The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
7 — Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Sports
‘One of those classic races’: Kevin Sullivan and the 2000 Olympics
Kevin Sullivan stood at the
line and took it all in.
It was the Canadian’s first
Olympic games, and it was
electric. 110,000 people filled
Stadium Australia on the night
of Sept. 29, 2000. They were
anxiously waiting to see one of
the deepest fields in Olympic
history try to capture glory for
themselves and their country.
“It’s like you’re in Michigan
Stadium
for
a
track
and
field meet,” Sullivan, now
the track and field coach
for
the
Wolverines,
said.
“It’s not something you see
every weekend. So from that
perspective, it’s a little bit of an
eye opening experience.”
On your mark.
Sullivan
hunched
over,
anticipating the sound of the
gun that would send him and 11
other men into a race that could
define their careers.
The official raised an arm
high into the night sky and
fired. The runners were off.
***
Flashback to the summer of
2000, Sullivan was preparing
to qualify for Sydney after
missing
out
on
the
1996
Olympics due to injury. He was
confident and running as well
as he ever had before, setting
personal bests in the mile, the
1500-meter and 1000-meter all
in the months leading up to the
trials in August. As expected,
he qualified and then set his
sights to September’s Olympic
games.
“When
you
miss
one
(Olympic games), you’re not
sure if you’re ever going to get
back again,” Sullivan said. “So,
for me there was that sense of
oh yeah, I’m still the athlete I
was four years ago or better.”
Sullivan built a level of
confidence
heading
into
Sydney. Leading up to the start
of the games he beat every
runner in the field except
the eventual gold and silver
medalists — Moroccan runner
Hicham
El
Guerrouj
and
Kenyan runner Noah Ngeny.
He knew he could compete
with the best runners in the
world, and he was ready to
show it.
***
Sullivan jostled for position
on the back straight, and the
race started shaping into what
he had expected. Moroccan
runner Youssef Baba grabbed
the lead around the 200-meter
mark and strung out the field
with a blistering pace. Baba
wouldn’t be able to keep this
up and he knew that, this was
just to help his teammate El
Guerrouj — the world record
holder in the 1500-meter — by
turning it into an honest race
just as El Guerrouj likes it.
The Moroccans employed this
strategy frequently whenever
they had a second runner
alongside El Guerrouj.
“As soon as the second
Moroccan made the final, our
coaching staff and I were pretty
confident in what was gonna
happen,” Sullivan said. “So
from that perspective, it wasn’t
a surprise when it went out that
way, we were pretty prepared
for that.”
Led by Baba, that first lap
went by in a scorching 54
seconds. Sullivan described
that beginning as a “shock to the
system” after having run two
races earlier in the week. But,
standing back around eighth
place, he wasn’t panicking. He
was ready to move up.
Then, the second lap came
and with it, a blessing to
everyone in the field — except
El Guerrouj. Baba fell off pace
earlier than expected and
posted a 60-second lap that
allowed the entire field back
into the race. Sullivan worked
his way up into sixth place, a
spot that put him in position to
cover a move by El Guerrouj.
***
But first, before looking at
Sullivan’s finish, it’s important
to look back at how he even got
to the finals. A few hundredths
of a second separated him from
his opponents in the semifinals.
If not for those key seconds,
he’d have missed the chance
to compete for a medal on the
world’s biggest stage.
Sullivan
always
found
preliminary races to be more
stressful than finals. His heat of
the quarterfinal is an example
why. It was a tactical race early
on, with no one wanting to take
the pace out of themselves. So,
they ran together, congested,
waiting for someone to make
a move. As the race started
heating up, all the runners were
fresh and could keep up with
the pack.
“With 200 to go, all 12 guys
were still in it,” Sullivan said.
“So that one is one where it’s a
super stressful situation until
it really starts rolling. And
then, when you’re in that last
lap it’s more about trying to be
in position, and trying to make
sure you’re going as hard as you
need to, and hopefully being
able to conserve a little bit so
that you got something left on
the home stretch.”
Sullivan
conserved
just
enough for that last 100 meters.
He powered down the home
stretch to come in fourth
place and earned one of the
automatic qualifying spots. The
runner in seventh place — the
first spot without an automatic
qualification — was just 0.26
seconds behind Sullivan.
The semifinal went more
smoothly. Sullivan had a great
race and came in second in
his heat, securing the bid for
the final. He now had only
one race left in Sydney. And
it was one where he could
prove everything if he finished
highly enough against the elite
runners that awaited him.
***
Whether it was the taxing
races leading up to the final or
the breakneck speed of the first
lap, Sullivan didn’t respond
very well to El Guerrouj’s move
with 600 meters remaining. He
got shuffled back to seventh as
the pack strung out once again.
As
the
bell
sounded
signifying the final lap, all eyes
were on El Guerrouj. He was
in first place followed closely
by Ngeny and Bernard Lagat
of Kenya. Sullivan was in
sixth place just behind Spain’s
Andrés Diaz. With 300 meters
to go, he found his way into
fifth. Sullivan was still out of
reach of the leaders.
“In hindsight, I don’t know
if I would’ve been in a medal
position, ” Sullivan said. “But I
could’ve been closer to fourth
had I positioned myself better
a little bit in the middle of the
race.”
Sullivan became merely a
bystander to what unfolded in
the front pack over the final
200 meters. El Guerrouj was
desperately holding onto first
place fueled by the expectations
of his country and the world,
but Ngeny and Lagat were
breathing on El Guerrouj’s
neck. With 100 meters to go El
Guerrouj tried to open up, but
the effects of leading for the last
500m weighed on him.
Ngeny had just a little bit
more to give. He sprinted
past a pained El Guerrouj and
snatched the gold. He posted
an Olympic record time of
3:32.07. He was closely followed
by El Guerrouj — who would
have to wait until 2004 to
finally capture an Olympic gold
— in second and his teammate
Bernard Lagat in third.
Meanwhile,
Sullivan
sprinted away from the rest of
the chase pack over the final
300 meters to capture fifth
with a time of 3:35.50. After
two more Olympics, it would
still be his highest ever finish.
“2000 was obviously the
highlight for a couple of
reasons,” Sullivan said. “It
was my first games, it was the
one I performed the best, and
it was the best in terms of the
venues, the atmosphere and the
crowds, those were all better
experiences than Athens and
Beijing.”
Sullivan fondly looks back at
this race and the spectacle of it
all. The talent, the storylines,
everything that came together
to make this one of the most
memorable
Olympic
1500-
meter races ever.
Or, as Sullivan put it, “One of
those classic races.”
SPENCER RAINES
Daily Sports Writer
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Kevin Sullivan came in fifth place in the 2000 Olympic 1500-meter race in Sydney, his best-ever finish in the Olympics.
Boxing, taekwando teams face removal from club sport status
In the midst of collegiate
sports being canceled due
to
COVID-19,
Michigan’s
boxing and taekwando club
teams have found themselves
in limbo.
The
University
of
Michigan’s
Recreational
Sports
Department,
in
collaboration
with
the
office of Risk Management,
decided to revoke both teams’
status as a club sport based
on audits, forcing them to
become Voluntary Student
Organizations (VSOs).
“Their initial argument
is about risk management,”
Michigan
Boxing
Club
President
Maya
Irigoyen
said. The Recreational Sports
Department did not respond
to
The
Daily’s
request
for comment in time for
publication.
The physicalities of both
of these sports were enough
to drive the University to
take severe action despite the
value that the partnerships
provide.
Michigan’s taekwondo club
— founded in 1964 — is the
oldest collegiate taekwondo
club
and
continues
to
represent the University at
the national and international
level.
Aside from the success
members of the team achieve
on each level, they also
represent a variety of cultures
and communities throughout
campus.
“This
eclectic
mix
of
people
coming
from
all
over the world creates an
environment that transcends
cultural bounds, commonly
held thoughts about who does
sports ... and an environment
who is accepting of all,”
taekwando
club
president
Liam Blanchard said. “As
much of a cliche as it is,
taekwondo is a family.”
The removal of club status
would harm its ability to
provide the same level of
resources to its members.
“All
of
our
practices
require practice space, which
is largely provided to us at
no extra cost through Club
Sports,”
Blanchard
said.
“This change would then
have us rent all of our space,
as many of the free spaces on
campus cannot accomodate
a group of our size. With
the price of insurance, cost
of renting space, and our
current club funding, this
would essentially lead the
club into financial ruin.”
The Michigan boxing club
plays a similarly positive
role to its members. Without
sponsorship, the club will
also be hampered.
“Losing
sponsorship
for
club
boxing
would
mean we would have to
become a voluntary student
organization
to
remain
on campus, which is not
viable,” boxing club treasurer
Michael
Zlonkevicz
said.
“We lose the ability to use
any U-M names, logos, or
indicia. This will impact our
reputation on campus and our
ability to fight in collegiate
tournaments.”
Added Zlonkevicz: “Losing
sponsorship
would
mean
we are no longer able to
participate in Giving Blueday.
Shrinking
a
substantial
revenue stream for us and
likely causing us to raise
dues, which no one wants. We
would lose U-M insurance
coverage as well, adding to
our new costs if we were to be
a VSO.”
The teams were granted a
year extension for the appeal
deadline — moving it back
to April 1, 2021 — in order to
accomodate for the COVID-
19 crisis.
The decision has not been
made final, and both teams
continue to put together
appeals in an attempt to
regain their club status.
“We have been working
on our appeal,” Irigoyen
said. “We’ve been … citing
a bunch of rules from the
rulebook that establish what
the safety precautions are. …
We’ve been getting personal
statements, reaching out to
alumni, current members,
other schools just to show the
impact that this would have.”
The efforts to petition are
ongoing, and diverse. Alumni
and even other teams from
other schools have offered
assistance, as well.
“In light of our decision,
boxing clubs from Ohio State,
Wisconsin and Georgetown
have written letters speaking
on our impact in the sport
and how boxing has impacted
their campus communities,”
Zlonkevicz said.
Added Irigoyen: “It is just
a very frustrating thing when
it feels like the school, who
is supposed to be sponsoring
a team who has won them
many
championships
and
who represents the school
very well … are just coming
after us to get rid of us.”
BRANDON TRACHTENBERG
Daily Sports Writer
SOFIA URBAN
Daily Staff Reporter
CLUB SPORTS