Arnie Robinson Still Talks a Good Jump : 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist Believes He Might Have Beaten Lewis in ’84 If He’d Trained Harder

The four gold medals Carl Lewis collected at the 1984 Olympics lie safely beyond the reach of a fickle public or a jealous rival.

Lewis can be secure in this knowledge, even though Madison Avenue has shunned him and critics have had a field day with his crystal collection, Grace Jones hairdo and mink coat.

Until recently, no one has dared to question his athletic deeds.

But this seems to be open season on Lewis, and now is heard a former Olympic medalist arguing he could have reduced Lewis’ take by 25%.

Arnie Robinson, the 1976 Olympic long jump champion, thinks he might have defeated Lewis in the 1984 Games.

Or, if not defeated, at least forced Lewis to take more than two jumps before walking away from the competition and leaving thousands of fans frustrated by their brief brush with history.

Robinson, who is soon to be inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions, seriously suggests that he could have out-thought and maybe out-leaped Lewis if he had trained with more diligence.

Wishful thinking? Hindsight? Sour grapes?

All of the above probably are applicable. But Robinson, 36, who is now track coach at Mesa College, also musters some fairly logical arguments. And he certainly doesn’t lack respect for Lewis.

“I’m a big fan of Carl,” Robinson said. “I think he is the most productive athlete in a long time. There’s nobody to compare with him. At the same time, I believe he could have been beaten and I can almost guarantee he would have taken more than one jump.”

Because of the tremendous expectations and pressure, Robinson thinks Lewis would have been vulnerable. And Robinson was usually at his best in high-stakes competition.

“I would have been more intelligent (than other competitors),” Robinson said. “I would have tried to use a little strategy, play tricks and mind games like Muhammad Ali. Carl is usually best on the first jump. So I would have held back while he sat out three or four jumps and cooled off. Then I think I could have surpassed him about the fifth jump.”

Lewis won with a jump of 28- 3/4. Robinson thinks he could have gone 28-3. After all, he won the 1976 gold with a leap of 27-4 3/4, an improvement of one foot over his 1972 bronze-winning jump of 26-4 3/4.

Robinson, his own harshest critic, admitted he blew the chance to dethrone Lewis. He didn’t prepare himself well and thus didn’t even make the Olympic team. As it turns out he has a lot of other regrets about his athletic career, beyond the 1984 Olympics.

But, before examining the triumphs and disappointments of his life in track, let’s permit Robinson one more comment on Lewis. Echoing an often-heard sentiment, Robinson said: “I feel sorry for the people who paid to watch Carl in the long jump last summer. They got robbed. He handled it poorly.

“He also hurt himself by not talking to the press more often. I like to read what a great athlete says and thinks, and the only way is through the press. Carl has cost himself a lot of money.”

Lewis is not a recent fixation. Robinson had his eye on him years ago.

In the pages of Track & Field News, Robinson followed the development of Lewis when he was a high school sensation. Robinson had this thing about trying to figure out who would be next to come out of the pack to challenge him for world supremacy.

He picked out the right guy for sure. And he beat him in a 1979 meet, just before the flowering of the young star. He never beat him again.

There is nothing sadder in sports than the spectacle of an aged athlete, hanging on too long, trying to recapture his youth or his lost skills, and failing miserably.

Early in his career, Robinson resolved never to let it happen to him.

He remembers, as a young athlete of 22, observing Ralph Boston’s attempt to make the 1972 Olympics and thinking to himself, “I’m not going to let that old man beat me.”

A decade later, he flashed back to that moment when a 20-year-old approached him with the line, “Hey, old man, how ya doing?”

At that instant he realized it was time to retire. And so he walked away from track at age 31 and embarked upon a new career as the track coach at Mesa.

Coaching has not satisfied him entirely.

He never could stand to lose, but it seems his disciples don’t take losing so personally. It bothers him that many of his athletes can leave defeat in the locker room, along with their dirty laundry.

“Youth today are different,” he said. “They don’t know how to sacrifice. They will skip practice so they can work a job to support their car or something.”

At the same time, Robinson said he could not in good conscience recommend that a young athlete make all the sacrifices he made. He devoted years to training and competing when he might have been establishing himself in a job. His marriage also suffered, ultimately ending in divorce.

Robinson, who grew up in San Diego and was a track star at Morse High School, wishes he had pursued a career in baseball instead of track. He lettered and won a CIF title as a ninth grader, prompting him to forget baseball. Later he starred at San Diego State before moving on to international fame and an Olympic gold medal.

He believes he could now be playing in the big leagues, with a healthy bank account, if he had become a pitcher instead of a long jumper.

“I can say I was the best in the world at what I did for years, and I couldn’t say that if I was a baseball player,” Robinson said. “But in baseball, you do get the money to live on, which I really don’t have.”

Robinson is attempting to supplement his earnings from coaching with a career in the construction business.

His father, an electrical contractor, has provided some help on Robinson’s first big project, building a house in southeast San Diego. He is involved in design, grading the land, physical labor, nearly every aspect of construction.

But even if he is successful in construction, there is one quality he derives from coaching that a pile of money couldn’t replace. Self-esteem. “Kids need a positive male image,” Robinson said. “I feel I’m an important part of their lives. That means a lot to me.”

Robinson has never really lost the urge to compete. The body ages, and athletic skills fade, but not the competitive instinct.

It sprung up again late in 1983 as Robinson contemplated the upcoming Olympic Games.

He felt the desire for another gold medal and began training. However, he was not as earnest about it as he should have been. His time was divided between coaching, the construction job and a divorce. Hardly the agenda for wresting a gold medal from one of the world’s supreme athletes.

If he had it to do over, he would have put preparation first.

And with the proper preparation and mind games at the Olympics, he might have defeated Lewis.

Or so he tells himself now.

It’s worth noting that Robinson also blames inadequate training for costing him a possible gold medal at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Too much partying in the month leading up to Munich caused him to finish third, Robinson said.

“Randy Williams won the gold and that was the first time he ever beat me in his life,” Robinson said. “A group of us had been overseas for a few weeks, having a great time and meeting some beautiful people. Then, lo and behold, I looked up and the Games were here. I wasn’t ready. I should’ve taken it more seriously, because I know what my potential was and what I could’ve done.”

The refrain that keeps coming around when Robinson speaks is, “What might have been.”

With more discipline at two key junctures of his career, he might have captured the gold in each of three Olympics, he argues.

He will have to be content with a bronze and a gold, along with his place in the local hall of fame.

When he was notified of his selection to the San Diego Hall of Champions, Robinson’s first reaction was a shrug.

After thinking it over, however, his outlook brightened.

“It’s an honor--and it’s happening to me while I’m alive,” he said. “I can enjoy it with all my family while I’m still young.”