It was certainly shocking to see both the U.S. men’s and women’s 100-meter r
elay team botching handoffs on the final legs of each race on the same day at the Olympics in Beijing this past week.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that the coach in charge of relays for Team USA is a former Cal Poly coach. And that he was the ‘one person to blame.’
Yes, Brooks Johnson (that’s him on the right) coached the Mustangs from 1993-96 and is the relay coach in Beijing.
In addition to being a U.S. Track and Field Hall of Famer, Johnson, now 73, is also the Chair of the High Performance Division — the self-described quality control head when it comes to winning medals.
In this Q and A with the St. Petersburg Times in February, Johnson predicted the U.S. team would win between 27 and 30 medals at the Bird’s Nest.
And here’s the follow-up to that statement.
The Times: “Is there pressure with those expectations?”
Johnson: “If we don’t get the medals, you have one person to blame.”
So, yeah, he really set the table for himself on that one.
