Wins Keep Coming for Banks and Barbosa

Their hairlines have receded past the point of no return and their prime might be behind them, but Willie Banks and Jose Luiz Barbosa were not about to concede anything to the younger generation Saturday at the UC San Diego Invitational.

Banks, 36, was more than eight feet shy of his world record triple jump, but his leap of 50-8 1/2 was still good enough to win the invitational division. Barbosa, 30, of Brazil, flew out to a fast start and then held off countryman Edgar De Oliveira to win the 1000-meter invitational run in 2:19.23.

Banks and Barbosa are still dreaming of gold medals at Barcelona this summer, but Banks appears to have the longer road. He set the world record of 58-11 1/2 nearly seven years ago in Indianapolis, but he has not competed on a regular basis since he left for Japan three years ago. He finished sixth in the triple jump in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.

Banks, who owns a house in Escondido but lives in Torrance, spent his time in Japan at Chukyo University in Nagoya coaching track and basketball.

“I wanted to learn about their culture and learn their language,” Banks said. “I just couldn’t get enough of the experience. I learned about their people and our people.”

Since returning to the United States two months ago, Banks has also learned that he needed to change his approach to jumping so he can compete with the younger crowd.

“I’m working on a new step,” he said. “I used to have a walk-in and then start running. Now, it’s just two steps and take off. I need to use everything I can to beat these younger guys.

“They can come out with virtually no technique and just raw talent and beat me. I need every advantage I can get. Everything has to be perfect. I need to sleep, eat and train just right. I remember what it used to be like to just come out with no idea what you were doing and still win.”

But even with all of his knowledge, Banks realizes a gold medal this summer is a stretch.

“It would be a crowning achievement,” he said. “I’m excited about it, but it’s going to be a rough go. Age is not something you can play with.”

Barbosa, who has spent the past seven years ranked in the top 10 among 800-meter runners, said he understands what Banks is saying.

“The distance doesn’t change and the winning time is going to be about the same,” he said. “So you just have to be willing to accept the pain. Mentally, you have to tell yourself you’ll do whatever it takes.”

After a disappointing sixth-place finish in the 1988 Olympic Games, Barbosa realized he hadn’t done enough.

“I was so ready to win that race, but I got myself too excited,” he said. “I was on a world-record pace, but I went out too fast. I went out to break the world record. But I was not smart. My mind was not pleased.”

So these days, Barbosa is pleasing his mind and his body by running longer races to train for the 800.

“This is the type of race where I can relax, but where I also have to concentrate,” said Barbosa, who lives in San Diego. “If I’m going to win the gold medal, I’m going to have to be relaxed. I want to be able to tell myself that I did everything I could to win. The last time, I couldn’t say that.”