NSAF Interview series: Training and competing with the legends

by The NSAF

The following are the first entries in a new NSAF series of interview videos with outstanding USA track and field athletes and coaches, launched by NSAF board member and ESPN broadcasting legend Larry Rawson.

These interviews were conducted at the 2018 USATF convention by Mr. Rawson (plus one by NSAF board member Josh Rowe) and include legends like Bob Beamon, current and recent stars like Lauryn Williams, Bernard Lagat, Keturah Orji and Kendell Williams; and coaching greats like Lance Harter and Bob Larsen. Each of these athletes and coaches share great training information for today's student-athletes, as well as memorable stories from their own careers.

Thanks to Larry Rawson for conducting these interviews and launching this series. All of these interviews are available on YouTube (embedded here) and stay tuned for more to come!

 

Lauryn Williams

Lauryn Williams, one of the all-time great American sprinters, sits down at the Dec. 2018 USATF convention for an interview with NSAF board member and T&F broadcasting legend Larry Rawson.

Lauryn was the 100m gold medalist in the 2005 IAAF World Champs and won silvers at the 2004 Olympics, 2007 Worlds, and 2006 World Indoors. She also has 3 Team USA 4x100 golds from the 2005 and 2007 Worlds, and the 2012 Olympics. Earlier, she was the 2002 World Junior, 2003 Pan American and 2004 NCAA Champ at 100m.

Lauryn also won a silver medal in the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She is one of five to have medaled in both the Summer and Winter Games and the first American woman to do so.


 

Bob Larsen

Bob Larsen, the all-time great Hall of Fame UCLA and Mammoth Track Club coach whose accomplished athletes include 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, sits down at the Dec. 2018 USATF convention for an interview with NSAF board member and T&F broadcasting legend Larry Rawson. For a coaching career that spanned six decades, Larsen has been inducted into the USATF and National Distance Running Hall of Fames, plus eight others. At UCLA, he was a 4-time NCAA Coach of the Year, coaching 12 individuals to a total of 20 NCAA individual titles and leading the Bruins to back-to-back NCAA Outdoor team titles -- among many other accomplishments. Coach Larsen talks about some top workouts for distance runners, benefits of high-altitude training and more.


 

Bob Beamon

Bob Beamon, the legendary 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist and world-record setter in the long jump sits down at the Dec. 2018 USATF convention for an interview with NSAF board member and T&F broadcasting legend Larry Rawson. Beamon's 29' 2-1/2" (8.90m) performance from Mexico City is still the Olympic record and #2 all-time after 51 years. Mr. Beamon was at the USATF Convention for the 50th reunion of the 1968 Olympic team and he talks with Larry about his detailed memories of that historic jump and competition.


 

Bernard Lagat

Bernard Lagat, the Kenyan and (since 2005) American distance running legend, gives an outstanding interview with NSAF board member Josh Rowe at the Dec. 2018 USATF convention. Here he talks about his own high school training, thoughts and concerns about American HS training, transitioning from prep to collegiate running, and the benefits of early exposure to national and international competition. Bernard is a 5-time Olympian and has won 13 Olympic and IAAF World Championship medals during his career -- including the Olympic 1500m bronze and silver medals for Kenya in 2000 and 2004, and a 1500/5000 gold medal double for the USA at the 2007 World Champs. He's also captured three World Indoor golds at 3000m. Bernard has an amazing resume of American records, titles, #1 rankings and outstanding performances over more than 20 years -- to great success even now as a Masters runner.


 

Lance Harter

Lance Harter, the great Hall of Fame Arkansas women's track and cross-country coach, sits down at the Dec. 2018 USATF convention for an interview for the NSAF. Coach Harter was inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in 2014 for accomplishments during a coaching career of nearly 30 years, during which his Arkansas teams have won 32 SEC titles in XC, indoor and outdoor track (including six SEC "triple crowns", plus the 2015 NCAA Indoor and 2016 NCAA Outdoor titles. His athletes have won 25 NCAA event titles. He has also been a Team USA coach five times. Coach Harter talks about some of the key workouts for success at the highest levels.


 

Kendell Williams

Kendell Williams, Team NSAF alum and 7-time NCAA multis champion, sits down at the Dec. 2018 USATF convention for an interview with NSAF board member and T&F broadcasting legend Larry Rawson.

Kendell Williams has represented Team USA in Olympic and World Championship competition 7 of the past 8 years, winning the 2014 World Junior 100H gold and 2011 World Youth 100H silver. In the multis, she was 6th in the 2016 Indoor Worlds and 8th in the 2012 World Juniors. At U. of Georgia, she won 7 NCAA titles in the multis and was the 2017 SEC Woman of the year.

During her prep career, Kendell won 8 NBN titles and set the national prep records in both the pentathlon and heptathlon -- which stood for several years until Anna Hall broken them in 2018 and '19.


 

Keturah Orji

Keturah Orji, the Project Triple Jump alum and 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year, sits down at the Dec. 2018 USATF convention for an interview with NSAF board member and T&F broadcasting legend Larry Rawson. Keturah was named 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year and won the Bowerman Award after completing a collegiate career at U. of Georgia that included 7 NCAA triple jump titles and another in the long jump. She was 4th in the 2016 Olympic Games and set since-broken American indoor and outdoor records, in addition to setting the current NCAA indoor and outdoor records. As a prep, Keturah won six New Balance Nationals championships and had the 2nd longest outdoor triple jump in prep history during a bronze medal performance at the 2013 World Youth Champs -- where she also captured LJ silver.

 

 

Our Partners