McDonnell 'trains' Olympians by phone

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- To help in his athletes' training, Arkansas track and field coach John McDonnell makes long-distance telephone calls. Very long distance.

McDonnell calls London every day to help former Razorback runners Alistair Cragg and Daniel Lincoln prepare for the 2004 Olympics in Athens next month.

Giving them training assignments each day has made his summer busier than usual, but it is something he doesn't mind. After all, he has done it before.

"I talk to them everyday," he said. "Matter of fact, I have to call them this afternoon."

McDonnell, who has coached 23 athletes-turned-Olympians since he arrived at Arkansas in 1972, has four more Razorbacks competing in this year's summer games.

Cragg is to run the 5,000 meters for Ireland, while Daniel Lincoln, Matt Hemingway and Melvin Lister will compete for the United States in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, high jump, and triple jump, respectively.

"It's a great honor for the program," said McDonnell, who has won a record 39 NCAA titles while at Arkansas. "It helps us win those national championships because of the visibility of our athletes around the world. Those guys making the Olympic teams puts a little icing on the cake."

While both Hemingway and Lister seemed to have a shot at the Olympics the moment they stepped on campus in Fayetteville, Cragg and Lincoln -- two long distance specialists -- have slowly progressed to the top of their sport, McDonnell said.

"Daniel Lincoln and Alistair Cragg four years ago were not knocking on the door, by no means," McDonnell said. "(Lincoln) _ he's a real story. From high school 4:16 miler to four thoroughbred championships and now on the Olympic team -- that's a great story."

Lincoln, who works as a chemistry lab instructor at the University of Arkansas, said Friday that a talk with McDonnell during his collegiate career persuaded him to keep running and give Olympic qualifying a shot.

"I asked him straight up whether he thought I had a shot to continue running after college," he said. "He said very bluntly, 'Yes.' Walking out of the office that day changed my mind-set and got me to look a little higher."

As a result, Lincoln will now represent both his university and state on a global level.

"To be there now, it's an exhilarating feeling," said Lincoln, a 12-time All-American. "And that just goes to show you what Coach McDonnell does here at the University of Arkansas. He takes a guy like me who never thought of the Olympics before and gets me to think a little bit bigger than my expectations before. That's what a great coach does."

Lister, who lives in Fayetteville and works at a local Circuit City, feels the same way about Dick Booth, Razorback assistant coach for field events.

"I can say I have God, Coach Booth and me," said Lister, who injured himself in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney while competing in the long jump.

Lister is headed to London on Tuesday and has a legitimate shot to win a gold medal after setting a U.S. Olympics trials record in Sacramento, Calif., with a 58-foot, 4-inch, jump earlier this month.

"Last time, I got hurt and enjoyed myself at the Olympics," said Lister, whose girlfriend Yuliana Perez will likely also represent the U.S in the triple jump at the Summer Games. "But this time, I'm going with a real purpose and coming back with something."

McDonnell will stay in Fayetteville as Lister and the other athletes compete in Athens because classes at Arkansas will begin while the Olympics are taking place. But McDonnell is afraid that he won't have as much of a vested interest in the games in the future.

"You hope that the kids will continue on to making an Olympic team," McDonnell said. "But it gets tougher and tougher because of the fact that the gap is getting bigger between the college athletes and Olympic-type athletes. There's more money in the sport and guys are staying on until they're 28 or 29, so they are very seasoned and mature athletes."

Which makes it even more remarkable that McDonnell has sent a quartet of Razorbacks to one of the world's biggest sporting events.

"Those guys are special because of their talent and attitude toward winning and losing," he said. "Losers always have an excuse. The good athletes don't have an excuse."

And with no complaints or explanations to listen to, McDonnell can keep his conversations brief and his phone bill low while he is making those overseas calls.