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Once in a lifetime experience
University of South Carolina track and field coach Curtis Frye will be coaching five U.S. athletes at the Sydney Olympics, including defending 110-meter hurdles gold medalist Allen Johnson. In 1999 Frye was named the National Men's Indoor Coach of the > Year and the National Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year. In his 26-year career, Frye has coached 38 NCAA champions. Check back in with Frye on CNNSI.com throughout the Olympic Games.
September 7, 2000
This is the most athletes I have ever had at the Olympic Games, and it is my second Olympics. The last time I just had to make preparations for one individual -- Allen Johnson. This time I have to find practice time for five athletes and in addition, get with our former athletes from Jamaica and the Bahamas. It takes much more detailed preparation. Everybody that we take has a chance at getting a medal, by relay or by open event. We will have three medals out of the group at minimum and possibly five. If each of the USA athletes wins a medal, I will be very happy. The Olympics is the granddaddy of track and field. Throw farther, jump higher, run faster. I am excited for the athletes -- to see their hard work and dedication pay off. I am also excited for the Carolina families and the athletes families that are involved. This is a once in a lifetime experience. Atlanta was just a few hours in the car. Sydney is traveling around the world. It's a bit more tense because of the uncertainties, but it's exciting. My wife Wilma will be coming on the 20th. She has paid a high price as a track coach's wife -- this is part of her labor also as she has worked hard to support this program. It is hard to leave our kids. Curtis is starting right now for the Gamecock football team. Curtrell is a sophomore competing in track at the University of Virginia. Crystall is a senior redshirt (thrower) at East Carolina Univeristy. But, I know all three will be glued to the TV during the Olympics, pulling for the 18 Gamecocks at the Olympic Games. Most of our athletes competed internationally, so we backed our seasons up for the older athletes. For example because Melissa Morrison and Allen Johnson didn't compete as much indoors due to injuries, their training is in the later part of the season. The normal season would end in August and because it's ending a month later, we had them race later in the indoor season. Fewer races. With Terrence Trammell, we used his racing as a part of his training all year long. He didn't train hard -- he raced and then rested, raced, then rested. We did this with both he and Miki Barber. They ran from last year's World University Games, where they won three gold medals and a silver together, to the college seasons til now. They were both National Athletes of the Year, so they were at the top of their game outdoors. Terrence has gone on to win a number of races on the European circuit. Miki has been training in Columbia almost all summer. She looks great in practice -- she ran three 300 meters from 36.5 to 37.5. Monique Hennagan, who finished fourth in the 400 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials, will replace Gerald Miles-Clark in the open 400 meters and will also run the 4x400 meters relay with Miki. Monique has been in Europe almost every day since the trials so we have had to do a lot of our preparation and setting up practices via the phone. She is in town (Columbia) for the next few days and she looks great. The athletes are also coming in and leaving at different times. Miki is now in Brisbane training with the U.S. team. Monique, Terrence and Melissa leave Saturday for Brisbane. I will go straight to Sydney to set up camp on Sunday. Allen is running in Tokyo on the 9th and he is leaving for Sydney on the 11th. We will find a facility to train in Sydney and make arrangement for the other USC athletes to meet us there. We hope to have a mini-Weems Baskin Track Facility to call home in Sydney. We can't wait to get over there. -- Curtis
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