Elite come to Boston

In the beginning -- 1996 -- the Boston Indoor Games showcased the athletes represented by Boston-based Global Athletics & Marketing.

A small crowd came to the new facility on Tremont Street, according to Mark Wetmore, meet director and president of the marketing firm.

"People said there were 500, and I think they were being kind," said Wetmore, smiling at the memory. "I think they counted the athletes." Now the meet attracts world-class athletes to the Reggie Lewis Center, and is the first stop on USA Track & Field's Indoor Golden Spike Tour. An hour of today's 2 1/2-hour meet will be televised on ESPN2 (6-7 p.m.).

The evolution came about, in part, because of more sponsors, Wetmore said.

"In 1997, we got a little bigger, and in 1998, we got the New Balance sponsorship and they brought in Maurice Greene the year after he'd won the World Championships," Wetmore said.

This meet's coup is Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who owns five world records. Gebrselassie is affiliated with Adidas, which is sponsoring the meet for the third year.

Wetmore said it's not easy to get attention for a track meet in a city that is dominated by the Boston Marathon.

"It's taken a lot of work to get on the calendar here locally," Wetmore said. "We have a strong tradition of running here, especially distance running . . . but the Boston Marathon is so huge. I'm not pretending we're in the same league as the Boston Marathon, but it's very hard to get on that calendar. Haile will maybe get us a little closer to that level."

Many athletes now put Boston at the top of their indoor schedule. And many are using today's meet as a springboard to the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"Boston is a great facility," said Olympic gold medalist Stacy Dragila, who will make her third appearance here in the pole vault. "It's small, it's compact, the crowd's right there next to you, cheering you on. They have a fast track, but if you keep within yourself, this is a great place to jump high." . . .

After an unsuccessful attempt to play in the National Football League, the University of Florida's John Capel went back to running. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears, who relinquished his rights. He then tried to make the Kansas City Chiefs roster in 2002 -- to no avail.

When he went back to sprinting, he finished first in the US indoor 200 meters and was gold medalist in the World Championships outdoor 200 last year.

Asked how the fastest football player would finish against a field of sprinters, Capel was succinct.

"Buck-naked last," he said. "They hide behind those pads, so they don't have to hurt like we hurt. Track is a more individual sport. They play in front of 50,000 fans, but in track, it can be storming outside, and you're in tights and shades, and you've got to run. That's a humbling experience, and that shows how much we have the desire to get out and do that." . . .

Tirunesh Dibaba was 7 years old when her cousin, Derartu Tulu, won the 10,000-meter gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. But Dibaba, now 18, has made her own mark in running. Last year, she won the World Outdoor Championship in the 5,000 meters, becoming the youngest athlete to win an individual gold medal. Earlier in the year, she had set a junior world record for the 5,000 at the Bislett Games in Oslo (14:39.94), and was the World Junior Cross-Country Champion in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Today, the cousins from Ethiopia will be competing in the 3,000-meter race.

"It's definitely good for us to run together," said an interpreter for Tulu, a two-time 10,000-meter Olympic gold medalist. "I have more experience, and when we train together, we can support each other, and we also learn from one another. But it's not just the two of us, there are others in the race."

Tulu, 31, who won the London and Tokyo marathons in 2001, said she plans to defend her 10,000-meter title in Athens this summer.