WORLD SPORTS SCENE : Seeing His World Record Broken Hasn’t Been Much Fun for Banks

Willie Banks, once an extroverted triple jumper who engaged in sideline antics with fans at track and field meets around the world, is known as Director of Fun because he is organizing activities for the athletes’ village during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

But he was hardly a happy camper last week upon hearing that his decade-old world record had been surpassed by Britain’s Johnathan Edwards, who leaped 59 feet at the Salmanca Provincial meet in Spain. Banks’ previous mark of 58-11 1/2 was set in 1985 at Indianapolis.

“I was pretty depressed,” Banks said. “I knew the guy was going to do it sooner or later.”

Banks’ reaction illustrates the difficulty athletes have in accepting that no matter how great their achievements, someone will come along and do even better.

It can be painful for those left behind.

“You kind of get used to [being the world record-holder], I guess,” Banks said. “It takes a while to get used to being labeled something else.”

Banks takes some solace in still being the U.S. record-holder.

“So, it’s not too bad,” he added.

Banks, 39, who finished a disappointing sixth in the 1984 Olympics then set the world record the next year, still yearns for physical competition.

“Not being a jock is real hard for me,” he said. “I try to take that same effort, same dedication into my business life, but you still don’t get the same returns as you do on the playing field.”

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Fabio Casratelli of Italy probably would have died even if he had worn a helmet when he crashed at 55 m.p.h. during a mountain descent last Tuesday in the Tour de France. But the accident dramatically underscores the perils of professional cycling.

It is time for the International Cycling Union to shed tradition for safety, even if the competitors try to resist. All professional racers should wear helmets.

With advances in lightweight, sturdy protective gear on the market, the argument that helmets are too hot during the long, humid stage races is simply stupid.

It also is time for the United States’ best road racer, Lance Armstrong of Austin, Tex., to understand his powerful influence and set an example by wearing headgear at all times. Armstrong, 24, receives letters from concerned parents who say their children question wearing helmets because they see him ride without one.

Fortunately, Armstrong and all other cyclists competing in sanctioned U.S. events must don helmets. Now, if only the European leaders would adopt the standard.

Even at low speeds, falling on the head can result in permanent damage. And crashes are routine in a sport in which riders are crammed together, fighting for every inch of the roadway.

“You always hope they come back safely,” said George Noyes, chief mechanic for Casratelli’s Motorola team.

A strict helmet rule would help ensure that Noyes gets his wish.

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The U.S. ski team, which usually trains on Oregon’s Mt. Hood during the summer, is taking advantage of California’s snowy winter by working out at Mammoth Mountain. Although it is late July, the upper slopes are open indefinitely for skiing. But the snow was a problem for the Mammoth World Cup mountain bike race three weeks ago. Officials spent $350,000 to remove snow from the course.

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Lawrence Tomkinson, 33, a supervisor for the Michigan Department of Corrections, was stunned to learn he had won one of 2,000 spots in the 100th Boston Marathon next spring.

Said his wife: “Too bad you didn’t win the Michigan Lotto.”

Replied Tomkinson: “I wouldn’t trade this for the Michigan Lotto in a million years.”

World Scene Notes

During the recent Mobil Bislett Games, Trine Hattestad of Norway finished second in the women’s javelin although she is six months pregnant. . . . Long jumper Mike Powell said he considered trying to break his world record in the U.S. Olympic Festival at the Air Force Academy. Instead, Powell decided to jump in the high altitude next Monday at Sestriere, Italy. . . . Paul McMullen, the U.S. national 1,500-meter champion, finally qualified for the World Championships next month in Sweden with a time of 3 minutes 38 seconds in a meet at Lausanne, Switzerland.

The United States will play host to the Netherlands in a men’s international volleyball match Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pepperdine. . . . Atlanta’s temperature last Wednesday, one year before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, was 98 degrees with 32% humidity. The heat index was 108. Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, said: “Maybe we won’t wear ties.”