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Track for the Howard family, especially Sherri, father Gene, Duncan, and Tina, is a family affair. Photo by Long's Photography. 

[[image - Tina Howard]]

reach national prominence on her own. In 1979, as high school junior, she ran the 400 meters in 51.09, the third fastest time ever run by an American woman. That year she won the U.S. Olympic Committee's Sports Festival and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior title, was third in the AAU Senior Championships, and anchored the championship U.S. World Cup mile relay team. The next year, the likeable young lady was named the national prep female athlete of the year after winning both The Atlantic Congress (TAC) championships and the U.S. Olympics trials. 

While Sherri was winning the 400 meters in the 1980 Olympic trials, Denean finished third to make the Howards the first sisters to qualify for the Olympics in the same event. 

When a foot injury put Sherri on the sidelines shortly after the 1980 Olympic trials, Denean stepped to the forefront. In 1981 and  1982, she was one of the world's finest track performers. She won California state prep titles in the 100 and 200 meters as well as the TAC 200 meters, and anchored her Kennedy High team to another national 1600 meter record (3:37.1). In 1981, Denean ran the 400 meters in 50.87 to break Sherri's national prep mark. 

With the Howards, life is truly a family affair. When you talk to any of the sisters, they never say "I" but "we" or "us." Father Eugene is the assistant track coach at Cal State-Los Angeles, the school which Sherri, Denean, and Tina attend, and is the only coach the girls have ever had. Coach Howard, a former military policeman, sees to it that there is no sibling rivalry in his clan. As 20-year-old Sherri says with a smile, "We're a team through thick and thin. Our parents have always insisted that the family remain close and I think that's why we've done so well." 

"Track wasn't always our favorite sport," says Denean. "We all played basketball in high school. But we've gotten so much out of track. The traveling, learning different lifestyles, and, of course, the athletic scholarship."

"It is great to win," says Tina. "But the most important thing is to be able to look in the mirror after the race and know you've given it your best and you had fun doing it." 

 "We're a team through thick and thin. Our parents have always insisted that the family remain close and I think that's why we've done so well."
Sherri Howard 


[[image - Robert Kersee]]
Robert Kersee is the assistant women's track coach at UCLA-NCAA champions the past two years. An expert in training athletes, Kersee is working on a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology at California State University at  Northridge. A graduate of California State University at Long Beach, Kersee has coached a number of national champions in his ten-year career. Robert Kersee jogging with UCLA sprinter Jeannette Bolden at a team practice. Training photographs by Long's photography.


[[image - Rafer Johnson]] 
Since winning the 1960 Olympic decathlon in Rome, Rafer Johnson has become one of the world's most celebrated athletes. A former UCLA student body president and honor student. Johnson has received numerous awards, including SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Athlete of the year. associated Press Athlete of the Year, and the Sullivan Award-symbolic of the world's top amateur athlete. Johnson is currently vice president of the community affairs for Continental Telephone Company. Photos courtesy of Rafer Johnson.
  
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