Week in Review: Sha'Carri Richardson says she's not only back but 'better'
Sprinter's yearly world-leading performance in women's 100 meters was the highlight of Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar
Finally, a big-time performance outside of the United States.
That thought crossed my mind last Friday after watching Sha’Carri Richardson win the women’s 100 meters in 10.76 seconds in the first Diamond League meet of the season in Doha, Qatar.
The 23-year-old Richardson had run numerous noteworthy times in the 100 since she burst onto the sprint scene as a freshman at LSU in 2019. But she did not have a good record when it came to competing well against high-quality international fields. And every one of her top times had come in meets held on U.S. soil.
That changed in a big way in Doha, where she did not pass Shericka Jackson of Jamaica until the final 30 meters of the race, yet won by nearly a tenth of a second as the World 200 champion and 100 silver medalist finished second in 10.85. Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain placed third in 10.93.
Asher-Smith, bronze medalist in the 200 in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon last July, led the eight-sprinter field through the first 50 meters of the race. But Jackson, who is known for her strong finish, began to overtake her shortly after that.
However, Richardson was never far behind. Running in lane 6, to Jackson’s right, Richardson moved past her with authority around the 70-meter mark while on her way to a meet record, the fastest time in the world this year, and the fourth-fastest performance of her career. Furthermore, she registered that time without a big exaggerated lean that sprinters often employ at the end of races to record the fastest performance possible.
“I found my peace back on the track, and I’m not letting anything or anybody take that anymore,” Richardson was quoted as saying in an NBC Sports post.
Based on what I have seen this season in her social media posts and post-race interviews, Richardson appears to be a significantly more composed athlete than she was in recent years. I would even go so far as to say that she seems genuinely at peace with herself and her surroundings.
Gone is a lot of the flamboyancy and all of the anger that often accompanied her posts in previous seasons.
In fact, in a minute-long video posted on her Instagram account the day before the meet in Doha, she said: “Fear has got me to 23 years. That’s kept me and held me all the way through … That’s why I was going through the things I was going through. And I was experiencing the things I was experiencing. The pain that I was feeling. That’s why all these things were happening to me. And I know that now because I had to return back to my faith. And I feel so much better. That’s why y’all say I’m back. I’m not back. I’m better.”
I am very hopeful that the Richardson who ran last Friday is the sprinter we will see on a consistent basis going forward because there has never been any question about her physical abilities.
She is an athlete who graduated from Carter High School in Dallas in 2018 with bests of 11.28 seconds in the 100 and 23.28 in the 200 before lowering her 100-meter best to a stunning 10.75 during her first — and only — season at LSU that included a collegiate-record clocking in winning the NCAA title in Austin, Texas.
However, she finished a disappointing eighth in the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships seven weeks later and was therefore not in Doha for the World Championships that October when Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica was running 10.71 to win her fourth global title in the 100.
After running a wind-legal 10.95 and a wind-aided 10.79 during the 2020 season that was very short and compacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she got off to a great start in 2021.
She lowered her personal best to 10.72 in a meet in Miramar, Florida in April before running 10.74 in a heat and 10.77 in the final — into a 1.2 meter-per-second headwind — of the USA Track & Field Golden Games at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California, a month later.
She then rolled through the U.S. Olympic Trials, running 10.84 in her first-round heat, clocking a wind-aided 10.64 in her semifinal, and timing 10.86 — into a 1.0 meter-per-second breeze — to easily win the final.
There was talk of her challenging the dominance of Jamaican sprinters Fraser-Pryce and defending Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah in the Games in Tokyo. But five days after the Olympic Trials ended, news broke that Richardson had tested positive for the metabolite THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana, which is prohibited in competition.
The positive test nullified her performances in the Trials, thus keeping her from competing in the 100 in the Games.
“I am human,” Richardson initially tweeted about her positive test.
She soon went on the “Today” show — such is her immense popularity — and said she had taken the substance while dealing with the emotions of learning her birth mother had died from a reporter shortly before the Trials began.
Although THC has not been proven to enhance athletic performance, it is on the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances and the penalty for testing positive is typically three months. However, that suspension can be reduced to a month if an athlete completes a treatment program, which Richardson did.
Following the 1-2-3 finish by Thompson-Herah, Fraser-Pryce, and Jackson in the women’s 100 in the Olympics on July 31, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene three weeks later was billed as a showdown between those three and Richardson.
Nike, which whom Richardson has a contract, aired a minute-long commercial featuring her that first aired minutes before the start of the race. But the 21-year-old sprinter was annihilated in her first competition since the Trials. She finished last in the nine-runner field and her time of 11.14 was a gargantuan six tenths of a second behind first-place Thompson-Herah, whose 10.54 clocking was the second fastest ever run.
Last year started off better as Richardson ran 10.92 to place second — behind Thompson-Herah but ahead of Jackson — in the Prefontaine Classic in late May before running wind-aided times of 10.73 and 10.82 in a meet in Montverde, Florida a week later.
When she ran 10.85 to finish second in the New York City Grand Prix eight days after that, a top-three finish in the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene near the end of the June seemed very doable. And a placing of third or better in that meet would qualify her for the U.S. team that would compete in the World Championships in the same stadium from July 15-24.
However, she imploded in the national championships.
First, she failed to advance out of the first round of the 100, when her 11.35 clocking left her 23rd overall out of 31 finishers. Then she was eliminated in the semifinals of the 200 when her 22.47 effort left her fifth in her heat and 10th out of the 16 overall finishers in that round.
I wrote in a notes column the following week that her performance in the USATF meet “made me wonder if she is ever going to fulfill the immense promise she possesses.”
I still had questions about her competitive mettle entering the meet in Doha as she had run a lackluster 22.54 in the 200 to finish second in the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in Gaborone, Botswana on April 29 after clocking notable wind-aided times of 10.75 and 10.57 in the heats and final of the 100 in the Miramar Invitational on April 8.
But her winning performance in the Qatari capital, and the way she has reacted to it, have me thinking we are witnessing an updated version of Sha’Carri Richardson. The previous version might very well have taken to social media to lash out at her critics and say, “I told you so.” But the 2023 version posted the following on Instagram on Tuesday: Grateful for all the love. And loving my peace. 10.76 ✨
Picking up where he left off: Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, who lowered the world indoor record in the men’s 3,000 meters to 7:23.81 in February, ran a meet record and outdoor personal best of 7:26.18 in winning the event in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar last Friday.
After pacemaker Callum Davies of Australia came through the first kilometer in 2:30.01, fellow rabbit Kyumbe Munguti of Kenya led through two kilometers in 4:58.91 before dropping out.
Berihu Aregawi, who had appeared impatient with the pace being set a couple of laps earlier, moved into the lead at that point in the race, but Girma looked very relaxed running a stride behind him.
Just behind Girma was third Ethiopian Selemon Barega, the Olympic 10,000-meter champion.
The trio ran in that order for the next 550 meters before Girma eased into the lead with 450 meters to go and he never trailed again.
The silver medalist in the 3,000 steeplechase in both the Olympic Games and World Championships, Girma had a three-meter lead over second-place Barega with 300 meters to go and he had tripled his advantage with a half lap left in the race. He expanded his lead around the final curve before glancing back over his shoulder four times during the final 110 meters of the race. Although he clearly could have run significantly faster over the last lap, Girma still moved to eighth on the all-time performer list with his time.
Barega finished second in 7:27.16 to move to 14th on the all-time performer list and Aregawi followed in 7:27.61, the second fastest time of his career. Soufiane El Bakkali of Morroco, the defending Olympic and World champion in the steeplechase, placed fourth in a personal best of 7:33.87.
Seven and counting: In addition to Sha’Carri Richardson of the U.S. in the women’s 100 meters and Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia in the men’s 3,000, Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia set a meet record in the men’s discus with a best of 70.89 meters (232 feet 7 inches) in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar last Friday.
The defending World champion unleashed his winning toss on the very first throw of the competition. He also had the second-, third-, and fourth-best marks of the meet as he threw 70.70 (231-11) in the fifth round, 68.95 (226-2) in the third, and 68.46 (224-7) in the fourth.
Olympic champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden placed second with a best of 67.14 (220-3).
It was the seventh time in the 24-year-old Ceh’s career that he has thrown more than 70 meters (229-8) in a meet. The first time occurred in 2021 and he did it five times last year when he moved to 10th on the all-time performer list with a national record of 71.27 (233-10).
Deep field: The men’s triple jump might not have received the pre-meet attention of several other events in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar last Friday, yet it turned out to be one of the most depth-laden events of the competition as four individuals bounded 17.71 (58-1¼) or further.
Pedro Pichardo of Portugal, the defending Olympic and World champion, took the lead with a first-round jump of 17.65 (57-11) before unleashing a wind-aided 17.91 (58-9¼) effort in round two that no one else could match.
Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso had a better overall series than Pichardo, but his best of 17.81 (58-5¼) in the sixth round left him 10 centimeters short of his 29-year-old rival’s top mark. Zango also had a jump of 17.78 (58-4) in round three.
Andy Diaz Hernandez placed third with a wind-aided jump of 17.80 (58-4¾) and he was followed by Lazaro Martinez with a wind-aided 17.71 (58-1¼).
Hernandez and Martinez were both listed as Cubans in the results, but Hernandez recently received his Italian citizenship and could be competing for Italy down the road.
Impressive opener: Katie Moon of the U.S. had some big clearances at the higher heights in winning the woen’s pole vault in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar last Friday.
The defending Olympic and World champion won the competition with a yearly world-leading height of 4.81 (15-9¼). Tina Sutej of Slovenia finished second at 4.76 (15-7¼) to tie her national record and World Championship silver medalist Sandi Morris of the U.S. placed third at 4.71 (15-5½).
After passing the opening height of 4.30 (14-1¼), Moon cleared 4.45 (14-7¼) and 4.55 (14-11) on her first attempts before needing two attempts to clear 4.63 (15-2¼).
Moon trailed Morris and Sutej — in that order — at that point in the competition as each of them had cleared 4.63 on their first attempt. However, Moon moved into second place behind Morris when they each cleared 4.71 on their first attempts before taking the lead for good when she was way over the bar on her first-attempt clearance at 4.76.
Sutej moved into second place when she cleared that height on her second attempt and Morris passed her final two attempts at that height so could use them at 4.81.
Moon cleared that height on her second attempt with another jump in which he had plenty of room to spare. She could have had the bar raised to any height she wanted after Sutej and Morris were unable to clear 4.81, but she chose to call it a day as she had been dealing with some tendinitis in one of her ankles.
Rolling on: Grant Holloway of the U.S. ran a yearly world-leading time of 13.01 seconds in the winning the men’s 110-meter high hurdles in the inaugural Atlanta City Games last Saturday.
The two-time defending World champion got off to one of his typically superb starts, took control of the race by the third or fourth flight of hurdles, and was never seriously challenged after that as fellow Americans Robert Dunning and Jamal Britt finished second and third in 13.09 (personal best) and 13.14, respectively.
The time was tied for the fifth fastest of the 25-year-old Holloway’s career.
He has now run 13.05 or faster 13 times.
Fast, but how fast?: Noah Lyles looked like a dominant sprinter in running away from fellow American Erriyon Knighton and Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala in the first section of the men’s 150-meter dash in the inaugural Atlanta City Games last Saturday.
I’m just not sure what to make of his time of 14.56 seconds.
Statistically speaking, it’s the third fastest time ever run. But the 150-meter dash is contested so seldomly that I’m not sure what the third-fastest of all time really means.
One thing that is more certain is Knighton finished a distance second to Lyles with a time of 14.85 and Omanyala was third in 14.89. Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago won the second section in 14.83.
Triple threat: Cordell Tinch of Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas turned in a superb triple in winning the men’s 110-meter high hurdles, long jump, and high jump in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championships in Jefferson City, Missouri last weekend.
The 22-year-old sophomore won the high hurdles in a wind-aided 12.97 seconds, after a wind-running a wind-aided 13.08 in his heat, the long jump with a wind-aided 8.24 (27-0½), and the high jump at 2.18 (7-1¾).
Tinch, whose long and circuitous route to Pittsburg State is well-chronicled in a recent feature in Track & Field News, won the 60-meter high hurdles in 7.51 and the high jump at 2.18, and placed 11th in the long jump in the NCAA Division II indoor meet in March.
He had a personal best of 13.63 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles -- from his freshman year at the University of Kansas in 2019 – at the start of the outdoor season. But he cut a big chunk off of that time when he clocked 13.32 to win the event in the Cal State Los Angeles Twilight meet on April 13. He then ran a wind-aided 13.22 to win the Mt. San Antonio College Relays two days later while also finishing fifth in the high jump at 2.15 (7-0½).
In addition to his 13.32 clocking in the high hurdles, he has personal bests of 2.22 (7-3¼) in the high jump and 7.94 (26-0¾), both of which were achieved during the indoor season.
Pulling away on the last lap: Josette Andrews of the U.S. used a strong kick to record a yearly world-leading time in the women’s 5,000 meters in the On Track Fest at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California last Saturday.
The 28-year-old Andrews ran a personal best of 14:43.36 to move to sixth on the all-time U.S. performer list in the event.
Joselyn Brea finished second in a Venezuelan record of 14:47.76 and Laura Galvan placed third in a Mexican record of 14:49.34. Kately Tuohy of North Carolina State University set a collegiate outdoor record when she finished seventh in 15:03.12.
Andrews, who had set a meet record of 4:04.88 in winning the 1,500 in the Penn Relays on April 29, followed pace setter Whittni Orton-Morgan through the first three kilometers of the race as Orton-Morgan timed 2:58.17 at 1,000 meters and 8:57.75 at 3,000.
She then took over the lead after Orton-Morgan dropped out and came through 3,400 meters in 10:09.01, 3,800 in 11:18.91 (69.90), 4,200 in 12:30.63 (71.73), and 4,600 in 13:38.95 (68.33).
Brea was running closely behind Andrews at that point in the race, with Galvan and Emily Infeld of the U.S. about another second back. But none of them could keep pace with Andrews during the last lap as she ran her final 400 meters in 64.42.
NCAA cross country champion Tuohy appeared to have a chance at breaking 15 minutes with two laps left in the race, but she ran her final 800 in 2:27.82. Nonetheless, her time of 15:03.12 crushed her previous best of 15:14.61 set last year.
It was the fourth collegiate record of the year for the NC State sophomore, who had set indoor bests of 4:24.26 in the mile and 8:35.20 in the 3,000, as well as 4:06.49 in the 1,500, which she clocked while on her way to setting the mile mark.
Pulling away on the last lap II: Like Josette Andrews in the women’s 5,000 meters, Kenneth Rooks of BYU broke away from his closest competitors on the last lap while recording a yearly world-leading time of 8:17.62 in the men’ 3,000-meter steeplechase in the On Track Fest at Mt. San Antonio College last Saturday.
The Cougar junior trailed fellow American Hillary Bor by a little more than a second with a lap left in the race, but his final circuit of 59.99 seconds – with an inside water jump – gave him a comfortable margin of victory over Geordie Beamish of New Zealand, who finished second in a personal best of 8:20.62. Bor placed third in 8:20.67, followed by a fast-closing Jean-Simon Desgagnes of Canada, who finished fourth in a personal best of 8:20.68.
Rooks’ time lowered his previous personal best of 8:22.56 which he had set while finishing sixth in the NCAA championships last year and moved him to second on the all-time collegiate performer list.
Only Kenyan Henry Rono, who set what was then a world record of 8:05.4 for Washington State in 1978, has run faster than Rooks among collegians.
Rono’s clocking was one of four world records that he set during an unprecedented 1978 season in which he was selected as the male athlete of the year by Track & Field News.
In addition to the mark in the steeplechase on May 13, he also set world records of 13:08.4 in the 5,000 on April 8, 27:22.4 in the 10,000 on June 11, and 7:32.1 in the 3,000 on June 27.
Two liners: Faith Kipyegon of Kenya opened up her season with a yearly world-leading time of 3:58.57 in the women’s 1,500 meters in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar last Friday. The two-time Olympic and World champion received a bigger than expected challenge from Diribe Walteji of Ethiopia (3:59.34) for much of the last lap before opening up a comfortable margin of victory in the home straightaway. . . . Winfred Yavi of Bahrain won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a yearly world-leading time of 9:04.38 in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar. The fourth-place finisher in the World Championships finished more than a second in front of second-place Sembo Almayhew of Ethiopia who ran a personal best of 9:05.83. . . . Neeraj Chopra of India won the men’s javelin with a yearly world-leading throw of 88.67 meters (290 feet 11 inches) in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qartar. The Olympic champion hit his winning distance on his first throw of the competition and it was just long enough to defeat the 88.63 (290-9) best of second-place Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic. . . . `Rai Benjamin of the U.S. posted the second fastest time of the year in the men’s 400-meter intermediate hurdles when he ran 47.78 to win the event in the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar. Benjamin, who ran a yearly world-leading time of 47.74 in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, California on April 15, received a strong challenge from CJ Allen, whose second-place time of 47.93 made him the 24th American in history to break 48 seconds in the event. . . . Tara Davis-Woodhall of the U.S. posted a yearly world-leading mark of 7.07 (23-2½) in the women’s long jump in the Arkansas Twilight meet last Friday. Davis Woodhall posted the mark in the fifth round and also had a pair of wind-aided 6.91 (22-8) jumps in the first and second rounds.
On the performance enhancing drug front: Nigel Amos of Botswana, the silver medalist in the men’s 800 meters in the 2012 Olympic Games in London at the age of 18, has been banned for three years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIG).
After running 1:47.28 in the 800 in 2011, Amos burst on to the international scene in 2012. First, he lowered his personal best to 1:46.21 in May. Then, he followed that with a 1:43.11 clocking in June. Finally, he ran a world U20 (under 20) record of 1:41.73 in the Olympic final while finishing second behind the 1:40.91 world record of Kenya’s David Rudisha.
That race is regarded by many track and field fans as the greatest 800-meter contest in history as the first five finishers broke 1:43 and Andrew Osagie of Great Britain finished last in the eight-runner field with a career best of 1:43.77.
According to the AIG’s May 3 press release, Amos’ ban officially started on July 12, 2022 — the date he was first provisionally suspended — and will last through July 11, 2025. That means Amos will be ineligible to compete in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August or in the Olympic Games in Paris next summer.
The 29-year-old Amos’ was provisionally suspended after an out-of-competition urine sample taken on June 4 of last year revealed the presence of metabolites of GW1516, which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances.
According to the press release, “GW1516 modifies how the body metabolizes fat. It was originally synthesized and evaluated for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other disorders caused by metabolic problems but is now not approved for human use. Additionally, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has advised of its health risks for athletes.”
After a second test of his urine sample tested positive for the prohibited substance on September 1 of last year, Amos asked for a supplement — which he claimed to have consumed before he gave his urine sample — to be analyzed for the presence of GW1516.
After both the opened and unopened bottles of the supplement Amos supplied tested negative, Amos was given the test results on February 17 of this year.
After receiving no further explanation for the positive test, the AIG informed Amos on March 21 that he was facing a four-year ban. Amos then returned a signed Admission of Anti-Doping Rules Violation and Acceptance of Consequences Form on April 10 that reduced the length of his suspension to three years.
In memory: Tori Bowie, a triple sprint medalist in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2017 World champion in the women’s 100 meters, was found dead at her home in Orange County, Florida on May 2. She was 32.
“We’re devasted [sic] to share the very sad news that Tori Bowie has passed away,” an Instagram post from Icon Management Inc., said. “We’ve lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister. Tori was a champion … a beacon of light that shined so bright! We’re truly heartbroken and our prayers are with the family, friends and everyone that loved her. As the story continues to develop, we ask that you please respect our privacy.”
A native of Sandhill, Mississippi, Bowie won a pair of NCAA titles — one indoor, one outdoor — in the women’s long jump for the University of Southern Mississippi in 2011, but she began to focus on the sprints in 2014.
She placed third in the women’s 100 in the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing before placing second in the 100, third in the 200, and anchoring the U.S. to victory in the 400 relay in the 2016 Olympic Games.
In the following year’s World Championships in London, he came from behind to win the 100 meters after overtaking Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast in the final meters of the race. She again anchored the U.S. to victory in the 400 relay.
Bowie also competed in the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where she placed fourth in the long jump. She also advanced to the semifinals of the 100, but did not run in her heat.
Numerous past and present world-class competitors mourned her passing on social media.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, who won her fifth World title in the women’s 100 meters last year, posted on Twitter: “My heart breaks for the family of Tori Bowie. A great competitor and source of light. Your energy and smile will always be with me. Rest in peace.”
Brittney Reese, a fellow Mississippian who won a combined eight gold and three silver medals in the women’s long jump in the Olympic Games and World Championships, wrote: “I’m so heartbroken over this ... You have made a lot of us proud thank you for representing our state of Mississippi like you did ... RIP!”
In memory II: Calvin Davis, the bronze medalist in the men’s 400-meter intermediate hurdles in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, passed away on May 1. He was 51.
Davis had been the No. 4- and 10-ranked 400 sprinter in the U.S. by Track & Field News in 1993 and ’94, respectively. However, he took up the intermediate hurdles in 1996, and in only his seventh race ever in the event, won the bronze medal in the Olympics the following year.
He was ranked fourth in the world that year and 10th in 1999. On the national level, he was ranked among the top 10 Americans in the intermediate hurdles every year from 1996-2002, topped by a No. 3 ranking in 1996. He was also ranked fourth in 1998, ’99, and 2001.
He qualified for the 2001 World Athletics Championships in Edmonton, Canada, but was eliminated in the semifinals of the intermediate hurdles.
As a collegian at the University of Arkansas, he won the 400 in the 1993 NCAA outdoor championships before winning the indoor title the following year.
In memory III: Len Miller, the men’s cross country and track and field coach at UC Irvine from 1973-79 and the man who helped Steve Scott become one of the greatest milers in U.S. history, passed away on March 4, it was announced in the Los Angeles Times last week. He was 85.
Under Miller’s tutelage, UC Irvine won the NCAA Division II men’s cross country title in 1975 and ’76, and the men’s track and field championship in ’76. But Miller is best known for coaching Scott, the runner-up in the 880-yard run in the 1974 California Interscholastic Federation state championships at Upland High School in the greater Los Angeles area.
Scott, who first ran cross country as a freshman so he did not have to take a regular physical education class, started running track as a junior after giving up baseball due to a lack of playing time. He thought of himself as a half-miler and laughed when Miller told him during the recruiting process that he was going to be the next great American miler. But he won three consecutive Division II titles in the 1,500 meters or mile from 1975-77 before winning the Division I championship in the 1,500 as a senior in 1978.
Scott, who worked with Miller until 1985 when he retired from coaching, set numerous Americans records during his career that included a silver medal in the 1,500 meters in the inaugural World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 1983.
His final national record in the mile came in a meet in Oslo in 1982 when he ran 3:47.69 to fall just short of the world record of 3:47.33 that was held by Sebastian Coe of Great Britain.
That mark would stand as the American record until Alan Webb ran 3:46.91 in 2007.
Scott wrote in a text on Thursday that Miller was the reason for all of his success. He added that they had remained close friends and he had visited Miller twice during the past year and a half when he was experiencing health issues.
After his successful run at UC Irvine, Miller was hired as the men’s cross country and track and field coach at Arizona State University. But he had mixed results during his five years at the school.
The Sun Devils won their first Pacific 10 Conference track and field title in 1981, but the program was twice placed on probation before Miller stepped down from his position in 1984.