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McKinney lives, he says amiably, by being "a kept man." His fiancée, Sheri Rhodes, is the archery coach at Arizona State, where McKinney is an unsalaried assistant coach. He says that he may eventually do more studying at Arizona State, concentrating on sports medicine and psychology. In the meantime, money obviously is not a great motivation and, surprisingly, in his analysis winning is not either. He takes what he calls "a Zenistic view." A single well-executed shot is what stirs him. "You have to be psyched up, yet calm and as motionless as possible. Timing is vital. You shoot between heartbeats. My heartbeat throws my aim clear off the target. Then you have to read the wind. That's the worst four-letter word in archery. With all those variables to consider and compensate for, an excellent shot is a great reward."
McKinney is not the only one with a shot at the gold in a sport his countrymen forget about between Olympics. Kevin Winter is a cheerful, wide fellow, 5 ft. 10½ in. tall and 198 Ibs. heavy, tops, who figures that he has an excellent chance for gold in the 90-kg weight-lifting event. Winter is quick to add that although he was the nation's best lifter, pound for pound, at the May trials in Las Vegas, he would not be a medal prospect if the Soviet-bloc countries were coming. "Maybe a few American medals will help revive interest in the sport in the U.S.," he says wistfully. "It's been pretty depressed lately."
Carrying the financial weight of his sport has not been easy. Winter, who lives in San Jose, Calif., calculates that it costs him about $10,000 a year to train. He has a half-time job, with full-time pay, at the First Interstate Bank, a major Olympic team sponsor. In effect, the bank is giving him a generous half-salary subsidy. Even so, he and his wife Gloria, who works at a state unemployment office, go in the hole about $200 a month for his training costs. There is no money in endorsing weights or lifting suits. Amino acids cost $22 a jar, and Winter fortifies himself with a jar every four days. "But the Olympic Committee has asked for my Social Security number," he says, "so perhaps there will be some help up the road." Or, daydreams this chocoholic, maybe Nestlé will come calling with an endorsement offer.
Winter is not griping. He is in love with his sport. He may as well stay with amateur lifting, since there is no pro tour to join. "A few guys can go on and make a little money lifting women or logs or refrigerators," he says, "but that's show business." He figures he can add an extra 10 kilos of useful beef and compete at the 100-kg weight. In the meantime, he believes that "negative emotions, like greed or hate, can adversely affect performance, while positive ones, like love or generosity, can improve it." To be calm and controlled, he says, "sends beneficial chemicals to the brain." And helps mightily in forgetting a skinny bank balance.