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Olympic track official from IU recounts experiences in Sydney
Oct. 11, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- When Cathy Freeman won the 400 meter race at the Olympics in Sydney, it was a memorable experience for Phillip Henson.
Henson, an Indiana University professor of kinesiology, served as an international technical official in track and field at the recent games in Australia. He said seeing Freeman win that race was the highlight of the Games for him. "Because she was from Australia and was an aboriginal who has worked to improve race relations, the pressure on her to succeed was enormous. She was favored to win, but this was the Olympics and there are no guarantees," Henson said.
"As it turned out, she was the class of the field and won going away. It seemed like everyone in the sold-out stadium of more than 112,000 spectators was rooting for her. The feeling immediately after she won was electric and certainly memorable. She had the pride of her country on her shoulders, and the emotion of the victory for both her and the fans was overwhelming," he added.
Henson, who directed track and field events at the last Olympics in Atlanta, said the only thing comparable from the 1996 games might have been when Michael Johnson of the United States won the 200 meter race in world record time to complete his gold medal sweep.
"The games in Australia were very good. I think they were equal to Atlanta or maybe better. It's hard to say they were the best ever, as I am partial to Atlanta. The competition was incredible," he said.
Henson, whose duties included monitoring the shot put, marathon and portions of the decathlon, said he believes no records were set in track for several reasons. "The wind in the Olympic stadium was a factor. The Olympics were much later in the year than would normally occur, so it was harder for the athletes to have a peak performance because their training schedules were so modified. With all the heat races, many athletes were pretty tired by the time of the final. There were no pacers allowed in the longer races, and they are frequently used in trying to break records. Maybe most important was that because this was the Olympics, the athletes were more interested in strategies and tactics than going after a world record. For many of them the goal was a gold medal, not a record."
Regarding the problem of illegal drugs, he said this is always a cat-and-mouse game, with some athletes trying to stay one step ahead of the drug testing. "I think the fact that they are catching people shows that the officials are trying to get this under control. This is difficult to achieve, but I believe the officials at the Olympics are making a lot of progress," said Henson, who has more than 20 years of experience with the Olympic movement.
Henson can be reached at 812-855-6926 or phenson@indiana.edu