Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 20, 1992 TAG: 9202200107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LA PLAGNE, FRANCE LENGTH: Medium
U.S. BRAKES WALKER'S BOBSLED RUN
Herschel Walker won't get an Olympic medal to go with his Heisman Trophy. He won't get the chance.Walker, the Minnesota Vikings' running back who often has complained about not being used enough on the football field, met the same fate in Olympic bobsledding Wednesday.
His lack of experience Walker could accept as a reason and he vowed to support the team, but he took exception to the way the decision was made, saying officials "lacked the guts" to tell him.
Two days before competition begins, driver Randy Will of Endwell, N.Y., dumped Walker as brakeman on the USA I four-man sled and tapped longtime teammate and friend Chris Coleman of Vestal, N.Y., for the final starting push.
Flamboyance lost out to experience.
As Walker's headline-grabbing Olympic debut ground to a halt, it seemed his highly touted speed simply didn't match the expectations of less celebrated teammates and coaches.
"For reasons that were reflected in the split times at the top, Randy felt that something was going on in the back of his sled that he wasn't comfortable with," U.S. coach John Philbin said. "That's the decision he made and we're going with it."
The goal is the first U.S. bobsled medal since 1956, which Walker and driver Brian Shimer missed in the two-man with a seventh-place finish - still the best-ever U.S. showing in that event.
Walker had the slower four-man pushoff Wednesday in a direct contest with Coleman, who came to the Olympics as an alternate. With Walker in the day's first practice run, the start time was 6.19 seconds; with Coleman on the second run, it was 6.10.
"It's clearly not because Herschel doesn't have the ability," U.S. team chief Jim Hickey said. "We're just hoping we can go faster."
A brakeman pushes the sled for the first 50 meters or so of the 1,500-meter run, then jumps on the back and controls the brake at the end. Using the break during the run is a cause for disqualification.
Doubts about Walker were growing since the two-man race wound up Sunday.
"Herschel is just an extra power boost in the back," side pusher Joe Sawyer of Denver said Monday. "That's what we were hoping for last weekend, but it didn't quite work."
Walker took the decision in stride.
"I've always said that I'm a competitive person and that I think the best team should be out there, no matter who it is," he said. "I'm disappointed because I came here to compete, but I will always support the U.S. team and I hope that we win a medal.
"I'm going to cheer them on."
Coleman, who turned 25 on Tuesday, had the advantage of more race seasoning and closer personal ties with Will, his roommate on the road. Both live in upstate New York.
Coleman has been racing with Will for two years. Walker's two-man Olympic race was only his second international competition after entering the sport in mid-1990.
Still, Walker was expected to start in the two-man and four-man based on the superior speed he showed at U.S. trials last month in Altenberg, Germany. He first teamed with Will after that.
Coleman was recovering from a torn thigh muscle suffered in a World Cup race last November, but he hit his stride during Olympics preparation. "I've been improving every day," he said.
The three-time U.S. push champion in 1988-90 rejoins Will and side pushers Sawyer and Karlos Kirby of Clive, Iowa.
"Herschel Walker is probably the most incredible athlete I've met in my life," Will said. "But you can't tear apart a team that has been successful and put someone on who has limited race experience."
Walker was upset at what he considered a behind-the-scenes ploy.
"They made the decision last week," he said. "They knew about it, but they didn't seem to have the guts to tell me.
"[Will] had been talking about Chris being on before we even got here and I didn't think anything about it."
Said Philbin: "Herschel was more than capable of doing the job. I think the decision was solely based on the driver's input.
"Herschel came in and made quite a statement in Altenberg when he pushed, and everybody was anxious to see him perform in the Games. They saw a guy capable of doing anything in the sport.
"But we as coaches, need to make sure that the driver's state of mind is totally clear and is comfortable with his team."