Track and Field Blogs - Justin Kopunek

The end zone dance. The press conference trash talk before a boxing match. Pointing for the fences when stepping to the plate. These boastful acts are sports staples and every sport has its own cocksure characters. In track and field, sprinters are the ones who stereotypically fill this role. Maybe it is because they race entirely in lanes and some pre-race bragging is the only tactic a sprinter can employ on their competition. Perhaps the short race time leaves them with more energy and adrenaline unleash in post-race interviews. Or it could be that many sprinters did other sports, such as football, where overt displays of confidence are the norm. No matter what the reasons, cockiness has pervaded sprint culture.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. The top male sprinter currently in the US, Tyson Gay, is known for being quite the opposite. He is soft-spoken, humble, and always reveres his competitors’ performances. After a decisive win and world leading, American Record tying 9.77 100m dash in Rome last week, he was asked if this performance was a message to world record holder Usain Bolt. Gay’s response was, “I don’t know if it was a message to Bolt, it’s not 9.69.” Gay openly discusses the close relationship he has with his mother and how talking to her helps calm him down before big races. He also admits that he could not beat his sister, one year his senior, in a race until he was 14 years old. These are not topics usually discussed by one of the fastest men in the world, as they are not exactly 'macho'.

It is his family which he attributes to his modest demeanor. In describing his upbringing, Gay has stated, “it was all about discipline, humbleness and respect.” Most of Gay’s sprinting predecessors brashly exuded superiority, arrogance, or goofiness. The most prominent example is 7 time Olympic or World Championship gold medalist Maurice Greene (he was also 5^th place on Dancing With The Stars). Greene was known for his ever present ego and explicit boasting. This took the form of a tattoo reading “G.O.A.T.” which stands for ‘greatest of all time’. Greene ran against and with Jon Drummond, the class clown of track and field during that time. The former anchored while the latter lead-off many great American 4x100 relays. Drummond, who now coaches Gay, says he, Greene, and others of the era “were all loud-mouthed, chest-banging, rip-your-shirt-off kind of people” and that is not Gay’s personality at all.

As the atypical sprinter, Gay has been juxtaposed with two of today’s more archetypal sprinters. The first is 200m specialist Wallace Spearmon, Jr., who was a teammate of Gay’s at the University of Arkansas and training partner for some time after. Because of the Razorback connection, and that they are both at the top of US sprinting, the pair will be forever linked in people’s minds. There are not many similarities in personalities, however, as Spearmon is a highly extroverted, boisterous character. All seriousness on the track, he can be seen playing to the audience right before and after his races. His antics were on display at the Beijing Olympics as he and Bolt, a friend, joked around together for the world to see during all the rounds of the 200.

Bolt is the other sprinter that provides a stark contrast to Gay. The Jamaican 3 time Olympic Champion, often found clowning around, is known for a trademark pose as a post race celebration and talking a big game about what times he plans to run. It is hard to fault a man who generally does come through on his bold time predictions, but claiming you will break the 400m World Record before you have broken 45 seconds is cocky, none-the-less. Bolt is young, having fun riding a wave of success and letting everybody know it. This is far from what you see from Gay. Former Arkansas coach John McDonnell said his one-time pupil “has a quiet sense of confidence. Sometime sprinters can be arrogant, in your face. He doesn’t do that.”

There is a thin line between confidence and arrogance, as well as between quite confidence and indifference. It is all about public perception and personal preference. An athlete’s actions may seem obnoxious to one person and amusing to a different person. Which side you are on depends on a few factors. For one, what was your opinion of the sprinter to begin with? Usually if one likes an athlete, his pre-game big talking, or post competition celebrations are welcomed behavior. It is your idol, who can do no wrong. If you had negative feelings towards them from the start, anything they do that you can find a way to criticize, you will. This could be referred to as the ‘Galen Rupp Effect’, because he has fans and detractors on every bit of the spectrum in these regards.

Another factor, especially if you do not have strong feelings about the athlete to begin with, is what you are looking for when you watch races and interviews. Do you value good sportsmanship and humility the most, or do you want to be entertained and amused. A writer asked Gay if there is a need in track and field for trash talking sprinters. He responded, “I don’t necessarily think the sport needs it. I think you may need it.” It is true that the media relishes that kind of behavior. This is because it elicits a visceral response from fans. When Bolt was clowning around during a press conference in Ostrava this summer, a huge debate raged over his actions. Even many Jamaicans were up in arms saying his actions were immature and embarrassing. Others thought that it was all in good fun and brought some life to a dull event.

We learned in high school English that hubris is a tragic flaw, one that will lead to our hero’s downfall. If a sprinter becomes too cocky, some fans will turn and want nothing more than to see him lose. But they are still watching them race, none the less. Is hubris truly a sprinter's tragic flaw, or a paramount trait? In all honesty, who does not love hearing Shawn Crawford respond, “I’m younger than you!”, after being told by NBC’s Bob Neumeier that sprinting is a “young man’s game.” The area between confidence and overconfidence can be blurred. Arrogance for one may be swagger for another.

Regardless of public perception, Gay is a unique breed for a top sprinter. His reserved qualities, whether you prefer them or not, make him the perfect foil for the likes of the animated Bolt. They are complementary figures in track and field. Luckily for track fans (barring any disasters in the rounds) we will get to see these contrasting personalities face off quite soon. The defending World (Gay) and Olympic (Bolt) champions at 100m, 200m, and 4x100m will create some of the best drama of the World Championships in Berlin this August.