By Bill Joiner | Published Thursday, June 25, 2009
As I read the gracious letter from Savannah Matzinger congratulating Zuleima Paloma on breaking Matzinger's old record in the 3,200 meters, I recalled the first time that I saw Matzinger run in a track meet.
She was in middle school. It was the 1,600 meters. As she ran off from the pack at the first of the race, I expected to see the young phenom slow down as the race progressed. She did not. In fact, I believe that she steadily increased her speed throughout the race.
At the next track meet, a group of middle school boys were sitting behind me. As Savannah blew through the first quarter, one of the boys said, "Watch this. She's going too fast. She will crash before the race is finished." I turned around and told him, "You haven't seen this kid run before. You are in for a surprise."
Her finish was not unlike Secretariat's Belmont. The second place finisher was in another zip code. The look of astonishment on the boys' faces said it all.
In addition to reaching track stardom, Savannah also became an outstanding basketball player.
