Foster Laments the Lack of Monetary Rewards

Greg Foster lost the most important race of his life--the 110-meter high hurdles final in the Los Angeles Olympic Games--but he said last week that reflecting on the minimal monetary rewards being reaped by the big track and field gold medalists, the disappointment was not so great.

“There has been very little financial gain,” pointed out Foster, the Olympic hurdles favorite who finished second to United States teammate Roger Kingdom. “I think a lot more should have happened to people who won three or four gold medals. The doors are just not opening. What other sport had a winner of four gold medals like in men’s track and field (Carl Lewis) or a winner of three gold medals like in women’s track and field (Valerie Brisco-Hooks)?”

Lewis, the Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, long jump and 400-meter relay, and Brisco-Hooks, the Games’ gold medalist in the women’s 200 and 400 individual races and the 1,600-meter relay, have not cashed in nearly as well as gymnastics star Mary Lou Retton, who has become the darling of the commercial and advertising set, after winning five gold medals, but only one in an individual event.

Foster perhaps is not as familiar with Lewis’ situation as he is with that of Brisco-Hooks, his teammate on the World Class A.C.

“She’s not capitalizing,” he said. “Though I would like to see her capitalize . . . it makes it easier (for me) to accept (not winning).

“More people saw Valerie Brisco-Hooks perform than saw Mary (Lou) Retton,” said Foster. “There were about 90,000 to 100,000 fans in the stands every day (for the Olympic track and field competition).”

If the track and field gold medalists have been slow in receiving financial gains, the silver medalists--like Foster--have earned even fewer rewards.

“Now, I think I would have been better off if I had not won a medal unless it was gold,” conceded Foster, whose only defeat last year came in the Games. “I don’t like being called ‘second best.’ ”

Although Foster was second best in the Olympics, he might still be No. 1 in the world for the third straight year, when the annual world rankings are released later this month.

After the Games, Foster met Kingdom twice in Europe, and beat him both times. He also ran the fastest time in the world last year--13.15 seconds.

“It was important for me to beat him (Kingdom) as far as the world rankings are concerned,” said Foster, “but there was no gratification in beating him.

“He’s no (Renaldo) Nehemiah,” Foster added, referring to the world record holder and his one-time major rival who abandoned track and field for pro football in 1982. “He’s a poor loser. He said some bad words after I beat him in Zurich (Switzerland; their other meeting was in Berlin).

“He’s very inconsistent. He’ll run 13.3 one day, 13.7 the next. Nehemiah was consistent. Tonie Campbell (of the U.S., the fifth-place finisher in the Olympics) was consistent last year.

“He ran one good race on one particular day. Unfortunately for me, it was in the Olympics.”

Foster said that Kingdom had to run a personal best--13.20--to win the gold medal, and in finishing second, he ran his slowest time of 1984--13.23.

“A gold medal would have meant a lot to me,” said Foster, the 1983 world champion. “But a silver meant a lot to my mother and my father, and to hear my (3-year-old) son say his father ran in the Olympic Games . . . “

Foster admitted that he was “looking toward the Games for financial rewards,” but conceded that “now, I think the Olympics are a lot less important than before I competed in them.”

“Before the Games, I was all gung-ho to compete for my country, and I always will be,” he said. “I was ready to run and ready to win.

“If I didn’t say I was disappointed in not winning, I would be lying. There’s no way I’m going to be happy with a silver medal.

“Now, I have to prove that not winning the gold medal was a fluke ... a mistake ... on my part.”

Foster will get some chance for retribution during the 1985 indoor season, including the Sunkist meet at the Los Angeles Sports Arena Jan. 18 and the Los Angeles Times meet at the Forum in Inglewood Feb. 8. He finished second for the men’s overall title in the Mobil Indoor Grand Prix competition each of the past two years.

“I would like to win it this year,” he said.