Home >  Sports >  U. of Pittsburgh

Former Olympian wants track position

Friday, June 14, 2002

By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Two-time Olympic gold medal hurdler Roger Kingdom is at a career crossroads, and one of several jobs he would like to have is track coach at Pitt.

	More on Pitt: Ron Cook Ex-Pitt coach on wrong track

"They have my resume," Kingdom said last night. "I did place a call and leave a message and let [Athletic Director Steve Pederson] know that I was interested. He replied to my message and said they need to figure out how they want to structure the program."

The Panthers announced this week they are not renewing the contract of men's and women's track coach Steve Lewis. The university does not comment on ongoing coaching searches.

Kingdom originally arrived at Pitt on a football scholarship but eventually left to pursue a track career that resulted in Olympic records and gold medals in 1984 and '88 and a world record in the 110-meter hurdles. He still shares the American record at 12.92 seconds.

Kingdom returned to Pitt last year and recently finished his bachelor's degree. He worked with the Pitt football players last summer on speed and conditioning and said he would be thrilled with any job in the Pitt athletic department, although the track opening would seem to suit him best.

He said the lack of an outdoor track at Pitt would not be an obstacle. He believes the Panthers will build a new track facility and said that, if hired, he would work toward and lend his name to such an effort.

Because he has his degree and isn't sure what his future holds, Kingdom is considering moving back to his native Georgia after 21 years of living in Pittsburgh. Besides Pitt, he has applied for several other jobs around the country.

If nothing else crops up, Kingdom has an invitation to intern with the Cleveland Browns later this summer, working as a sprint and conditioning coach and, he hopes, learning some aspects of coaching defense. Former Pitt coach Foge Fazio is the Browns' defensive coordinator. Cleveland's strength coach, Buddy Morris, previously was at Pitt.