Mark Crear talks to participants and counselors at the Maximum Velocity Track & Field Academy at Centre College. He didn't start track until he was a senior in high school but won medals in two Olympics. (Larry Vaught Photo)
Mark Crear is a two-time Olympic medalist in the 110-meter hurdles who is working as a clinician at the Maximum Velocity Track & Field Academy at Centre College for the first time but it was not a hard sell to get him from Los Angeles to Danville this week.
He says Dr. Sharrieffa Barksdale, a 1984 Olympian hurdler and three-time assistant manager of the USA Olympic team, asked him to come work with youngsters and he said yes.
“All you have to do is ask. That is how Olympians do it,” said Crear, who won a silver medal in 1996 and bronze medal in 2000. “We don’t have to be convinced. We want to help. No matter what event you were in or if you medaled or didn’t medal, we support each other.”
The camp has eight Olympians working as clinicians along with eight members of the Centre College track and cross country teams.
“This ain’t a little town. It’s a beautiful town,” Crear said when asked about so many Olympians being together in a small town. “The people are nice. The campus is nice. That’s what it is about. It is not about the size. It is about the content. I love it here in Danville. To me, this is a beautiful way to support each other.”
“I don’t really get to do a lot of these. A lot of us have families or we are coaching our kids or schools. This just happened to fit my schedule. So it was a win-win situation.”
He’s very familiar with former University of Kentucky standout Sydney McLaughlin, who set a world record in the 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 with her time of 51.46 seconds. She was the first woman to break 52 seconds in the 400 hurdles at the 2020 USA Olympic Trials. She was also on the winning 4×400 relay team at the Tokyo Olympics.
“Bless her heart, I like her and how she conducts herself on and off the track,” Crear said. “Being a man of faith, I like to think she represents her faith, her family and her sport well. That is a true champion right there. The running is phenomenal but that is second to her character as a human being and that’s what I like best about her.”
McLaughlin, 22, has already competed in two Olympics. She recently got married and now Crear says people questioning what she has left to do could hinder her progress.
“You start saying can I do it again instead of enjoying the sport. Hopefully she will just go out here and do what she likes to do and then forget the time, the medals and just enjoy and improve,” Crear said. “She is already a world record holder, so there is not much more she can do. Just let her enjoy herself and enjoy watching her and then it will be a long career for her.”
The Olympians plan to enjoy their time together in Danville before the camp ends Saturday. Crear says it gives them a chance to see each other in a different setting.
“We do tell stories because that is what this is about. The last time we had seen each other we were competing. Our minds are at a different level. We are locked in the zone,” he said. “Now we can relax and maybe share some stories about the good ole days.
“Back then it was about winning and competing. Now we can joke a little bit and just have some fun while also helping these kids hopefully get better at what they do.”
