Sports Festival Notes : Humidity Takes Toll on 15K Walk Favorite Despite 6 A.M. Start

It was a strange sight on Saturday morning at 6 a.m.--a large group of people cruising along Nicholson, a tree-lined street on the Louisiana State campus.

The event was the men’s 15-kilometer walk, and two-time Sports Festival champion Marco Evoniuk of San Francisco wasn’t ready for the strength-sapping humidity, which was already a factor.

“I came in yesterday, so last night I was still on West Coast time and I didn’t sleep much,” said Evoniuk, who owns the American 15-kilometer record of 1:02.34. “About halfway through, I knew I was done. There’s nothing like this in San Francisco. First, it never gets to 90, and that wind keeps it mild. This was brutal, I never did find a rhythm. But give Tim (Lewis) credit. He was prepared and handled the weather well.”

Lewis, of Colorado Springs, finished first in 1:05.45, more than three minutes ahead of Evoniuk. Despite the high temperatures and humidity, he surprisingly, turned down drinking water on several occasions.

“I didn’t feel that bad, although at about the halfway point, I gave up on time and just thought about form,” Lewis said. “I did pass up the cups of water, but I never missed a sponge. That water felt so good.”

The oldest walker in the race was Ray McKinnis of Durham, N.C., a newcomer to the sport at age 45.

“I love this kind of weather,” said McKinnis, who was disqualified for not keeping a straight leg. “In fact, I was disappointed they reduced it to a sprint. I started to close some ground in the last lap. Had it gone longer I would have made my move.”

Esther Lopez of Rialto finished second to Maryanne Torrellas of Clinton, Conn., in the women’s 10-kilometer walk.

Lopez has been the track and field coach at San Bernardino Valley College for the last six years. She resigned after this year and will devote all her efforts to walking, especially since the event is expected to be added to the 1988 Summer Olympics.

“When I was 14 or something ABC had us on since we were some of the first women walkers ever,” said Lopez, who is now 29. “Last summer, I won the exhibition race in Los Angeles, and that was a thrill. Now, I want to work for Seoul. The competition will be tough so I want to be ready.”

Lopez was ready, but not for the humidity.

“The air was suffocating,” she said. “It was almost impossible to breath.”

One of the top jumpers in the country, Mike Conley, who recently put together a 28-0 long jump with a 58-1 triple jump, and finds himself a distant second in both events, has a theory about athlete marketability.

“Promoters in Europe don’t want record-holders, they want somebody who’s going to scare a record every time they go out,” said Conley, the silver medalist at Los Angeles in the triple jump. “That’s what brings people in. Calvin Smith is the world record-holder in the 100, but Carl Lewis can break a record every time he steps on the track. That’s scary.

“A lot of promoters in Europe are dropping the long jump because Carl’s not going to compete. That hurts me because if it’s a Grand Prix event, there is money involved. Since Willie (Banks) set the record in the triple jump, they’re all switching to that.

“But Willie helped me out for Zurich. He said he wouldn’t do the triple unless they kept the long jump. But hey, I might just scare up a record myself.”

Gymnastics and figure skating both have a high-risk factor.

But Alex McGowan, who coaches Debi Thomas, the leading skater heading into today’s free skating program, believes the type of surface tips the balance.

“It’s so hard to become one of the top three girls in this country because it is the most competitive skating in the world,” he said. “And the potential for injury is enormous. In gymnastics, there is always a soft landing spot, the tartan surface or mat is somewhat forgiving.

“There is no forgiveness in the ice. When you come down, you really come down. And the velocity of some of the movements can cause some terrible spills.”

Thomas, of San Jose, will attend Stanford in the fall. If she graduates and manages to win a national championship along the way, she will be the first woman skater to accomplish the feat since Tenley Albright in 1956.