Henderson advances in 400

Monique Henderson, with a time of 51.77, is in the 400-meter semifinals.

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 15, 2000

SACRAMENTO -- They came to see if she was real. This schoolgirl who supposedly could run 400 meters as fast as anyone in the country.

She arrived dressed all in white and stood in her lane, as still as the moment. When the gun sounded, she broke free and ran. And when it was done, she was gone again.

Monique Henderson is the most exciting high school sprinter since Marion Jones showed up as a 16-year-old at the 1992 Olympic Trials.

Her time of 51.77 in Friday night's preliminaries at the trials placed her in today's semifinals and put her a step closer to being the first high school student to compete for the U.S. Olympic track team in 24 years.

Six weeks ago, she was not planning on coming here. She said she was too young and felt the experience would be overwhelming. Which probably explains why her exit was as quick as her race.

Bypassing a group of waiting reporters, Henderson left the track at California State University and hopped into a sports utility vehicle.

The snub was hardly noteworthy. Henderson had done what she had shown up to do.

"Monique is something special," her father Adam said. "Really special."

What a difference 50.74 seconds makes.

Henderson, 17, went from an obscure San Diego teenager to the cover of Track and Field News after a June performance at the prep state meet.

Although she had set the national high school record a week earlier at a sectional meet, Henderson was unprepared for the dramatic run she made while winning the state 400 title for the third consecutive year.

She said she barely noticed when the time of 50.74 flashed on the board.

"I was just so happy I had won, that I didn't think about the time," Henderson said at the time. "Later on, I realized it was the national junior record. To me, it was the time I had to run to win."

If Henderson was slow to realize the impact of her run, the rest of the track world was not. Her time was better than any NCAA performer in 2000. It was the fourth-best run by an American this year.

To that point, she had refused to commit to the trials, even when gold medal winner and San Diego native Gail Devers told her the time was right when they met a San Diego banquet in February. Finally, after the state meet, she relented.

"Right now, track is still fun. It's not a job," she told the Sacramento Bee earlier this month. "I'm not making money yet. My family reminds me that I'm doing this for me and no one else."

In many respects, she is a typical teenager, but with a twist. She hangs out at the mall, yet when she comes home she has a phone message from Jones.

Her friends may be fans of Jones and her hip Nike commercials, but Henderson can count the world's top female track star as one of her fans.

A native of southern California, Jones lives in North Carolina. But she remains intrigued with California prep athletes and logged on the Internet in early June to browse the results of the state track meet.

When she reached Henderson's time in the 400, Jones decided to get in touch with the latest prodigy.

"I think this is a great experience for her," Jones said. "(Although) she might hurt somebody's feelings."

The fear in the Henderson house was that Monique might get her feelings hurt.

Obea Moore was a high school phenom at the last Olympic trials. Like Henderson, he was from southern California, was heading into his senior year and ran the 400. The similarities hopefully will end there.

Moore was toasted in the trials and, whether or not that performance had an impact, his career has never taken off. He had hamstring problems in 1997 and has bounced around small college programs in recent years.

Henderson has the background that might keep her from being overwhelmed at the trials.

Her parents have been running a youth track club for inner city kids for more than a decade. Older sisters Monica and Starla won California state championships in sprint events. Legend has it, her grandfather raced in the Louisiana boondocks in the 1930s against a future Olympian named Jesse Owens.

The Hendersons have also been protective of her time. She was kept away from reporters and others in the days leading up to the trials and has not been seen around the stadium except for Friday night's performance.

She appears to be very mature, if not a little shy. Henderson carries a 3.89 grade point average and is choosing from a college field that includes USC, UCLA and Stanford.

No matter what happens in the next two days, it does not appear Henderson will allow it to change who she is when she returns to Samuel Morse High.

She just might need a note from Juan Antonio Samaranch to explain why she arrived late.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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