Scott Says His Mind Is Back on Running Again

Some call it the post-Olympic blahs, a letdown period after an intensified four years of training for one specific day.

Steve Scott experienced it. He has long been regarded as America’s best miler and, although his body was willing, his mind wasn’t.

Scott finished a disappointing 10th in the 1,500 meters in the 1984 Olympic Games. It was an emotionally draining experience, especially since Scott grew up in Southern California and wanted to perform at his best before a hometown crowd.

Scott said Tuesday at a track luncheon that the intensity he had for training and racing wasn’t there last year.

“It was four years of concentration and pulling yourself together for one meet,” he said. “Psychologically, you had to put up with the whole process and everything involved, people asking you for four years about your goals in 1984. So 1985 was a good year to give my mind a chance to relax and get away from it for a while.

“I was still physically training, but I was more or less going through the motions. I think it was a good idea because this year I’m more in tune with running and I’m anxious to race again.”

He makes his 1986 indoor debut Jan. 17 at the Sunkist Invitational in the Sports Arena in the mile. The race also includes Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan and Marcus O’Sullivan.

Coghlan hasn’t lost an indoor mile since February, 1981. Even Scott is surprised Coghlan has dominated for such a long period.

“Hopefully, we can put a stop to that this year,” Scott said. “There are a lot of people running the indoor circuit who are in very good shape. I can vouch for the fact that Marcus O’Sullivan is very fit. I think he can run very well indoors because of his build. He has a low center of gravity like Eamonn does and he can accelerate quickly, which you have to do indoors.

“I know that Sydney Maree is training very hard and is looking forward to the major indoor meets as I am. We’re going to make it a lot tougher on Eamonn this year and he is going to have to be in top form in every race in order to win.”

Coghlan is the world indoor mile record-holder at 3:49.78, while Scott holds the American record at 3:51.8. Scott is also the U.S. outdoor record-holder at 3:49.67.

Scott’s 1985 season wasn’t a complete bust, though. He lowered his American 1,500 record to 3:31.76, only to have Maree break it later with a time of 3:29.77.

Scott, 29, is already talking about competing in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Will he remain a metric miler, or will he move up to the 5,000 as so many runners do when they get older?

“I’ve been thinking about moving up to the 5,000, but so is everybody else,” said Scott, in reference to Steve Cram, Said Aouita, Sebastian Coe, Jose Abascal, Jose Luis Gonzalez and Steve Ovett. “So, if they’re all moving up, I’ll stay with the 1,500.”

Track Notes

Last year, before this indoor meet, distance runner Ruth Wysocki said, among other things, that Mary Decker Slaney should have apologized to Britain’s Zola Budd for berating her after their collision in the 3,000 meters at the Olympic Games. This year, Wysocki wasn’t quite as controversial. “I think the whole thing caused more fuss that it was worth. I don’t think it was as big a deal as it was made out to be,” Wysocki said. “But it did force me to deal with people and the public a little more.” . . . Steve Scott said that Wisconsin’s Tim Hacker is bound to be America’s next middle, or long distance running star. “He can run anything he wants, the 1,500, 5,000, or 10,000,” Scott said. “He has an enormous amount of strength and has good quickness and speed. He is a very dangerous runner and one that I’ll have to be aware of. What he decides to run in 1988 (Olympics) will probably determine what I’ll do.” . . . The pole vault is one of the featured events at the Jan. 17 meet, a field that includes Olympic champion Pierre Quinon of France; Billy Olson, who recently improved the U.S. indoor record to 19-2 3/4; Joe Dial, the NCAA and TAC champion; Poland’s Wladislaw Kozakiewicz, the 1980 Olympic gold medalist; Earl Bell and Dave Kenworthy, the former NCAA champion from USC. Quinon is the No. 3 all-time vaulter with an outdoor best of 19-4. Sergei Bubka of the Soviet Union is the world record-holder at 19-8 (6 meters). Asked to comment on Bubka, Quinon said through an interpreter: “He is no different that all of us. He was the first to jump six meters, but we’ll follow him at that height.” . . . Kim Gallagher, the Olympic silver medalist, in the women’s 800, said that she is looking forward to running against Jarmila Kratochvilova in a 880-yard race in the Jan. 17 meet. “Although she beat me in last year’s Pepsi meet at UCLA, I’d rather race people like Jarmila than go against a mediocre field,” Gallagher said.