Sports
University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, April 14, 1987
9
Taking a chance
Former KU swimmer pursuing triathlete dream
Special to the Kansan
Clark Campbell, a former KU swimmer, competes in the Chicago Marathon. Campbell left the University after his sophomore year to chase his dream of becoming a nationally sponsored triathlete.
By DIANE FILIPOWSKI Staff writer
The Midwest's best triathlete was only 19 years old when he decided last year that he wanted to compete for a year on the national triathon circuit.
Clark Campbell, a native of Coffeeville and then a sophomore at the University of Kansas, wanted national exposure that he thought might lead to sponsorship, which him to compete professionally.
His parents, William and Kay Campbell, said recently that they did not hesitate to financially support their son for a year, because they thought he could be the country's top triathlete if he could train full-time.
Campbell's father said he didn't know whether his son would become one of the world's best, yet he knew his son would train as hard or harder than anyone to achieve his goal.
"I really believe that if he is given the opportunity and if the timing is right, he could be the best," his father said.
Campbell, a member of the KU swim team as a freshman, had completed two years of credit toward a physics degree at the University when he decided to leave.
Campbell practiced with the team his sophomore year, but did not compete because he wanted to play basketball. He trialed triathlon while he went to school.
The triathlon, which combines into a single race the three aerobic sports of swimming, cycling and running, began in the mid-1970's. The sport has gained so much popularity that it become an Olympic sport in 1982.
In the past couple of years, about the top 10 men and women triathletes have become professionals through sponsorship, allowing them to train full-time and making the sport more competitive.
Campbell's travels last year to 14 races in major cities across the country resulted in a 13th-place national ranking. Campbell also earned a spot on the United States International Triathlon Team, which completed last summer in the International Triathlon Team Cup Championships in Comox, British Columbia.
Campbell finished third in the
championships. Lloyd Peters, the manager of the International Sports Training Center triathlon team, then decided that Campbell would be one of the five triathletes the center would sponsor.
"We selected Clark because he was the one person 20 or under who we thought could win a world championship." Peters said in a recent phone interview from the center in Carlsbad, Calif. "He has the potential to be the best in three years."
Kay Campbell said that because she and her husband thought their son was capable of being successful on the national and world level, they believed it was their responsibility to provide Clark with the opportunity to at least try.
Bill Campbell said he knew his son had a chance to be the best after watching the 1985 United States Triathlon Series National Championships at Hilton Head, S.C., where Clark finished 45th.
"We would have felt guilty if we didn't let him try," Campbell said. "We didn't want Clark going through his life regretting that he had seized the opportunity or thinking 'I could have been good.'"
"He was second out of the swim right behind the world's best open-water swimmer," Campbell said. "The meet officials were fumbling through papers to figure out this unknown swimmer was."
Last year, Campbell jumped from 45th to ninth at the 1966 USTS National Championships, again held at Hilton Head, and won the National Long Course Championship last summer in Bend, Ore.
Kay Campbell said she remembered when her son received his award for ninth place at Hilton Head.
"He wasn't supposed to be there because he was only 20 years old and from the Midwest, and the meet official handing out the awards let everyone know it," Campbell said.
In February, Campbell moved from the wide-open spaces of Kansas to sunny Southern California, a mea-sfer for triathletes who train
"I wake up every day and I'm motivated," Campbell said. "After six or seven hours of training each day, I'm exhausted. And
sometimes sitting and thinking about getting up and doing it all again the next day is hard. But I get a good sleep, I put my feet on the floor in the morning and I am ready to go."
Campbell begins his day at 6:30 a.m. with a seven-to-10 mile run. Then he eats breakfast, watches a little television, and leaves at 9 a.m. to ride his bike. He returns between noon and 2 p.m. and then eats lunch and sleeps for one or two hours. At 4 p.m., he leaves to lift weights in the gym and attends swim practice until 6:30 p.m. The evening consists of dinner, some rest and relaxation, and bed at 9 or 9:30 p.m.
That cycle begins again when the alarm sounds at 6:30 the next morning. Campbell said he looked toward to the weekends, a time from 7:00 to 9:00-mile rides on Saturdays and 20-mile runs on Sundays.
"It's like a weekend for me everyday, and I love it." Campbell said. "So many people go through life not knowing what to do. I have found my purpose, and here is my chance to do it."
The International Sports Training Center provides Campbell with housing, a monthly stipend, a trainer, a business manager, an assistant, which allow Campbell to totally devote his life to his training.
"his love for the sport is a definite asset," Peters said. "You cannot be a successful triathlete and not love the sport because it requires long, over-distance training."
Peters, Campbell's manager,
said Campbell was so enthusiastic
about his training that sometimes
he had a tendency to overtrain.
Campbell's roommate, Dan Banks, 24, from San Gabriel, Calif., said most triathletes took a training. But not Campbell.
Banks, who finished sixth in the 1985 Hawaii Ironman, said Campbell was so single-minded in his goal to be successful that it separated him from other triathletes. Someday, he said, Campbell would be one of the best.
"He is very precise in his training," Banks said. "He makes a schedule and he sticks to it."
See TRIATHALON, p. 10, col. 1
Cards trample Pirates
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Jack Clark and rookie Jim Lindeman hit homers and Willie McGee hit a three-run triple as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4 yesterday.
Jose Quendo singled with one out in the sixth and Tommy Herr followed with an RBI double into the right field corner.
The Pirates led 1-0 after five innings on Johnny Ray's RBI single in the first inning as pitcher Doug Bok, 0-1, limited St. Louis to two bats.
Clark followed with his second homer of the season and the 31st of his career against Pittsburgh. One batter later, Lindeman hit his third homer of the season and third of the series.
Danny Cox allowed six hits and three runs over six innings to improve to 2-0.
Cubs 5. Phillies 2
PHILADELPHIA — Jamie Moyer, in his 18th major-league appearance, pitched no-hit ball for eight innings as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 last night.
Moyer, a 24-year-old left-hander who pitched his first major-league game last June 14, was going for the first no-hitter ever at Veterans Stadium until Juan Samuel led off the ninth with a line single to center field.
Von Hayes followed with a walk and Mike Schmidt singled home Samuel. Lee Smith then got the last three outs for his first save despite allowing another RBI single, to Lance Parrish.
Moyer, who has a 7-4 record and a 5.03 career earned run average going into the game, struck out 12 Philies and walked six.
Reds 7. Braves 2
Hockey Club loses championship game
ATLANTA — Eric Davis had three hits, including a tiebreak double in Cincinnati's two-rum fifth innning, and two stolen bases over the Atlanta Braves last night.
With the score tied 2.2, Dave Concepion opened the fifth for the Reds with a single off Braves' starter Zane Smith, 0-1. Davis Parker then singled before Davis' double knocked in Concepion. Bo Diaz brought Parker home with a sacrifice fly.
Davis' grounder over the third bird, signaled the Reds to their fifth victor.
Bv RQR KNAPP
The loss left the Jayhawks as runners-up in the Kansas City Metro Hockey Association, a five-team league made up of KU and four teams representing Kansas City area restaurants and clubs.
- The KU Hockey Club fell short of a league championship last night, losing 6-2 to The Enders in front of a crowd of about 20 at the Foxhill Ice Arena in Overland Park.
Enders' center Mike Robbin and defenseman Todd Dahl each had a
hat trick, spearheading an offensive attack that Kansas could not shut down.
"We didn't play our game," Kansas goalie Andy Solen said. Solem gave up five of the Enders' goals, and Steve Hollelearn allowed the other.
Kansas center and co-captain Greg Lederer said the Enders were ready to
"They outskated us up and down the ice," Lederer said. "We couldn't keep pressure on them in their zone, and in our zone, we just didn't play together."
The teams played the first 10 minutes of the game between the blue lines, and there were no more than a handful of shots on goal. The Enders broke the ice with 7:24 to go in the period when Dahl scored off a pass from Robbin.
The Jayhawks got a break about three minutes later when it appeared they had given up another goal. The official ruled that Enders' center Dave Hickey kicked the puck into the net and disallowed the goal.
But the Enders got it back with 2:16 remaining, near the end of their one-
man advantage on a power play. Robbin missed from in front of the goal, but the rebound bounced to teammate Jim Smith in the corner. Smith got the puck back to Robbin, who scored from close range.
Early in the second period the Jayhawks fell behind on Robbin's second goal of the game. Robbin took a centering pass from Nick Borman and put the puck past Solem's left side.
Bosworth misses deadline for April draft
The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma
nnebacker Brian Bosworth did not
make contact with the National Football League by yesterday's deadline and thus is ineligible for the April 28 draft, a league official said.
had not submitted the required written statement saying he wished to be included in the regular draft.
"We don't have anything, and it has to be in writing," Bussert said. "A phone call would not be sufficient."
Joel Bussert, director of player personnel for the NFL, is shortly to retire.
Bussert said that he had not heard from Bosworth at all.
he had not made up his mind. Efforts to reach him in Norman and at his parents' home in Irving, Texas, later in the day were unsuccessful.
Bosworth may now choose to enter a supplemental draft to be held later this year, or he can return to Oklahoma and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Earlier yesterday, Bosworth said
If the two-time All-America
returns to school, however, it likely won't be to play football. Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer has said Bosworth will not be back, and the linebacker has not taken part in spring drills.
Bosworth, 6-feet-2-inches tall and
240 pounds, was expected to be one of
the biggest in the city.
Pekar wins tourney after three-year wait
Staff writer
Bv DIANE FILIPOWSKI
KU golfer Susan Pekar had to wait three seasons before she won her first collegiate tournament.
Pekar, a junior from Wausau, Wis. shot a 75 twice for a 150 total Saturday and Sunday at the University of Missouri Invitational at Columbia, leading the Jayhawks to a third-place finish.
Kansas' score of 635 left them two shots short of runner-up Iowa State. Missouri, the tournament champion, finished with 617.
Todd Brunmeier, assistant coach, said Pekar was tied for the lead after the first day and had to wait until the hole before she won the tournament.
Missouri's Barbara Blancher also shot a 75 the first day, but she scored a 76 for the next round after bogeying the last hole and finished second overall with a 151 total.
"It was a thrill for Sue to win because she has been consistent all
Going into Columbia, Pekar had led the Jayhawks in all three of their tournaments except one, the Suzie Holtz playoff final on April 11-12 in Norman, Okla.
Pekar said she was disappointed with her play in Norman and that it made her motivated to play well in Columbia.
season and she was ready for a win, "Brummeier said."
"I knew that I could play better
with them." I had some
think in " prove to myself."
Because Pekar accomplished what she had wanted to last weekend, she said expectations of herself would increase.
Coach Kent Weiser said Pekar started playing with more confidence at this time last year and that her game improved tremendously.
"She got over that hump." Weiser said. "Once she did this, I knew she would stay."
Should women sportswriters go into men's locker rooms?
The closest thing to nakedness I've been exposed to in a men's locker room was when I was interviewing Danny Manning and he went and stood by a guy who was urinating.
Nicole Sauzek
I don't suppose you could call it thrilling. At most, it was embarrassing.
Associate sports editor
Men have not been thrilled with the idea of women invading the sports media and, especially, the locker rooms after games.
Still, it was part of my job, something that any sportswriter would have had to do.
But, believe me, if you're a woman in the male-dominated sports world, it's not easy.
toward female sports reporters.
In fact, many athletes on the professional level have been rude and disgusting with their conduct
According to the January issue of The Quill, a live rat in a pink box was delivered to Susan Fernoff, an architect, from Oakland. It was from Oakland's slagger Dave Kingman. A note attached said the rodent's name was "Sue."
In that same issue of the magazine, Lisa Nehus Saxon, a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, said that, while covering the Dodgers, some of the players would fondle themselves in front of her. Others have stuck dildos in her face as she tried to conduct interviews. The Quill reports, "In the Dodgers' locker room, dildos-amicphones is a state-of-the-art humor."
Later, during a press conference, Kingman spotted Fornell in the crowd of reporters and stopped. He said he wouldn't resume the interview until after Fornell had left. Fornell left.
And, instead of the male reporters standing up for Fornock or leaving with her, they just let her and went on with their business.
I don't see the humor.
The reason behind the lack of men in women's locker rooms unfortunately is probably because they have a tendency to the media as men's events.
Fortunately, that situation hasn't become a problem.
At KU, the women's basketball
locker room is open to the media
for an allotted time, but after
the game, there is time to shower
and get dressed.
Men really haven't been confronted with the issue of locker room access as of yet.
In 1985, the NFL created the equal-access rule and most professional sports follow suit on the ruling
At the college level, though,
there is no standing rule for access
to locker rooms. But that may be
unacceptable. It hasn't been
much of a challenge.
During KU's men's basketball games at home, the players are brought by request into a separate room for interviews because of the lack of working space inside the men's locker room.
Usually, I am the only woman to cover KU basketball, and I like to think that if I were allowed into the gymnasium, I would do it with the same respect as the men.
But, that doesn't always happen. Early in the season when I was not able to attend an away game, the Kansan had to send another team to play the game. She'd never interviewed any of the players before.
When she entered the locker room after the game, one of the
My reporter was close to tears when she told me and asked to never be sent into the locker room again.
Said the coach, "What's with the woman in the locker room?"
Even after one of the football coaches made a cute remark about her first appearance in the locker room after a game.
Said a player, "Welcome to the Big Eight, coach."
One of my female colleagues covered Kansas football last semester and handled the pressure just fine.
players took to teasing her by lifting his肩膀 up to expose his jock and painted to parts of his shoulder. He might the might have been interested in
I guess maybe it's true that if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. But, when a deadline looms and interviews are crucial, playing pansy isn't going to be the answer.
Said the coach after she turned to walk away, "They're never around when you need them."
Nice. If women can show professionalism in their careers as sportswriters, then why can't men play tennis in their roles in the sports world?
I'm happy to say that she never had a problem with the players on the football team. She told me she thought they had treated her with a lot of respect and that they handled the situation well.
I think if a woman has enough guts to want to cover sports and to enter locker rooms and deal with men, she should be treated with the same respect that she would give them as journalists.
Maybe the problem isn't in allowing women in the locker rooms. Maybe it's trying to find a way to keep those few men who make clothes like boys from making things more difficult than they should be.