For Immediate Release, Knoxville, Tennessee - 3/13/11

Spotlight on "Mr. Ubiquitous": Olympian Gary Morgan

Michigan native Gary Morgan loves the sport of running. Gary began running in high school, but found his true love of racewalking in 1975 at an AAU track meet where he competed at the age of Fifteen.

More than 35 years later, Gary has competed in six Olympic Trials from 1984-2004 in the 20k and 50K events, and placed 1st in the 1988 USA Olympic Trials, representing America in the Seoul, South Korea Summer Olympics as a race walker. Morgan's accomplishments include a total of five qualifying finishes for the Olympic Time Trials, finishing 2nd in the 1992 Olympic trials.

Including the 1988 Olympic Games, Gary has competed on 17 National Teams that included World Championships, Pan Am Games, Goodwill Games, World Cup and various other teams, and carried the Olympic torch in 1996 and 2002. He has run or walked over 60 marathons, including those in New York, Boston, Chicago, Kilimanjaro, & Antarctica.

In 1997 he was honored by the New York Athletic Club for his achievements and was named the Athlete of the Year.

Art McCafferty, publisher and CEO of Great Lakes Sports Publications named Gary "Mr. Ubiquitous" due to his omnipresence in running adventures around the world.  A television reporter for the Running Network and writer for Michigan Runner, Gary reports on his numerous running adventures around the world, including mountain biking, cross country skiing, camping and all outdoor sports. He is an officer of the USATF Athlete’s Advisory Committee to the U.S. Olympics, a State Representative of the Year for the Road Runners Club of America and on the board of the Ann Arbor Track Club.

The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Inductee also climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa's Highest Mountain in 2006.

Since retiring as an electrician from General Motors, this world traveler makes time to give back to the community as a volunteer, whether it be reading to children at Salvation Army Shelters, working with youth from The Save the Family Foundation, or serving as an official at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.

In 2011, in recognition of his work as a community volunteer, Gary was awarded the Jackie Joyner Kersee Award for dedication to track and field and community service.

- photo courtesy of Runningnetwork.com

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