nearly 300 victory ceremonies before it landed a local athlete on the medal
podium at the 2000 Olympics. The celebration there elicited more reaction than
the effort Bernard Williams and three American teammates put into winning
track and field’s 400-meter relay.
Williams, 22, is the youngest member of a foursome that includes Jon
Drummond, Brian Lewis and Maurice Greene, the world-record holder and Olympic
champion in the 100. Drummond was once known as the “clown prince” of track
and field. He and Greene run for HSI, a Los Angeles club whose name stands for
Handling Speed. The club’s newest member is Williams, who saw his likeness on
the huge screens here last night.
More Top Picks Best Travel Backpacks
After the Americans sealed their victory with three solid baton exchanges –
two involving Williams, who ran the second leg – they began a rambling victory
lap before a crowd of 105,448 at Olympic Stadium.
A 1997 graduate of Carver High, Williams was the NCAA champion in the 100
for the University of Florida last June. He posed for the Gators’ media guide
with a glaring look popularized by “The Rock,” a professional wrestler. Last
night, Williams stopped for photographers ringing the track and struck a pose
the wrestler calls the “People’s Eyebrow.” He did it again after he received
his gold medal from former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
“I’m kind of a `Rock’ fan,” Williams said. “I read his book, and he
inspired me to work hard through the trials and tribulations.”
Before they began their victory lap, the four men took American flags, made
a canopy and kneeled to pray. Later, Williams and Lewis used theirs as head
wraps. Their actions prompted reporters to ask if the sprinters thought they
had violated the U.S. Olympic Committee, which requires a certain decorum on
the medals podium.
“Every person from every country has a flag once they medal. Then they go
around the track,” Williams said. “Sometimes people find little mistakes to
talk about. Everyone has different thoughts around the world, and you can’t
control that. I just wanted to be happy, take it in, enjoy it. It’s Olympic
gold.”
The Americans later apologized for their actions.
“I can see why some people were offended,” Greene said. “I can assure you
it won’t happen again. I spoke to Bernard. It was his first time out there. He
was over-excited. He’s never been on this kind of stage ever before. There’s a
time and place for everything. All of us had a talk. We went too far.” The
U.S. Olympic Committee requires a certain decorum on the medal podium, but it
considered the matter closed.
“There was no discussion at the U.S.O.C. about this at all,” said Mike
Moran, a U.S.O.C. spokesman. “Very few people saw it. From the very get go,
last night Maurice and his teammates addressed it. They made sincere apologies
for it. They were criticized by their teammates. We’re very happy with the
attitude of the Maurice Greene and his teammates today, and the U.S.O.C. plans
no other action.”
Williams was the only area athlete to participate in an awards ceremony
here. Tommy Hannan, a graduate of Mount St. Joseph High, received a gold in
swimming’s 400 relay, but he did not make it to the medal podium because he
competed only in a preliminary. Hurdler James Carter, gymnast Elise Ray and
triathlete Joanna Zeiger had fourth-place finishes, and swimmer Michael Phelps
placed fifth.
Williams is believed to be the first man from Baltimore to wear a track and
field gold medal since Robert Garrett ruled the shot put and discus in 1896,
the year an ancient Greek athletic competition was revived in Athens. (Morgan
State’s George Rhoden won two golds for Jamaica in 1952, in the 1,600 relay
and the 400 run, and Morgan’s Rochelle Stevens, a native of Memphis, Tenn.,
ran on the women’s gold medal 1,600 meter relay team in 1996 in Atlanta.)
Garrett came from a prominent family that played an integral part in the
building of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and gave Maryland’s westernmost
county its name.
Williams escaped a West Baltimore neighborhood scarred by drugs and
violence.
“It means a lot to win an Olympic gold, here in Sydney,” Williams said.
“Sometimes you dream about it, but when it happens, the feeling is
unexplainable. It means a lot to know that you come from an inner-city area
where there’s a lot of negativity. It shows that even inner-city kids can rise
to the top and persevere. This isn’t just for the U.S. This is for all
inner-city kids who sometimes don’t think they’re going to make it.”
“I had some rough times,’ Williams said. “I didn’t achieve high enough on
the SAT test, and I was forced to go to junior college. I knew I had to get
away from Baltimore, to pursue my running and my education. I kept the faith.”
Williams went out for track at Southwestern High in 1995 only because he
had been cut from the basketball team.
“I couldn’t dribble, didn’t have a left hand,” Williams said. “That left
hand brought us the gold.”
He transferred to Carver as a junior and immediately held his own in a city
brimming with sprint talent. His career took off at Barton County Community
College in Kansas, and now Williams is viewed as the next great U.S. sprinter
most likely to succeed Greene as the world’s fastest human.
Among the handful of men in the world to run under 10 seconds in the 100
this year, Williams finished seventh in the event at the Olympic trials. He
turned professional, and a week later came in fourth in the trials’ 200, one
spot shy of a guaranteed berth.
John Moon, the Seton Hall coach and the U.S. team assistant who made out
the relay lineup, was under pressure to select other veterans. “There might
have been a lot of doubts, that I should have went with seasoned veterans,”
Moon said. “I had 100 percent faith in him. Bernard proved to a lot of people
that he belonged here. Watch out for him in 2004. You’re going to be seeing a
lot of Bernard.”