Coby Miller ends season in Malmo, Sweden
 
By Ben Wingate
Staff Writer

Coby Miller

As Coby Miller glided over the finish line in the 200-meter dash at the MAI-Galan Grand Prix Meet on August 3, 1999, in Malmo, Sweden, he concluded one of the greatest individual track campaigns in Auburn history.

Miller, 22, finished second with 20.33 to Maurice Greene’s 20.16, who is also considered “the fastest man on the planet.” Greene set the world record in the 100-meter dash earlier this summer.

Although he will finish Auburn University next year, Miller said, “I’m going to run as long as I can.”

He said he was always an “all-around athlete” in the years leading up to his eighth-grade year. 

After he was encouraged by some of his friends, he tried out for the track team at his high school, got accepted and ran his ninth through twelfth-grade years.

“I knew where I wanted to go,” Miller said. “Everybody needs to sit down and reevaluate their life and where it is going.” 

Miller took his life and helped lead the Tigers to a school-best fourth finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

His run to excellence this season included four school records and two gold medals at the World University Games. 

Miller said he gained a lot of the experience he needed in the Sweden track meet. “I proved to myself that I could run with the big guys.”

He said the source of his success at Auburn was in the leadership of his coach, Ralph Spry.

“He pushes you on the field and in class. If we make below a 2.5 (GPA), he will sit down, talk with us and push us to go to study hall. “He is a father away from home,” Miller said.

And as Spry has been there for him, Miller said (to those at Auburn), “I’m always available, and if you want to talk, I’m always here.”