Closing of USC track angers Olympian

[morgan n' 7]

Closing of USC track angers Olympian

Johnson says ongoing feud with Gamecocks coach is the main reason


Allen Johnson has made a living jumping over hurdles. But the three-time Olympian from Irmo ran into an obstacle in the fall he could not get over: a padlocked gate at USC’s Weems Baskin Track.

Johnson learned in September he was locked out of the facility where he had trained since 1996. A new athletics department policy restricts the public’s use of the eight-lane, rubberized track to weekdays between the hours of 6-8 a.m. and 6-8 p.m.

Johnson believes the policy is directed at him as a result of his feud with Gamecocks track coach Curtis Frye, who coached Johnson for 12 years beginning at the University of North Carolina in 1992.
Story here...
http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/331707.html

[Gamecockfanatic4]

wow that is just plain ridiculous

[tomtomusc]

sounds like good policy to me

[bleaster]

I used to use that track in college, and was slightly disturbed at reading the headline. However, if you read the whole article, the University makes a good case for the closing.

I remember how dark it was when I would go run, and I believe there was a homeless person or two there on occasion. If drug users are using the dugout, then it makes sense that it would need to be closed. Looking back, I'm surprised nothing happened to me when I was out there, given the time at night I would run and how poorly lit the area was.

Kudos to the University for giving the two hour windows open for public use.

[Freehawk]

I'm sure they would let him use the track at Chapel Hill.

[NastyNash]

i dont know i think im on the universities side. it is their track and can do what ever they want with it. but if i was the olympian i would be kinda mad that the facility that i made my career with wouldn't let me work out there. but i would have to go with the university.