Olympics But No Olympians
April 11th, 2008Chicago has a long tradition of producing track and field Olympians. The late-greats Ralph Metcalfe, Leonard Sykes and more recent victories of Michael Conley Sr. are part of our city’s athletic heritage.Following their footsteps, young men and women from Chicago Public High Schools will compete this spring in state championships. Many are Olympic hopefuls, but due to lack of funding for indoor facilities, they can’t keep up with their wealthier, suburban competitors. City public high school athletes often train in school hallways and travel long distances to participate in indoor meets.So if the city can’t support its own Olympians-to-be and provide schools with the proper facilities, how can Chicago host the 2016 Olympics? Or more importantly, should we?
On this episode of Community, Media & You, we’ll talk with Conrad Worrill of the Friends of Track and Field, girls track coach Bob Geiger from Whitney Young High School, and The Reader’s Ben Joravsky.
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