IT actually meant more to me than Bill Clinton's bid for an Oscar. FloJo’s records not likely
to be broken soonWhen I woke up yesterday morning and logged on to AOL to check out the latest on the First Family Jewels saga, the headline that really hit me was this one:
"FloJo dead at 38."
When an athlete with whom I'm familiar dies very young, the news always penetrates me like a butcher's knife.
I think most of us feel that way, even if we never had any personal contact with the athlete.
There's just something so vital, energetic and promising about the athletic personality. We all want to live vicariously through that person's exploits.
It's just hard to imagine anyone like FloJo is going to be buried.
The fastest woman to ever scorch the earth, she was beautiful, flamboyant and controversial.
She didn't ask to be controversial, but that's the one thing her story had in common with Clinton's.
Her mind-boggling 100-meter dash world record of 10.49 seconds in 1988 is still questioned.
Questions center around an unlikely Omega wind-gauge reading of 0.0 for her race. Triple jumpers on an adjacent runway seemed to be getting wind readings.
No matter. The gauge certified FloJo's mark.
Then there was her stunning 21.34 at 200 meters.
No one is going to touch these marks for a long while.
BUT the entire 1988 season in which she set the records and won three Olympic gold medals has never been completely accepted as "natural."
After all, FloJo's previous bests were 10.96 and 21.96.
Marion Jones, with her latest 10.65 and 21.62 times, would appear more credible if she were to achieve what FloJo did 10 years ago.
Whenever an athlete makes a sensational breakthrough, he or she comes under suspicion.
FloJo was tested and never found positive.
She didn't allay suspicions by walking away from her sport right after her incredible year.
But that was her right.
The IAAF would love to knock down the 10.49 if anyone at USA Track and Field ever moves to decertify it.
Like the Vatican investigates a candidate for sainthood, the IAAF's mission is to purify all record holders.
I'd rather see Jones erase FloJo's records if she can do it.
Out of respect to this stunning woman, I hope the IAAF never gets the chance.
IT'S been a while since I delved into the subject of running, but the last two days have given me plenty to think about.
How many of you noticed that the world record for running a marathon (26.2 miles) is now down to 2 hours, 6 minutes and 5 seconds?
It was done by a Brazilian (nope, not a Kenyan) named Ronaldo da Costa, at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.
Not too shocking that a world record could be achieved on the Berlin course, which is relatively fast.
But here's where the suspicion might creep in (there's that word again).
Seems that da Costa ran the same course in 2:09:07 in 1997. And that was his first marathon.
Uh-oh.
Following da Costa into the chute were a trio of Kenyans coached by Honolulu Marathon regular, Dr. Gabriele Rosa of Italy.
Rosa, as anyone who reads the running periodicals knows, is no stranger to questions about how natural his athletes are.
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.
