The Pollyannas will instead focus on the golds we won, or on all our 10,000-meter runners advancing to the finals. Being positive is a good thing, I agree, but somewhere in this nation's track organization people should be working to reverse our steadily declining fortunes.

That the rest of the world is "catching up" is a good thing as well. Sport is competitive, though, and we should have a competitive attitude when it comes to evaluating our potential and what can be done better to realize it.

Some countries are great in track and field because of their developmental systems. The United States is great despite its system. So much for the many who chant the mantra, "America's collegiate system is the greatest developmental system in the world."

More successful than any other country's? Yes. Certainly no other nation in our size range has a fiercely competitive collegiate system that is so well-funded. But what proportion of the nation's best talent is actually capable of competing for Olympic and World Championship team positions?

Of course, there's no way to measure such a statistic, but I daresay the number is frightfully small. If you follow each year's top high school seniors in track -- a good representation of the nation's talent base -- you'll find that more than half disappear from the sport within a couple years of graduation.

A couple years ago, one recruiter told me that nine of the 10 top high school sprinters in the nation that season would not be eligible to compete in NCAA track. I couldn't verify that claim, not having access to their test scores and academic records. What frightened me more was that several other coaches within earshot nodded their heads in agreement. Accurate or not, the story is true enough to be a deep concern to anyone who cares about the sport, or the young people who compete in it.

There is no culprit here. It's easy to point fingers at the NCAA and its restrictive -- and perhaps racially biased -- eligibility standards, but we shouldn't forget that the NCAA is not charged with the mission of Olympic development. That weight falls on the shoulders of the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Track and Field.

Unfortunately, the latter body, eager to attract new sponsors with a half-full cup, has been parroting Pollyanna-like lines from the days of former USATF executive director Ollan Cassell. Tastes great, less filling.

Luckily, though, there is great news to report on the development front. It's happening at the local level, not the national.

The local solution
"We're trying to make an impact," said Norb Sander, the president of the Armory High School Sports Foundation. Sander is the point man for an impressive team of track zealots who have reinvigorated track in New York City.

A decade ago, the 168th Street Armory was a dilapidated building being used as a homeless shelter. At one time, the Armory and its indoor track had been a focal point of the local track scene, but many thought those days were gone for good. Years of hard work and private fund-raising, however, brought the Armory track back.

"There are a couple hundred athletes training here every day right now," Sander said. "When the season really gets going, there are more than a thousand a day. You have to jump on the track and run for your life."

The effort of the Armory organization is not just aimed at getting people running. It's about transforming a community, and beyond that, the sport itself. Sander is one of many who have bemoaned the loss of so many young talents who slip through the chasm that separates high school and college track.

"People say we don't have the talent," he said. "Well, you could just stand at the side of the Armory on a Saturday afternoon and see enough talent for five Olympic teams, talent just oozing from the track. But we lose a lot of them. Some come from tough family situations, some have academic problems, some have to work instead of run -- they all have different stories.

"In urban areas, there's wonderful talent. These kids can run with anybody in the world as far as I can see. Amazing talent, and there's plenty of them. The pieces are all there. You need leadership at the top. USATF fell asleep for 20 years. They still don't have an interest in the development side of it. They're more interested in the professional side and getting those athletes exposure."

The solution at the Armory is a local one. The Armory Prep Program launches this winter, and it will be a model for what other communities can do. It is a revolutionary program for the sport in the country, but to characterize it as a development program for track and field would sell it short. It is much, much more.

Some 15-20 post-high school athletes will enroll in the rigorous 10-month program. From 9 a.m. to noon each day, they'll work for local businesses at $10 an hour. Then from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., they hit the classroom at the Armory, getting remedial academic help, counseling, computer lessons, organizational skills -- "direction" as Sander puts it.

A 4 p.m., they will hit the track. "We would coach them and sponsor them as part of the Armory Prep team," Sander said. "In the end, success means college or a job." In other words, a bridge over the chasm.

The organization has had no problem finding businesses willing to help. In fact, Sander said the program has been delayed a few months by a number of big successes that have vastly expanded the scope of the Armory's mission.

The grant, close to $1 million, will fund a number of programs from elementary school through the post-high school Armory Prep program, all of them combining computer literacy and academic training with fitness.

Then there is the Armory's hosting of the Cisco Systems' Networking Academy, which provides rigorous computer training and guaranteed jobs for its students in the computer network company. And the New Heights Community Center, and 50 new computers from an organization called NY Mouse.

"It's all kind of exciting," sighed Sander, still amazed by the swirl of activity that will make the Armory a centerpiece of the community's efforts to provide opportunity for its young people.

The boost that the Armory program is giving to track is a huge one that should be viewed carefully by any local organization wanting to make a difference in the sport -- and the world.

Ranking the century
My countdown of the top 100 track-and-field competitions of the century continues:

No. 40 -- Olympic Women's 4 x 400 Relay, Atlanta 1996: No certain gold was promised to the United States, and the team dug itself into a hole with a 51.68-second lead-off lap by Rochelle Stevens, who handed off in fourth place. Maicel Malone managed a 50.27 for the next circuit, passing the Nigerians to take the lead on the backstretch, only to be passed again by the Nigerians and Russians before the hand-off.

Kim Graham caught the Russian team on the backstretch and made up five meters on the Nigerians on the final turn. With the final exchange in sight, she took the lead, clocking 49.49 for her leg. She handed off to Jearl Miles, who jetted away with supreme confidence. What started to look like a certain win turned into a nail-biter as Nigeria's Fali Ogunkoya, the bronze medalist, ate up the lead and pulled nearly even on the homestretch.

Both women clawed to the finish and Miles prevailed, her 49.47 giving the U.S. a time of 3:20.91, just a step ahead of Nigeria's 3:21.04. Miles said the home track advantage paid off: "If it wasn't here in the USA, I would have gotten caught."

No. 39 -- Olympic Men's 4 x 400, Tokyo 1964: U.S. coach Bob Giegengack had wanted Henry Carr to lead off the relay for the United States: "I told them they could run 2:58 with Carr leading off." The U.S. team, however, only wanted gold, and they knew that Carr could not be out-run on an anchor. They convinced the coach to do it their way.

So the best relay of the 1964 Games was led off by Ollan Cassell, who later became the head of USA Track and Field. Cassell split 46.0 to hand the baton off to Mike Larrabee just behind the British. Then Larrabee moved into the lead with a 44.8.

The third leg saw Ulis Williams run 45.4 to keep the U.S. just ahead of Trinidad. The last lap belonged to 200-meter winner Carr, who blistered a 44.5 to bring the baton home in a world-record 3:00.7. Britain's Robbie Brightwell closed well to give his team a 3:01.6 European record. Trinidad clocked 3:01.7, as all three medal winners dipped under the old world record of 3:02.2.

No. 38 -- Olympic Women's Long Jump, Moscow 1980: When Soviet Tatyana Skachko leaped 22 feet, 10 inches in the first round, she had reason to feel good about her chances; it was the seventh-best performance of all time. In the third round, she improved to 23-0. Safer yet; no one had ever jumped that far and lost.

Then came the final round. Anna Wlodarczyk of Poland produced a 22-9.75 to move into second. She celebrated wildly, thinking she might end up with silver. Then Soviet Tatyana Kolpakova flew to 23-2 to capture gold. A jump later, East Germany's Brigitte Wujak produced a 23-1.25 for silver.

Tom Jordan wrote in Track and Field News, "Skachko looked as if she had been struck by lightning. For more than an hour, she had been the gold medalist, and in the space of two minutes, she had gone from gold to silver to bronze. Wlodarczyk had gone from nothing to silver to nothing."

Said the winner, "One should always fight until the end."

No. 37 -- European Champs Women's High Jump, Prague 1978: Most felt that East Germany's Rosemarie Ackermann would, as usual, defeat Italian Sara Simeoni. It didn't matter that Simeoni had recently jumped a world-record 6-7, or that Ackermann was nursing a sore ankle and heel.

The lead changed hands a total of seven times on the briskly cold day, with temperatures in the 50s. At 6-5.5, Ackermann took over from Simeoni (who had her first miss) as the rest of the field retired. Then, at 6-6.25, it was Simeoni who made it on her first clearance, while Ackermann, a straddler, needed two tries. For each, it was the second time in their careers they had jumped that high.

The bar then moved to a world record-tying 6-7. With a light rain falling, they both missed their first tries, but Simeoni cleared it on her second to claim the lead.

Ackermann, on her second try, also apparently cleared, but as she raised her hands in triumph, the bar fell off the standards. Said British track expert Richard Hymans, "Ackermann was a good winner and a very gracious loser. Simeoni had the demeanor and Italian star quality of a Diva."

No. 36 -- Olympic Men's 400 Hurdles, Seoul 1988: For years Andre Phillips had chased the unbeatable Edwin Moses. Countless times he had come up short. He planned his training, though, around the Olympic final, and when he pulled even with the world record holder halfway through the race, he knew he had more than a chance.

On the final turn, Phillips gradually pulled away. He strode down the straightaway powerfully. The expected charge from Moses never materialized. The surprise came from Senegal's Amadou Dia Ba, who had never broken 48 seconds before. The African, a converted high jumper, put on a tremendous burst and nearly caught Phillips at the line. Phillips won the gold in 47.19 to Dia Ba's 47.23. Moses settled for bronze.

Said Phillips of Moses, "He's been my motivation, my incentive, my idol."

No. 35 -- Olympic Men's Discus, Mexico City 1968: Al Oerter had won three straight golds in the discus, but even he doubted he could win a fourth. Rival Jay Silvester had set the world record that year at 224-5, some 17-feet beyond Oerter's best of 207-5. Said Oerter, "I didn't think I had a chance."

Silvester produced an Olympic record in the qualifying round. During the warm-ups before the final, it started to rain. The competitors retreated to shelter, all except Oerter, who continued to throw as officials delayed the final by an hour. He had taken off the protective neck brace he usually wore.

Oerter popped a personal and Olympic record 212-6 in round three to put the pressure on as Silvester and the rest of the competition crumbled. He had produced the three best throws of his life from a wet ring to capture a fourth straight gold. Not until Carl Lewis in the Atlanta long jump did someone else win four straight.

No. 34 -- European Championships Men's 10,000, Prague 1978: Two Romanians led for most of the race, with Ilie Floroiu passing halfway in a swift 13:44.8, close to world-record pace. Two kilometers later, a staggering dozen runners remained in contention. Observers had trouble believing their stopwatches.

A few laps farther on, eight remained in the hunt. Martti Vainio of Finland, a "relative unknown" before the race, struggled at the back of the pack. At 9K, Britain's Dave Black took over. He lasted until the final 300, when the terrific pace broke him. Brendan Foster, the world record-holder until 10 weeks earlier at 27:30.3, led until the final turn.

That's when Vainio and two other "unknowns," Venanzio Ortis of Italy and Aleksandr Antipov of the Soviet Union, attacked. Vainio grabbed the lead and struggled to hold it as the other two crept closer on the last stretch. The Finn hit the line in 27:31.0, as the next two both clocked 27:31.5. Seven of the top 10 broke their national records in what many considered to be the greatest 10,000-meter race ever.

No. 33 -- World Championships Women's 10,000, Seville 1999: Paula Radcliffe knew she couldn't kick, and she knew that meant her chances for gold were severely limited by the presence of Ethiopian Gete Wami, a fierce finisher. She also knew that to even have a chance for a medal, she would have to run the race of her life.

That she did. The 25-year-old Briton started out hard and kept upping the ante. She hit 5K in 15:25.25, and only three others were still with her. A few laps later, marathon world record-holder Tegla Loroupe shot into the lead and Olympic champion Fernanda Ribeiro dropped out. Then Radcliffe went to the fore again, hoping to burn off Wami.

The Ethiopian never blinked. With 300 meters left, she exploded into the lead, winning in 30:24.56. Radcliffe clocked 30:27.13, as the three medalists all broke their national records. Radcliffe, as realistic as she is tough, showed no bitterness at leading only to be outkicked. After all, she had authored the greatest women's 10,000-meter run ever.

No. 32 -- World Cup Men's 800, Dusseldorf 1977: Great expectations awaited the showdown between Olympic champion Alberto Juantorena of Cuba and Mike Boit, the Kenyan favorite who had been kept from the Montreal Olympics by the African boycott. Their first encounter, at Zurich a week earlier, had featured a brutally fast pace that saw Juantorena win in 1:43.6.

In Dusseldorf, the pace was more sane, with India's Sri Ram Singh leading at 400 in 52.3. The Cuban ran second, with Boit a step back in third. On the backstretch, the two passed the Indian. Juantorena hit 600 in 1:18.9, and Boit attacked. He barely made a dent with his furious charge, as Juantorena held him off. On the straight, Juantorena looked for Boit. He didn't have to look far.

Boit pulled even and the two ran side-by-side to the finish, both sprinting desperately. A few steps from the line, Juantorena edged ahead, claiming the win in 1:44.0 to Boit's 1:44.1. Boit, who had run his last 200 in 25.0, maintained that he had started his kick too soon. His rival said he was never worried.

No. 31 -- Olympic Men's 100, Helsinki 1952: Lindy Remigino had no business being in the Olympic final. He had only placed third in the IC4A 100 that spring, and fifth in the NCAA. At the AAU Championships, the Manhattan College junior couldn't even make the final. But when Jim Golliday got injured before the Trials, and Andy Stanfield decided to concentrate on the 200, Remigino had a chance.

At the Trials, he placed a surprising second to Art Bragg. Then Bragg turned up injured at the Games. In the final, Remigino was shocked by being one of the leaders in a blanket finish. The top four finished within a few feet of each other. He congratulated Jamaican Herb McKenley, whom he thought had won. Then came the reading of the finish photo, followed by Remigino's immortal quote to McKenley, "Gosh, Herb. It looks as though I won the darn thing."

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.