Hurdler Crear Going It Alone, but He’ll Be in Fast Company

There is no coach in Mark Crear’s entourage these days, and he said he is sponsor-free at the moment, choosing to wear a self-created logo reflective of his strong religious beliefs.

No coach. No sponsor. No problem.

Well, a high hurdler has to travel light. Clearly, lighter was faster in 1998 as Crear finished the year ranked No. 1 in the world in the 110-meter hurdles. He won at the Goodwill Games in 13.06 seconds and ran a personal best 13.00 late in the season at Zurich, Switzerland, finishing second to Allen Johnson.

Crear and Johnson have been trading places in the high hurdles the last four years. Crear was No. 1 in 1995, and Johnson took the top spot the next two years and won the Olympic gold medal in 1996. Crear, who had suffered a broken arm two weeks before the Olympics, won a silver medal in Atlanta.

Although Crear won’t have to face Johnson today at the L.A. Invitational track meet, there will be world-class competition at the Sports Arena. Also running in the 50-meter hurdles is Reggie Torian, ranked No. 4 in the world in the 110 hurdles last year.

This year’s gathering features a decided upgrade in talent. Two years ago, there was no competition in Los Angeles because of a lack of funds, and meet chairman Al Franken was able to scramble and pull together an event in 1998, helped by supportive local stars such as John Godina, Johnny Gray and Tyree Washington. Gray and Washington are back again this year.

“The show is a good one, one of our better ones in at least the last six, seven years,” Franken said. “What we have now is more depth.”

What happened was that USA Track and Field put together a four-meet indoor series, starting with the Millrose Games in New York earlier this month. The federation is providing funds for 40 top athletes.

Scheduled to compete in the 50 meters are Maurice Greene, Tim Harden, Jon Drummond and Dennis Mitchell, according to meet officials. Inger Miller and Chryste Gaines--ranked third and fourth in the 100 in the world last year--are competing in the women’s 50.

In the 50 hurdles are Melissa Morrison, Angie Vaughn and Cheryl Dickey. The three women were ranked third, fourth and 10th in the world in the 100-meter hurdles last year.

The pole vault features Jeff Hartwig, Lawrence Johnson and Pat Manson. Hartwig, ranked No. 2 in the world last year, surpassed the 19-foot barrier 14 times in 1998 and began this year with a U.S. indoor mark of 19-4 3/4 at Reno.

For runners like Crear and Gray, the meet represents a rare opportunity to compete at home in front of family and friends.

“I made a vow this year to support the U.S. meets,” said Crear, who ran for USC and lives in Valencia. “I feel, being in the top three in the world, you owe [it] to your country to support it. Without track and field, there would be no Mark Crear. It feels good to run at home.” Crear, 30, is one of those rare world-class athletes without a coach, opting to go it alone.

“God is my coach,” he said. “He’s blessed me with the dedication and determination to go out there and do the best I can. Everybody says, ‘Mark you could do this or do that if you had a coach.’ By now, I’ve done it so long, I’m used to it.”

He has support from his wife, Keisha, and 2-year-old daughter, Ebony. Keisha, who specialized in the 400 hurdles, competed for UCLA in the early ‘90s. She recognizes it takes a special person to go without a coach.

“I couldn’t do it,” she said, laughing. “I came out of the school of Bobby Kersee. I couldn’t do it by myself.”

Crear and his wife were taking turns holding Ebony, the next generation of hurdling. So, when does Ebony take up the family trade?

“As soon as she can reach them,” said Keisha.