Ruxton Towers XC wrote:
This. We just were so beaten down in the era where Todd Williams was the only other good runner besides Kennedy. We needed those two guys to do well because there was belief that regular 6'0 tall 150 lb white kids couldn't compete with 5'6, 120 lb East Africans.
Kennedy gave "average kids" all around America hope. Obviously, he was not average at all (either mentally or physically), but he was still an inspiration. People do benefit from role models who look like them...
Fun fact about Todd Williams - he is now a Jui Jitsu third degree black belt and owns a sweet gym/dojo in Monroe, Michigan. Also a great guy and one of the toughest American runners in history.