Experiencing The Olympic Games: An interview with Alonzo Babers on the 1984 Summer Olympics Interviewer: Mike O’Shaughnessy Instructor: Amanda Freeman Final Due Date: February 10th 2016 O’Shaughnessy 2 Table of Contents: Statement of Purpose: 3 Interviewee Release Form: 4 Interviewer Release Form: 5 Biography: 6 Historical Context paper: 8 Interview Transcription: 16 Interview Analysis: 36 Works Consulted: 41 O’Shaughnessy 3 Statement of purpose: The Purpose of this Oral History Project and interview with Alonzo Babers is to create a primary source document on the 1984 L.A. Olympic Games. By reading this Oral History project, an individual will develop a greater understanding of the 1984 L.A. Olympic Games and Alonzo Babers’ impact on the United States Track and Field team. O’Shaughnessy 4 Interviewee Release Form O’Shaughnessy 5 Interviewer Release Form O’Shaughnessy 6 Alonzo Babers Alonzo Babers was born in Montgomery, Alabama on October 31st 1961. This is where he completed his early schooling up until his junior year of high school. Also where he began his track career. His father was in the Air Force. Due to his father being in the Air Force his family was stationed in what was then West Germany. He graduated from Kaiserslautern High School in Germany. He attended the Air Force Academy from 1979- 1983 and graduated with a major in Aerospace engineering. During his time at the Air Force Academy the young athlete competed in Track and Field and Football for only half of a season before stopping due to an injury. Alonzo’s athletic carrier consisted of a spectacular rise to fame, followed by a blunt and decisive ending. In 1982, Babers best time for the 400m was a 45.9 seconds. In 1983 Alonzo improved this time by running a best of 45.07 seconds. After he graduated he went on to compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic games. During the ’84 games, Alonzo won two Gold medals in the 400m and the 4x400m race. He continued his improvement in 1984 at the ’84 L.A. O’Shaughnessy 7 games by running a personal best of 44.95 seconds in the semi-final Olympic Trials. He continued to lower his time at the L.A. Olympic games by running a new personal record of 44.75 seconds when he won his quarter- final. In the Olympic final Alonzo ran a 44.27 seconds to win the gold medal. Alonzo credited his incredible improvements to hard work and confidence. One month after his spectacular performance in the ’84 games, Alonzo reported to pilot training in Arizona to begin his career as a pilot, thus concluding his athletic career. He served as an active duty officer in the Air Force from 1983 to 1991 and continues to serve as a member of the Air Force Reserve. He now lives in Potomac, MD, and he has a wife and three very successful children, two of which are in college. He is now working as a commercial 777 pilot for United Airlines. O’Shaughnessy 8 1984 L.A. Olympic Games “The important thing in the Olympic games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” Pierre de Coubertin said that at the 1948 Olympic games. The Olympics have been traced back to 776 B.C. and have united the world ever since. (History.com) But during the Cold war the Olympics were used as a political stage for the U.S.S.R. and the United States. The Olympics in 1984 were held in Los Angeles, California. My neighbor Alonzo Babers took part in these Olympic games by running two races for America, the 400m and the 4x400m races, winning a gold medal in both. Therefore, in order to understand the perspective of someone who participated in 1984 Olympics it is important to first examine the events that occurred both leading up to the 1984 Olympics, and the events proceeding. The Olympics have been traced back very long, the first games were held every four years in Olympia, and located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, to honor the god of Zeus. (History.com) In the ancient Olympic games, married women were not permitted to watch or to participate. However, women who were unmarried could attend the competition. Male Greek citizens that were free, regardless of their social status, were entitled to participate in the ancient Olympic games. In ancient times, there were limited sporting events at the Olympics. Some of them included Pentathlon, Running, Jumping, Discus Throw, Wrestling, and Boxing. Now in modern Olympics there are 28 sports and over 300 events. After World War II, the Olympics grew due to the newly founded states in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Many countries regardless of economic status, political system, or age, saw the Olympics as a showcase to display their political cultural and economic institutions. As this movement became more politicized, the chance for political gain increased, as this happened more and more states joined. The Olympics have changed since the original games in 776 B.C. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) tries to maintain the Olympic ideals, but modern Olympics are often driven by politics and O’Shaughnessy 9 economics. Over the course of almost 3000 years, the Olympics has brought together many countries with the intent to find the most physically fit men and women and have them compete on a global stage. It is hard to believe that the Olympics have been under threat on several occasions despite the prominence of the games. The two World Wars forced the cancellation of three Games, but since then, the biggest threat to the Olympics has come from the refusal of attendance from a large number of nations in 1976, 1980 and 1984 for political reasons. (Gifford) These boycotts undermined the status of the Olympics as a truly world-wide event. Since the Seoul Games in 1988, these politically motivated boycotts have been minimal, and the Olympics can truly be said to offer the best global sporting competition. The history of the world leading up to the 1984 LA games was very important to the political and social aspects of the games. It was almost half a decade into the Cold War, but it would only be five years until the Berlin wall fell down. In December of 1979 the soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan which proved to politicize the 1980 Olympics. In 1980 Moscow held the summer Olympics. United States president Jimmy Carter set a deadline of February 20, 1980 for the Soviet Union to pull their troops out of Afghanistan. (History.com) The Soviet Union did not comply with this deadline and thus caused Jimmy Carter to announce a boycott of the 1980 Olympics. This caused a mixed reaction between many Americans, some sympathized with the athletes that had trained for the 1980 Olympics. Because they would not be participating, they might not qualify for the 1984 games. At the same time, this boycott symbolized the commitment many U.S. citizens felt to fighting the oppressive, anti-democratic Soviet regime. Between the 1980 Olympic games and the 1984 Olympics the Cold War continued. On March 23rd, 1983, President Reagan announced a new plan for the defense of Democratic countries. This plan was referred to as Stars Wars. Leading up to the 1984 L.A. games, on May 8th, 1984 the Soviet Union announced their ban of the games in response to the U.S. ban of the 1980 games. Ronald Reagan said, “It ought to be remembered by all [that] the Games more than 2,000 years ago started as a means of bringing peace between the Greek city-states. And in those days, even if a war was O’Shaughnessy 10 going on, they called off the war in order to hold the Games. I wish we were still as civilized.” This contest between the U.S. and the Soviet Union posed a threat to the Olympic movement, as both of these countries used the Olympics as a chance to validate their economic and political systems. In spite of these political difficulties, the 1984 Olympics still proceeded as planned without the Communist states. “I want my MTV.” The 1980’s were a time of fundamental changes in the lives of many Americans. One of the many changes was the new introduction to Cable Television; this was introduced in the 1970’s but became popular in most American households in the 1980’s. This change allowed for a new wave of programming. The committee sold the television rights to the broadcast to ABC for $225 million, raising a large amount of money far in advance of the games.(Walker) In 1981 Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States. Being the only movie actor ever to become president he was given the nickname “The Great Communicator.” Ronald was credited with contributing to the demise of Soviet Communism.(Ronald Reagan) Ronald Reagan had a rhetoric for anti-communism. In the first few months of his presidency he said in a memorable speech in Florida, he denounced the Soviet Union as “an evil empire” and “the focus of evil in the modern world.”(Ronald Reagan) In 1984 the Olympics were imminent, and only two cities had actually bid to host the games, Los Angeles and New York City. The U.S. could only submit one city for an international bid of the IOC. Los Angeles officials began serious preparation to bid for the 1984 Olympics in 1976, with two major clouds hanging above their heads.