Olympic job not too big for Williams
Bonitta Best
Special to the BCSP
For George Williams the time is now.
After months of scouting, interviews, traveling and training, the St. Augustine's College's track and field coach is taking on the world as the head U. S. Olympic Track and Field coach at the XXVIII Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Williams, a 1965 St. Aug's graduate, is only
the second coach from a historically black college or
university to lead a U.S. Olympic men's track team.
Former N.C. Central chancellor, track coach and U. S.
Olympic President, Dr. LeRoy Walker, a Benedict
College graduate, was the first, leading the men's track and
field contingent at the Montreal Games in 1976.
Tennessee State track coaching legend, Ed Temple, was actually the first black college coach to lead an Olympic team. Temple, with many of his famous Tigerbelles in tow, was head women's coach at both the 1960 Games in Rome and the 1964 Games in Tokyo.
Track and field competition is considered the marquee event of the Olympics, a reality that puts Williams and his team in the limelight and puts more than a little burden on him.
"Everything comes down to me," said Williams from Athens, Greece, last week. "I have to make all the decisions. Whether a kid wins or loses, all the blame is going to be associated to me."
While that may not necessarily be true, he is the one athletes often run to first after their competition. That's what happened this past weekend when Justin Gatlin won the men's 100-meter dash. After knocking off Maurice Greene and others in the 100 finals, Gatlin made a B-line to Williams's place in the stands.
That Williams was picked by his peers to head the Olympic Track team is no surprise by those in track circles. In fact, some critics asked, "What took so long?"
At the historic Division II college in Raleigh, N.C., the 62-year-old Williams has built a dynasty since becoming track coach in 1976. He has won 25 Division II titles, 123 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association indoor/outdoor track and cross-country championships, and 90 coach of the year awards.
Williams is no stranger to the international and Olympic experience. He was the head men's track coach at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain. As an assistant coach at the 1996 games in Atlanta, every U.S. athlete he coached won a gold medal.
He has also trained and guided the careers of athletes as they have moved into the professional ranks. Antonio Pettigrew, a longtime world class quarter-miler and gold medalist in the Games who now coaches high school track in the Raleigh area, is a St. Aug's product and former student of Williams.
What Williams isn't accustomed to is the drug scandals that have plagued the sport recently. At a time when he should be basking in the glow of his accomplishments, he has to field barrage after barrage of questions on illegal drug use.
Two of his pupils, quartermiler Jerome Young and former world indoor 200-meter champion Michelle Collins, have faced suspensions for positive tests for banned substances.
"We have a cloud over our heads," said Williams who is also St. Aug's athletic director. "The only good thing about this cloud is there has not been any heavy rain with it. It's been kind of dark and it's been kind of light. I think after the Olympics, respectability will come back to the sport."
Williams is without several big-name athletes. Tim Montgomery, who holds the world record in the 100 meters, didn't make the team at the Olympic Trials. Nor did his girlfriend Marion Jones, who won the 2000 Olympic gold medal in the women's 100 and 200 meters and long jump in Sydney. Jones will compete in the long jump and possibly the 4x100-meter relay. Also missing is Tori Edwards, who was banned for two years for taking an illegal substance.
Williams, however, says he is satisfied with what he has.
"I'm well pleased with the group we have here," he said. "I got a great staff and it's a lot of hustle and bustle. But I'm a track coach not a politician, so I don't get into politics. Everything has been running smooth with my program, and we could come out successful."
Still, Williams knows the pressure is on. Despite the track titles, coaching awards and international recognition, to many observers he's just a black coach from some small black school in the South.
"I'm representing the U.S., my family, myself, St. Aug's and the whole black race," he said. "They might not say that but they always look at it as that black person as the Olympic coach. They think that only black
coaches at a major university can do the job. They need to stop looking at school and color and size of the place."
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.