Thursday, September 29, 2011

Morgan Uceny Reflecting at the end of her 2011 season.

Morgan Uceny, the 2011 USATF Champion, closed out the European track season with a 4:00.06 victory in the 1500 at Memorial Van Damme in Brussels. It was the world's fastest time

of 2011 in the event and, combined with victories in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Birmingham, England, made her the overall Diamond League series winner in the 1500. She's expected to be ranked #1 in the world for the 1500 for 2011. In the World Championships final in Daegu, she was knocked down and finished tenth. Uceny was the 2010 USATF Indoor 1500-meter titlist. She has a personal best of 1:58.37 for 800 meters. She's a member of the California-based Mammoth Track Club, coached by Terrence Mahon. She was sixth in the 800 and fourth in the 1500 at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. She was a 2007 ECAC 1500-meter champ while at Cornell, where she also won the 800 at the Heptagonals (Ivy League Championships) three times indoors and three times outdoors and set eight school records. She'd been a two-time state 800-meter champ while in high school in Indiana, where she also played basketball. Uceny was interviewed before last Saturday's Fifth Avenue Mile in New York, where she was sixth in 4:26.2.

Based on what you've done recently, like in Brussels, it would seem that you're not staggering into this Fifth Avenue Mile tired. You're still on an upswing or something very close to it. You've still got a lot left in you.
Morgan Uceny: Yeah, I think so. That was kind of surprising, actually. The Worlds takes a lot out of you emotionally and physically, and so sometimes those races afterwards can be brutal. I felt really great the whole race in Brussels, and I'm happy with the PR. And even in the runs afterwards, I still feel like I'm ready to go, I still have one more left in me. I'm not burnt out yet. (But after her sixth place finish on Saturday, Uceny said, "It's been a very long season, I'm pretty tired right now, I need to take some time off.")

Do you care at all that you were just 6/100ths of a second over 4:00 in the 1500 at Brussels?
MU: No, not at all. I know that I could have run under 4:00 at several points this season, but that really wasn't the point. This season was all about winning races. And winning the Diamond League and not running under 4:00 is fine with me.

Brussels seemed to be another one of those races were you were able to find your space on the track. Once it came time to pass people, you were easily able to find a lane. You don't ever get trapped inside, do you?
MU: Brussels was the only one. I got stuck on the rail, but I was able to get out with 300 (meters) to go, so obviously, that was still a lot of room to run. Yeah, I hate being on the rail. It makes me anxious, so I make sure I don't get stuck.

It's expected that you'll end up ranked #1 in the world for the year in the 1500. Do you expect that, and how does that feel for you?
MU: I hope so. I honestly think that I've been really consistent this year. Even early on, I was second and third at the Pre and New York meets. So I think I've shown that I've been towards the top this whole year, and then able to win some races and have the world-leading time. I think I do deserve it. It feels good! Honestly, the season hasn't officially ended so I don't really look back on that yet. It hasn't really sunk in yet, since there's always something ahead.

Yeah, there are still some meets in Asia, aren't there?
MU: That's not for me. I'm going to be eating some blueberry donuts that my mom has made for me in a couple of weeks. We have a blueberry festival every year on Labor Day weekend in Indiana, so my mom saves them for me. Best donuts in the world. I might be a little subjective. I won't race until indoors.

What will happen for you after Fifth Avenue? Will you have some downtime?
MU: Yeah. I traditionally take two to three weeks off completely from running. I go visit family at home, go out to California and tool around a little bit. If I get to two weeks and I'm ready to go – I've just got to get that feeling of excitement back, so if I'm not ready, then I'll give it a few more days.

You were doing the 800 as much as the 1500 for awhile. I obviously assume that next year you'll be looking to do the 1500 in the Olympics.
MU: Yeah, I think for next year, probably the 1500 will be the focus. But I'm really not ready to give up the 800. I think I still can do a lot there, so maybe for the Worlds years (2013) or that "off" year (2014, with no global championships), I'll focus on the 800 again. We'll see.

When you were back in your Cornell days, clearly you had a good Ivy League career. But was how much training you do limited, because of the academics? Did you ever feel you were underachieving because you couldn't 'max' out your capabilities there?
MU: Not really. I was pretty content with the situation I was in, and I loved my team and I loved school. There was really nowhere else I wanted to be. And even now, looking back, yeah I could have gone to an athletic school on scholarship and maybe I would have done better early on, but maybe I wouldn't. Maybe I would have suffered now. So I think doing those steps early on has maybe enabled me to have the success I have today. Maybe the Ivy League was a stepping stone.

Were you and Anna Pierce (who was at Brown) sort of friendly rivals in the conference?
MU: I actually didn't even know she was. She did mostly steeple and cross country and events like that. I was funny because there was a picture posted, maybe at the Heps online magazine, it was me and then Anna in the background from a championship meet. I told her, "I didn't even know you were in that race." It's funny now, because we're such good friends. But I didn't actually know her much until we got out of the conference.

As this year went on, did you find the reception you would get from fans and officials at the meets would change? You were no longer just a face in the pack but obviously a contender and then a winner and then a repeat winner.
MU: I think it starts with your fellow competitors like (Maryam) Jamal and Kalkidan (Gezahegne) and these other women that I had looked up to earlier in my career. Those were the people to beat, and then to be acknowledged by them, and I think they realized that I was a threat, was kind of cool. And then meet directors would introduce themselves, and coaches. It's not like "over the top." I still am pretty humble about it. But you notice.

Actually, here (in New York), I just went out running earlier today and I had a couple of people say, "Good luck, Morgan, on Saturday." And I was like, "Whoa, that was really weird." Because I've actually run through the park with Ryan and Sara (Hall) and that's nuts because everybody knows who Ryan is. But it's kind of cool to have a couple of people – maybe if I wore my necklace (her long-time trademark of multi-colored plastic), people would recognize me.

Why did you stop wearing that?
MU: I'm not usually superstitious at all, but I wore it in the final at Daegu, and with fall, I was really kind of nervous about it. So at Brussels, I just decided not to wear it. So it's really the first time I was kind of superstitious about it. I'll wear it again. Just because I didn't wear it at Brussels doesn't mean I can't wear it. Like I'll probably wear it for this race this weekend (she did).

adidas must be happy about your Diamond League win. Have they spoken with you about how to maximize your public relations value?
MU: I went to visit the adidas operation in Herzog, Germany, between the Zurich and Brussels meets. Alistair Cragg and I took a trip there to check it out. I met a bunch of people there. They're all really excited about me moving with them and succeeding but we haven't talked much yet about where we will go in the future. I think that's for them to decide.

For awhile there, you were the runner who'd just barely miss breaking 2:00 for the 800, or just barely miss making the Olympic team with a fourth at the Trials. But you never lost faith.MU: You've got to be persistent. I always believed in what I was capable of, and Terrence (Mahon) made me realize that I was capable of more than I thought I was and has brought that it out in me.

It's an immensely big thing for an American to be #1 in the the world in the metric mile. It's been 28 years since that happened, with Mary Decker Slaney in 1983. So…gosh!
MU: It's cool, when you put it like that. I think middle distance, five years ago, was kind of suffering. People weren't even getting "A" standards, or were struggling to get "B" standards. It's been the way things have turned around. I praise Shannon (Rowbury) a lot, because I think this was the first one of this upswing, when she got the medal at Worlds (in 2009) and had a really good season. Then you realize, "I can do that." Sometimes when you see someone like Jamal, they're foreign, and have an aura of mystery, and you kind of put them on a pedestal at times – for no reason, because really, at the end of the day, we're all athletes and we're all training hard to be the best. Why shouldn't it be me and not her?

Dai Greene 400m Hurdles World Champion 2011.

Dai Greene: 'There were moments when I thought it might never happen'

The 400m hurdles world champion flipped burgers to make ends meet and overcame epilepsy before reaching the top

"I lived on the breadline a while and you get used to it," Dai Greene says, as the new world champion in the 400m hurdles remembers his relatively recent days of hardship and trouble. Greene, who once worked at McDonald's to supplement his meagre income as an athlete, also overcame epilepsy and doubt before transforming his life. "After a while you don't want to live like that. You can't if you have any hopes of becoming an elite athlete. The little money I had went on food because I wasn't prepared to eat beans on toast every day."

At the world championships in Daegu last month Greene displayed impressive composure and determination to beat a field that included five men who had recorded faster times than him this season. It was not an isolated championship win for the 25-year-old. In fact a gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the London Olympics will complete the set for Greene as the reigning European, Commonwealth and world champion. He could then make legitimate claim to being one of the greatest British athletes in history – despite facing so many obstacles.

Greene was once a typical student in Cardiff, surviving on a loan, but his predicament became serious in 2008 – soon after he failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. "There were moments that year when I thought it might never happen," he says, as his disappointments merged with a financial crisis that worsened once he tried to become a fully professional athlete. "I finished third in the UK trials that year with the same time I'd recorded as a junior. I'd had lots of injuries but I thought I'd maybe reached my limit.

"In 2008-09 I was down to just £8,000 lottery funding and I probably earned a few hundred extra pounds from the odd race and a few thousand from part-time work. Without knowing it at the time it was a make-or-break season because if I hadn't improved I would have been really struggling to hold on."

Amusement replaces Greene's calm seriousness as he describes the jobs he accepted out of desperation. "I did three years at McDonald's, while at college, and then I moved on to part-time work at Next."

Did the current world champion really flip burgers at McDonald's? "I sometimes was on burger duty but I tended to be on the second drive-thru window. I worked weekends and I was the guy who handed out the food. I would usually be told off for chatting to the customers about their day. They just wanted me to say [Greene slips into an American accent] 'Hi there, and welcome to McDonald's!' I'm not going to do that. At Next it was just a case of giving a guy a suit or jumper and saying 'Does that fit you?'"

Greene pulls a face at the memory. Did he ever bark out that immortal 'Suits you, sir!' line – just to divert himself? "Never. I didn't give them that much leeway. It was just very monotonous. I hate things that don't push you – but I needed the money."

Two years earlier, in a far more challenging task, Greene had taken himself off the medication prescribed for his epilepsy – which had first been diagnosed when he was 17. He had established by 2006, after a disconcerting seizure resulted in him being taken to hospital, that alcohol and lack of sleep were the most obvious triggers of his epilepsy. But he was certain that the pills were limiting him as an athlete.

"It was hard for my parents," Greene admits, "because my brother Darren also suffers from it. But they were fine once I discussed it with my specialist who agreed to me coming off medication because I'd changed my lifestyle dramatically. I was no longer drinking and so I was confident I wouldn't put myself in a scenario where I'd have another seizure. I very rarely drink alcohol now. I've had some nights when I've gone drinking at the end of the season but as long as I spend time in bed the next day I'm fine. Also, my girlfriend doesn't drink, so that helps."

Greene's girlfriend, Sian Davis, was with him during his worst moments as a poor and failing athlete. "Sian saw all the low points. When things weren't going well I'd be rougher on her, and snap at her. I'm not proud of those things but you only do it to people who care about you. It's strange how it works. But she got me though some tough times."

He was tested yet again when his former coach, Benke Blomqvist, returned to Sweden in 2009. "I was very upset because he had looked after me really well and we were improving as a partnership. But Benke advised me to go to Malcolm Arnold [the 72-year-old who had coached a variety of great hurdlers from John Akii-Bua to Colin Jackson] in Bath. I didn't know too much about Malcolm at the time but he's been amazing."

When Green finished seventh in the 2009 final did he believe he could win the same world championship two years later? "Yeah," he says. "I'd worked so hard to get to the final because I needed a PB to get there. I was mentally exhausted but I knew I was in touching distance of those guys. I said to Malcolm: 'I can win this next time.'"

It still needed a gruelling training regime in Bath, running up and down the unforgiving hill of Claverton Down. "Malcolm always tells me that, 'Oh, when I was in Uganda with John Akii-Bua, we had nothing but the red sun and the sky.' I say, 'Yeah, that's more than we've got in Bath.' It's usually wet and the wind's howling. It's pretty harsh but a race is never going to be as hard as running up an icy hill in Bath in the middle of winter."

Greene attributes his three major championship gold medals to that bleak hill. "My confidence comes from that preparation. I know on the start line I've done everything to be ready. So if someone beats me they are going to have to run a special race. A lot of people have superstitions – but I don't need a lucky teddy or to put my shoes on in a certain order. I believe in myself. The last time I finished outside the top three was probably in June 2010. It shows I'm consistent and I won most of those races anyway. Some guys have run faster than me in perfect conditions – which we don't get in this country – but I always back myself to win the race that counts."

In Daegu, however, even the implacable Greene wondered if he had done enough in the biggest race of his life. "When I came to hurdle eight I thought 'Damn, I've left it too late – I've really got to hammer it home now.' By the time I got to hurdle nine I thought, 'I'm catching them.' Javier Culson [the American] was still in front but as soon as I took 10 I knew I had it. My stride pattern was perfect and I knew I was stronger on the run-in. As I went past Culson and dipped for the line I thought: 'I've won …'"

The bricklayer's son from Llanelli took a while to absorb his achievement. "It was strange. My dad rang two hours later and said 'Well done.' I didn't know what to say – apart from 'Thanks.' I'd achieved everything I'd wanted and I didn't know how to respond. It was just a case of job done. If they had been there I would have broken down in tears. But, without them, I just thought I've beaten seven guys I had already defeated earlier in the year. It was more a case of 'Oh, I beat him two months ago, I beat him four months ago.' That stops you getting overwhelmed."

The next morning was different. Greene leans forward and smiles with something approaching rapture. "It was an amazing moment. I woke up and thought, 'Yes, you really are world champion.' There is not one single person in the whole world who is better than me at what I do."

Greene is now sponsored and so we meet neither at a McDonald's in Cardiff nor on Claverton Down – but in the London Bridge office of Red Bull. He stresses how such financial support has helped him but, significantly, Greene appears unaffected by his new status as Olympic favourite. "Malcolm thinks you either can handle it or you can't. Personally I think you can learn how to handle it and I've been moulded by personal experience. I don't think it's going to be a problem for me. I felt very comfortable at the worlds with everyone expecting I'd win at least a medal. I'm not going to start doubting myself now."

As befits a man who, at university, wrote a 10,000-word thesis on hurdling, Greene is aware that, in his chosen discipline, "You're at your peak between 26 and 29 and the average age of the Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles is 26½ . I'll be exactly 26½ during the London Olympics. So no pressure then."

Greene grins, and it's possible to believe that he will control the pressure bearing down on him. "This has been my best year, my most consistent year. I'm all about winning and I don't really care how fast I run – as long as I win I'm happy."

He may once have been a Swansea City youth footballer, who even scored a penalty against their junior counterparts at Real Madrid, but Greene relishes all the battles he won to become a world champion athlete. "I like the person I am. I don't think I'd like myself as much if I was a footballer. No one can hide in athletics and all those tough times made me mentally stronger. I wouldn't change it for the world because, even now, it's helping me deal with my success. When you've been at the bottom of the pile, like me, it's easy to keep focused on the next goal."