понедельник, 24 сентября 2012 г.

SUZY HITS STRIDE IN RUN FOR ATLANTA.(Sports) - The Capital Times

For Suzy Favor Hamilton, renaissance woman of American track and field, the road to Atlanta began on the snowy, icy avenues of Stevens Point, an environment familiar to regular viewers of ``Picket Fences.''

``I was in seventh grade when I started seriously training,'' Hamilton said from her home in Eugene, Ore. ``My toughness comes from winters in Wisconsin. If it was 30 below, I'd go inside, but if it was one degree, I'd be running outside. Sometimes, I'd be running by the golf course near where we lived, and it was like `Rocky.' It was just a drive I had inside me.''

It still pushes Hamilton, taking this runner, artist, model and role model places she fantasized long ago during those solitary workouts in Stevens Point.

Tonight, she'll be showcased in the Los Angeles Invitational indoor meet (formerly the Sunkist) at the Sports Arena. Hamilton is gearing toward the June 14-23 Olympic Trials in Atlanta, where the world's premier athletes will gather a month later for the Summer Games.

``I wish the Trials were tomorrow,'' Hamilton said. ``I'm excited -- and I feel good physically.''

Fully recovered from a foot injury that cost her 10 weeks last winter, Hamilton, a '92 Olympian in the 1,500 meters, is thinking big. Her mind is set on racing 800 and 1,500 meters on the world stage.

``I'd like to double,'' she said. ``It's demanding, but the way the events are scheduled makes it possible. The 800's first, then there are four rest days before the 1,500. I definitely think I have a good shot at both.''

She ran the second-fastest 800 by an American woman last year, 1:58.74, and two weeks ago turned in a 2:02 in Reno. Her 4:05.14 was the second-fastest 1,500 by an American, 0.1 of a second slower than Ruth Wysocki.

Hamilton's appeal to advertisers -- let's just say she's easy on the eyes -- hasn't made her a favorite among rivals who feel she hasn't earned it on the track. She has endorsement deals with Reebok, Oakley sunglasses, Power Bar and Reflect, a sun-care product. It was for Reflect that she modeled in Hawaii for a swimsuit calendar due out later in the year.

``I realize that there's been some resentment and jealousy,'' Hamilton said. ``I know I've been lucky to have the opportunities I've had for not winning a medal. I never take it for granted. It's something I enjoy doing, and it's really helped me in a lot of areas.''

It was one of her commercials that enabled a fellow Olympian to pick her out of the Opening Ceremonies crowd in Barcelona in '92.

``Magic Johnson had recognized me from my Pert Plus commercial, and he gave me a kiss on the cheek,'' Hamilton said. ``I remember going, `I'm not going to wash this cheek.' I couldn't wait to tell my husband (former UW baseball pitcher Mark Hamilton), who was there with me. That was the best part of the Olympics for me.

``At the Opening Ceremonies, we all had to stay in a straight line, but when the Dream Team came out, everyone was going in different angles and running to meet them. I had my picture taken with all of them. That was just the best experience.''

The competition wasn't nearly so memorable. Hamilton ran out of medal contention.

``It was my first Olympics, and I didn't have a lot of international experience,'' she said. ``I was kind of terrified to be there. But the last two years, I've had an apartment in Germany, and it's been a great experience for me to compete over there. The races are so incredibly competitive in Europe.''

When push comes to shove on the track, Hamilton doesn't back down. She holds her ground as she covers it.

``I don't believe in being boxed in,'' she said. ``I can always get out of a crowd in a second, no matter what. Sometimes I say to an opponent, `Move over.' And they're usually extremely cooperative. But if they don't move, I use my elbows to let them know I'm coming through.

``In college, I was very tough. But then I mellowed a bit. It took me a couple of years of adjustment to regain my old style. Now, I feel I have my toughness back.''

She needed that toughness to make the '92 U.S. team, outdistancing one of her early idols, Mary Decker Slaney, at the finish for the third spot.

It is important to Hamilton that she shows younger girls they can be competitive without sacrificing their femininity.

``I believe all athletes are role models, whether they like it or not,'' she said. ``I like the responsibility. I take time to talk to kids after races. I know it was very important to me when I was a kid to have somebody say, `Good job.' I'm glad I was born at this time and have these opportunities, unlike my mother.''

In her youth, Suzy Favor would read about the women runners at the University of Wisconsin and dream about following in their footsteps. She didn't just follow her role models, she lapped them.

At Wisconsin, she won an unprecedented nine NCAA titles, finishing with a flourish by winning the 800/1,500 double in 1990 at Duke.

She was the Big Ten's Female Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s -- an honor that now bears her name, the Suzy Favor Award. Graphic arts degree in hand, she was winner of the Babe Zaharias Award as the nation's premier female collegian in '90 and the NCAA Woman of the Year in '91.

When she isn't training on the track or in the swimming pool, the 5-foot-3, 105-pound Hamilton often can be found dabbling at her canvas. She paints in both the realistic and abstract styles and dreams of showing her work in a gallery.

``I have my easel set up in my room,'' she said. ``Since preschool, they couldn't get me away from my easel. It's a big release for me.''

At 27, Hamilton is just entering her peak years as a runner. There are middle distance runners who have flourished into their 40s. She'll keep busy with modeling, endorsement work and possibly a career in broadcasting, but those competitive fires won't be dying any time soon.

``I would love to do this as long as I can,'' Suzy Favor Hamilton said. ``Realistically, I'd love to do it another 10 years.''