Wariner Leaves Hart

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http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/display_article.php?id=20180

Baylor’s Hart Not Coaching Wariner in 2008

Legendary coach led former Bear to Olympic gold medal

WACO. Texas – Legendary Baylor track and field coach, Clyde Hart, announced today that he will no longer serve as the personal coach for Jeremy Wariner, the world’s number-one ranked 400-meter runner and defending Olympic Champion.

Hart, considered the world’s top 400-meter coach and the coach of the past three Olympic 400-meter champions, cited that the major reason for declining to coach Jeremy was a new contract proposal that represented significant changes from previous contracts.

“I have enjoyed the five years that I spent as Jeremy’s coach,” said Hart. In addition to the Olympic gold medal, Wariner won the gold medal at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, setting a personal record each year. “I felt that he was on pace to break the world record last year. Although he didn’t achieve that goal, he still was able to run 43.45, the third fastest of all time,” Hart said. “I feel Jeremy will continue to be successful because he has a strong desire to excel and is blessed with tremendous athletic ability. I wish him the very best in his pursuit of Olympic gold,” said Hart.

Hart has also coached Sanya Richards since she turned pro after the 2004 Olympics. There was no World Championship in 2006, but Hart guided Wariner and Richards to undefeated seasons outdoors in the 400 meters that year, including an American record for Richards and a sweep of the IAFF Golden League meets for both athletes.

Hart will continue to coach Richards, the world’s top-ranked female runner over 400 meters the past three years, as well as continue his duties coaching Baylor’s 400-meter runners and 4x400-meter relays. Baylor’s men’s 4x400-meter relay won both the indoor and outdoor NCAA titles in 2007.

Baylor’s head coach for 42 years before moving to the Director of Track and Field in 2005, Hart has coached 32 national champions (15 individual and 17 relay) and 475 men’s All-America performances, including 188 women’s all-America performances. His men’s 4x400 meter relay teams earned outdoor All-America status for 28 consecutive years and captured 16 NCAA titles. Hart’s athletes turned in 10 World-Record performances (9 individual and 1 relay) and 9 NCAA record performances.

Hart has been named National Track and Field Coach of the Year eight times in the last 18 years. He was named NCAA Indoor Coach of the Year in1989 and 1996, and was named the Nike National Track and Field Coach of the Year by USA Track and Field in 1996, 2004 and 2006. Additionally, Hart received the United States Olympic Track and Field Coach of the Year award in 1996, 2004, and 2006. In the eleven years that this award has been given, no other coach has won it more than once.

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I just read this on AB.com. Bit of a shocker in an Olympic yr, risky at least. Maybe he has enough talent to make it work, will be interesting to see the results if there is a change of program under a new coach.

I bet La Shawn Merritt et al must be rubbing their hands together though!

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It appears it wasn’t Wariner’s decision from that article! Any news who wil be coaching him??

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His agent ran pretty well while doing a good amount of training on his own (since he wasn’t based in Waco). Hopefully, Wariner can have similar success. Definitely not sure if this is a great idea in an Olympic year.

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the baylor “system” is hardly unique and seems to work alot more like a funnel with a limited focus on the 400 and 400h, with few exceptions.

some other programs seem to provide more individualized programing. So while it’s not good for wariner to not be working with the master of the system that got him to the top, it’s hard to imagine that there arn’t alot of guys who went through the baylor system(MJ…) and are now coaching in some form or capacity and can provide assistance in the planning and progression.

i think the biggest blow will be the lack of training partners, waco is full of fast guys to do hard workouts with, something Wariner may have trouble finding elsewhere.

it is a bit disconcerting that the article suggests that Hart dumped Wariner because of some redic contract plans. Seems like it’d be hard for wariner to pick up with someone like John Smith or what not now.

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I read that Wariner wanted to give Clyde Hart a pay cut. That’s why Clyde Hart left. I dunno, if I was at that level, I’d would never give my coach a pay cut if I was that close to the Olympics and potentially able to break the world record.

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WOW!
This is extremely surprising news.

Kind of sounds like it came from Hart, but if I were Wariner, id be doing everything in my power to stay with him. Very odd since Wariner has won everything that has come his way since 2004. Will be interesting to see who will coach him (maybe MJ will coach him??) and how he responds…

I suppose we will get an idea when he arrives in OZ in a couple of weeks…

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Looks like Wariner got greedy.

Wariner Loses Coach Before Beijing Games
By JIM VERTUNO – 3 hours ago

[b]Defending Olympic 400 meters champion Jeremy Wariner and his long-time coach have split over a contract dispute with the Beijing Games just seven months away.

Clyde Hart, who has coached Wariner for five years beginning with their days at Baylor University, said Wariner wanted to pay him less than his previous contracts.[/b]

Hart declined to say if Wariner has lined up a new coach. Wariner’s agent is world record holder Michael Johnson, another Hart protege.

[b]Hart said his previous one-year contract paid him a percentage of Wariner’s earnings and that the runner offered him a new deal for less pay.

“The better he did, the better the coach would be compensated,” under the old deal, Hart said. “If he didn’t do good, I would suffer also.”[/b]

In addition to the Olympic gold medal, Wariner won the gold medal at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, setting a personal record each year under Hart’s tutoring.

Hart deflected a question whether the dispute strained his relationship with Johnson and Wariner.

“It’s been a strange situation all the way around,” Hart said.

Johnson did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment left with Wariner’s manager, Deon Minor.

[b]Hart said he enjoyed coaching Wariner but made his decision based on the business of the sport.

“It was good money, and probably most people would jump at it in a heartbeat,” he said, without giving specifics. “I just felt that any type of cutback wasn’t justified.”[/b]

Hart said he will continue to coach Sanya Richards, the world’s top-ranked female runner over 400 meters the past three years.

“I feel Jeremy will continue to be successful because he has a strong desire to excel and is blessed with tremendous athletic ability. I wish him the very best in his pursuit of Olympic gold,” Hart said.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hiumW9g06iULQZWNo3xx-vKsWArwD8UFMHV82

from another article

“The contract (offer) was significantly lower than what I had gotten in the previous three years,” Hart told Reuters in a telephone interview from Waco, Texas, where he coaches. "I couldn’t in good faith sign it.
“He has won everything out there and I just could not understand why there would be a cut in my pay,” Hart added.

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7265678,00.html

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Just heard* a rumor he is staying in Aus after he races there to be trained by Sharmer.:stuck_out_tongue:

  • in this case heard means started :wink:
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i wonder if he kept a log of all his workouts from 02-07?

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LOLOL
i certainly didn’t saw this coming…

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JOHN WROTE: “Just heard* a rumor he is staying in Aus after he races there to be trained by Sharmer.”

Might be something in it - Sharma’s talents are wasted on 44s runners. He really needs to get with a ‘43’ boy to realise his true potential. Anyone got MJ’s number? :o

Then again, JW could do worse than hooking up with Sharma - like going to the AIS in Canberra. :rolleyes:

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haha, are they still trolling out crap??

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Wariner != smart

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can we change the threads name to Hart leaves Wariner please, it sounds far more accurate.

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What?? Hart is still sitting in his office in Baylor. He’s not going anywhere. You don’t give a master coach a pay cut in an Olympic year after you just PR’d as world champion and can challenge the WR.

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well, think about it this way, if your boss all the sudden came to you and was like “we’re gonna give you a 50% pay cut(arbitray), but of course we’re still going to expect the same productivity, and we arn’t even gonna put the money back into the company or anything, we’re gonna put it in my kid’s braces fund and my vacation fund and my redic expensive car fund.” how would you react?

basically what wariner said to hart.

hart may have left wariner, but it looks as if wariner forced him out, our hart called his bluff, whatever you wanna say.

“hart and wariner split” is probably the most accurate title.

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It will be interesting when he races in Australia. I am sure he will be at the track at the same time as me & JS. I might be able to find out what his new coaching set up is. But then again, it may be better to keep JS training private and what JM does from now on.

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Reigning Olympic 400m champion splits with coach
4 hours ago

WACO, Texas (AFP) — Reigning world and Olympic 400-meter champion Jeremy Wariner has split from coach Clyde Hart in a contract dispute barely six months before the Beijing Olympics, the famed athletics mentor said Tuesday.

Wariner, who also won world 400m crowns in 2005 and 2007, was said to have sought major changes from terms in prior agreements with Hart, the former coach of world record-holder Michael Johnson, who serves as Wariner’s agent.

“I have enjoyed the five years that I spent as Jeremy’s coach,” Hart said. "I feel Jeremy will continue to be successful because he has a strong desire to excel and is blessed with tremendous athletic ability.

“I wish him the very best in his pursuit of Olympic gold.”

Wariner dominated the 400 last season with a best of 43.45 seconds, still shy of Johnson’s world record 43.18 effort.

“I felt he was on pace to break the world record last year,” Hart said of his former pupil.

Wariner is expected to begin training for the Olympic year next month in Australia, the Dallas Morning News reported, also saying Hart will continue to coach Sanya Richards, a Jamaican-born 400m star who became a US citizen in 2002.

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That will make a few 400 guys happier. Like in tennis when Federer and his coach Roche split. It may take time (probably not yet evident prior to Beijing?) but you may see an erosion of that invulnerability Wariner has had for the last couple of years.

If Michael takes over his coaching, that would maybe make for some difficulty in MJ’s relationship with Clyde Hart. One fine thing MJ had was loyalty and I doubt he would ever have insulted his mentor by trying to force a paycut on him (or at least an inferior contract). Wonder what function Deon Minor played in all of this. Probably only a minor role :stuck_out_tongue: