Olympic Scene / Atlanta 1996 : Lewis’ ‘Challenge’ Aids Other Hopefuls

Approaching his 35th birthday and attempting to rebound from a disappointing year, Carl Lewis is no cinch to earn a berth on his fifth Olympic team this summer. But even if he is not in Atlanta as a competitor, he will be represented.

Jenny Spangler, the surprise winner of the U.S. Olympic trials in the women’s marathon, was able to quit her job in Chicago and train full-time in Santa Monica this winter because of funds provided by the “Carl Lewis Challenge,” a project started last year to assist athletes who receive little financial support otherwise.

Joe Douglas, who is Lewis’ manager with the Santa Monica Track Club, said Lewis has raised more than $20,000 for the effort and will be able to give stipends to at least seven track and field athletes before the Olympics.

“Carl has done this sort of thing before, where he’s given money out of his own pocket to help athletes, but this time he wanted to expand it and make it an ongoing project,” Douglas said. “Not much has been done to help some athletes who have a chance to make the Olympic team.”

Douglas said Spangler, who entered the trials with only the 61st-fastest qualifying time, was brought to his attention by her coach, Willie Rios. When Rios ran for Puerto Rico’s Olympic team in 1976, he was coached by Douglas.

FACTOID

The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games funded a study showing that the Olympics will have a $5.1 billion economic impact on Georgia’s economy. ACOG also projects that the Games will yield a tax windfall of at least $200 million for the state.

NEWSMAKER

Anyone among the 8,050 in the Sports Arena on Saturday night for the L.A. Invitational who did not recognize the man who led from start to finish in the 880 yards must not have a long attention span. Johnny Gray, who won for the first time in the meet formerly known as the Sunkist in 1985, is still winning.

His time was 1 minute 49.79, almost three seconds slower than the indoor world record of 1:46.8 he set in the meet in 1986.

But that might be expected of a man who is about to turn 36.

As for Gray, he expects the same thing this year that he did when he first emerged as a world-class half-miler in 1984: To earn a berth on the U.S. Olympic team.

If he does make it to Atlanta this summer, it will be for his fourth Olympic appearance. He has been progressing steadily in the 800 meters, finishing seventh in 1984, fifth in 1988 and third in 1992. He would hardly be the favorite this year, but who knows?

Quoting a noted expert on going the distance, Gray said: “Tommy Lasorda says, ‘God delays but won’t deny.’ I hope this is my year.”

LAUREL WREATH

NBC’s “Stride to Glory,” a one-hour special Saturday hosted by Greg Gumbel, was a superb look at the history of African American athletes in the Olympics.

THORN WREATH

When the international swimming federation overturned a drug suspension against Australian Samantha Riley, U.S. Swimming used that as a green light to do the same for Jessica Foschi. But how can anyone logically equate the headache tablet that Riley took to the anabolic steroid that was discovered in Foschi’s system?

THIS WEEK

The McDonald’s American Cup, the most prestigious gymnastics meet in the United States this year outside of the Olympics, is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Among the entrants is Dominique Moceanu, who last year at 13 became the youngest U.S. all-around champion. Also, track and field’s indoor national championships are scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Atlanta.

Olympic Scene Notes

For the 1992 Summer Olympics, the Grateful Dead sponsored the Lithuanian men’s basketball team by designing and selling tie-dyed T-shirts. Now that the Dead is no more, the Phoenix Suns have stepped in as the marketing agent for Lithuania. The connection is Sun assistant Donn Nelson, who was an assistant coach for Lithuania in ’92. The team’s jerseys in Atlanta will include a black patch in memory of the late Jerry Garcia. . . . Lithuania had bad luck in last week’s basketball draw for Atlanta, landing in the bracket with the United States. So did another contender, Croatia. Yugoslavia is ecstatic to be in the other bracket, not that it has any hopes of winning a gold medal. “Second is not so bad,” said Yugoslav center Vlade Divac, anticipating an eventual loss to Dream Team III.

Los Angeles’ Amateur Athletic Foundation honored athletes from six regions with its World Trophy last week. Accepting for New Zealand’s triumphant entry in the America’s Cup was crew member Warwick Fleury, who said: “Most of my country’s medals from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles came from sailing, canoeing, rowing and equestrian. They are all sports that do you while sitting on your backside. That seems to be what we’re good at.”

The early success in the indoor track and field season enjoyed by Great Britain Olympic 100-meter champion Linford Christie made it seem likely that he would reconsider his plans to skip the Atlanta Olympics. Now, however, he is out for the remainder of the indoor season because a leg injury and has announced no summer schedule.

Yugoslavia’s water polo team, banned along with the rest of the country’s athletes for almost four years as part of United Nations sanctions, finished undefeated in the Olympic qualifying tournament. It has won three Olympic gold medals in the sport.

Times staff writer Maryann Hudson contributed to this story.