Thursday, April 25, 1996
By Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Staff
Fate: that which is inevitably predetermined. Six years ago, Ato
Boldon was a high school soccer player still trying to adjust to
life in New York after living in the country of Trinidad his whole
life.
Then, Boldon ran across Joe Trupiano, and now, he is the fastest
man in the world this year, and seventh fastest ever.
Trupiano, the cross country/track coach at Jamaica High School
in Queens, spotted Boldon during soccer practice in 1990 and
convinced him to try out for the track team. Boldon did, and so
began the career of a world-class athlete.
Of course, success has not come without sacrifice. After his
junior year in high school, Boldon’s mother’s job took the family
to Atlanta. Knowing that Atlanta did not have a great track
program, Boldon decided not to join his mother and instead moved to
San Jose, where he had relatives.
But this year, Boldon will travel the road not taken when he
competes in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Not that he hasn’t been to the Olympics before. One year after
graduating from high school, Boldon was in Barcelona in 1992 to
represent Trinidad. However, Boldon did not do quite as well as he
would have liked.
"I was too happy to be there," Boldon said. "I was like, ‘Oh my
gosh! Bright lights, big city!’ I had only been in the sport for
the two years and I was running against guys who I had really
looked up to. I couldn’t handle it at the time."
What a difference four years makes. Having beaten top runners in
those four years and finishing third at the World Championships
last year, Boldon is no longer awed and intimidated by his
top-quality competition.
"When I went there at 18, I felt like I was a small fish in a
very big pond," Boldon said. "Now, I think that the pond is the
same, I just think that I’ve become a little bigger as a fish."
After running a 9.93 at Mt. SAC last Sunday, the UCLA sprinter
has served notice that he will be a contender for the gold medal.
Although some raise the question that he might be peaking too early
 after all it is only April and the Olympics are still three
months away  Boldon is not at all worried.
"It was a good race, but wasn’t a great race," he said of his
school and Pacific 10 Conference record performance. "In my past
seasons I have improved with each race, so it is a little scary
when you think about what I can improve to. By no means is 9.93 the
end of my season. I am not close to peaking yet."
The race was only his second competition of the season because
of a hamstring strain in his left leg. He laid off training for
three weeks to avoid risking any further injury, especially since
it is an Olympic year.
Although, Boldon’s injury caused him a slight scare,
retrospectively he feels that it was a blessing in disguise.
"It forced me to look at videotape," Boldon said. "We realized
that there was a flaw that was creeping up in my form. I was
sacrificing form for speed which (sprints coach) John Smith would
never want me to do."
The injury also caused a slight panic in the country of
Trinidad.
When Boldon runs in the Olympics, he will not only carry his 170
pounds across the line but he will also be supporting the weight of
1.5 million Trinidadians’ hopes on his shoulders.
But that doesn’t bother Boldon. The NCAA 200-meter champion is
not the type of person who only runs for himself.
"The team aspect is really important to him," UCLA head coach
Bob Larsen said. "He has a commitment to team, he’s always up and
enthusiastic. Those things are just above and beyond him as an
athlete."
Although he considered running under the American flag, Boldon
feels a commitment to his homeland. Should he win the gold medal,
it will only be the second in Trinidad’s history and its first
medal in twenty years. But there is another reason too.
"There are so many children in Trinidad that would love to have
this opportunity to be here training at a great facility, going to
a fantastic university like UCLA," Boldon said. "That with me given
this opportunity, it would be almost blasphemous for me to say,
‘Now that I am here I am going to totally forget where I grew up
and all the children who look up to me and I’m going to be an
American.’"
Boldon will not forget. He knows where he is now and he knows
how he got here. One of the first people that he called after
running the 9.93 was Trupiano.
"It is very important to me that I remember the people that got
me to this position," Boldon said. "I don’t want to be seen as one
of those people who got to a certain position and don’t remember
their path on the way up."
When Boldon runs in the Olympics, he will not only carry his 170
pounds across the line but he will also be supporting the weight of
1.5 million Trinidadians’ hopes on his shoulders.PATRICK LAM/Daily
Bruin
This year, Ato Boldon ran the fastest 100-meters in the world
and the seventh-fastest in history.