Unknown to most observers, Salem State's All-American sprinter Eddie Bynum III had been running the last few months with considerable pain with an injured back. But that wasn't about to keep the speedster from his ultimate goal.
Bynum successfully defended his 55-meter dash national championship at the Division III Track & Field Championships at Ohio Northern University on Saturday. His second straight national crown and third consecutive All-America honor capped an incredible indoor collegiate career.
"It's sinking in slowly, little by little," said Bynum, a Lynn native. "This one is special because it's my last year and because I've been running with an injured back. To endure all that pain and still come out on top feels great."
After posting his best-time ever, 6.25 seconds, in the preliminary round Friday night, Bynum looked like the prohibitive favorite to repeat as champion. But rival Amaan Siddeeq of SUNY Cortland, last year's runner-up, pushed him to the edge.
The pair crossed the finish line nearly identically, but Bynum's final lean pushed him to repeat the 6.25 time and narrowly defeat Siddeeq, who clocked in at 6.26.
"It was a very close race," Bynum explained. "Everything felt fine for the first 15 meters, but then my back started bugging me.
"I knew I had to endure the pain for less than a second and just see what I had left in the tank."
The race was so close that the officials took a few seconds to examine the results and delayed Bynum's celebration — though only slightly.
"I felt I'd won but I didn't want to get all amped up and then find out I hadn't, so I kept my attitude composed," he said. "It turned out I'd beaten him on the lean, just like last year."
Bynum's time was just three hundredths of a second off the Division 3 record of 6.22 set in 1999 by Stefan Mascoll. By besting Siddeeq again, he becomes the sixth dash champion to win the title in consecutive seasons.
"Both of them went in thinking that either could be the champion. They'd been trading the top time in the country throughout the year," said SSC sprint coach Jeff Rockwood, who traveled to Ohio with Bynum. "What's so special about Eddie is that he understands that anyone can win at anytime. He doesn't fall asleep on anybody."
More than anything, Bynum's attention to detail and dedication helped him repeat as champion. In an event where hundredths of a second can be the difference between victory and defeat, every detail and each progression count.
"He has a lot of talent but the biggest factor is his willingness to go through everything he needs to do," said Rockwood. "He's patient and really trusts the program we've set up for him."
That program helped Bynum shave eight hundredths of a second off his 6.33 championship time from 2007. The improvement was crucial, as each of the top three runners this season also bested his 2007 run — meaning a duplicate performance with no improvement wouldn't have brought home a medal.
"It is absolutely harder to defend a title because sometimes you don't keep things consistent and you end up over working," said Rockwood. "The funny thing was that all three guys beat his time from last year, but his improvement was even better."
After Friday's impressive trial, where Bynum broke his own SSC record, it looked like he might have a shot at the Division 3 record. But he came out a little bit stiffer on Saturday, and while he couldn't break his own record again, he was plenty happy to become the first Viking ever to win back-to-back national titles.
"He was much smoother in the trial round, but he did what he had to do to accomplish his goal," said Rockwood.
A sports management major, Bynum will take the next few weeks off to recover. He hopes to be healthy enough to run the 100 and 200 for SSC in the spring, and is eyeing a chance to qualify for June's U.S. Olympic trials in the 200.
