Today's true story:
I can honestly say I am faster than an Olympic-caliber sprinter.
I was fairly athletic when I was a kid. Going to a private school from kindergarten through eighth grade, everybody in my grade pretty much knew each other and pigeonholed each other into various stereotypes. For some reason, even though I was the most dominant basketball player in my class, I never got no respect from the "cool" kids.
During the latter years of middle school, my school started participating in these annual track meets with other Lutheran schools throughout the Bay Area. To determine which events we would compete in, my P.E. teacher timed us on the sidewalk. (Literally... He took us across the street and timed us running on one of the most dangerous intersections in the entire district.) He also timed us on this twisting path over in Stern Grove. I was pretty much the fastest dude in the school by the time I was in like seventh grade.
We didn't really train much for the track meet. I mean, it was just running and I don't think they took it seriously as an athletic event. It didn't seem like the teachers really expected much out of us, at least. I guess they probably hoped we would do well, but they weren't training us hard or anything. By that age, though, I knew that when you compete in a sport, you play to win, baby. It's like this Herm Edwards clip, forever immortalized on YouTube: You play to win the game!
So the funny thing is, as a seventh grader, I ran a 12.24 in the 100m. At the time, it was a Lutheran Schools Athletic Association record. There was no training, I didn't wear spikes, didn't have starting blocks, and I ate a cliff bar a minute before the race. I just hopped on the track and smoked all the other boys. There's even a picture of me in the school yearbook, looking all smug with my old-school sideburns and kid-stache (even as a youngster, I was cementing my claim on "Hairiest Asian Ever"), shaking my P.E. teacher's hand.
During the 2008 Olympics, I was watching the 100m preliminary heats, right? And get this, during Tyson Gay's heat, there was this dude... I'll never forget him. His name is Shanahan Sanitoa, and he represented the country of American Samoa. Sanitoa clocked in at 12.60! He was completely outclassed in his race. I felt embarrassed for him.
Even though by most standards, Sanitoa would probably be a joke, I imagined he must have still been a hero in his homeland. I did a lazy quick Google search. Here - http://vaatsup.com/publicviewstory.php?storyid=616&newspaperid=189
Even though he couldn't even beat an American 12 year old in the 100m, his country still loves him. That's fantastic. I can only imagine the pride and honor involved at being able to represent one's country. Although he wasn't very fast, I'm sure he did his best, and he got to hold up his country's flag during the ceremonies. That's amazing. Kind of like Eric "the Eel" Moussambani.
I never did improve too much in the 100m. I think I peaked athletically at a very young age, 'cause I didn't grow very much after I was about 14 years old or so. (Well, I guess I've grown fatter and smarter, but that doesn't really count.) I can't remember my best time in the 100m in high school, but it might've been 11.67. Not very fast compared to top tier athletes. Decent for a high school kid, probably pretty fast compared to an average person off the street.
Sometimes I wonder how fast I can run a hundred meters now. I probably won't be able to beat 12 seconds unless I start working out, training, and start watching what I eat. However, I still feel pretty confident that I could beat up my former seventh grade self by running a sub-12.24. I don't care if it's wind-aided or not, or if it's hand-timed or electronically timed. I will continue to boldly claim that I am faster than an Olympic-caliber sprinter.
One of these days, though, I am gonna have to go back to Kezar and see exactly how fast I truly am.
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