Would Curtic Beach be getting so much attention if he wasn't white?

not true.

these accomplishments are so large that race doesn't matter.

Curtis Beach does 10 x the events that the lazy Marquis de Sade Goodwin does. That makes Beach 10 x the man.

CB gets a lot of attention around here because of his mid-distance prowess. He was a 800m runner who became a decathlete, and he cranks the 1500m. Most decathletes are jumper/hurdler types that have speed and strength. Beach is a rare breed.

I thought he was like Asian or something.

winners wrote:

I've been hearing all the news about Curtis Beach this year and I've got to admit I was pretty surprised when I saw a picture of him.

I don't want to say that he is over-hyped, but he is competing in an event that very few high school athletes are even able to try. And meanwhile Marquis Goodwin jumped 26-10, a 20 year old national high school record in an event that every state in America contests at the high school state championship meet.

I feel like if Curtis Beach was black, like I originally assumed he was, he would not be Dyestat's poster boy with with new interviews and photos and articles and his own blog every day. People wouldn't be drooling over him like they are now. People would be just as indifferent now as they always have been to the decathlon.

Why would you assume he was black? Methinks you've got some soul searching to do my brother.

Beach gets so much attention for a variety of reasons, but least of all because he is white. He is the best decathlete ever, and is nationally elite in the 800m dash, which is rare. He also is incredibly well spoken, giving great interviews and information to the press whenever they are around. That goes a long way in terms of getting tons of press. If a kid isn't good with the media, odds are they will receive very limited media attention even if they are breaking national records.

Goodwin's jump was astonishing and came out of nowhere for distance runners who don't pay attention to the lj. And while there's a mostly white distance guy audience at letsrun that is mostly interested in performances of white distance guys (but also white sprinters and decathletes), Beach is legit. He is a tremendous prospect in the decathlon and has set all three records.

If he were green with pink stripes, he'd be getting even more attention.

Curtis is the ALL AMERICAN boy and will do well at Duke .Champion decathletes are very special and known all over the world , MATHIAS, R JOHNSON , JENNER , OBRIAN, THOMPSON are all famous.BEACH will probably never be as good but has the looks to be on a cereal box.

I believe Beach is part Hispanic. If you look at some of his Dyestat pics with his family some of them look Hispanic. If you look at his face he has Hispanic like features. Can anyone verify this?

Curtis Beach is his slave name. Like Chuck Norris's drivers license and passport says Carlos Rey.

winners wrote:

I feel like if Curtis Beach was black, like I originally assumed he was, he would not be Dyestat's poster boy with with new interviews and photos and articles and his own blog every day. People wouldn't be drooling over him like they are now. People would be just as indifferent now as they always have been to the decathlon.

Compare Marquis Goodwin with Mason Finley. Both have broken national high school records this year. Both have received significant media attention from sites specializing in coverage of track and field. Both deserve it. I hope that neither is messed up by the attention they've received. I hope both go on to represent us in the Olympics. Goodwin is black; Finley is white. Both have been celebrated on the front page of Dyestat. Ultimately, though, neither accomplished what Beach has accomplished. You said it yourself, "he is competing in an event that very few high school athletes are even able to try." I don't know that "try" is the right word--anyone can try the decathlon--but it's the right idea. Beach has so excelled in so many disciplines that it is that fact that sets his accomplishments apart.

Go back a year--Chanelle Price and Laura Roessler. One white, one black, both 800 phenoms. Both got lots of attention. Neither got the kind of attention Beach is getting.

And part of what Beach is getting owes to the fact that he happens to be both extroverted and articulate. Not all high school phenoms are. In fact, most aren't.

It helps if we don't go about looking for examples of racism. It helps all people.

And, always indifferent to the decathlon? Why, then, was Bryan Clay one of our more celebrated American track and field athletes of the most recent Olympics?

Beyond Race x 10 wrote:

Curtis Beach does 10 x the events that the lazy Marquis de Sade Goodwin does. That makes Beach 10 x the man.

Beach deserves all the accolades (no matter what color), but competing in the LJ/TJ/100/4X100/4X200 at the TX state meet, and bring home medals in all of them is not lazy in my opinion. Oh yeah, he also plays football for the #2 ranked Longhorns...

texas is #3. Sorry dude...