Splendid Sprinter Has Own Rewards

The World’s Fastest Man is pretty easy to catch, actually.

A call to the promoter, who calls the agent, who calls back to say when and where to meet the World’s Fastest Man. All done within an hour.

The World’s Fastest Man doesn’t blow off an interview because “something came up” or because of “other commitments.” His life isn’t that complicated. It consists of training, traveling, competing--without having to clear much time for Leno or Letterman.

For Maurice Greene, the World’s Fastest Man (he carries that title by virtue of his victory over Donovan Bailey in the 100 meters in the 1997 World Championships), there aren’t many rewards outside of winning itself. Unless you do something very special in the Olympics, you can win year in and year out and you still won’t be going to Disneyland.

“Track and field is not one of the top three sports, so I really don’t expect that [attention],” Greene said. “If I’m given it, I love it. But if not . . . I don’t let that title, ‘He’s the World’s Fastest Man,’ [mean] I should have this, I should have that. I’m not that kind of person. What comes to me, I’m happy for whatever.”

Public acknowledgment is spotty.

“I can walk down the street,” Greene said. “Some people recognize who I am, but not too many.”

He gets recognized at LAX--by the baggage porters who are used to seeing him passing through on his way to another out-of-town meet.

“They say, ‘You’re off again, huh?’ ” Greene said.

Greene had just finished a workout at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on Friday. He will run tonight at the Sports Arena in what’s called, simply, the L.A. Invitational, and that’s part of the problem right there.

The event used to be known as the Sunkist Invitational. Then it just faded away, kind of like Sunkist itself. (Think about it--when was the last time you saw a Sunkist ad or saw someone drinking the stuff?).

The meet has been resurrected, although it lacks a title sponsor.

The sponsorship money isn’t there for track and field in this country. Neither is the promotion.

Let’s face it: Performances don’t make stars, commercials do. Almost every superstar athlete who sticks in the public consciousness does so because advertising agencies put them there. Even Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, who needed little help last year, received boosts from credit card and fast food commercials during their amazing home run race.

Track has no outside interests to pick up the baton. Nike, which got its start in track and field, has focused more heavily on basketball, football and baseball. The soft-drink and automobile companies have moved on too. You’d think maybe some modem or Internet service could use the World’s Fastest Man to demonstrate its speed. Apparently not.

Track has survived in the shadow of the other sports. In some ways, it’s better off for it. Because it doesn’t promise the wealth and fame offered elsewhere, it attracts a down-to-earth and intelligent group of athletes. Those who participate in the purest of sports do so for purer reasons. There are plenty of great spokespeople, with nothing to pitch.

The lords of track and field have done the sport a disservice by failing to promote their people, and in the past stars deprived fans of rivalries and cost themselves interest by not competing in the same meets. It takes some effort to mess up a perfectly good thing, the same way boxing has managed to remove some of the glamour from the “heavyweight champion of the world,” which used to be the most coveted title in sports.

The return to prominence of track and field occurs at a slow pace, even for sprinters like Greene. They see today’s meet, part of a four-meet indoor series, as a positive step.

“Track and field is like a roller coaster,” Greene said. “It goes up and it comes down. Right now I believe we’re on the climb. We’re gaining ground on the other sports in America. It’s up to the athletes to do their jobs. Every time we step on the track, we need to do something great.

“I believe our sport can get more [attention], because everybody can affiliate themselves with running. Everybody has run sometime in their life. But first, we have to do our job.”

Greene’s job right now is to get to the Olympics. He was ousted in the second round of the 1996 Olympic trials, when he battled a hamstring injury. His quest prompted him to leave his hometown of Kansas City and move to Los Angeles, where he can train year-round with coach John Smith and better competitors to push him.

The interview with Greene just sort of ended when it ended. There weren’t any bodyguards or publicists or anyone else around to cut it short and move on to the next appointment. It was a beautiful day on the UCLA campus, and the World’s Fastest Man was in no rush at all.

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.