Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1979)
Hurdling toward a 1980 Olympic goal By GREG HANBERG For the Emerald Henry Marsh is ready and eager Life has been somewhat of a roller-coaster for this country's number one ranked (1978) steeplechaser ever since he ran a personal best of 8 21 6 for the 3,000 meter race in an interna tional meet in Stockholm in 1977 Since then, his track career has fluctuated between flashes of brilliance and periods of frustration His latest battle with mononucleosis has temporarily slowed down his training schedule, but he should be more than ready to go by this upcoming summer, which of course happens to be an Olym pic year And he's ready to recapture some of his early 1979 form, which proved to be most successful Currently, the 25-year old Marsh is a second-year law student at Oregon in addition to training at Athletics West, the Eugene-based track and field Club under the instruction of Harry Johnson, the club s administrative adviser Marsh held the American record at the time of his Stock holm race as his racing future appeared ready to blossom But Marsh hasn't bettered that time since, due in part to a knee injury which sidelined him for three months in 1978 (the same year in which he got mar ried) and his current bout with mono as he was finally regain ing top form this year I'm not really happy with the way Ive come along Marsh admits I ve been pretty frus trated since running a PR (personal record) in 1977 I got off to a slow start in '78 and l thought this past year would be my best until I got sick I just don t think I ve progressed as well as I could have " Marsh attended Brigham Young University where he was first introduced to the steeple chase running 9 25 in his first year After a year of running with BYU. Marsh took a two-year leave of absence to Brazil, a mission he performed for BYU and the Mormon Church There, Steeplechase nit. MarsVsonlyba‘S’‘He„ry a medal Marsh seldom trained and came back to the United States 20 pounds overweight But it wasn't much longer after that he was soon back to normal weight through training back at BYU Marsh knocked off over a ten my mark I set in 1977 by now," he continues. "Especially this year, but that s what my sickness did to me. I should break my record this upcoming year, but you never know in athletics ” Photo by Jo« Yogerst Life for Henry Marsh is anything but easy The Olympic hopeful in the steeplechase is currently juggling law school at the University, a family and an intensive training routine aimed at winning Marsh a medal in the 1980 Olympics minute from his freshman time and had ran 8 23 and been named an Ali-Amertcan twice in cross country by the time he left the university After establishing the American record in Stock holm (which has been bettered by only Doug Brown. 8:19 3, a teammate of Marsh s at Athle tics West) that same year. Marsh has had a tough time breaking that mark But he seems to be on the verge of that now, and establishing a personal (and perhaps American) record seems inevitable at this stage The steeplechase seems to be adept at my style of running," says Marsh "I may not have as much foot speed as 5 000-meter runners, but I run much better with barriers It’s my kind of race "I thought I would have bea Marsh had a good summer up until the time he got sick in Canada He ran 8 23 in Stock holm, then finished first in both the Sparticade (8:28) in Moscow and the Pan-Am Games (8 43 in humid weather) in Puerto Rico before finishing fourth in the World Cup (8 30) in Montreal, not realizing he had mono before the race until he got home. “The frustrating thing about this was I was gearing all of my training towards the World Cup." says Marsh Everything was perfect this year until the mono I was happy with my summer, though, and getting sick shouldn't offset my train ing I should be back in full shape by January ” As it stands right now. Marsh is not a favorite to win a medal at the 80 Olympics, although his times were ranked fourth best on the world list before he got sick, whereas now he is ranked around tenth Henry Rono, the Washington State runner and current world record holder in the steeplechase, is considered the early favorite for Olympic gold Poland s Bronislaw Malin owski, the 1976 silver medalist, also in prime contention, along with a number of East Germans who could play key roles in the steeplechase finals at Moscow next summer And there's also the concern of qualifying for the American team, despite being ranked number one in the country "I’m not a shoo-in to make the (Olympic) team," explains Marsh “In athletics, the differ Bong and Pipe Sale 10% OFF any pipe or bong with this ad V\ IN Si00 worth of merchandise bv guessing the right number betw een 1 and 100 It’s high time you hit Lazar’s Bazar for the best bong selection in town. Over 100 different styles to choose from. Lazars Bazar 1036 Willamette Street =Ks 687-0139, 687-9“66 IF FORD BUILDS IT KENDALL FORD SELLS IT! Valley River, Eugene. 342-2151 7th &. South A, Springfield, 746-8276 Weekdays 8-9, Saturdays 8-6, Sunday 10-6 ence of a couple of seconds could mean the whole world There's just not that much mar gin of difference You can’t be complacent.” But if the breaks have their way of evening themselves out, then 1980 could be a banner year for Marsh ”1 was really happy with the way Henry was coming along this year,” says Johnson. “He has enormously untapped po tential I know it, he knows it and by looking at him in training it's obvious " And, quite understandably. Marsh looks ahead to 1980 and what may lie ahead “I still like my chances of at least making the team,” says Marsh “As far as a training schedule goes, I don’t really set goals or times I should meet I just try to do the best I can and the times will take care of them selves I'm just trying to get ahead I have a hungry atti tude ”
