Track and Field: New Kids in the Blocks

Besides the terms drug scandal and BALCO, the phrase bandied about most often at last month's U.S. Olympic track-and-field trials in Sacramento, Calif., was "oldhead." It's the nickname track and field's rising young stars apply to their veteran counterparts. "They are the elders," says Justin Gatlin, 22, who will run in the 100-m and 200-m sprints in Athens. "The heads of the pack. It's a term of respect." Hurdler Sheena Johnson, 21, who ran a world-leading 52.95 sec. in the 400 m at the trials, isn't as polite. Says Johnson: "We feel it's time for them to go."

Don't worry, Sheena. They're almost gone. Age is chasing some champions off the Olympic stage, and an ugly drug scandal is hunting down others. Superstar Marion Jones, 28, didn't qualify in the two events, the 100-m and the 200m dashes, in which she took gold in Sydney. She's merely a long jumper. So while suggestions of drug use--which she vehemently denies--cloud her legacy, America's success on the track is no longer riding on her shoulders. She's just another oldhead.

For a sport in desperate need of a makeover, the rise of the young bloods is nothing but good news. Hear that sigh of relief? It's coming from U.S.A. Track and Field headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind., because the four sprinters charged with using steroids supplied by the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), including Jones' boyfriend, 100-m world-record holder Tim Montgomery, didn't qualify for the Olympic team. Yes, doping continues to dog the sport of track and field; on three straight days during the trials, new cheating accusations arose. And untarnished veterans, like hurdler and former Olympic sprinting champion Gail Devers, 37, and 110-m hurdles gold medalist Allen Johnson, 33, will make a last stand for the oldheads.

But Athens will allow the federation to showcase many fresh and, to this point, clean faces. And not a moment too soon. U.S. fans have been running away; network ratings for this year's Olympic trials, one of the rare times the sport gets prime time, dropped 26% from 2000. Meanwhile, fans pack stadiums across Europe for its Golden League circuit. "We've got to do something," says ex--U.S. long-jump standout Michael Powell, now a coach. "Every year track drops off more and more."

With an average age of 26.9, this team is the youngest since 1992; this summer could see the sport's future make its debut. "Our youth is a good way to get the focus away from the not so nice things that are happening in track and field," says 100-m sprinter Lauryn Williams, 20, who just finished her junior year at the University of Miami. "And we're not just happy to be on the team. We all have a shot at medals."

Two Olympic rookies--Shawn Crawford, 26, and Gatlinare favorites in the 200-m dash and join 2000 champion Maurice Greene as possible top-three finishers in the 100 m. Crawford might be the fastest man on the planet, having run this year's best times in both dashes. Unlike the flamboyant Greene, who tattooed GOAT (Greatest of All Time) on his right biceps, Crawford lets his running do the talking.