Kirby Lee
18 January 2001 - Johnny Gray proclaimed his retirement at age 40 when he came up short in
a bid for unprecedented fifth Olympics at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in
Sacramento in July.
The American 800m record holder, however, isn't ready to put it in writing. The Agoura Hills resident will end his brief hiatus when he competes in the 600m in the Los Angeles. Invitational on Saturday at the L.A. Sports Arena.
"I think a lot of it with frustration,'' Gray said. "I am a competitor. I believe deep in my heart that I should have made a fifth Olympic team.''
Few have made a name in longevity as Gray, whose American record of 1:42.60 has stood since 1985. The 1992 Olympic bronze medallist, Gray is the only U.S. runner to run under 1:43 and holds the top five top times by an American.
Although Gray, who turns 41 in June, doesn't believe that he can approach his American record, he is confident of running in the 1:44 rang after cracking 1:45 for 14 years from 1984 through 1997.
Mark Everett won the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in 1:45.67, the slowest winning Trials time since 1968 and a mark of 1:46.09 was fast enough to make the U.S. Olympic team.
Gray cited his subpar performance last season to a coaching change when Merle McGee, his coach since high school, retired. This season, he has reunited with McGee, who provides workouts by telephone.
In his first race since the U.S. Trials and on a month of training, Gray ran 4:13.73 in October to win the Masters Mile at the Champions Run for Children in San Francisco, a fundraiser for the San Francisco State Paediatric Aids Fund.
The effort convinced Gray to make a full-fledged comeback. Gray defeated a field that included Steve Scott, the American mile record holder, in his second career mile. The mark was only six seconds off his lifetime best run at age 19.
"If I can run 4:13 out of shape, I still have some talent,'' Gray said. "My age might say that I am a Master but age is nothing but a number. I am still going because I enjoy the sport. I really don't see an end because I don't try to look toward the end. I just look toward the present and enjoy the present.''