Word: world-class
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...wrongdoing. Says he: "They're just after me because I've been in the papers more than anybody else." Still, the investigation is expected to spread to other prominent amateur athletes during the coming months, raising fears that the reputations-and perhaps the Olympic eligibility-of most world-class American track and field stars could be destroyed...
...World-class milers, the heroes of track's glamour event, have for years been among the best-paid amateurs. Few have pulled on their running shoes for less than $1,000. Pole vaulters have been paid bonuses of $100 for every inch they soar over 17 ft. 6 in., a height easily within the range of top performers; the world record is 18 ft. 8¼ in., and the vaulters can pick up a tidy sum before the going gets serious. One former Olympic medalist once hinted to a shoe manufacturer that he wanted...
...some athletes, payoffs are the primary means of supporting themselves. Says one former Olympian: "Worldclass athletes would not be world-class athletes without taking money. They would never be able to afford the proper training and diet." Unlike Communist countries and many Third World nations-where athletes are virtual wards of the state-American and Western European track and field stars receive no direct support beyond their college years. Says Ted Haydon, University of Chicago Track Club coach: "U.S. athletes are pretty much destitute, dependent on handouts from track-shoe companies. They think it's a great thing...
...involved, some of it probably undefinable, but it is clear that over the past decade or so, the general population has been receiving messages from its outposts. The women's movement has made it acceptable for women to think of their bodies as strong, sweat-producing machines. World-class swimmers and distance runners, who lowered records by training to exhaustion, talked of pain barriers that could be broken through to achieve new levels of performance...
Among those poised for the start at noon are several world-class marathoners along with a few former winners of the event. Bill Rodgers of Melrose, who astonished onlookers in 1975 by winning the Marathon in a record 2:09.55, will join the chase as well as last year's winner, Jack Fultz, a 28-year-old Georgetown graduate from Franklin Park, Pa. (Fultz's time: 2:20.19). 1976 female champ Kim Merritt (2:47.10), who was hospitalized for exhaustion after her victory, will attempt to repeat her win without any of last year's side effects. And 1974 victor...