With the main events of the Olympic Trials on hiatus, USA Track & Field found another way to get the competitive juices flowing Wednesday night. USATF hosted the first Legends of the Past in an effort to raise money for charitable causes while enjoying some light-hearted fun.
Both teams had an average outing offensively but an above-average one on defense. (Nate Barrett/Oregon Daily Emerald)
The game was preceded by a screening of “Starting at the Finish Line: the Coach Buehler Story,” a documentary about longtime Duke coach Al Buehler and the far-reaching implications his career had in the track and field community.
The game featured a gaggle of Olympic gold medalists, among them: Charles Austin (1996, high jump), Mike Conley (1992, triple jump), Dan O’Brien (1996, decathlon), Al Joyner (1984, triple jump), Kevin Young (1992, 400-meter hurdles), Quincy Watts (1992, 400 meters and 4×400-meter relay), Maurice Greene (2000, 100 meters and 4×100-meter relay), Jon Drummond (2000, 4×100-meter relay) and Harvey Glance (1976, 4×100-meter relay). Female gold medalists in attendance included Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1988, heptathlon and long jump; 1992, heptathlon), Inger Miller (1996, 4×100-meter relay) and Diane Dixon (1984, 4×400-meter relay).
While most of the athletes in attendance weren’t of a basketball pedigree, Conley could at least claim to have the genes. His son, Mike Conley Jr., is the starting point guard for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
While the former Olympic atheletes started the game smiling, they ended it with one team almost successfully pulling off a late-game rally. (Nate Barrett/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Before tipoff, the track and field greats enjoyed spirited pregame activities, with several athletes showing off dance moves to those in attendance. But once the ball was in play, smiles were replaced with game faces as the two teams —Red and Blue — made their best attempts to bring victory home.
In the end, the Red Team withstood a furious rally in the last two minutes to win 54-49. Joyner-Kersee, who played collegiate basketball at UCLA and was voted one of the program’s 15 greatest players ever, was named female MVP. Eric Thomas received most valuable honors on the men’s side. Overall, the event offered a chance for track and field greats to assemble, have fun and raise money for a good cause.
