Gray, 38, Is Ready for His Fifth Olympic Run

Johnny Gray will kick off his campaign to become the first American male track athlete to compete in five Summer Olympics when he runs in the revived San Diego Indoor Games tonight.

Promoters Al and Don Franken have brought international track back to the San Diego Sports Arena after a 12-year absence, and Gray, 38, is one of the prime attractions.

Also entered are two 1996 Olympic champions, decathlete Dan O’Brien and high jumper Charles Austin, and eight other Olympians.

Gray, who lives in Agoura Hills, is a graduate of Crenshaw High and Cal State Los Angeles. He has run the 800 meters in the last four Olympics, dating to 1984 in Los Angeles. Although he has won only a bronze medal, in 1992, and will be 40 when the 2000 Games are scheduled to be held in Sydney, there is no doubt in his mind that he can run with the best.

“I took a break the last couple years, but I’m hungry again,” Gray said.

“I’m in my best shape in years, and I feel I can beat anybody on an 11-lap track.”

Gray predicted that he and his training partners, Isaac Turner and George Shackelford, would finish 1-2-3 tonight.

High school competition will open the meet at noon. The invitational events will start at 6 p.m.