THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 15, 1996 TAG: 9607150124
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: OLYMPICS 1996
JULY 19 - AUG 4
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 68 lines
As training days go, Thursday was kind of slow over at Norfolk State.
Just two Olympians on the track, while another watched from the sidelines.
Heck, the Spartans could nearly double that total merely by having a team meeting.
To say the Green and Gold will be well represented in Atlanta is to put it mildly. No college track team in the nation may be able to match NSU's Olympic contingent of six athletes: five current and one former.
``We are representing,'' NSU coach Steve Riddick said. ``Hampton Roads has a lot to be proud of.''
Of course, none of NSU's Olympians hail from Hampton Roads. And just one will run for the U.S. team. But that doesn't change the fact that NSU has been running a regular Olympic Village the past few weeks.
In and out at any given time are Ali Ahmed, who will run the 400 meters for Ghana; Joel Masco, a sprinter who will represent St. Vincent; Tim Montgomery, an alternate on the U.S. 400-meter relay team; Chandra Sturrup, a 1995 graduate who will run for the Bahamas; and Paul Tucker and Malcolm Watts, who will run for Guyana.
As if that's not enough, NSU athletic director Dick Price will serve as a field marshall for track and field.
``That just goes to show you the kind of talent we had on this year's team,'' Riddick said.
And the international flavor. Ahmed is a 1992 Olympian who transferred from Southern University. Tucker and Watts were New Jersey high school rivals who were born in Guyana. Sturrup was one of several Caribbean athletes on coach Laverne Sweat's women's team.
Montgomery, a South Carolina native, was seventh in the 100 meters at the U.S. trials. Masco was hurt most of last season but had posted a fast enough time to qualify for Atlanta.
If it's medals you're looking for, NSU's most realistic hope is Montgomery, who could get a gold if he runs even a preliminary race for the U.S. team. Sturrup also has an outside chance of winning a medal, in the 100 meters.
As for the others, they'll go for the chance to represent their countries. And for the experience.
``I can't wait,'' Tucker said. ``I'm ready to go now.''
Meanwhile, the 400-meter hurdler continues to train at NSU, where he has plenty of company - and not just from his teammates. World-class sprinter Andre Cason is a frequent guest at the NSU track, as are other elite athletes passing through the area.
They come to run on NSU's springy new track, as well as to pick the brain of Riddick, an Olympic gold medalist in 1976.
``When I heard he was here, I knew this was where I wanted to be,'' said Terrence Warren, a Suffolk native who plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. Warren, a former elite sprinter at Hampton University, said he wants to resume his track career after the football season.
Also on hand Thursday were Sturrup, and Neil De Silva, a 400-meter runner who will represent Trinidad in the Olympics.
``This is a good place to train, and a good time of year,'' Sturrup said. `You don't have any distractions. It's just you and your coach.''
And whoever else happens to be passing through.
The more the merrier, Riddick says.
``We want to make this a sprint capital,'' Riddick said. ``When you're talking about sprints, we want people to say that you've got to come to Norfolk.'' ILLUSTRATION: Steve Riddick by CNB