Andrew Valmon knows what can happen when he challenges himself.
Since giving up basketball to run track in his sophomore year of high school, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has hurdled every obstacle in his path. He’s made 13 U.S. national teams. He’s won two Olympic gold medals. And he’s helped bring a once-overlooked Terrapin track and field program nine All-America honors in eight years.
“For me, it’s all about the challenges,” the Terps’ eighth-year coach said Tuesday. “That’s what I do this for.”
Now, the 46-year-old is ready for his latest test: He will coach the U.S. men’s track and field team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
And what a test it is.
With some of its top athletes sidelined for doping allegations, Valmon will take over a program rebounding from a highly disappointing 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
Despite capturing 23 medals, the U.S. track and field team struggled to step out of a much smaller neighbor’s shadow. While highly anticipated American sprinters Tyson Gay and Darvis Patton underperformed, Usain Bolt and his Jamaican teammates captivated more than two billion viewers worldwide by becoming one of the Games’ leading storylines.
Only a few months after Beijing, a U.S. track and field task force chaired by nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis released a 69-page report berating the Olympic program. The document highlighted the shortcomings of its coaching staff and described a “culture of mistrust” among coaches and athletes.
When Valmon learned of his hire last Thursday, he felt humbled by the difficulties facing him. But to those who know him best, Valmon is more than capable of returning the world’s winningest Olympic program to what he feels is its rightful place: atop the world.
“He’s going to bring [Team USA] that winning mentality,” junior high-jumper Dwight Barbiasz said. “And I think that’s what they need right now. He’s a great leader who really understands how to motivate people.”
Valmon, who ran the opening leg for Team USA’s 1993 world record-setting 4×400 relay team, will draw upon previous experiences with the national team when he heads to Eugene, Ore., for the Olympic trials in June 2012.
He served as a Team USA assistant at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in Berlin and as the head coach for the 2010 World Indoor Championships team in Doha, Qatar.
“Any time you get the opportunity to coach Team USA, you’re not going to turn it down,” Valmon said. “There’s really no better reward for someone in my position.”
Even as a sprinting specialist, Valmon’s time in College Park has prepared him to coach the more than 60 competitors spanning 24 events on the U.S. men’s track and field team. Since 2004, he’s led six different squads ranging from men’s indoor to women’s cross country.
“With that kind of responsibility, there’s always something to prepare for,” Valmon said. “You learn to be flexible and to lean on your assistants at times.”
But with his new position only adding to an already hefty workload, Valmon pledged to remain dedicated to each of his 65 Terp athletes.
“The priority is always going to lie with Maryland,” Valmon said. “We’re on the verge of something special here and I’m not about to forget that. The goal is still going to be to win the conference and to win NCAAs.”
Following their coach’s lead, several athletes hope Valmon won’t be the only Terp donning the red, white and blue in London. Headed by senior pentathlete Kiani Profit, the team boasts at least five students trying to compete in the upcoming Olympics.
“Now that we know he’s going to be coaching in London, that just motivates all of us even more,” said Barbiasz, who is ranked No. 6 nationally in the high jump. “Having him here really helps our chances of making it.”
For Valmon, the opportunity to combine his two worlds would make his new position more than another challenge. It’d be a dream come true.
“I’m not going to lie, that’s a dream I have,” Valmon said. “I came here to start something special, and to be able to share that experience with my Terps would really be something.”
letourneau@umdbk.com
