e-mail: keithconning@aol.com.
I have been a fan, athlete, coach, official, prep editor, author, blogger, and photographer since 1953.
I have announced the NCAA West, the Pac-12, the Stanford Invitational, the Brutus Hamilton Invitational, the Mt. SAC Relays, the North Coast Section, the Sac-Joaquin Section, and the California State High School Meet.
I have attended five Olympic Games and four World Championships.
I am a U.S. Correspondent for Track and Field News.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Marquis Dendy’s celebrity encounter with Allyson Felix
USA TODAY Sports
Marquis Dendy’s celebrity encounter with Allyson Felix
In 2011, Marquis Dendy asked Allyson Felix for her autograph. Five years later, they are USA Track and Field teammates.
Marquis Dendy remembers the first time he laid eyes on Allyson Felix.
He was watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics on television at the age of 15 when Felix, then 22, claimed a gold medal in the 4x400m relay and a silver medal in the 200m.
"She made it look easy," said Dendy, a U.S. long and triple jumper, in a phone interview.
Nearly three years later, when Dendy saw Felix in person at the 2011 Arcadia Invitational, he desperately wanted to introduce himself to his idol. But so did the rest of the competitors, and a crowd of admirers quickly encircled Felix.
Dendy kept his eye on Felix as he started warming up for the long jump. When the meet got underway, he noticed that Felix was finally standing by herself in the infield of the track at Arcadia (Calif.) High School.
Sensing his opportunity, Dendy grabbed a meet program from his mother, Dionne. He then sprinted over to Felix, who autographed the cover in blue ink.
Allyson Felix's autograph on Marquis Dendy's meet program Credit: Courtesy of Marquis Dendy
As Felix signed her name, Dendy could hear race officials calling his name. He put down the autograph, stripped off his sweats and took his first long jump. He fouled.
"Everyone thought I was crazy for asking her right before I jumped," Dendy said. "But I was worried I wasn't going to see her afterwards, and I wasn't going to be that close and not ask her."
Dendy redeemed himself with his second long jump, leaping 24 feet, 9 3/4 inches. The mark stood as the longest at the 2011 Arcadia Invitational. He also finished second in the triple jump.
Two years later, Dendy and Felix met again, as peers on the U.S roster for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. Dendy got to know Felix better, partnering with 1500m runner Cory McGee to play the board game Pictionary against Felix and 400m runner Natasha Hastings. Dendy recalls that that he and McGee defeated Felix and Hastings.
Dendy teamed with Felix again at the 2015 World Championships, but they never discussed the autograph.
"I wonder if she remembers," Dendy said.
Through the years with Marquis Dendy, the long jump world indoor champion in 2016
Felix's signature is displayed in Dendy's childhood home in Middletown, Delaware. It hangs above his Bowerman Trophy, which is presented annually to the top collegiate track and field athlete. Coincidently, Dendy and Jenna Prandini, the male and female winners of the 2015 Bowerman Trophy, were both pictured on the cover of the Arcadia Invitational program that Felix autographed.
Dendy has never asked for another autograph, but now he regularly receives autograph requests.
After Dendy won the long jump gold medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships, a mother approached Dendy, asking for an autograph on behalf of her timid daughter. The daughter, who was hiding in her mother's shadow, burst into tears of excitement when Dendy signed the autograph. Moved by her reaction, Dendy removed his bib number and signed it for the overwhelmed girl.
"You never know who you're signing an autograph for," Dendy said.
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