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Lead Stories: Friday, August 29, 2008

Gerry Lindgren: The Self-Proclaimed “Wimp” Who Revolutionized Running

Posted March 25th, 2008 at 1:34 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Track & Field, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, College, High School

Despite protests of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, President George W. Bush recently stated that there will not be a boycott from the United States. According to CNN, Bush believes the Olympics “should be about the athletes and not necessarily about politics.”

Former U.S. Olympian Gerry Lindgren, 62, agrees. He thinks China will benefit from hosting the Games.

“I think they need to leave politics out of it,” he said. “China has made some great strides forward in the last few years.”

Lindgren recalls backlash of the 1980 U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics. He did not plan to compete in Moscow, but he knew how disappointed the U.S. team was to miss out on the Olympic experience. Lindgren said he was upset with former President Jimmy Carter’s decision and said the Olympics should have been “the only avenue in the world that wasn’t political.”
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USATF Comments on the Retirement of Maurice Greene

Posted February 5th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jeremy Sussman

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Three-time World Outdoor 100m champion and 2000 Olympic 100m and 4×100m gold medalist Maurice Greene announced his retirement from track and field Monday in Beijing, China.

Recognized as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, Greene won the 100m, 200m and 4×100m relay gold medals at the 1999 World Outdoor Championships in Seville, Spain. In so doing he became the second sprinter ever to defend the 100m world title and the first to ever to accomplish the 100m/200m sprint double at a World Championships. The 1999 World Indoor champion at 60 meters, Greene owns the world record in that event, and his former world 100m record of 9.79 seconds set June 16, 1999 in Athens, Greece, remains the American record.

The 2000 Olympic Trials 100m winner and Olympic gold medalist, Greene also won the 100m at the 2004 Olympic Trials, and later won the 100m bronze medal at the Games in Athens, where he also won a silver medal in the 4×100m relay.
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Podcast 14: Interview with legendary Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills

Posted February 14th, 2007 at 3:45 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

In today’s podcast, I am joined by Billy Mills - a true hero of running and a compassionate warrior.

At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Billy set an Olympic record and won a gold medal in the 10,000m; becoming the first and still the last American to win a gold in the event.

After his successful running career, Billy has channeled his love for running into a passion for fighting against poverty and discrimination as the national spokesperson of Running Strong for Native American Youth. He is also the subject of the 1983 movie “Running Brave”.

Download the podcast to hear Billy to discuss what has been called the “biggest upset in Olympic history”, running in borrowed shoes, how he has felt and been treated as a Native American athlete, teaching younger generations the importance of “Global Unity Through Global Diversity”, the possibility of him entering the 2007 Marine Core Marathon and much more!

Listen In
[MP3] Direct Download (Right click, select “save as”).
[RSS] Add The Final Sprint Podcast RSS feed to your RSS reader to have the show delivered to you

Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Billy Mills
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 24.0MB
Length: 00:35:04

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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BILLY MILLS
The Olympic Legend

Posted December 14th, 2006 at 9:19 AM by Jenna Sumara

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Columns, Olympics, SPOTLIGHT

This is part two of the 5-part series: “BILLY MILLS: Overlooked Hero of Running” (Links to the other installments in this series are located at the conclusion of this article).

Billy Mills was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota on June 30, 1938 in the Oglala Sioux Indian reservation. Billy’s Lakota name is Makata Taka Hela meaning “love your country” or more traditionally translated, “respects the earth”.

After losing his parents when he was only 12-yrs old, Mills became involved with running at the Haskell Institute; an Indian school located in Lawrence, Kansas. In the late 1950’s, Mills attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship.

At Kansas his hard work and natural abilities on the track continued to flourish. In 1958 and 1959 he was All-American in cross country. In the 1960 Big Eight Conference, Mills won an individual title in cross country. The following year, Mills again became the conference champion in the two mile race; coming in with a time of a little over nine minutes.
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