Mt. San Antonio College Relays : Carl Lewis Seeks to Get Back on Track in 100 Meters Today

It has been almost eight months since Carl Lewis was involved in the Race of the Century, specifically 100 meters, at the World Championships in Rome.

But the memory lingers on, at least in the Lewis camp.

A rematch with Canada’s Ben Johnson would appeal to Lewis before the Olympic Games if it can be arranged. Until then Lewis and his coach, Tom Tellez, can only reflect on and analyze the remarkable race Aug. 30.

Even though Tellez says that Lewis technically ran a ragged race, he still recorded a time of 9.93 seconds, second-fastest at sea level and equaling the American record.

Johnson, however, with his peculiar, pouncing start, was in another time frame, a world-record 9.83 seconds.

After reviewing films of the race, Tellez said that Johnson’s hands came straight up from the starting line before the gun was fired while his feet remained firmly in place in the blocks.

A rule states that a false start is called if a runner leaves his mark with hand or foot before the gun is fired.

In Rome, as in the Olympic Games and a few other international meets, the starting blocks are electrically activated to detect a false start--but only by pressure applied by the feet in the blocks, not the movement of the hands. A beeping signal is heard in the headset of the starter and he recalls the runners if there is any movement of the feet before the gun.

Johnson, renowned for his quick reaction to the gun, had a clear advantage over the rest of the field in the first 10 meters and maintained it.

“All I know is what Coach Tellez told me and that is that Johnson’s hands were six inches off the ground before any of us moved,” said Lewis, who will compete in the 100 meters today in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. “Coach Tellez says that (Johnson and his coach, Charlie Francis) found a loophole with the electronic starting blocks.

“I believe it’s better to rely on the human eye. The whole key is that you’re not supposed to move at all until the gun is fired.”

Even so, a starter has the option of calling a false start regardless of electronic equipment.

“What happens is that when you have electronic equipment, you depend on it,” Lewis said. “Instead of a starter paying attention to the start, he’s not looking at the start, and he’s waiting for the blocks to tell him if there’s a false start.”

Francis wasn’t available to comment on Tellez’s theory.

But even if Johnson’s hands came up from the starting line before the gun was fired, did he indeed have an edge over his competition while his feet were still in the blocks?

Johnson has often been accused of false starts, even though his quick reaction to the gun has been demonstrated time and again.

His reaction time in Rome was 0.129 seconds compared to 0.196 for Lewis. The fastest measured reaction time in a major championship meet is 0.120 by the Soviet Union’s Valeriy Borzov in the 1972 Olympics.

“People come up to me every day and say that (Johnson) false-started in Rome,” Lewis said. “I don’t know. I can’t say he did or didn’t. I wasn’t focusing on him. If I really believed it, I’d say it.”

Lewis will run today against Jamaica’s Raymond Stewart, who was third in the 100 in the World Championships. The field will also include Mark Witherspoon and possibly UCLA’s Henry Thomas.

“My training is going very well,” Lewis said. “I haven’t been at such a consistent level for a long time, if ever.”

Except for a 200-meter race in West Germany, Lewis passed up the indoor season. He wants to focus on the outdoor season in this, an Olympic year.

He is still, of course, the world’s premier long jumper and he will make his outdoor season debut in that event May 21 in the Houston Invitational.

The 26-year-old athlete, who won four gold medals in the 1984 Olympic Games, continues his quest to break Bob Beamon’s world record of 29 feet 2 1/2 inches, established at high altitude in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.

It has been suggested to Lewis previously that he should go to an altitude site in an effort to break the record, before time runs out on his career. Lewis has another agenda.

“I wouldn’t go to altitude unless I could jump very far at sea level,” he said “I still believe that I can jump in the high 29s, or 30 feet at sea level.

“I wouldn’t like to go to altitude and jump 30 feet 6 inches and then go to sea level and jump 29-11. Then, people would say, big deal, that’s my true potential.

“I’d like to see altitude records not allowed. The 200 record (19.72 seconds) is definitely obtainable, though. It’s fast, but not that fast.”

Track Notes

Today’s meet in Walnut begins at noon. Ron Brown, who quit the Rams to return to track and field, will run on a sprint relay team today. “I’m happy Ron is back,” Carl Lewis said. “I like Ron very much. We stuck together and were very close.” Lewis and Brown were members of the United States 400-meter relay team that set a world record of 37.83 seconds in the 1984 Olympic Games.

Included among the world-class athletes competing today are Gabriel Tiacoh, Innocent Egbunike, UCLA’s Henry Thomas, Danny Everett, and Kevin Young, Billy Konchellah, Joaquim Cruz, Larry Myricks, Doug Nordquist, Mike Tully, Doug Fraley, Tonie Campbell, Andre Phillips, Mac Wilkins, Wolfgang Schmidt, and Randy Barnes. Prominent women include Evelyn Ashford, Alice Brown, Merlene Ottey and UCLA’s Gail Devers.

The 1,600-meter relay could be the race of the day. UCLA’s national championship team, with a collegiate record of 3 minutes 0.55 seconds, will be opposed by some all-star teams featuring some of the world’s best quarter-milers.