Montclair’s Lisa and Miki Barber are twins in the truest sense. They share the same build, the same home, at one point the same car – and the same gift, as the two fastest sisters on the planet. They have even shared injuries, Miki losing two years to ankle surgery and Lisa having her finest season cut short last year.
But now they’re finally sharing something else – health, and the Olympic dreams that go with it. Both look like they will be going into next month’s Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., at their peak. They are legitimate threats in a loaded 100-meter field, said track and field legend Gail Devers, their coach since last winter.
“They’re the future. They’ve got a lot of talent,” said Devers, a two-time Olympic 100 champ. “They’re definitely twins, very close, always lived together. They’re there to kick each other in the tail when needed. This year, people will see they’re both going to be there. That’s the goal, make sure they’re healthy for (Beijing).”
“The Olympic trials are going to be awesome,” said Lisa. “The 100’s very deep, very stacked. It’s going to be exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”
They have been looking forward to this for the better part of a decade, their dreams delayed by injuries and disappointments.
“I tell Miki and Lisa, you guys have potential, you can be in this sport a long time if you learn to enjoy it. You can go down in history,” said Devers, who has provided the family atmosphere the Barbers needed.
Miki, who loves cooking and decorating, was redshirted at South Carolina in 2002 because of a stress fracture. In 2005, She needed surgery after tearing a deltoid ligament (inside the ankle) that left her unable to walk for months.
Lisa, a fashion maven who looks like she could have her own salon, suffered through different tough lessons. Dropped by Nike after running 11th in the 2004 Olympic trials, she decided to move from the 400 back to the 100, and train with Trevor Graham’s Sprint Capitol USA group that included Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin.
Results were immediate. Lisa won 4×100 gold at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships and the World indoor 60 the next winter in 7.01.
“Trevor taught me a lot,” Lisa had said. “The weight training and technical stuff helped, but it takes heart. So much of it is mental.”
But with Graham, so much of it was often cheating. He sparked the BALCO investigation in 2003 when he had anonymously sent USADA a syringe the steroid known as “the clear.” After a dozen of his athletes got suspended and he got indicted, Lisa cut ties with him. Graham’s trial is scheduled for May 19.
Her fast times since serve as proof that she’s clean, and after Miki finally returned to the track, last year was to be the finest for sisters; but Lisa got hurt in the semis at the USA Outdoor championship. She watched as sister Miki excelled at the World Outdoor Championships, taking the baton even with Jamaica on the third leg of the 4X100 and blowing the race open in a world-leading 41.98 seconds.
Now, with both Barbers healthy and training together under Devers in Duluth, Ga., they finally teamed up on the same relay for the first time since college.
They teamed up with Lauryn Williams and Allyson Felix to post a 42.57-second victory at last month’s Penn Relays.
“It felt good to be close to home, near New Jersey,” said Lisa, the only change from the team that won at last summer’s outdoor championship. “We hadn’t run a 4×100 since 1999, so it felt great just to be back on the same team again and have that good chemistry again. I had a great time.”
Something they’re trying to repeat in Beijing.
“It comes down to who has the best handoffs,” Miki said. “Everyone is (close). It all depends on who’s going to compete well that day. It’s going to come down to chemistry.” brian.lewis@nypost.com