Harrison Seeks Triple Double

Olympic gold medalist.

World champion.

American record-holder.

Triple jumper Kenny Harrison of Mission Hills has earned each of these distinctions during the past six years, yet he’s driven to attain two more milestones before his career ends.

“I want to set a world record,” Harrison said. “That’s really the only thing left for me to do in track. That and win the gold medal in Sydney.”

Sydney, Australia, is the site of the 2000 Olympics, where Harrison hopes to defend the title he won in Atlanta last summer.

Before that, the 32-year-old Kansas State graduate yearns to break the world record and become the second man in history to exceed 60 feet.

He figures the finals of the World Championships in Athens on Thursday would be a nice place to do that.

“If I’m healthy and the conditions are right, I don’t see why I can’t get a personal record and challenge 60 feet,” Harrison said. “I jumped [59-0 1/4] and [59-4 1/4] in the Olympics and those jumps came into a head wind. If you put that wind behind me, there’s no telling how far I could have gone.”

Harrison, who won the 1991 world title in Tokyo, will compete in the qualifying round of the World Championships today.

He set two American and Olympic records in the 1996 Games, but believes he’s capable of exceeding those performances in Athens.

Harrison might need to go farther to defeat Jonathan Edwards of Great Britain.

Edwards was slowed by a back injury earlier this season, but enters the World Championships with the longest jump in the world this year at 58-2 1/2.

Track fans won’t soon forget his performance in the 1995 World Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, where Edwards unloaded world records of 59-7 and 60-0 1/4 on his first two jumps of the finals.

Nonetheless, Harrison defeated Edwards for the Olympic title and figures he can repeat the feat.

“I plan on jumping a personal best,” he said. “And I don’t think there are going to be many people able to do that.”

A world title would give Harrison $60,000 from the International Amateur Athletic Federation and a world record would be worth another $100,000, but Harrison said he doesn’t feel pressured.

“It’s a lot different this year,” he said. “I think I go into meets more relaxed than before. I enjoy them more. I’m having more fun out there because I don’t feel like I have to prove myself anymore.”

Athletic shoe companies apparently feel differently. Nike didn’t renew Harrison’s contract this year and no one else has filled the void.

“I didn’t know what to expect after winning the gold medal, but I haven’t gotten too much of anything,” Harrison said.

It doesn’t appear to have affected Harrison’s jumping.

He won his fourth national title in June with a jump of 55-8 1/4 and bounded 56-7 1/2, 57-2 and 57-5 1/2 in three meets in Europe.

“I feel like I’m peaking at the right time,” Harrison said.