Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 8-1-17

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Former Tampan, Popular Trackster Pays It Forward As Winner Of USATF Nationals
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A former Tampa native, who was a standout track and field star at Howard W. Blake High School, won the 800 meters track and field event earlier this month. The Mas- ters Outdoor Championship event was held on the cam- pus of Louisiana State Uni- versity (LSU) in Baton Rouge, LA, July 13-16, 2017.
Eric Speer, a current resident of Atlanta, GA, won the event. He paid it forward by presenting his gold medal to the family of DeJuan Gillory.
Gillory, a 27-year-old young father of 3, was shot and killed by a white deputy in Mamou, Louisiana a few days prior to the track and field competition. Report- edly, he fit the description of
Eric Speer with the gold medal he presented to the family of De- Juan Gillory, his aunt, mom and brother: Melvin, Thea and Stephanye.
Speer won the USA Track and Field 800 meters event.
Speer said.
Speer grew up in East
Tampa around Elizabeth Arms Apartments and Williams Park. He played on AAU track teams, one of
which was the Tampa Trail- blazers. O. J. Murdock was one of his best friends and teammate. Among those who coached him as a youth are coaches Regina Peoples, Kenneth Muldrow and Joe Troupe.
Speer won several awards for his track and field feats as an AAU player, at Blake High School and Jack- son State University, earning SWAC and NCAA awards. His coaching duties extended to Talladega College, AL, where he produced several conference championships during the year he was there.
Describing himself as a ‘community guy,’ Speer said his ultimate plan is to bring his resources and experi- ences back to East Tampa to help other youngsters through camps, clinics and tours.
a suspect in a burglary.
“I saw it on social media and felt I needed to do some- thing,” Speer said. “It was significant that it (the shoot- ing) happened a week before
the event. The young man was killed with his arms be- hind his back.
“I dedicated the race to him and gave the gold medal to his mother and father,”
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