by Paula Day

A Georgia city of 26,000 with a small college and a big heart has set its sights on becoming international.

LaGrange, the seat of Troup County, about an hour south of Atlanta, is the site for athletes from around the world training for the 1996 summer Olympics.

In 1991, then-mayor of LaGrange, Chris Joseph, had a dream.

“LaGrange is in a position to get some benefit from the ‘96 Games,” reasoned Joseph, a member of St. Peter’s Church. LaGrange College could become a permanent site for training athletes for world competition, including the Olympics. simultaneously the city could develop programs encouraging its youth to participate in track and field.

Today, under the title “I Train In LaGrange,” Joseph’s dream has taken shape, nurturing 22 athletes from 15 countries.

Through Atlanta Olympic connections, Joseph met and lured to LaGrange Ron Davis, a veteran trainer of athletes in Africa for world class competition.

In addition, “community response has been overwhelmingly supportive,” Joseph said. Recently, West Point Pepperell, a textile company with a plant in LaGrange, donated $225,000 to the program. Over 400 LaGrange residents have welcomed the athletes into their homes and lives through an Adopt-An-Athlete outreach involving families, churches, civic and corporate groups and schools. They provide community and opportunities for lasting friendships.

The athletes, both men and women, are from a variety of countries including Sudan, Sierra Leone, Namibia and South Africa, as well as from Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, and other cities in the U.S. Many are enrolled in LaGrange College which houses them and provides meals.

“All the athletes interact with the younger kids,” Joseph said. “They play soccer with them, go to church in the community -- interact with all the community.”

Stephan Lugor, 26, stands out in the congregation of St. Peter’s. A six-foot-four sprinter from southern Sudan, he is a regular at the 9 a.m. Mass, said Father John Kieran, the pastor. In LaGrange six months, Lugor is taking 13 hours of college courses in addition to his training regimen.

“He’s quite a person,” said Davis, his coach. In training for the 400- and 800-meter events, “he’s a natural -- highly disciplined, highly motivated.” In Sudan Lugor was self-trained, using books to guide his program. He is “enthusiastic about being here and now having a coach full time.” Calling Lugor a role model, Davis said he is “very sensitive, always grateful. He sends thank you notes. He never takes things for granted. I like that about him. I encourage the younger athletes to take his advice.”

“He gets along with everyone,” Davis added. “They call him the philosopher because he doesn’t say much, but when he does it’s worth hearing.”

At one time Lugor considered a vocation to the priesthood. An uncle is a priest and before coming to the U.S. Lugor worked for the Archdiocese of Juba in southern Sudan under Archbishop Paulino Loro. The archbishop encouraged him to train in the U.S. and gave him 80,000 Sudanese pounds to help defray expenses, the equivalent of $500 in U.S. currency. “He is really a good man,” commented Lugor.

Sudan has been involved in civil strife for years. Originally a British colony, it gained independence in 1956. Southern Sudan has a large Catholic population.

“The situation is difficult,” Lugor said. “The archbishop is trying to bring peace to ease the suffering of the people. He is a hard-working man.”

The archbishop has introduced youth activities, encouraged young men to become priests, opened churches in the town and in remote areas, and opened St. Augustine Seminary. He is “very serious about humanitarian activities,” according to Lugor, opening a hospital and buying a house in Khartoum to coordinate church activities for refugees. Khartoum, the capital, is in northern Sudan.

Lugor belonged to the Legion of Mary and the choir, lectored in his home parish and served as secretary of the parish Peace and Justice Committee.

His parents are deceased. He has two younger sisters and three stepbrothers in Sudan.

“I am very proud of my people and my archbishop for having given me the help to come here,” he said.

Lugor is also sponsored by Hassan Agabani, a senior vice president and African representative of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). Agabani brought Lugor’s talent to the attention of the IAAF and sponsored his Olympic training in LaGrange.

Training in this country has many advantages, especially for athletes from developing countries. Many come from the southern hemisphere where the seasons’ cycle is opposite to that in the U.S. Athletes can maximize their training time by alternating between the U.S. and home.

Many have not had the advantage of training on an indoor track. Davis remembers his apprehension that because of Lugor’s height, speed and indoor experience he would not be able to adjust to the curve and tumble over the railing during his first competition.

In some developing nations political and civil unrest make it difficult for athletes to maintain a regular training regimen while drought and famine make nutritious meals impossible. Health and sports facilities in the U.S. and the possibility of participating in quality competitions on an on-going basis here also are assets. The weekend of February 12-13 the athletes from LaGrange competed in track and field events at the University of Florida’s Gator Classic in Gainesville. Lugor placed second in his heat, running the 400-meter in 48.90 seconds.

While Davis had reservations about LaGrange as a training site, his wife “fell in love” with the city and Joseph was very aggressive in promoting its potential. “He makes others feel at home away from home,” the coach said. Other Catholics training in LaGrange are Gilliane Quirin, Ludex LeFon, Dario Clement and Barnabe Lolicoeur from Mauritius.

International friendships are not new for LaGrange. It enjoys sister-city relationships with Aso, Japan, and Poti in the Republic of Georgia. Germany and Japan have manufacturing plants in the city.

“It was a little international city anyway,” Joseph says with pride. “There are a lot of different opportunities here.”

Three athletes trained in LaGrange in preparation for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. When the games began, each night LaGrange citizens were glued to their TVs. The athletes were not foreigners. They belonged to LaGrange, Joseph pointed out. The city’s newspaper ran detailed stories of their events. Joseph believes LaGrange will have an even deeper interest in the Olympic Games when they come to Atlanta in 1996.