Abdur-Rahim, Furey compete in Olympic Trials

Lindsay Barnes
University Wire
07-13-2004
(The Dartmouth) (U-WIRE) HANOVER, N.H. -- Decathlete Mustafa Abdur-Rahim and javelin thrower Sean Furey have known for a while that they will be competing in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. And for a while, it was just another meet in their minds. But that all changed when they turned on the television last Friday and watched the first night of competition.

"They were making it all dramatic and I started thinking, 'Oh man, this is a pretty big deal,'" Furey said. "Then they started showing clips of the Olympics and I was getting a little too worked up so I had to turn it off."

Both Abdur-Rahim and Furey will be on familiar ground, as Cal State-Sacramento's Hornet Stadium was the venue for last year's NCAA Championships in addition to this year's Olympic Trials. But according to Abdur-Rahim, the ground will be about the only thing that will be the same about the atmosphere.

"This year it's so much more embellished," he said. "It's still the same track but it's done up, so we're just geeked up about getting out there."

The road to get to this point has been very different for the two athletes. Abdur-Rahim has known for several months that he would be going to California, qualifying after scoring an East Coast-record 7,936 points in a meet at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona in March. It was after this outstanding performance that Dan O'Brien, the American decathlete who struck gold at the 1996 games in Atlanta, visited him. O'Brien subsequently became something of a mentor to Abdur-Rahim.

"We talked a lot over the Internet," said Abdur-Rahim. "After I qualified for the trials, I was second in the world at that point, and we hung out."

While Abdur-Rahim has had his trials bid in hand for several months, it was only until recently that Furey made the cut. Knowing he had make a throw for a career-long 73 meters to qualify, Furey went into the USATF New England Championships determined to do what he had never done before.

"I still hadn't hit it, and then luckily I hit 73 meters at the New England Championships," Furey said. "So it was pretty much a last-minute thing."

While Furey knows his chances of moving on to Athens are slim, he plans to give the trials his best shot and see what happens.

"It would be really tough, but they wouldn't take me to trials if they didn't think there was a possibility I could do it," he said.

Abdur-Rahim and Furey enter into the Olympic Trials all too aware of the recent doping scandals, as some of track and field's biggest names, like sprinters Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, have been accused of the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Abdur-Rahim had his own experience with the screening process after his stellar performance at June's NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.

"I was so ill in the 1,500, they decided to see what I was on," he recalls. "All I had was Ramen noodles in me, stuff like that, you know? Honey and peanut butter. They thought I was on drugs and I was like, 'Naw, I'm chillin'.'"

Furey added that he wished the media would take Abdur-Rahim's lead and chill out with their emphasis on the doping scandal.

"On the first night of the trials, there was probably an hour of talking about the doping scandal, instead of doing coverage that would get people interested and involved in the sport by showing all the great performances that are happening," he said.

Already teammates for four years and co-captains for last year's indoor and outdoor seasons, the experience of training for the trials has brought the two friends even closer.

"Usually, I'm all by myself when I'm practicing," Abdur-Rahim said. "But whenever he gets back, I'm always like, 'Yes, someone other than coach [Barry Harwick] at the track.'"

Furey concurred with the increased camaraderie, adding, "We've gotten a lot closer because we've spent a lot of time together."

Hopefully, that time together will be able to go on a little longer as Olympians.

Furey's first round of competition will be Thursday afternoon and Abdur-Rahim will begin competing Friday.


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