Olympians Come to CSU Amid Effort to Revamp University Athletics

By: Alma Campos

Posted: 9/21/09

CSU's athletics department has hired two former all-star Olympic champions this fall - Diana Muhammad, a two-time track and field Olympic champion, and Robert "Bob" Beamon, a gold medalist in the historic long-jump competition during the 1968 Olympic Games.

Muhammad (formerly known as Diane Williams), won the 100m bronze medal in the IAAF World Championships in Finland and the silver medal in the Pan American Games, both in 1983. She also won the gold medal in 1987 for the USA Track and Field World Championship along with numerous other awards and medals. Muhammad will be coaching CSU's women's track and field team.

CSU's athletics director, Sudie Davis, also confirmed the arrival of Bob Beamon - the university's new associate athletics director. Beamon, also a former track and field athlete, is best known for his 23-year standing world record in the long-jump in Mexico's Olympic Games of 1968. Beamon's world record was named one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. At press time, Beamon was not available for comment.

Inspired by Beamon's performance in 1968,
the term "Beamonesque" was coined - meaning "an athletic feat so dramatically superior to previous feats that it overwhelms the imagination."

Among some of Muhammad's goals at CSU is the recruitment of more track and field athletes. "I am very excited about coming to Chicago State. I want to bring out the best in women athletes and also instill in them the importance of academics. My role is not that of a mentor, but I want to offer that kind of support too."

Muhammad was born and raised in the Inglewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. She attended Dunbar Vocational High School and received an athletic scholarship from Michigan State University before she began training for world competitions.

In 2008, Muhammad wrote "True to Me: An Olympians Victory Over Steroids," a book which details her triumph over the use of anabolic steroids from 1980-1984. In her book, Muhammad explains how her former coach fed her the performance-enhancing drugs by making her think she was taking vitamins.

"Coaches have a huge responsibility to their athletes." My advice to young athletes is to focus on doing what is right...knowing that in every choice there is a consequence."

Davis believes the arrival of the former Olympians will help raise dollars for and add weight to the university's athletics program. "We have some real powerful folks that we've recruited," Davis said.