Team USA Surpasses London Medal Total Under the Watchful Eye of UO's Lananna
08/21/16 | Cross Country, Track and Field
RIO DE JANEIRO - By the time University of Oregon alum Galen Rupp put an exclamation on the 2016 Olympics for the men's USA Track and Field program by winning the bronze in the marathon Sunday morning, the team sat on a haul of 32 medals. That's the most the program has won in an Olympics since 1984 (40) and the most in a non-boycotted Games in 60 years.
The man pulling the strings to make that happen? None other than Duck associate athletic director Vin Lananna.
"I set the tone for what the team is doing," Lananna said.
Lananna was nominated to the job of USATF head men's coach for the Rio Games likely in large part because of his success in growing the track and field programs at Dartmouth and Oberlin colleges, Stanford and, of course, Oregon. He arrived in Eugene in 2005 as the head track and field coach and assistant A.D. and has since been vital in bringing the NCAA Championships, Olympic trials and the 2021 World Championships to Hayward Field.
Lananna, 63, learned of his selection while attending the Pac-12 Championship football game in December and immediately began developing relationships with athletes who were potential Olympic qualifiers. He was driven to surpass the 29 medals won by the USATF team in London in 2012, and his blueprint for doing that included putting the team back in Team USA.
"Our goal was getting this to not be about being individuals, because that's when things go bad," he said while trackside Friday night at Olympic Stadium. "When they don't do as well as they would like to do, then everybody's heads are down.
"The goal was to get this to be about total medals won."
Mission accomplished. The medal counts have shot through the roof, especially compared to last year's World Championships in Beijing, when the United States team brought home what was considered a paltry 19 medals. In addition, many athletes, including UO alumna English Gardner, said there is a strong feeling of team unity among the athletes.
"Relay camps did that, relay practice did that, watching each others' practices, seeing how we prepare for each event and watching each other at each event, those are things that made us more like a family," said Gardner, who won a gold medal with the women's 4x100 meter relay team. "That's what I think helped the most. And definitely one of Vin's biggest things is he likes family. He likes us all to get together and get to know each other and that same Oregon feel was definitely on the field this year."
As part of his job as a head coach, Lananna had to be able to advocate for Gardner's 4x100 team after it was bumped by a Brazilian runner in its semifinal heat, causing Gardner and teammate Allyson Felix to miss their baton exchange. The Americans later were allowed to run again in a solo heat, where they recorded what at the time was the second-fastest race of the year.
Lananna also had to advocate for the men's 4x100 team after it was found to have committed a handoff violation in Friday's final. That team was later disqualified.
Lananna would prefer not to have that kind of controversy surrounding any of the American athletes, but that also plays into his philosophy.
"It was building around, if one thing goes wrong, we have a whole 10 days," he said. "You have to look at it as a 10-day journey, not as one shot, one hour event, one day, one moment in a relay. It's got to be about more than that one moment."
So, while Lananna was selected to coach these games, he also is taking a bigger picture approach to his role. He would like to see American track and field athletes be recognized more than just every four years.
"I'm trying to make sure our athletes, who are the best in the world, are treated as such, Lananna said. "Unless you state the obvious, it doesn't happen."
The man pulling the strings to make that happen? None other than Duck associate athletic director Vin Lananna.
"I set the tone for what the team is doing," Lananna said.
Lananna was nominated to the job of USATF head men's coach for the Rio Games likely in large part because of his success in growing the track and field programs at Dartmouth and Oberlin colleges, Stanford and, of course, Oregon. He arrived in Eugene in 2005 as the head track and field coach and assistant A.D. and has since been vital in bringing the NCAA Championships, Olympic trials and the 2021 World Championships to Hayward Field.
Lananna, 63, learned of his selection while attending the Pac-12 Championship football game in December and immediately began developing relationships with athletes who were potential Olympic qualifiers. He was driven to surpass the 29 medals won by the USATF team in London in 2012, and his blueprint for doing that included putting the team back in Team USA.
"Our goal was getting this to not be about being individuals, because that's when things go bad," he said while trackside Friday night at Olympic Stadium. "When they don't do as well as they would like to do, then everybody's heads are down.
"The goal was to get this to be about total medals won."
Mission accomplished. The medal counts have shot through the roof, especially compared to last year's World Championships in Beijing, when the United States team brought home what was considered a paltry 19 medals. In addition, many athletes, including UO alumna English Gardner, said there is a strong feeling of team unity among the athletes.
"Relay camps did that, relay practice did that, watching each others' practices, seeing how we prepare for each event and watching each other at each event, those are things that made us more like a family," said Gardner, who won a gold medal with the women's 4x100 meter relay team. "That's what I think helped the most. And definitely one of Vin's biggest things is he likes family. He likes us all to get together and get to know each other and that same Oregon feel was definitely on the field this year."
As part of his job as a head coach, Lananna had to be able to advocate for Gardner's 4x100 team after it was bumped by a Brazilian runner in its semifinal heat, causing Gardner and teammate Allyson Felix to miss their baton exchange. The Americans later were allowed to run again in a solo heat, where they recorded what at the time was the second-fastest race of the year.
Lananna also had to advocate for the men's 4x100 team after it was found to have committed a handoff violation in Friday's final. That team was later disqualified.
Lananna would prefer not to have that kind of controversy surrounding any of the American athletes, but that also plays into his philosophy.
"It was building around, if one thing goes wrong, we have a whole 10 days," he said. "You have to look at it as a 10-day journey, not as one shot, one hour event, one day, one moment in a relay. It's got to be about more than that one moment."
So, while Lananna was selected to coach these games, he also is taking a bigger picture approach to his role. He would like to see American track and field athletes be recognized more than just every four years.
"I'm trying to make sure our athletes, who are the best in the world, are treated as such, Lananna said. "Unless you state the obvious, it doesn't happen."
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