2004 Olympic Trials | Day 1

Friday - 9 July 2004 - Sacramento, California: We arrived in Sacramento yesterday and spent the day with Brother Steve and Gina. Today, DT spent the day golfing with  Brother Steve - and I had the day to myself. I was full of plans to needlepoint and do a little cooking. Well, I did a little cooking, but never did get around to my needlework... well, first I had to watch Lance Armstrong... I went for a bike ride... visited with Captain Jim (camped next to us)... and the day just slipped away! The weather in Sacramento is just perfect for a track meet.

DT returned and we had an early dinner and went over to the track. Brother Steve joined us. There were not enough qualifiers, so women's 100m prelims were not necessary. Marion Jones made it out of her heat, but was only 7th overall, to advance to the semi-final tomorrow. The only final of the night was our favorite race, the men's 10,000 meter. It is the last race of the night, so most people leave early. (Most people don't know much, do they?) It was a fantastic race, as Meb ran 27:36 - most of it alone - but it is sad that The Greatest Country in the World has such a lack-luster field. The top two finishers have only been Americans since the second Clinton Administration. Bob Kennedy dropped out. Third place finisher, Dan Browne has already made the US Marathon team. The Olympic races are 9 days apart, so he can run both long-distance events. Impressive. I broke into a sweat simply thinking about it. During the 10,000 meter, I was text-messaging with Lisa. She wanted to know how her friends Meb and Abdi were doing! We saw Maurice Green (he was working the crowd) and talked with Alberto.

The Bad News of the Day is this awful facility has somehow been awarded the next THREE NCAAs. This stadium is the worst-ever venue for viewing track and field. Who decides this stuff? Below is a photo taken from our seats. Notice anything strange? How about you can only see 3 or 4 lanes?? Kinda makes you homesick for Hayward Field, doesn't it... a field perfect for athletics, NOT FOOTBALL!

This is only my opinion, and I could be wrong.

Our view of American Track & Field

I could go on about the parking mess, walking through dirt, portable toilets, poor organization and the long lines to enter the stadium, but I won't. Probably, it is best to just report on the races and the gossip of the day. The only redeeming factor is they sell beer at the stadium.

RV Park: Cal-Expo RV Park