting yesterday at the Honolulu Convention Center, went through an off-season routine of strides, drills, and sit-ups on UH's new track before several disbelieving spectators at the track.
"Marion Jones doing lunges on Cooke Field," one onlooker said as she talked on her cell phone. "I can't believe it."
The workout was not a scheduled appearance for the Olympians.
Jones and Montgomery flew into Honolulu on Friday night from Hong Kong where Jones had been making appearances for one of her sponsors, Tag Heuer. Both athletes wanted to do a light workout before they left last night.
University of Hawai'i cross country and track coach Carmyn James said she got the call early Saturday morning that Jones and Montgomery had requested to use the university's new facility, and was more than happy to accommodate the pair.
"It was a great opportunity to have two of the best sprinters in the world put the track to the test," James said.
And what did the sprint stars think of the new facility?
"We run on Mondo (a type of track surface) in Europe all the time, and this is one of the best Mondo tracks I have ever seen," Jones said. "I'm sure this is one track Craig Masback (CEO of USA Track and Field) will want to consider for big-time competitions real soon."
Montgomery, who was also the World Indoor and Outdoor 100 meter silver medalist in 2001, said Hawai'i is the perfect place to hold the NCAA or USA national meets because of the weather.
"It's hard for sprinters to perform in cold weather," he said. "A place like Hawai'i, where even if it's raining it's warm, is perfect for us."
And colors of the eight-lane track: red, yellow, green and blue?
"To be honest, when I first walked on it, it was a little trippy, but you get used to it," Montgomery said with a laugh. "I guess it's kind of a home-court thing."
Jones said the track was "very bright," but that the colors don't take anything away from the track, and said she would look forward to competing in races here if the school and the community were receptive to the idea.
"I can't think of a place athletes would rather come to run than Hawai'i," she said. "Of course, the number that would be on the track versus those on the beach is another story."
Jones and Montgomery, who have been dating for a little over a year, live and train together in Raleigh, N.C. Both plan on returning to O'ahu with a small group of athletes for two weeks in mid-December to train for the upcoming indoor track season.
