Buehler Honored with Award at Olympic Trials

EUGENE, Ore. - The USA Track & Field (USATF) Alumni Association will present legendary Olympic Coach and former Duke Track and Field Coach Al Buehler with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore., on Wednesday, June 27 at 6 p.m. As the honoree, he will have the opportunity to lead the Parade of Olympians at the Olympic Trials at the University of Oregon's historic Hayward Field.

Currently in his 58^th year of teaching at Duke, Buehler has been the consummate professor-athlete-coach. He teamed up with his best friend and former USOC President, the late Dr. LeRoy Walker, to effectively use the track as a place to create harmony among races, nations, and gender. Decades later, Buehler's NCAA and Olympic athletes including Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Carl Lewis, Mary Decker, Joan Benoit, and John Carlos still regard the 81 year-old as someone who left an impact on their lives and on the sport they love.

As Jackie Joyner-Kersee noted, "Coach Buehler is someone who left an indelible mark on my life. He's simply a great person, a great human being."

The awards ceremony will take place following a 5p.m., screening of "Starting at the Finish Line: The Coach Buehler Story". The film features interviews with Buehler's Olympic athletes and is narrated by Grant Hill. The new book, "Starting at the Finish Line: Coach Al Buehler's Timeless Wisdom" (Perigee/Penguin Books), will be available for purchase at a book signing with Buehler during the special evening.

Tickets for the film screening and the USATF Legends of the Past Celebrity Basketball Game at 7 p.m. are $15 for lower level, $12 for upper level. All seats are general admission only. Tickets can be purchased here. South Eugene High School is located at 400 East 19th Avenue, Eugene, OR, 97401.

More information about the film and book can be found here.

Buehler Honored with Award at Olympic Trials

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