emerald
sports
‘My friends said I was crazy to come here’
By Carol Morton
Otttf Em»raU
Last Saturday at Hayward Field, one
sprinter in white tights seemed somewhat
shy. He was the only one of the victorious
400-meter relay team not flashing the
' number-one’’ sign as they jogged around
the track, soaking up the crowd's applause
That's because the victory lap was a
career first.
Walcott barely missed out on qualifying for
the 1980 Olympic team.
Photos by Bob Baker
It’s not that George Walcott hasn't won
his share of races He’s stopped the clock at
20.83 in the 200 meters and has a best of
10 40 in the 100 meters, both at Central
Arizona Community College where he
transferred from this year.
The native Jamaican ran in the 1979
Pan-Am Games relay team with 1976
200-meter Olympic champion, countryman
and hero, Don Quarrie After seven races in
two days at the Junior College Nationals,
Walcott returned home to try for the
Jamaican Olympic Team Exhausted, he
placed fifth in both the 100 and 200
But a victory lap was new to him
‘‘Dennis (Whitby. Oregon's sprint and hur
dler coach) and the other guys told me that
the victory lap was a tradition At first I was
kind of scared, but it's really a lot of fun
You're giving the crowd something back,
because their cheering gets you going
They give you extra drive, extra force,'
Walcott says
After the successful relay against
Washington State, Walcott went on to
capture the 100-meters in 10 79 In the
200-meters, however, his leg tightened up,
forcing him to ease back For the past few
weeks Walcott says his training has been
geared to the 100 but workouts and race
times should begin to reflect Walcott's goal
of peaking for the 200-meter race at the
NCAA championships the first week of
June
Walcott sees himself as a 200-meter
man The junior majoring in business began
at Central Arizona as a 100-meter sprinter
and ended his freshman season by winning
the 200-meters at the Junior College
Nationals.
Oregon’s cold rainy weather is a
nemisis to sprinters. "My friends at Arizona
laughed at me and said I was crazy to come
here,” Walcott says "They said I couldn't
run ”
The gusty cold rain on Walcott's first
venture north last spring to see the Ducks
outscore Auburn 121-33 was probably the
worst weather a coach would want to show
‘My toes were numb. My
fingers were numb. And I
signed the letter of intent'
a hopeful recruit, he says. "I was cold My
toes were numb My fingers were numb
And I signed the letter of intent on Monday "
Walcott laughes at the apparent absurdity
“I wanted to be somewhere that need
ed me Oregon has an advanced program,
even though it has cold weather." Walcott
also was impressed with the business
school
Then there was the crowd at Hayward
Field ‘‘I wasn't running in the meet against
Auburn, but I felt like I was out there My
adrenalin was flowing."
Walcott can be just as unrelenting as
the persistant rain "My success depends
on how I approach the weather I am going
to be a better man; I'm going to be a tougher
man "
There was a time earlier this year when
the weather won, but his roommate and
close friend, hurdler Don Ward, helped him
feel like his depression wasn 't the end of the
world
Also, Walcott knew he was in Oregon
with God's blessing "God plays an im
portant role Without God I wouldn't be
running " A line in Psalms 91 that he quotes
says God's angels will protect him always "I
definitely feel that now I told myself. Hey,
George, why are you down7 You know you
have the extra force behind you that will
never fail you '
"You don’t have to be religious (to have
faith), you just have to have common sense
I get more benefit from believing in God
than believing in something else "
Saturday mornings before meets,
Walcott reads the Bible and prays, “ assist
me in running to the best of my ability and
keep me free from injury ' It helps me keep
my composure, get calm and relaxed
Mental fitness is as important as physical
fitness Some guys get too nervous to run."
“Real" Jamaicans speak patois (pron
ounced patwa), a mixture of plantation
owner English and slave African If Walcott
relaxes into comfortable conversation, a
“mi-a-go-si-de-kooch" might slip in for "I'm
going to see the coach." Ward offers to
translate for a visitor, but Walcott watches
his English carefully
A Jamaican reggae song beats to these
words: "You can get it if you really want it,
but you must try You’ll succeed at last "
Walcott contentedly says, "There's so
many things I’ve really wanted — to run and
a good education That song falls into place
wherever I’ve been ”
- George Walcott —
Jamaican gold
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