It’s a place where some of San Jose State University’s most famous Olympians trained, but now it will soon be demolished and used for something else.
The university plans to pave over its historic track to make room for more parking.
Athletes like John Carlos and Tommie Smith all practiced on the track while preparing for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City where the infamous Black Power Salute made history.
Rich Read coaches high school runners on the very same track, but not for much longer.
The university is building a four-story parking garage, paving over decades of history and a track that’s used by young students.
School officials say the track has not been used competitively for at least 20 years and although they tried to raise money to keep it, they were not able to secure funding.
The new parking garage will have 1500 spots which will help the near 20,000 cars that search for parking on campus every day.