FAYETTEVILLE — Mike Armstrong estimated he’s been an official at close to 1,000 track and field meets over the last 35 years.
That includes low-key season openers at the University of Arkansas to NCAA and United States Championships around the country and international competitions around the world.
But this week will be different.
For the first time in Armstrong’s Hall of Fame officiating career, he’ll work at the Olympics.
Armstrong, 65, is officiating several events in Paris, starting with the decathlon on Friday.
It’s the high mark of Armstrong’s second career as a track and field official. His primary job is being director of the Christ on Campus ministry at Arkansas since 1982.
“Officiating at the Olympics was the one thing I hadn’t done,” said Armstrong, who lives in Springdale. “You hope to be selected, but there are lots of quality people around the world to fill these spots, so you feel fortunate when your name appears on the list of those assigned to this meet.”
There are about 200 officials working track and field events at the Olympics, but Armstrong is one of 12 referees — and the only American.
It’s unusual for officials from overseas to work meets in Europe — just as most of the officials at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will be Americans — but Armstrong’s experience and accomplishments merit his presence in Paris.
Armstrong is 1 of 60 officials rated at a gold level by World Athletics through its certification process involving a thorough series of testing evaluations. He’s the chairman of the Officials Committee for USA Track and Field.
“Because of Mike’s knowledge and leadership, he’s one of the top 10 officials in the world,” said Lance Harter, coach of Arkansas’ women’s track and field team from 1990-2023. “He’s a pretty big deal and respected by everyone worldwide.”
Armstrong has worked at the last two World Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., in 2022 and Budapest, Hungary, in 2023 as well as the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore., in 2016. He began officiating at NCAA meets in 2000 and has worked every United States Olympic Trials since 2004 along with numerous SEC Championships and U.S. Championships.
Including competitions such as the Pan American Games, World Under-20 and World Masters Championships, Armstrong has traveled to 18 countries.
“Mike’s been all over the world to officiate at these meets and he brings that experience back to Arkansas to benefit us with the volume of home meets we have every year,” said Chris Bucknam, the Razorbacks’ men’s track and field coach since 2008. “I really don’t know what we’d do without him.
“We’re all replaceable, I guess, but he’s just done a phenomenal job for so many years.”
Armstrong said he’ll follow the same principles as an official at the Olympics that have always guided him.
“The main thing you want to do is make sure things are safe and fair and the athletes have the chance to perform to the best of their abilities,” he said. “Follow the same process and protocols and don’t get carried away with the pomp and the circumstance that surround it.”
Armstrong was inducted into the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2015 and the USA Track and Field National Officials Committee Hall of Fame in 2021. He was named the 2023 recipient of the Robert Giegengack Award, named in honor of the former Yale coach and presented annually to a person who excels in contributing to the excellence and high standards of the sport of track and field.
“There’s no greater honor than to be recognized by your peers,” Armstrong said. “I’ve been blessed.”
Harter said Armstrong has the perfect temperament to be a meet referee, especially when coaches complain or file protests.
“Mike is just rock solid,” Harter said. “He never gets flustered or overly emotional. He’s very even-keeled and his approach when talking to coaches is to say, ‘OK, this is the protocol, this is the rule we’re following.’ All the coaches know he’s always going to be fair.
“I’ve also had coaches ask me, ‘What does Mike do for a living?’ And when I say, ‘He’s a minister,’ that seems to carry some clout. This is a man who knows how to treat everyone with respect and kindness.”
Bucknam said that when he coached at Northern Iowa and came to meets at Arkansas, it became clear Armstrong was totally neutral.
“There’s never been any home cooking for Arkansas with Mike in charge,” Bucknam said. “A coach might get contentious every once in a while. But Mike knows all the rules, and when he makes a decision, it’s impossible to argue with him because everything he does is based on the facts.”
Kevin Trainor, Arkansas’ senior associate director for public relations, was a freshman at the UA in 1990 when he first met Armstrong. They became close enough friends that Armstrong officiated at Trainor’s wedding when he married his wife, Ruth.
“Mike is a great minister, but watching him take on the challenge as a track and field official and seeing how much he’s grown has been special,” Trainor said. “He’s very humble and likes to work behind the scenes, and he knows track and field inside and out.
“There are so many different rules — whether it’s NCAA rules or international rules — and he knows all of them. He’s a noted expert, and he’s training the next generation of track and field officials.”
Armstrong, who earned a bachelor’s degree at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., and a master’s degree in counseling at Arkansas, said he began officiating at meets hosted by the Razorbacks in 1989 at the invitation of a friend and insurance agent, Whit Hensman.
“Whit was a track official and he asked if I wanted to come help,” Armstrong said. “So I worked at a meet, and really enjoyed being around the athletes and the officials.
“It helped that the Razorbacks had an outstanding program so there were always a lot of great meets with great athletes coming through.”
Armstrong said he couldn’t have been an official for so many years — and traveled extensively — without the support of his wife, Gina. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.
“Mike and Gina are a great team,” Bucknam said. “She’s at all the track meets helping as well.”
Trainor said Armstrong being the only American referee for track and field in Paris speaks to his elite status.
“It might be harder to make the Olympic officiating team if you’re not from the country hosting than it is to make your country’s Olympic team,” Trainor said. “But Mike has earned that distinction, and we know he’ll represent the United States with great class and dignity just as he has represented Arkansas for all these years.”
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