ESPN.com: OLY - Four meets make up Golden Spikes Tour

This week, USA Track and Field announced its lineup of meets for the 2002 Indoor Golden Spike Tour, which will culminate in the USA Championships at New York's Armory on March 1-2.

Golden Spikes Tour

Schedule for USA Track and Field's 2002 Indoor Golden Spike Tour:

Date Event, site

Jan. 27 adidas Indoor Games, Boston (Reggie Lewis Center)

Feb. 1 Verizon Millrose Games, New York (MSG)

Feb. 9 adidas Midwest Classic, Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Sports Center)

March 1-2 USA Indoor Championships, New York (Armory)

The good news is that there is a series at all. Many of America's top athletes will participate, and this sort of forum is sorely needed. All of the meets will be televised by ESPN and ESPN2 (the Verizon Millrose Games will also be shown live on Fox Sports-New York on Feb. 1).

The bad news is that the series is so short. One doesn't have to look too far back in time to find years when there were more than twice as many professional-level indoor track meets in North America.

Now that the big money indoor circuit has moved to Europe, it has gotten much more expensive for domestic promoters to compete.

Unhappy in Jamaica
Merlene Ottey hasn't always lived so as to please the residents of Jamaica, her homeland, but her latest decision has ruffled feathers in a big way. The 41-year-old sprinter has announced that she is seeking Slovenian citizenship. She has lived in the eastern European nation for three years and is coached by a Slovenian.

Patrick Anderson, president of the Jamaican federation, pointed out the painfully obvious: "If she became citizen of another country, she would not be a true ambassador of Jamaica."

Goodwill gone
Much as we feared, Turner Broadcasting has canceled the Goodwill Games, Ted Turner's commercial version of the Olympics. It could truthfully be said that the Olympics are simply unbeatable as a commercial entity.

The 2001 Goodwill event in Brisbane, Australia, apparently failed badly, leaving Turner accountants to assess the damage. Numbers have not been released, but the marketplace made its feelings felt: Olympics sell, but the public will accept no substitutes.

Maybe a bobble boycott is in order?
I don't know. Maybe I'm too conservative, but the fact that Fred Lebow has been immortalized in a limited edition bobblehead doll strikes me the same way as the gingerbread World Trade Center tribute I saw over the holidays.

Lebow, the late head of the New York Roadrunners and the founder of the New York City Marathon, died in 1994 after four years of fighting brain cancer. He might have even liked the bobblehead idea, too, but that's a scary thought in itself.

Maybe basketball isn't so bad
Molly Huddle ran to a fourth-place finish at the Foot Locker Championships in cross country, and made it known that she would not be competing in the New York high school indoor season. Rather, she would be playing basketball. Maybe we all should be. Huddle showed up at an all-comers meet at Cornell and ran the two-mile in 10:19 and the mile in 4:56, both the fastest prep times of the season nationally.

Then again, maybe basketball is so bad
The 77th running of Sao Paulo's New Year's Eve race saw Ethiopian Tesfaye Jifar triumph over Guilbert Okari of Kenya. Brazilian fans were cheered when a local won the women's competition. Said Maria Zeferina Balldaia of her victory: "I dedicate my victory to the Brazilian people who have supported me, and to my 9-year-old son Michael Jordan."

Eating issues continue to evoke discussion
My previous column concentrated on female distance runners and eating issues. I received quite a response, all of it positive, but much of it disturbing. The problem is widespread, and every person's story is troubling. Here are some typical excerpts:

"I myself just finished a case against a former coach that I had at a top 5 NCAA women's track team ... He conducted weigh-ins and 'urged' me to write down all I ate and how many calories were in it. Along with all the emotional and verbal abuse -- it sent me in a downward spiral. I have learned that some coaches do this, esp. at the college level because they either want you broken and brainwashed, or they don't want you at all so they could care less if you turn into a basket case or not ... I am now finally getting back to where I was ... I finally found a healthy place that has found a way to be great using sound methods that produce great athletes AND great young women. Thank you for looking into the matter of women's health -- if it enlightens just one girl out there, opens the eyes of some friend or family member, then it has been worth it."

Another wrote: "I am an unknown 24-year-old runner who put my college career to a halt because of anorexia. Signs of the disease came my freshman year in high school. Ironically, when I started running track my sophomore year, the disease subsided somewhat, as running and my unknown ability enhanced my self-esteem. I had a so-so junior year due to injury, but senior year I contributed a lot to my team and had even accepted my new muscular body.

"But college running and my fears about a new school disrupted my progress ... Unfortunately, due to my own insecurities at a new school and the unhealthy atmosphere of the team, I quit in the middle of winter track season my freshman year. My weight kept dropping throughout the fall, and, hence, I performed poorly due to weakness. A number of girls on the team were also significantly underweight, but the team managed to finish in the top 5 in the NCAAs. One girl was even advised to stop running after a severe health scare, but she ran the next day in the league champs and finished in the top 5. While I know our coach meant well and had her own pressures to win, the message she gave us all by letting her run was detrimental.

"I absolutely do not blame college running for my disorder. Eating disorders are caused by many factors and, for me, primarily all of the factors had nothing to do with running. But the atmosphere was not conducive to health and recovery. Again, I am sure my disease would have progressed in college regardless, but its downturn may not have been as abrupt had I had a different coach. After years of treatment, I am extremely happy and healthy and training for Boston (my first marathon). But I will forever be saddened when I hear of other women (and) men consumed by the disease. So I want to thank you for educating those in the sports world about these issues. The more we are aware of these problems, the quicker we can catch the problems in their onset, allowing for women (and) men to return to their running careers as quickly and as healthy as possible."

Suzanne Girard-Eberle, a sports nutritionist and former national champion runner, had this to say: "Thank you for writing on the subject of eating disorders and female runners ... I am acutely aware of the silent epidemic of disordered eating/body image issues that continues to spread, particularly among high school and collegiate runners. If you've visited fast-women.com, you'll see that the major themes that receive the most attention on the message board are related to weight. As a sports nutritionist, I am on a mission to educate coaches--particularly male coaches! Your article was wonderfully written and will be most helpful with some male coaches I am working with."

Girard-Eberle knows her stuff, and frequently lectures on the Female Athlete Triad. Her book, Endurance Sports Nutrition, is another that should be in the library of every distance coach and athlete. There is a plethora of "Eat To Get Fast Quick" type books out there, but a sports nutrition book that focuses on sound research and the real, long-term health needs of athletes is one that should be on top of the stack.

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.

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