COGHLAN IS AGAIN CHAIRMAN OF BOARDS : He Overcomes Wrong Diet, Dog

Just when it seemed that 34-year-old Eamonn Coghlan would fade into the woodwork of the indoor tracks that he has dominated for so many years, the Irishman has shown that there’s still a considerable kick left in him.

Coghlan has won four indoor mile races this season after a failing to win any races last season.

And he’s winning in his customary fashion, stalking the leaders until the final lap when he bursts ahead with a surging, relentless sprint.

Not only is he winning, he is beating younger competitors such as countryman Marcus O’Sullivan.

It seems that Coghlan has made more comebacks than Muhammad Ali. But his latest is the most satisfying.

“Yes, this comeback gives me more satisfaction than any of the others because everyone thought I was done--except me,” Coghlan said.

Coghlan has experienced euphoric highs and disappointing lows in his long career.

He is still the world indoor record-holder in the mile at 3 minutes 49.78 seconds--the only man to break 3:50 in the event.

He was virtually unchallenged for five years while he won 15 indoor miles before the streak was snapped in 1986 by O’Sullivan.

But his major disappointments have been outdoors. He was fourth in the 1,500 meters in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, fourth again in the 5,000 in the 1980 Moscow Games when he was ill, and then couldn’t compete in the 1984 Olympics at the Coliseum because of a stress fracture in his right leg.

Still, he has endured at an age when most runners would be at least contemplating retirement.

It seemed that retirement would be forced on him last year when he complained of having no energy and lagged behind mile fields that he used to routinely catch.

“I was sick during the entire season,” Coghlan said. “I lost a lot of body fat and had a lot dysentery problems. I went on a diet that’s called ‘Eat to Win,’ and I lost.”

The diet, Coghlan said, consisted of high carbohydrates, low fats, protein and fiber.

“The more weight I lost, the more I exercised and soon my muscles were affected and I lost a lot of power,” he said. “It lingered on into the outdoor season in Europe. Even though I was training hard, I just didn’t have the old zip in my body. And, when it came to really looking for those extra reserves, they just weren’t there.”

Then Coghlan decided to go back to his traditional method of training, leaving the diet on someone else’s table.

All was going fine until he returned to his native Dublin last December.

“I was doing my training when I heard some kids cursing at a motorist for honking at them for crossing against a light,” Coghlan said. “When I heard them curse, I saw a women and a child nearby and told them to cut it out.

“And then they began to abuse me rather aggressively. I picked up the pace, caught up with them and their dog started going at my feet--and the kids teased the dog to get me.”

The dog bit Coghlan on both legs, and he also broke his left hand during the fracas.

“I ran like a dog last year and, ironically, ended up getting bitten by one,” Coghlan said, smiling. “It really didn’t set me back that much, though. I was running by the fourth day and back in full stride with good speed in a week.”

It was apparent that Coghlan was a force to be reckoned with when he won his seventh Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games on Jan. 30 in New York.

It wasn’t just an old-timer having one last fling as he beat O’Sullivan and other accomplished milers again last Saturday in the U.S. Olympic Invitational meet at East Rutherford, N.J.

Now Coghlan is aiming for another world indoor record. He’ll run at the seldom contested distance of 2,000 meters Friday night in The Times/GTE Indoor Games at the Forum.

For those who might have some difficulty relating to this distance, just think of it as 427 yards and 8 inches added onto a mile.

Steve Scott, 30, a longtime rival of Coghlan, has the world indoor best of 4:58.6 for 2,000 meters. Scott will be in the field along with Nigeria’s Suleiman Nyambui, Ireland’s Ray Flynn, New Zealand’s John Walker, Canada’s Graeme Fell, Portugal’s Joao Campos and Doug Padilla, the world indoor record-holder at two miles.

Walker held the outdoor 2,000-meter record at 4:51.52 for nine years until it was barely broken by Britain’s Steve Cram in 1985 with a time of 4:51.39.

Asked why the world’s most renowned indoor miler isn’t running in his speciality on Friday, Coghlan said succinctly: “I already have that record.”

Although Coghlan is a popular runner, his indoor accomplishments were belittled to a degree by Britain’s Steve Ovett.

Ovett, who was appearing on the American indoor circuit for the first time, finished a struggling last in 4:14.52 in the Wanamaker mile.

“Eamonn has found his own little niche,” Ovett told Sports Illustrated. “He trains all year for the American indoor season and he’s very good at it.”

Ovett recently returned home because of a bronchial ailment.

Asked to comment on Ovett’s remarks, Coghlan said: “Perhaps, I’ve found my own little niche in the indoor circuit, but it’s a nice niche and I’m proud of it. And I’m proud that I’ve brought a lot of enjoyment to a lot of people in this part of the world that he hasn’t.

“I don’t train all year around for the indoor season. It’s just something that I have mastered over the years. I just have the ability to run on the wooden tracks and tight turns better than (Ovett) has.

“He has carved out a nice little niche for himself in Great Britain, and that’s as far as his niche goes. Except that he was lucky enough to win an Olympic gold medal at 800 meters, and I was unfortunate to miss one by three-tenths of a second (in the 1,500 at Montreal).”

Considering his age, Coghlan will have only one more opportunity to get the gold medal that has eluded him.

He said he plans to run 10,000 meters in the outdoor World Championships on Aug. 29-Sept. 6 in Rome as a prelude to running the same distance in the 1988 Olympic Games at Seoul, South Korea.

He won the 5,000 in the 1983 World Championships at Helsinki, Finland, but the subsequent stress fracture kept him out of that race in the 1984 Olympics.

As middle distance runners get older, they often move up to longer races, reasoning that they don’t have the flat-out speed to win consistently at shorter distances.

Even so, Coghlan said that his former Villanova coach, the late Jumbo Elliott, always thought that 5,000- or 10,000-meter races were Coghlan’s best distances outdoors.

As for the rest of the indoor season, he’ll most likely run 3,000 meters at the USA/Mobil championship meet Feb. 27 to get a qualifying time for the indoor World Championships March 6-8 at Indianapolis.

“Then, if I run the 3K at the TAC meet, I’ll have a choice,” Coghlan said. “I say a choice because I’ve been running so well over the mile that I may end up running 1,500 meters at the World Championships.”

Coghlan says he has altered his training routine, realizing that he can’t push himself as he once did.

“I have found the right formula for all the setbacks I’ve had and those setbacks have given me the determination to lead me through next Olympic Games,” he said. “So what I’ve learned I’ve put into action and I’m going to make sure I won’t get hurt in the next 18 months.”

The formula?

“I’ve learned to read my body a little bit better. I now understand that I don’t have to do intense speed work as I was trying to do in the period from 1983 through 1985. I haven’t broken 60 seconds in training for a quarter-mile, but I’m still able to run 54 or 55 seconds for the last quarter in a race.”

Coghlan says he isn’t certain when he’ll retire, adding that he might pull the curtain after the 1988 Olympics.

If so, it has been a splendid show.