| Even the most exacting connoisseur of travel would think Alonzo Babers has the best of all worlds.
As a Boeing 777 commercial airline pilot, his destinations include some of the favorite stops in Europe and Great Britain. His trips take him to Amsterdam, Netherlands; Frankfurt, Germany; Paris; and London.
Even before the 2012 Summer Olympics were awarded to London, Babers ranked the British capital as his No. 1 stop. But with the 2012 Summer Games set, it's London hands down because the Olympics are close to his heart.
As a relative unknown in track and field and a year after graduating from the Air Force Academy, where his major was aerospace science, Babers gained a place in the folklore of Olympic competition. He wasn't considered a favorite on the list of potential medalists at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, but he won gold medals in the 400 meters and the 4x400-meter relay.
"I finished second in the Olympic trials, but I came out with a confident feeling that I could get a medal in the Olympics," Babers said. "I believed at the time that I could do well against any of the runners in the world."
And he did, although his path to the top step on the Olympic podium was a test of tenacity and personal determination.
"He was a reject from football when I first met him," said Ernie Cunliffe, a former Air Force track coach. "I didn't know who he was. I remember that he was so skinny."
Babers attended high school in Germany, where his father was stationed in the military. While in high school, he turned in some pretty good times in the 400 meters, but was well out of sight of college recruiters in the United States.
Babers first tried football as a walk-on in 1979, but broke his arm against Wisconsin in Air Force's second game. The mishap turned his attention to track and field, and he competed in the indoor season that winter with his arm in a cast.
"I saw a lot of potential, but he never won a conference championship,"
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Alonzo Babers, 44, relaxing at his home in Potomac, Md., was an Air Force Academy graduate and 400-meter runner when he won two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The former Air Force pilot now flies a Boeing 777. (Special) |
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Cunliffe said.
But Babers did qualify for the 1983 world championships in Helsinki, Finland, beginning his trip to the Olympics. The first step was a special assignment from the Air Force that allowed him to train for the Olympics half a day and work half a day in the AFA sports information office.
"It was a sweetheart deal," said Hal Bateman, Air Force's sports information director at the time. "It was an Olympic gold medal made in heaven. He was very good in our department. He did more in a half day than some of our regulars in a full day."
After the 1984 Olympics, Babers did his time in the Air Force and flew missions in Desert Storm.
Babers, 44, hasn't forgotten his roots at the Air Force Academy. He visits high schools in the Baltimore and Washington areas and stresses the value of good academics, a requirement to gain appointment to the academy.
His 16-year-old daughter, Alana Babers, competes in track and field. His son Cameron, 8, competes in soccer and basketball, and Zachary, 3, isn't far behind.
"I'm doing the dad thing," Babers said. "I've helped coach my kids in soccer and basketball. We go to some Washington Redskins games and occasionally to see the (Washington) Wizards and the (Washington) Nationals. I still run 15 to 20 miles a week to stay in shape."
He's modest about his Olympic gold medals. He gave one to his parents, and his wife, Beverly, helps him keep track of the one he has at the family's home in Potomac, Md.
Babers ranks the gold medals third in importance, behind his family and his career.
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