MIDDLE MANAGEMENT TO OLYMPIC HOPEFUL.

• Author: Little, Kevin
• Position: Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, Kevin Little outran every kid on the block. Now he's hoping to outrun the world.

Little of Denver is considered one of the best sprinters in the world. He regularly finishes hundredths of a second within reach of Olympic world record breaker Michael Johnson in the 200-meter sprint.

Little's career best was 20.10 seconds outdoors at the World Championships in Seville, Spain, last summer, and 20.32 seconds indoors. Since then, he's finished even faster.

A member of seven world championship teams, Little is a five-time medalist at the World Indoor Track & Field Championships.

And he keeps his day job as a pricing administration manager for US West Dex, the Yellow Pages published in US West's 14-state territory.

It's his day job, in fact, that has kept Little competing since 1991 for Team US West, a unique sponsorship program that gives world-class, track-and-field athletes flex time to pursue their athletic dreams.

The 32-year-old Little works 33 to 35 hours a week at his marketing job in the Inverness Business Park and trains 15 to 25 hours a week at University of Colorado facilities in Boulder, leaving little time for his beloved golf game or just about any other pursuit.

He works through pain, including a stress fracture of his metatarsal bone that has set back his training this year. But he expects a rigorous six weeks of training will get him in shape and back on track to win a spot on the U.S. team during the Olympic trials July 14-23 in Sacramento, Calif.

"This program has allowed me to extend my career because the support has been great. Coming out of college and finding support to pay my bills while still training put me miles ahead of other athletes I compete against," said Little, who was a three-time state champion in high school. He graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, which he attended on a track-and-field scholarship, and was recruited to join Team US West in 1991.

His...