circles and twice broke bread together at the U.S. track and field
championships in late June. Both were in the process of qualifying for the
world championships, which begin today in Edmonton, Alberta, but their
catching up over two nights in Oregon restaurants had little to do with
running.
“It wasn’t about track,” Carter said of their conversations. “I know that’s
what we do for a living, but you need to escape sometimes, and we talked about
what’s going on with the rest of our lives. We reminisced a lot, talked about
our families. Turns out Bernard’s uncle works with my mother.”
High school rivals in Baltimore in 1996, Carter and Williams are teammates
on a U.S. delegation for the second time in less than a year. Their
international championship debut came on a grand stage last autumn. Williams
became the first Baltimorean in more than a century to win a gold medal in
Olympic track and field with his work in the 400-meter relay in Sydney,
Australia, where Carter missed a medal in the 400 hurdles by one place.
Williams is part of the Los Angeles-based HSI group. He is coached by John
Smith, the dash guru, and trains with Maurice Greene, the world’s pre-eminent
sprinter since 1997. Carter lives in the Tidewater area of Virginia and
usually works out in solitude with Maurice Pierce, an assistant coach at
Hampton University.
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They may live on opposite coasts and train in contrasting environments, but
they share many experiences. Both are 23 and graduates of city public schools,
Carver for Williams and Mervo for Carter. Both came under heavy criticism for
their actions at the Olympics, where the 400 relay winners overdid their
celebration and Carter taunted his semifinal opponents.
Both are still in the developmental stages of their career and looking at a
long haul that they hope has them at the peak of their powers in 2004, when
the next Summer Olympics will be in Athens, Greece. They also know that they
won’t be fast forever and have spent this summer crossing the Atlantic for
lucrative meets in Europe. Williams has wins in Turin, Milan and Monaco, and
Carter took the Golden Gala in Rome.
Carter hasn’t raced since he posted his seasonal best, 48.44 seconds, in
Paris July 6. Seven men have run faster this year, but Carter was taken
lightly at the Olympics, too. Besides, he wasn’t exactly 100 percent in
France, where he finished a stretch of seven races in 16 days. Carter began
that haul with a foot injury, evidence that no good deed goes unpunished.
“It was in Poland, and I was back at the hotel sleeping after my race,”
Carter said. “A friend of mine was involved in a fight in the hallway, and I
tried to break it up. I wasn’t thinking, it was late at night and I walked out
there barefoot. A door went right over my right foot and really messed up the
nail on my big toe. It’s finally come off. I had one good day of practice
before the nationals, and I didn’t think I was going to make the team.”
Carter finished third at the national championships, securing the final
U.S. berth. The three rounds at the worlds will be conducted Tuesday,
Wednesday and next Friday, and Carter said he is ready to again challenge for
a medal, at the least.
“I got in the weight room and took that seriously for the first time in my
life during the off-season,” said Carter, who, at 5 feet 11 and 185 pounds, is
thicker than the average 400 hurdler. “A lot of people used to say that it
looked like I lifted, but I never had before. I’m trying to eat right, improve
my diet. My technique is fine and the speed is there, but I need to get
stronger over the last few hurdles.”
Williams would have finished third in the USA 100, but moved up a place
when Greene passed after an appearance in the preliminaries that made him
eligible for the worlds as the defending champion. Greene ran 9.90 in a USA
prelim June 24 and pulled Williams to a lifetime best of 9.96.
Tim Montgomery won the nationals and beat Williams again July 13 with a
9.84 clocking that made him the third-fastest man ever. He’s expected to
challenge Greene, who has been dealing with tendinitis in his left knee. With
Trinidad’s Ato Boldon in the mix, Williams will have to gain a few hundredths
of a second to medal.
The first two rounds of the 100 will be held tomorrow, the semifinals and
final Sunday. Williams is also in the pool for the 400 relay, which will be
contested Aug. 11 and 12. As the youngest member of the gold-medal foursome in
Australia, Williams handled the second leg and Olympic pressure. He is
expected to get more baton duty in Edmonton.