AP
Maurice Smith makes an attempt during the high jump of the men's decathlon during the World Athletics Chamopionships.

Avia Collinder, Outlook Writer

Now, everybody wants a piece of him and it's kind of totally overwhelming. But, it's what comes with the territory, says decathlon silver medallist Maurice Smith, who we met during his recent whirlwind visit to Kingston with manager Juliet Campbell.

Smith surprised many to win silver at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan, in October when, in the athletic contest comprising 10 different track-and-field events, the national record holder for Jamaica scored a record 8,644 points.

He thereby beat his previous best of 8,349, to finish second behind Olympic and European champion and world record holder, Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic (8,676 points).

Now, Smith is highly optimistic about next summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Jamaicans are, too, and Smith does not mind his 'sudden' change of fortune in fans.

"It is what comes with doing so well at this level of the competition. It's getting easier too," he responds to Outlook's observation, with a benign expression on his face.

After all, his life has been one challenge after another, to be met and defeated one at a time.

"Growing up, I was always involved in competition and sport with my brothers at the community level," the champ states.

The former Calabar High School student, who has six siblings, celebrated his 27th birthday on September 28. He grew up in Almond Hill, St. Catherine, and started track and field at St. Mary's All-Age School from first grade.

All his brothers did, too, but while they defected in their love to basketball, he remained enamoured of track and field.

Mom - Daphne Burke-Smith, teacher and vice-principal at St. Mary's All-Age - also ran track in her time. Dad, Maurice Leon Smith, ran a grocery store.

At Calabar, Smith was also active in the high jump and shot put, and when senior hepathalete Ryan Chambers graduated and the school required a replacement, school coach Herb McKinley - who was to become a big mentor for Maurice - told him that he could do it.

McKinley, Maurice says, taught him pretty much everything he knows about track, an he had other coaches for the other events, the coach was the dominating influence. Other powerful influences in Smith's life were his mom and big brother.

"Mom realised after a while that I had a passion for track and field. I got the go-ahead from her, Dad and the immediate family to pursue it as a career."

Their son had chosen what is viewed as the most challenging track and field event. Decathletes are considered to be superior all-around athletes.

The 10 events included in the decathlon are a 328-foot (100 metre) sprint, a 1,312-foot (400 metre) sprint, a 4,921-foot (1,500 metre) run, a 361-foot (110 metre) set of hurdles, a discus throw, a javelin throw, a shot put, a pole vault, a high jump and a long jump.

Smith himself admits: "When I just started doing the decathlon I did not think I would be doing it beyond high school."

But, in just two years, he developed enough passion and an enduring belief in himself to want to make a career of it.

Teaching and coaching

After Calabar, Smith left Jamaica for Central Arizona Junior College, breaking national junior college records in the two years spent there, before moving on to Auburn University, also in Alabama.

At Auburn, he pursued a bachelor's in education. He chose education, he said, because he had his mind on teaching and coaching whenever he retires.

He was also influenced in making his choice by his mother and older brother Greg Smith, who is a teacher at Meadowbrook High School.

Already, Maurice notes, he connects well with younger athletes and is often called on by Auburn coach Jeremy Clayton to demonstrate for them.

But for now, he is focused on becoming an Olympian gold medallist.

"To reach this level," he explains, "involves a lot of hard work and discipline. The older you get and the more experienced, the better you become."

Smith, who grew up in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, adds, "And I try not to leave God out of it, because he is the one who made it possible."

Preparing for Beijing

Winning silver, he says, was an intensely happy moment, as "I was ranked number eight and the underdog. But I was very mentally prepared for the championship. I did the decathlon as many as a million times in my head. World-class level performance requires strong mental preparation."

He will do the same for Beijing. The decathlon tests the endurance of the competing athlete, packing all 10 events into two days in the classic Olympic format. Training involves the physical challenges of throwing a heavy shot put, managing a javelin and hurdling over a series of jumps.

But, the athlete is growing in optimism every day. Smith broke the national and area (Central America and Caribbean) records no less than four times in the last two years. He has expressed his intention to do the work that needs to be done to secure the 2008 Olympic gold.

His elbow (he said he has been affected by a tear in his right elbow) is healing nicely.

He does not do as many competitive events each year as ordinary track athletes do, because his sport is very demanding. Back home in Auburn, Alabama, most of the year is spent training with his coach at Auburn University. He needs at least one month to recuperate after each competitive event.

"In order for me to cover all 10 events in one week, I do two events per day." The athlete says that his regimen allows him to eat anything. He also loves to cook, including his favourite meal of cornmeal porridge and oxtail and rice and peas.

He saves his mental powers for imagining victory, he says, and spends very little time thinking about those in the sport who might be doping.

"Personally, I believe that it is unfair and a lot of people take it and nobody knows. I will not stoop to that. The only thing you will find in my blood is talent. I can be on top of the world in this event naturally, and that's what I am training for."

Smith wishes he could spend more time with his eight-year-old son, Roshene, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is "very smart".

But, where his relationships are concerned, he says he has chosen the decathlon as his job and all else is secondary. He loves to play soccer, shoot pool and also "a little basketball".

There is a lot of socialising in the summer, when the track season is over, but otherwise it's time to work.

Retirement, he says, will happen at no special age. "I want to settle down one day and have a family. When my body talks to me, I will listen."