When United States track and field superstar Marion Jones practices at the University of North Carolina, she is just one of crowd. Although known in Chapel Hill from her glory days as a collegiate basketball standout, Jones doesn't attract the attention other high-profile world class athletes receive.
"It is a little discouraging," Jones said in a recent conference call about the anonymity she and other U.S. track and field stars face. "I am not complaining. ... No one really recognizes me on the track I practice on. It is nice to go and train in peace, but American track and field athletes would like to get recognition."
USA Track & Field hopes all that is changing as the association put its athletes in the spotlight and on the television airwaves with more frequency this past year. The outdoor Golden Spike Tour recently concluded with the U.S. Track and Field Outdoor Championships. That meet was one of nine broadcast nationally since February.
USA Track & Field CEO Craig Masback was pleased with the results. "I thought the Golden Spike Tour (GST) was a success in its inaugural year," he said. "We linked nine track meets and 12 television shows under a coherent program giving our athletes what they asked for: the opportunity to compete in the United States, to be paid for doing so, and the chance to raise their profile with the American public."
Adidas, Ultima Replenisher, GMC Envoy and Jimmy Sports Utilities and Visa sponsored the series. USATF and its sponsors invested more than $3 million in the five outdoor meets, covering such costs as television broadcasts and athlete expenses. Over $1 million went to athletes in prize money and appearance fees.
The outdoor showcased the top American and the world's track and field athletes, including Jones, Maurice Greene, Allen Johnson, Inger Miller, Jeff Hartwig, Regina Jacobs, Lawrence Johnson, Milton Campbell, Connie Price-Smith, Bob Kennedy, Ato Boldon and John Godina, Tisha Waller.
Masback admitted, though, that there was too much variation in the overall quality of the events. "We will be working with meet organizers in year two to improve the presentation of the events to make them more crowd and TV pleasing," he said. "I was especially pleased that between the GST and what CBS was airing anyway, track and field was on network television five times between mid-May and late June with ESPN putting another four shows on in that same period.
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