Tac

I asked Valerie Brisco-Hooks if she was worried at all about going to the Goodwill Games in the Soviet Union, considering what has been happening there of late. She knew what I meant. "You mean the fact that I might come back and glow in the dark?" she asked. Uh, yeah. Now that you mention it. Brisco-Hooks nodded and said she was still planning to run in Moscow in July. But before that, she will compete in the Mobil/TAC meet June 19-21 in Oregon.

In various press reports and hearings conducted by two governments, the Los Angeles Track Club's Chuck DeBus has been portrayed as the Charlie Francis of the United States, an ambitious coach who tried to convince his athletes that they could not be competitive at the international level unless they used anabolic steroids and other banned substances. DeBus initially denied the charges, then stopped returning telephone calls when The Athletics Congress (TAC), which governs track and field in the United States, announced that it would investigate him. But he broke his silence long enough this week to issue this statement: "I have coached many American and world-record holders who have never even experimented with banned substances and are willing to step forward and confirm this under penalty of perjury.

The executive committee of The Athletics Congress commuted the suspension of two-time indoor long jump champion Larry Myricks in Seattle Monday night. The committee, acting on the recommendation of a reinstatement panel, ruled that Myricks will be able to return to competition April 13, in time for the U.S. trials for the World Outdoor Championships in June. His suspension will have lasted one year. Myricks, of Upland, Calif.

Four members of The Athletics Congress' drug-testing custodial board, which monitors track and field's extensive domestic drug-testing program, have resigned, apparently in protest. The four--Edwin Moses, Harvey Glance, Linda Sheskey and Doriane Lambelet--sent their resignations to TAC offices in Indianapolis via fax machines late Wednesday. On Thursday, a TAC spokesman confirmed the action but said the organization would have no comment.

The Athletics Congress is expected to announce Monday that a three-member panel has recommended the reinstatement of long jumper Larry Myricks to track and field competition next April. Myricks, a two-time world indoor champion and a bronze medalist in the 1988 Olympics Games, was suspended for life after testing positive three times this year for a stimulant commonly found in over-the-counter cold medicines.

The Athletics Congress expects a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order allowing suspended sprinter Butch Reynolds to compete in the Olympic trials, a TAC lawyer said Thursday. If that happens, an appeal will be filed immediately in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, said Peter Alkalay, a lawyer for TAC, the governing body of U.S. track and field. U.S.

The U.S. Olympic Festival this week at Oklahoma City will provide different opportunities for the 75 or so Orange County athletes who will participate. For athletes such as 1988 Olympic shotputters Jim Doehring and Bonnie Dasse and Peter Campbell, a two-time Olympic water polo player, the Olympic Festival represents a chance to get together with friends--and rivals--while competing largely free of high stakes and pressure.

Jim Doehring, a 1988 Olympic shotputter, is caught in a contradiction: He is concerned about the abuse of steroids but is not willing to give up his own use for fear of being left behind. Doehring admitted Friday that he has used steroids to help him remain a world-class track and field competitor, but he also said he wishes he didn't feel a need to do so. "I'd love to do that (compete drug-free against drug-free opponents)," he said. "I know I can throw clean just as far as anyone can."

In a unanimous vote by its board of directors, The Athletics Congress approved a year-round, out-of-competition drug testing program Sunday at Indianapolis. TAC, the national governing body for track and field, previously tested only at competitions. Beginning July 1, the top 25 U.S. athletes in each event will be subject to testing any time during the year.

Ollan Cassell, executive director of The Athletics Congress, was hospitalized today with five broken ribs and a possible broken collarbone after being injured in a two-vehicle accident. TAC spokesman Pete Cava said Cassell was hurt Tuesday night when his car was struck by a truck. "The truck came around a corner and hit him on the blind side," Cava said. "The car was totaled."