Jenner quit track but stays busy

By DON HUNT

It has been 22 years since Bruce Jenner paraded around the track stadium in Montreal, waving an American flag after winning the Olympic gold medal in the decathlon.

Jenner has not pole vaulted, put a shot, hurled a discus or run a competitive race since July 30, 1976, when he set a world record in his speciality.

And yet, Jenner's name continues to be recognized by millions of Americans, and not just the die-hard sports fan who could tell you who took the bronze medal in springboard diving at the 1960 Summer Games.

Jenner was in Medford on Tuesday to speak at a banquet for the Longevity Network, a company that recruits everyday people to push their line of health, beauty, fitness and vitamin products.

"No one has milked a single performance better than me, and I'm proud of it," Jenner says as he relaxes on a couch in the lobby of a Medford motel, a couple of hours before his speech. "What I did at the Olympics still motivates people. That day lives on."

Jenner is 48 now, but could easily pass for someone in his mid-30s. His 6-foot-2 frame carries 195 pounds, three less than he lugged at the Olympics. He is tanned and impeccably groomed.

And he has a relentless energy level.

Since his retirement from track, Jenner has been busier than an army of ants. He has raced cars, powerboats and mountain bikes. He has piloted his own jet plane. He has been a sports broadcaster, producer, promoter, actor and author. He has been a guest host of "Good Morning America." He has put out his own line of fitness products.

And, of course, he has appeared on more Wheaties boxes than Mary Lou Retton.

"I just really enjoy being around people and I enjoy life in general," he says. "And I like the challenge of building things, making things better."

When he's not out on the road giving motivational speeches, Jenner is at his Los Angeles home with his wife, Kris, and their 10 children. Four are from his previous marriage, four from hers. Two are theirs, born 19 and eight months ago.

"I'm pretty good at changing diapers," he says.

Jenner has a special place in his heart for kids, particularly the ones who suffer from a disability.

Jenner has dyslexia, where words become jumbled and sentences short-circuit. His biggest fear while growing up in Mount Kisco, N.Y. was having his teacher call on him to read in front of his class.

"When I was a kid I had limited self-esteem," he says. "I thought that everyone was smarter than me."

But few were faster or more athletic, and Jenner began boosting his self-worth by starring on the playground.

"If it wasn't for my dyslexia I don't think I ever would have been an Olympic champion," he says. "Sports became my arena, and I worked hard to prove myself."

Even so, Jenner was only a moderately successful pole vaulter and high jumper when he entered Graceland College in Iowa in the late 1960s. His coach there turned Jenner into a decathlete. He burst onto the national scene at the 1972 Olympic Trials in Eugene when he placed third and earned a ticket to Munich.

"I had an 18-second PR (personal record) in the 1,500 meters and that's what got me on the Olympic team," Jenner recalls of that day at Hayward Field. "I have fond memories of Eugene."

Indeed, three years later Jenner broke the world decathlete record in Eugene and then in 1976 he won the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field and again snapped the world record.

Two weeks later, he would be the toast of Montreal.

In those days Jenner had to get by on the $9,000 yearly income he made from selling insurance. He drove an old Volkswagen Beetle and lived in a small apartment with his first wife, Chrystie.

He worked out eight hours a day, sometimes more. Unlike some of today's top decathletes, such as Dan O'Brien, Jenner didn't have a lot of natural speed. He had to make up for that glaring deficiency by getting into extraordinary cardiovascular shape. His best time in the 1,500 meters -- 4 minutes, 12 seconds -- is nearly a minute faster than O'Brien's.

Jenner's vision was single-minded: To win an Olympic gold medal.

"My life wasn't well-rounded then," he admits. "But even back then I knew that (the '76 Olympics) would be my last decathlon. When you've got 60 or 70 years to recover, you can go all-out."

When Jenner left Montreal's track stadium, he never even bothered to fetch his pole vault poles.

The way he's hopping around these days, he could still use one.