Track meet an Olympic audition
STANFORD COMPETITION MAY AID 2012 GAMES BID

By Ann Killion
San Jose Mercury News

June 24, 2002—Smile, Bay Area. Don't let your voice warble. And remember to curtsy when you're done.

You might not have even practiced your lines. But we're all auditioning this weekend for one of the biggest shows on earth. The Bay Area is in contention to land the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and this weekend, when the U.S. Track and Field Championships are held at Cobb Track and Angell Field at Stanford, is an opportunity to land the starring role.

"It's not an audition, but it's really good for the bid," said Anne Cribbs, president of the Bay Area bid group known as BASOC. "It's a chance to show off our great facilities and our great competitive conditions."

Oh, yes, those conditions. Thursday, while superstars such as Marion Jones and Maurice Greene were being introduced, it was sunny, mild and absolutely lovely in Palo Alto.

In Houston, we should point out, it was a stifling 91 degrees with thunderstorms and rain. Can we just save everyone some time and effort and eliminate Houston right now?

Houston, along with New York and Washington, are the Bay Area's U.S. competition for 2012. Two of the four cities will be eliminated in September. But it seems likely that the Bay Area -- with loads of facilities already in place and a gentle climate -- will make it to the final cut. The U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors will select its candidate in early November, then send it into competition against the likes of Rome and Paris. The International Olympic Committee will decide the winner in 2005.

Having the Olympics come to the Bay Area might not be the best thing for your commute or your tax dollars, but it could be the best thing for the athletes. Cribbs said her input from athletes is that they favor the Bay Area. Some very visible athletes, such as retired track star Michael Johnson, are actively involved in the bid.

So Cribbs will be crossing her fingers that everything runs smoothly this weekend, from the weather to the transportation to the fan response. She's hoping for rave reviews that will be reverberating July 14 when the USOC site inspection team will be back for another look at the area.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Jones -- who will run in the 100 and 200 meters this weekend -- isn't working for BASOC, but she could be, judging by her comments Thursday.

"I'm a California girl at heart," she said. "I think it would be great to bring the Olympics to California."

Jones is arguably the most visible Olympic athlete in the world. And Thursday she was a walking Bay Area tourism poster. She's so excited about taking a trip to Alcatraz Island that she's extending her stay by a day.

"I have a tour all lined up," she said. "I have a weird obsession with it -- reading books and watching 'Escape from Alcatraz.'"

She meant the movie, not the triathlon. However, Cribbs pointed out that the weather Sunday for the Escape from Alcatraz race was picture-perfect, and would make as lovely an image as Sydney Harbor did for the triathlon's Olympic debut in 2000.

There are several other Olympic-oriented events this summer, including last week's World University Taekwondo Championships in Berkeley and July's World Modern Pentathlon Championships at Stanford. But nothing means as much as hosting the most powerful Olympic sport -- track and field -- in the national championships.

"Track and field isn't everything," Jones started out humbly, then corrected herself. "But let's not kid ourselves. Athletics is the biggest event."

Her male counterpart, Olympic 100-meter gold medalist Greene, said he also likes the Bay Area as a potential site. But he said he believes the powers-that-be don't care what the athletes think.

"I think they'll do whatever they want," he said. "If they cared about us, they wouldn't have put the World Championships in Seville," Spain, "where it was so hot."

Jones, 26, and Greene, 27, probably will be on the sideline in 2012 wherever the Games are held. Jones has made it clear that 2008 in Beijing will be her farewell. But this weekend the USA Junior Track and Field championships will also be held in Palo Alto.

Some of the young athletes competing -- such as 19-year-old sprinter and hurdler Lashinda Demus -- probably will be the reigning superstars in 2012. So straighten up. It's your chance to make a good first impression.