By Joey Papania
LSUsports.net
Editor’s Note – This is the first in a summer-long series of articles profiling LSU athletes and their attempts to reach the Sydney Olympics in September.
In less than a month’s time, the nation’s elite track and field athletes will compete to qualify for the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Derrick Brew, who recently concluded a stellar two-year career at LSU, is one of the select few who have earned the right to participate in the Olympic Trials on July 14-23 in Sacramento, California.
Brew is currently ranked No. 3 in the world in the 400-meter dash with a time of 44.70 seconds after two straight years ranked in the top ten. He is only 0.05 seconds behind world leader American Antonio Pettigrew (44.65) and 0.01 seconds behind Jamaican Michael Blackwood (44.69).
Before heading to the Olympic Trials, Brew will make a stop in Eugene, Ore., this weekend for the Prefontaine Classic, one of only two Grand Prix events on American soil and an event that is annually the premier
competition in this country.
In only his second event since turning pro, Brew will get a true baptism to the professional ranks this weekend. Included in the 400-meter field in Eugene will be Olympic Gold Medalist and world record-holder Michael Johnson, 1999 World Championship Silver Medalist Sanderlei Parrela of Brazil and, overall, five of the top 10 ranked quarter milers from a year ago.
The meet will be televised live on CBS from 2-3 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon.
Last year Brew earned a place on the World Championship team with a fourth place finish in the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene. However, an injured quadriceps forced him to miss the Worlds.
“I felt like I was getting back to top form when I strained one of my quadriceps during training,” Brew said. I thought it might have just been a cramp, so I went to the World Championships and tried to do a little workout there. It didn’t feel right, and I had to pull out the relay pool.
“This weekend is a big race for me. Michael (Johnson) is in the race along with some other quality runners. I felt pretty good running in a meet last weekend, but mentally I didn’t run it technically sound.”
When competing against the caliber runners that will be showcased at the Olympic Trials, it is important to run a complete race. Regardless of an athlete’s past performances, a sub-par race in Sacramento next month can ruin any chance of fulfilling Olympic dreams.
“When I run the 400-meter, I need a strong start in the first 200 meters to gain the momentum I need to carry me through the next 200,” Brew explained. “The start of the race, particularly for me, is extremely important.”
Brew is certainly capable of running a complete race. As a junior at LSU, he broke a 30-year-old 400-meter record, LSU’s oldest track record, by one full second. His time of 44.29 seconds was the first in the history of the SEC to go below 45 seconds and was fourth all-time for collegiate runners.
In this season’s SEC Championships held at Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge, he was the recipient of the Commissioner’s Trophy awarded to the high point winner at the competition.
He was originally recruited by LSU for football, however, Brew decided to attend Barton County Community College in Kansas. There he decided to concentrate solely on track, so when he transferred to LSU it was only to compete for LSU head coach Pat Henry. While at LSU, Brew also competed in the 200-meter dash, but now has decided to concentrate strictly on the 400.
“I don’t really train for the 200-meter,” explained Brew. “It’s the type of race that requires a perfect start and a good turn. I figured that to run the 200-meter close to what I run the 400-meter I would have to train specifically for it. I’m just not really looking for that right now.”
The 22-year old native of Houston, Texas has already visited Germany, Finland, Spain and Italy during competition. Brew is hoping to add Australia to his list of foreign countries.
“It’s so different,” said Brew. “The food is different. The fans are different. I describe European track like American football and basketball games. Everyone is involved in European track. My first experience was in Lumburg, Germany for the `98 Live Meet. They had a band playing in the stands like a football game. There may have been 50,000 people in the stands.”
Brew’s quest for Sydney begins this weekend. Following the Prefontaine Classic he will remain in the United States until the trials unlike a year ago when he traveled to Finland in between the NCAA Championships and the USA Championships.
The 400-meter dash is a volatile event that requires pinpoint precision on that particular day. Brew knows he will have to be sharp in Sacramento or he will have to put his dream off for another for years.
He is clearly capable of making the squad, however, and his numbers back it up. His time of 44.29 at the 1999 SEC Outdoor Championships ranked fourth in the world at year’s end. To put in perspective how fast that is, it would have won the Silver Medal at the World Championships last summer.
If he can put it all together at the right time, Sydney is a realistic possibility for Derrick Brew.