First-time Olympian Christopher says pressure of medal hopes won't phase him
Published Tuesday July 29th, 2008
Tyler Christopher was all restless energy sitting in the stands of the University of Windsor stadium, his knee pumping ferociously up and down like a jack-hammer.
The Canadian 400-metre star - and self-professed adrenaline junkie - was talking about his love of extreme sports during a break at the recent Canadian track and field championships. For emphasis, he pointed to the Ambassador Bridge that rises over the southwest corner of the stadium and links Windsor to Detroit. Its towers ascend 120 metres above the Detroit River.
"I'd go climb that bridge if I was allowed to," Christopher said straightfaced. "And then jump off it into the water, if it didn't kill me.
"I've always been like that, since I was young. Put me on the highest, tallest thing I can get on. If I can climb it, I'll go on it."
Christopher is nothing if not fearless. It's a trait that most of the world's fastest athletes possess and one of the reasons why, when Christopher lines up for the start of the 400-metre final at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, anything could happen.
"You think of sprinters as these bundles of energy, and there's a large contrast when they have down time and when they're doing something they're excited about," says his coach Kevin Tyler. "For (Christopher) it could be paintball, it could be motocross, even driving his car. I think that's a good quality to have.
"And he's very confident, he's always a big performer, he competes well in big races."
The 24-year-old sprinter from Chilliwack, B.C., is considered one of Canada's top medal hopes on the track in China. He captured gold at the world indoor championships in March in Spain, won a silver medal at last summer's Pan American Games, and was third at the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, Finland, where he ran his Canadian record of 44.44 seconds.
There's no question says Tyler that the sprinter has the psychological wherewithal to compete with the best.
"It's just a matter of taking that and ensuring his physical ability matches his mental ability," Tyler said
Christopher ran 44.71 at the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, Calif., in May, his fastest season-opener ever. But he hasn't dipped under 45 seconds since. Seven quarter-milers have run faster than the Canadian this season, including Americans Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt, favoured to claim the top two spots on the podium in Beijing.
The key, says Tyler, is to get Christopher through the first two rounds, then let him loose in the Aug. 21 final.
"Once he's in the final, he's capable of going with anybody," said the coach, a former track athlete and Olympic bobsledder. "Our job is to make sure we get him there with enough reserves, through therapy or just recovery work, making sure he doesn't put too much gas into the early rounds."
The pair of Tylers know the potential is there for a big performance. At last summer's Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Christopher didn't hear the gun in the noisy Brazilian stadium, and jogged out of the blocks in what he thought was a false start. He came to a near standstill before realizing the race wouldn't be called back, and then hit the gas, roaring to a second-place finish.
Christopher exploded after crossing the finish line, kicking a plastic lane marker and then punching a door as he blew by reporters. He soon returned to apologize.
But the race left Christopher and his coach with plenty of reason for optimism. Tyler believes without the botched start, it would easily have been a Canadian-record run for his athlete.
Now, with hurdler Perdita Felicien forced to the broadcast booth for Beijing with a stress fracture in her foot, Canada's medal hopes on the track will largely fall on Christopher's shoulders.
Beijing will also be Christopher's first Olympics. He was left home four years for Athens when he achieved the qualifying standard two weeks too late.
But the six-foot-one sprinter insists he won't succumb to the jitters that can smother an Olympic rookie, and the pressure of being a medal hope doesn't bother him.
"At the beginning, I set out to be No. 1 in the world and to have a medal at these Olympics, so it's still the same," Christopher said. "My goals are still the same, it's still a 400-metre track, that doesn't change if five people are watching me, my family is watching me, or the whole country is watching me."
Christopher says his love of extreme sports might have a lot to do with his approach on the track.
"I don't fear anything, I don't fear anyone I'm racing against," said Christopher. "When it comes to motocross (one of his favourite outdoor pursuits), each jump is different, each jump is bigger and better. I don't have any fear, so I just approach each race as a different race.
"It can go good and it can go bad, and if it goes bad, oh well, I just get mad about it and then get back on and do it again."
Christopher's mother Elaine, an elementary school teacher, steered him towards track when he was nine as an outlet for his boundless energy.
He made the junior national team when he was 17, and decided that summer to leave his mom and brothers Corey and Colton and move to Edmonton to pursue track, working as a landscaper and a short-order cook to support himself.
No need these days. His gold medal at the world indoors paid him US$40,000, plus there are appearance fees and sponsorship deals, with Nike at the top of the list. With a background in construction work, he also flips houses. It's as much a hobby as a way to make ends meet.
He was recently scrolling through a website that caters to millionaires - "I'm definitely not there yet, but I can look at their perks, and think 'Hmmm, I could have some fun with that"' - and spotted an ad for flying Russian fighter jets.
"What better thing to do for an adrenaline junkie than go 2,700 miles an hour, and spin and flip around and have some fun," Christopher said with a grin. "Maybe with the money I'll make with an Olympic medal. Some people buy a car, I'll buy that."
Christopher returns home to Chilliwack whenever there's a break in training. He and Corey, who's 23, will hit the trail to hike or dirt-bike, although Christopher's a bit more careful with his body these days.
"It's very low key," Christopher said. "I'll go on the dirt bikes, but I won't hit any jumps or anything like that. We'll go hiking but I won't climb too many rock faces, just the little ones. . . "
Christopher is considering starting up a landscaping business with his younger brother, which he would finance and Corey would manage until he retired from track.
"We both grew up doing landscaping," Christopher said. "It's something I'd love to get into later on. . . If track was finished tomorrow, I would have something else to do."
And maybe a bridge or two he'd like to conquer.
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